MIKE RAYMOND

     Mike’s father, Francis first commenced his association with the “oilfields” in 1918 and continued that relationship until his death in 1986.  Francis and Mike’s mother, a homemaker, had two other children: Chuck who is deceased and Shirley Stark now residing in Wichita.  Mike was born in Wichita on July 7, 1931.

     He attended Sunnyside Elementary School where his friendship with fellow classmate Ted Sandberg developed into a life-long relationship that continues to this day.   They spent considerable time together engaged in such activities as building model airplanes etc.  He attended Roosevelt Jr. High School and then graduated from East High School in 1950.  At both of these schools his classmate was Ted Sandberg.  During his school years, one of his part-time jobs was delivering handbills for Luis Casado an activity that Mike says Thornton Anderson was also a participant.

     Mike then enrolled in geology at the University of Oklahoma.  He wished to continue in the family business but with the idea in mind of enhancing his contributions to that business with a technical background.   He actually had an early start on his career as a geologist as he was plotting strip logs for his father while he was still in high school.  At OU he found that a well-known professor, Dr. Carl Moore, exerted considerable influence on his career.  A classmate of Mike’s at OU was Charles Spradlin, well-known Wichita geologist and KGS member.

     While at OU Mike met Lora Connelly, from Oklahoma City and they were married in 1953.  Lora died in 1998 after 48 years of  happy marriage.  Mike and Lora had three children: Leigh, Kelly and Bill who is following in Mike’s footsteps and participating in the family business. 

Mike was making an additional contribution to the success of Raymond Oil while he was a student at OU.  He went to the library and checked out all three volumes of the AAPG’s “Typical American Oil Fields”.  In volume 3 he found a map
 contoured on a Permian bed of the Geneseo Field, Rice Co. Kansas.  It indicated that there was an undrilled minor structural high.  Mike made a tracing of the map and sent it home to his father.  His father was able to secure an 80-acre lease and the result was 7 producers.  Mike definitely recommends any new geologist entering the industry make a thorough study of all of the literature available on an area they are working.  His own experience certainly “proves his point.”

      While at OU Mike was enrolled in R.O.T.C.  Following graduation he was called into the service and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.  Following training at Fort Belvoir   (Continued on page 21)