Before the giant oil corporation BP Trinidad & Tobago came to Trinidad & Tobago, there was an American oil company called Dominion Oil located in the Colonial Life Building on St Vincent Street which attracted many Trinidadian employees to its well-paid jobs.
American geologist, Robert Levorsen, was resident manager and vice president of Dominion Oil Trinidad. And although Levorsen left this country in 1961, he maintains "I have kept a lot of roots here." At age eighty, Bob is currently on one of his annual pilgrimages to last week's sailing week in Tobago to support his long-time yachting friend, Trinidadian Rawle Barrow. But there was time for Levorsen to sit on the porch of the home that he built "after leaving Trinidad", with the most fantastic view of the Gulf of Paria, where we chatted mainly about the Domoil Reunions which he has been organising in various countries starting with the fortieth in San Francisco, California in 1992. The 41st took place here in Trinidad in 1993 and he remembers that former Prime Minister the late George Chambers, himself an ex-Domoiler, emerged from self imposed exile to attend the banquet at the Hotel Normandie. Chambers had worked as a legal assistant when the late Andrew Valere was head of Domoil's legal department.
Levorsen and his wife of 54 years, Bella, who was involved in obedience training for dogs when she lived in Trinidad, have a Trini daughter, Sherry, born here during their nine year stay. Eldest daughter, Daphne, may also be remembered by those who would have attended grade school with her here.
When Domoil came to Trinidad a lease was granted to explore in the northern half of the Gulf of Paria and some parts of the Central Range, not off the east coast, the location of rich finds nowadays, although he believes that some exploration did go on after his departure off the East Coast of Trinidad. Domoil eventually gave up "because the gas which we did find was of no commercial value in those days, there were no pipelines to homes in Port of Spain" uprooted its rigs and left Trinidad.
Levorsen has been sailing partners from as far back as 1953, and onwards, with Hall of Famer Rawle Barrow starting with Girl Pat after which the race to Grenada was named. "Today we have a new interest 'Petit Careme', a French boat which Rawle skippers very well and we have won the racing class trophy three years in a row in Tobago." While Levorsen considers himself past the age to crew on the boat in races , he considers himself fortunate to just travel down here to the place he calls "heaven."
But it is about the latest golden anniversary Domoil reunion planned for 2002 in Trinidad that Levorsen is excited. "The Trinidadian Domoilers have to put it on. I cannot do it from the United States" where he now lives in Novato, just north of San Francisco in California. Ex Domoilers include Cynthia Henderson, Pearl Phillips, Eileen Chan, Ronald Lopez, Leslie de Nobriga, Gaston Aguillera, Barbara Farfan Costa, Ed Camejo, Leon Gregoire, Jean Day Armstrong, Harold and Kwailan La Borde, Joan Wharton Lake, Babs Bleasdell and Lennox Wharton Lake.
Levorsen thinks the reunion is a good idea "if you wanted to come to Carnival, you could come, including the Trinis here can go to Carnival. Those who plan coming to the reunion which could very well be in 2003, have the option of Carnival or some post Carnival events." Levorsen is looking at Crews Inn, Chaguaramas, as the reunion hotel "you know how bright it looks, how nice the rooms are and I think Domoilers would like it."
Past Domoilers are asked to contact Henderson at 628-3697, Lopez at 637-3642 or Gregoire at 623-2819/625-8517, as Levorsen hopes for about fifty to sixty at the banquet. While Levorsen and his group of ex-pats, Bill Brown, Bob Robertson and Bob Mitchell, "The Fearful Foursome" have already started working on the Reunion calypso, one of which is produced for each reunion..