Russell Easton Havenstrite (1896-1958) was an American wildcatter and

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player.

Early life

Russell Havenstrite was born March 18, 1896, in

Lovell, Oklahoma Lovell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States. It was first determined by the United States Census Bureau prior to the 2020 census. It is named after the village of Lovell, which is incorporated in its bound ...

.Jack Roderick, ''Crude Dreams: A Personal History of Oil & Politics in Alaska'', Epicenter Press, 1997, pp. 33-3

/ref> His parents were Jacob W. Havenstrite and Jennie M. Stirk. His mother's maiden name was Stirn.

Career

In the 1920s, Havenstrite moved from Lovell, Oklahoma to Signal Hill, California in the

Greater Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

to drill oil. In 1932, he moved to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

to find oil. He became interested in possible oil found at Iniskin, near Homer, Alaska. In 1936, he established the Iniskin Bay Associates, together with

Carlton Beal Carlton Beal (1914–1994) was an American businessman, college professor and polo player. Overview It ..., where he was inducted on March 20, 1992. He donated the Philip L.B. Iglehart Library Room to the Museum of Polo. Personal life He married K ...

(1914–1994),

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

(1901–1966),

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

(1902–1979) and

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

(1892–1992). By 1938, they began drilling their first oil well at Iniskin. In 1941, the firm found oil in Newhall, Santa Clarita, California and became prosperous. After the Second World War, Havenstrite drilled again at Iniskin, with the financial backing of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

banker Hugo Anderson, the father of Robert Orville Anderson (1917–2007). However,

Harold L. Ickes Harold LeClair Ickes ( ; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold th ...

(1874–1952), who served as

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

from 1933 to 1946, had blocked him from drilling. In 1946, he flew the Andersons, the Disneys and the Zanucks on his private

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

plane to see his jade mine in

Kotzebue, Alaska Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing t ...

and his gold mine in

Candle, Alaska Candle is an unincorporated community in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is situated on the west bank of the Kiwalik River at Candle Creek. It was founded around 1901 as a mining camp, named for the adjacent creek. Th ...

. In 1954, he drilled a second well at Iniskin, but he stopped sometime in 1955. Two weeks after he stopped, Richfield Oil found more oil at Iniskin.

Polo

Havenstrite established the Beverly Hills Polo Club in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. In 1950, he hired ten-goal polo champion Robert Skene (1914-1997) to manage the club. The same year, he and Jimmy McHugh judged Queen of Mexican Polo contestants at the BHPC. He also played polo at the Uplifters Polo Club in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles with Charles Farrell (1901–1990),

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...

(1894–1962) and Walt Disney (1901–1966). Fine Arts Building of Los Angeles

Personal life and death

Havenstrite was married to Edith White. They had a parrot. They owned a penthouse in the Fine Arts Building located at 811 West 7th Street in Los Angeles. From 1938 onwards, they resided in

and attended high society events. They also went shooting with

William Woodward, Jr. William Woodward Jr. (June 12, 1920 – October 31, 1955) was the heir to the Hanover National Bank fortune (later Manufacturer's Hanover), the Belair Estate and stud farm and legacy, and a leading figure in racing circles before he was s ...

and his wife Ann in

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in the ...

, India. Moreover, they attended fundraisers for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. He was a member of the

Bohemian Club The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of journal ...

, the Los Angeles Country Club and the

Bel Air Country Club The Bel-Air Country Club is a social club located in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. The property includes an 18-hole golf course and tennis courts. The golf course is the home course for the UCLA Bruins men's and women's golf teams. Bibliograp ...

. Russell and Edith had a daughter, Phyllis, on September 29, 1922 in Oxnard, California. She attended the Douglas School for Girls in Pebble Beach, California. Havenstrite died of a heart ailment in Santa Monica on March 18, 1958.Obituary, found i
http://www.alaskageology.org/documents/13/December%202013%20Newsletter.pdf
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havenstrite, Russell E. 1896 births 1958 deaths People from Logan County, Oklahoma Businesspeople from Los Angeles People from Beverly Hills, California American polo players People from Oxnard, California People from Signal Hill, California 20th-century American businesspeople