Oral Histories: Hubert C. Ferry

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

Hubert C. Ferry worked for the Union Oil Company from 1918-1956, first in Los Angeles, and then in Fullerton. Although his degree was in law, he was something of a renaissance man for the company. He worked “in a supervisorial, managerial, legal, administrative, or official capacity.”

As I read the transcript of a 1975 interview with Ferry for the CSUF Oral History Program, my initial impression of Ferry is that he was a very well-informed, service-oriented man who really believed he was working for a service industry. He said, “Considering the magnitude and hazards involved, the petroleum industry is performing a miraculous service with an outstanding safety record.” I’m not sure he could make that claim today.

But what really strikes me about this interview is how deeply embedded Ferry was, not just in Union Oil, but in the political, municipal, and civic life of Orange County:

He was on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

He was on the Advisory Board of St. Jude Hospital.

He was on the Orange County Planning Commission.

He was on the Advisory Committee of the Los Angeles County Air Pollution District.

He was on the Advisory Committee of the State Board of Health.

He was Chairman of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Orange County Transit District.

He was Chairman of the Committee that financed the building of the current City Hall in Fullerton.

What business does a guy who worked for a major oil company for 38 years have on all these civic and municipal committees? I have to wonder whose interests he was representing on all those committees and boards. I suspect he was representing his employer, Union Oil. It is more than a little disturbing that a guy from an oil company was so deeply embedded in governmental and civic affairs.

A Google search revealed that there is a Hubert C. Ferry reservoir in Fullerton at 2011 N. Acacia Avenue that is leased to Spectrum cable for their Community Antenna Television (CATV) facility.