True companies

The True companies had their beginning in 1948 when H.A. 'Dave' True, Jr. moved from Cody to Casper as manager and part owner of the one-rig Reserve Drilling Company. The company, after nearly going under in the brutal 1949 blizzards, grew to a five rotary drilling rig operation by 1951. In that year True, together with Douglas S. Brown, bought out the other interest owners of Reserve Drilling and formed a partnership known as True and Brown Drilling Contractors. In 1953, the two formed another partnership, True and Brown Oil Producers.  The following year, True purchased Brown's interests and, in partnership with his wife Jean, changed the names to True Drilling Company and True Oil Company.  Since 1954 several other firms have been organized by the True family, many connected with the petroleum industry and all based in Casper. They include Black Hills Trucking Inc., Belle Fourche Pipeline, Cambria Europe, Inc., Eighty-Eight Oil LLC, Equitable Oil Purchasing Company, Midland Financial Corp. (Hilltop National Bank), Toolpushers Supply Company, True Environmental Remediating LLC., True Geothermal Energy, and True Ranches LLC.  The True associated companies employ over 1,000 people in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas,  Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Mississippi.