Lewis Earl Grammer (1886-1965) came to Alaska in 1918. He worked as a surveyor, first for the Alaska Railroad, later for the Alaska Road Commission and other government entities. His lifelong passion, however, was oil exploration. When U.S. mineral policies were changed to allow the leasing of oil and gas lands for a nominal fee on a first-come-first-served basis, Grammer was among the many small players who entered the game. Though no oil was ever found in commercial quantities on the tracts he leased, he made his fortune in selling or optioning his leases to various oil companies. He was an authority on the Kanatak oil fields of the Alaska Peninsula and did considerable oil prospecting in the "Cold Bay" region between Wide Bay and present-day Puale Bay throughout the 1920s. (Information from "Crude Dreams" by Jack Roderick [Fairbanks and Seattle: Epicenter Press, 1997], pp. 19-31.)
From the description of Earl (Lewis Earl) Grammer diaries, 1922-1948. (University of Alaska, Fairbanks). WorldCat record id: 182760942
