Harry Harter

Dad & Doc, with Harry Harter's East Texas Oil Parade

The real story of the men who discovered the Black Giant - the grand East Texas oil field in 1930. Lore tells us that Dad Joiner and Doc Lloyd believed East Texas was floating on a vast ocean of oil. Joiner supposedly spent his last dime bringing in the discovery well, based on his faith in Lloyd's geological findings. The truth is that neither man believed there was oil there or intended to find it. Each man had lead a shady life of scams and lies. Tales of vigilante murder, bad poetry, polygamy and quack medicine abound in this surprising history of Dad and Doc. The lore is debunked and the truth is infinitely more interesting. Harry Harter's 1934 history of the field is also included to complement the biography.