Robert A. Hefner


Robert Alexander Hefner, born in Hunt County, Texas to William Lafayette Hefner and Sarah Jane Masters Hefner, was a lawyer-turned-politician. He served as mayor of Ardmore, Oklahoma and of Oklahoma City, and as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. He is notable as the originator of the mineral transfer deed known as the Hefner Form, which is still used at present. Hefner was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1949.
Hefner also became notable because of his contributions in public service, especially in Ardmore and later in Oklahoma City. Although his official title in Ardmore was mayor, locals soon gave him the honorary nickname, "The Judge," apparently because he was so skillful in resolving disagreements and getting unlikely allies to support community actions, such as creating the city's water supply. In Oklahoma City, he would repeat this success on a much larger scale, initiating a municipal water supply system that still serves the much-expanded city at present.

Early life

Hefner was born on February 7, 1874 in the community of Hefner Chapel north of Lone Oak, Hunt County, Texas to William Lafayette Hefner and Sarah Jane Masters Hefner. Growing up in poverty, self-teaching was the only education Hefner could afford. By the age of 21, he had received only nine months of formal education, primarily from books received from a cousin at College Station which he read "at night while I was working on the farm and also when I was out herding sheep".
In 1895, the family had to sell the farm to pay off debts, though the proceeds were insufficient to settle them in full. Just after Hefner's 21st birthday, his father died. Hefner then resolved to work the farm for the following year to clear the family debts. He received $15 per month credited against the debt, and studied at night under a kerosene lamp given to him by his father in the hope of passing the entrance exams for college. In 1896, Hefner passed the examination and gained entrance to North Texas Baptist College at Jacksboro. Hefner then taught school before entering the University of Texas Law School in 1899. He paid off the remaining family debts.
Hefner went to college with only the clothes on his back and 35 cents, but found work splitting wood to pay his way. At Jacksboro, he met his wife, Eva Johnson, daughter of a banker. She spoke four languages fluently and became valedictorian of Baylor University in 1905, after gaining her third degree. On graduation, he decided he would study law at the University of Texas in Austin, but once again found funding to be a problem. As a result, he worked for a while to save up enough to pay his way and, at the age of 25, he enrolled at the University of Texas and found himself only the second student from the "South Prairie" to do so. His hard work was rewarded in 1902 when he graduated near the top of his law class.
The philosophy of hard work, which he taught to his children as "hit the ball hard", didn't always pay off. When he tried to take up golfing to be able to spend more time with his son, Hefner swung so hard at the ball that he broke two ribs, ending his golfing career on his first swing.

The boom

Following his graduation, Hefner headed to Beaumont. It seemed all Texas had heard of the Hamill brothers' gusher which gained Beaumont the title "Oil Capital of the World" for a short time. Hefner decided to specialize in oil and gas law, and to save his money to invest in land that one day might produce. He found a partner, and opened Parker and Hefner. They landed the Southern Pacific Railroad account for their division just seven years after Hefner arrived in Austin. The workload was so great that they had to hire a third partner, renaming the firm Parker, Hefner and Organ.
Throughout his time in Beaumont, Hefner was educating himself further in the oil and gas industry—he became fascinated with geology It was also during this time that Eva graduated from Baylor University and the two were married on July 18, 1906. They decided to move to Ardmore, Oklahoma after being involved in a Choctaw court case which dealt specifically with the Dawes Act and Indian mineral conveyances to non-Indians. The account states that Hefner worked for four Indian families, helping them to get their land allotment. He was paid for this work with an annual interest in future profits from the mineral rights, making Hefner quite wealthy.
Although it is not clear when Hefner actually moved to Ardmore with his family, he had become a resident of Ardmore by January 1, 1908. He founded the Hefner Company, and became an expert in legal issues related to the rapidly-developing oil and gas industry. He immersed himself in community affairs and was made president of the local school board from 1910 to 1920. He also served as city attorney from 1911 to 1913 and city mayor from 1919 to 1927. He represented most of the major oil companies and leading independents including: Humble Oil & Refining Company, Magnolia Petroleum Company, Pure Oil Company, Gulf Oil Company, Carter Oil, Skelly Oil, F.W. Merrick, and many others during his first few years in town.

Creekology

True to his plans, Hefner used his law earnings to purchase mineral rights where he thought oil and gas might one day be produced, based upon his "creekology". The theory was that because oil is lighter than water, it had been forced uphill in permeable formations and become trapped in subsurface highs, or domes. Surface water runs downhill, so oil should be traced by observing the course of the rivers and streams. It was assumed that subsurface highs correlated to surface highs. In Oklahoma, this trend was in a northwest-southeast direction from Ardmore and also in a northwest-southeast direction from Duncan. He bought anything he could based upon his trending creekology and, by the time he became Supreme Court Justice in 1927, he had already acquired over of land and of mineral rights.

