Originally Posted by Goodpasture
I did an appraisal on a beautiful piece of land east of Ponca City a couple of years ago. It was in the rolling hill area just west of Kaw Lake. It was two log houses, one a 2 bedroom one bath, the other a one bedroom one bath MIL cabin on about 40 acres. While we were standing there a flock of turkeys came up to the house to be fed. While the owner was tossing out corn chops for them, I asked how many turkeys he was raising and what breed were they, as they appeared to be a heritage turkey of some sort. When he told me they were wild turkey's he could have blown me over. He did say he does not allow hunting off his porch. North west and south of Ponca the land is prairie and is slightly rolling. Catch it at the right time and you can see the amber waves of grain that you can see on calendars about the wheat country.
I expect the Ponca area economy to be rebounding pretty solidly. (I am not projecting any 20-50 year suggestions, just what I expect to see in my life. I will let the kids worry about their future) Right now there is a working refinery owned by Conoco-Phillips. As we have a lack of refineries in this country, I don't expect it to go off line anytime soon. Further, as grain is being used for alternate energy and corn prices are shooting up due to the ethanol and beef production, I expect those "amber waves of grain" to be converted into cash. ....either as cattle feed, or ethanol or something. Small business appears to be healthy there. There are a couple of nice coffee shops, which would not be the case if people were destitute. Head Country Barbecue Sauce is growing and thriving. Oil in the area is coming back. All those wells that that produced 2 and 3 barrels of oil a day that were capped in the 80's when oil was $13 a barrel are being reworked now that oil is close to $100 a barrel. So there are LOTS of oil patch service companies that are coming back. Electric motor rebuilders, pump rebuilders, salt water separator manufacturers, etc.....all have more work than they can pray over.
Bartlesville is the same way, although there isn't as much prairie there so there isn't the grain. The majority of agriculture around Bartlesville is cattle.
Cushing doesn't have the refineries, but as the crossroad of America's oil pipelines the resurgence of oil has impacted this community as well. I was in Cushing a couple of weeks ago and had lunch at that Italian Restaurant on the east side of town. Excellent service, nice table cloths, decent wine list.....I had smoked salmon ravioli that was incredible. The lobster ravioli was just as good. This kind of restaurant doesn't survive unless the local economy is pretty strong.
In short, most of the surviving oil towns are doing pretty good, and you will find these oil towns beginning with Tulsa in the east and running west to the Texas panhandle.
East of Tulsa is Highway 69. It is the primary non-turnpike and the most direct route from Kansas City to Dallas. That corridor is going to be increasingly important and economically strong. Towns like Miami, Vinita, Pryor, Chouteau, Adair, Wagoner, Muskogee, Checotah, Eufala, McAlester, Atoka, Durant......all are going to benefit from the growth in importance of Highway 69.
Frankly, CG (and others looking at OK), I would find a place I liked, then I would locate the kind of work I can make a living at. I can't think of an area where there is not something going on. and when the people are buying and selling and are economically secure, there is opportunity to earn a living. You may not end up with a lot of cash, but spiritually you will be wealthy beyond your dreams.
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12-30-2007, 10:42 AM
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