What does this have to do with us? you might well ask.

Believe it or not, there may be something of value under all our mud.

It was big news in 1925 when people started to drill wells and pump water to their homes (using generators...electricity was not quite in our counties yet).

At Mathews Court House, people who put in wells discovered they had what the Mathews Journal called "gassers." Here is an excerpt from the Journal of March 5, 1925:

"If your well is 80 to 100 feet deep be careful with our matches—the thing may blow up and singe your whiskers.

"Mathews seems to be full of gassers and new ones are being reported every day.

"Pratt Twigg of Twigg Motor Co., started it. Back of his garage is a near-artesian well. Last Friday he noted some oily bubbles in the pipe and of course, lost no time trying a match on it. She went off with a bang and burned beautifully for quite a while. ...Some time later Mr. J. Eddie Callis, prominent contractor and builder, who is n...