Keepsakes

Bronze medal with a pipeline worker in winter gear in the foreground.  In the background is a pump station on top, the pipeline in the middle, and the Valdez Terminal on the bottom.  On the reverse side it says, “Trans Alaska Pipeline / Completion / & Start-up / June 20, 1977”. The medals is shown next to a penny for scale. The medalist (engraver) was John E Svenson. Medal was presented to Lance Groundwater.

2 15/16″ dia, about 7.6 oz, June 20, 1977 [LCG]

This 1 Troy ounce silver bar that commemorates Alyeska’s 25th Anniversary is mounted in a clear plastic protective case.

The front of the bar says, “Alyeska Pipeline Service Company / Commemorating 25 Years / 1977 – 2002”.  The back says, “Trans Alaska Pipeline System / .999 Ounce – One Troy Ounce”

July 20, 2002 [DAJ]

The first photo shows this special limited edition medallion and the stand it sits on for display.  It says, “1977 / A Thirty Year Journey / 2007”

The second photo shows the back of the medallion:

• June 20, 1977 – First oil leaves Pump Station 1 at Prudhoe Bay.
• August 1, 1977 – ARCO M/V Juneau departs Valdez with first oil.
• June 20, 2007 – 15,418,807,453 barrels of oil transported through the Alaska pipeline.
• August 1, 2007 – 19,407 tankers loaded at the Valdez Marine Terminal.
• August 1, 2007 –  10,547 tankers escorted through the Prince William Sound by Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessell System.

No. 3181 of 6000 / Limited Edition

The third photo shows the paper included with the medallion, with the signature of the Alyeska President at that time, Kevin M. Hostler and it was dated October 2007

2007 [JEF]

This memento was to celebrate the massive effort to prepare Alyeska’s computer and automation systems for the Y2K or Millennium Bug event in year 2000. At that time, most computer programs used 2 digit date fields for years. At the end of 1999, they would go from 99 to 00 (for 2000), often with very unacceptable consequences. There was a rule, “years divisible by 100 are not leap years except once every 400 years.”  This would made year 2000 a leap year but there’s an exception every 2,000 years.  And last, the date, Sept 9, 1999, was a potential problem.  It would display as 9999 which often meant “Unknown Date” or “End of Program” in older programs.  Being a sophisticated company, Alyeska had many computer programs and digital control systems using dates. Identifying and fixing each before they became a problem was considered a major achievement.

12/31/1999 – 01/01/2000
6.5″ H x 6.86″ W x 1″ D [LNM]

This engraved acrylic moment celebrated, “Ten Billion Barrels – Trans Alaska Pipeline August 1977 – March 1994.”

Back in 1968, geologists had original estimated the total amount of oil in the ground was about 10 billion barrels.  On March 5, 1994, the 10 Billionth Barrel of oil flowed through the pipeline, and we kept on pumping.  That just seemed to make it a special milestone to some.

[LNM]

“First Barrel of Oil pumped through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System – Mile 611 – Prudhoe Bay – Valdez, Alaska – June 18, 1977.”  One of these made for each mile of the pipeline.

Label on bottom says, “The oil contained in the embedment is a sample taken from the First Barrel of Oil pumped through the Trans Alaska Pipeline. The arrival in Valdez on July 38, 1977 marked the opening of the 799 mile, $7.7 billion pipeline, which has an ultimate capacity of 2 million barrels per day.  The historic First Barrel of Oil was present to the Valdez Chamber of Commerce and the Organization for the Management of Alaska’s Resources (OMAR) who will make mementos available for Alaskans.  The pipeline is an important and significant effort in energy for a strong America.
From a limited edition of 799   W.J. Darch President”

4″ H x 3″ W x 1.75″ D; 1977 [LNM]

Note:  Don’t have the actual date this was made; called it 1977 for the oil (Larry)