Mineral conveyance

During his time in Ardmore, there was much debate about whether mineral rights could be conveyed separately from fee-simple title–"an opinion held by many noted professors of law and the authors of textbooks on oil-and-gas law". About 1912, shortly after the emergence of the Healdton and Cushing oil fields, Hefner prepared the first mineral deed in which he challenged conventional thinking and severed the minerals from their surface counterparts, a form that became known as "the Hefner Form". He soon began receiving requests for copies of his form from "states as far away as Pennsylvania," and it quickly became widely accepted throughout the United States until it was recognized by law. The "JZ" form of mineral conveyance in current use today, and approved by the Mid-Continent Royalty Owners Association, is based on the original Robert A Hefner Form.
Another challenge came from a New York investor named W.L. Hernstadt in 1934. He presented the case that production would eventually come from depths greater than. Hefner supported the theory, but told Hernstadt that it would come long after their time. Hernstadt offered Hefner $10 per net mineral acre for his properties in Carter County and Hefner accepted, a decision that his son would later mock. It was Hefner's grandson, Robert A. Hefner III, who would pioneer gas production at depths approaching in the Anadarko Basin of western Oklahoma during the late 1970s.

Public service

One of Hefner's key principles, aside from his ardent faith in Christianity and service to the community, was education. He served two years as city attorney in Ardmore and was elected to the Board of Education as President in 1911 – a position he held until 1918. When he found a student of humble means but great promise, he quietly provided funds to make his or her continued education possible. Dozens if not hundreds of youngsters received money from Hefner to continue their schooling. He also liked to help those going into law, like Earl Brown, who had worked in Hefner's office. Earl Brown later inherited Hefner's company, became vice-president, board member and general counsel of Mobil Oil Company, as well as a leading author on oil and gas law.
Hefner was elected Mayor of Ardmore in 1920, a position he held for six years. Under his lead, Ardmore overcame a 1919 deficit of $9,000 to a surplus of $193,000 in 1926 when he stepped down. In 1922 a $300,000 bond was also issued for Hickory Creek Reservoir, creating a water supply for Ardmore. As Mayor of Ardmore, Hefner also gave the first speech ever broadcast from the city over the radio.
Shortly after his move to Ardmore in 1907–1908, Hefner became known as "the Judge". The nickname proved apt for Hefner; in 1926, he was asked to run for the Supreme Court of Oklahoma's Fifth District. He was elected in 1927, despite widespread corruption within the court. In 1929, three members of the court were impeached for bribery, coercion, misquotation of facts, conspiracy, corruption, interference with criminal proceedings and incompetency; they were all acquitted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation clearly stated Hefner's innocence during these years and no scandal was ever attached to his name. In his six years as a Supreme Court Justice, Hefner authored 504 opinions. They were all important to the legal history of the state, inasmuch as many of them involved land titles of indigenous peoples. In the case of Wentz v. Thomas, he even issued an opinion against the Governor of Oklahoma, William H. Murray.
Other organizations he ardently supported include:
In 1926, Hefner moved the family to Oklahoma City, where he would become mayor in April 1939. This was the last public office he would hold.
The first of the major hurdles he faced in Oklahoma City was in securing its water supply. For this effort, Hefner had some strong support, namely E.K. Gaylord, Virgil Browne, and Stanley Draper. The project was haunted by lawsuits and delays introduced by the opposition. The vote for the $6,911,000 bond came to 7,578 people in favor and 7,182 against. Hefner and city manager H.E. Bailey saved the city at least $1,280,000 upon the completion of the Bluff Creek water project by, among other things, renting equipment instead of purchasing. On October 18, 1945, the city council voted unanimously to name the reservoir Lake Hefner.
During the war, Hefner played his part. He helped the Navy lead a campaign in Oklahoma City to raise $40 million in war bonds to construct the to replace the, bringing in Bob Hope to launch the drive. The ship was commissioned on December 8, 1942 after one month of fundraising. With the help of E.K. Gaylord, Virgil Brown and H.E. Bailey, he negotiated with Army officials in an effort to have Washington DC locate a new air depot in Oklahoma City, rather than in any of the other four cities under consideration. The three officials the Army sent were General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robert P. Patterson and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. In May 1941, the chief of engineers of the United States Army named the base the Midwest Air Depot
Hefner was re-elected in 1942 without any opposition and served out that term before finally stepping down in 1947.

Reflection

Judge Hefner embodied the "American dream" with his rags-to-riches story. He enjoyed friendships with Presidents, serving his community, building a collection of walking canes and cow bells and helping those of meager means continue their education.