‘Black Gold, Texas Tea’

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Updated Feb 13, 2020

Black Gold 2020 01 31 10 35

This 2003 Peterbilt was owned by Rusty Conn, of Rosevine, Texas, when the photo appeared in the 2007 Overdrive’s Pride & Polish calendar.

See all of the 30th anniversary coverage for Overdrive‘s Pride & Polish here.See all of the 30th anniversary coverage for Overdrive‘s Pride & Polish here.

Its name, “Black Gold, Texas Tea,” was familiar to anyone familiar with the theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies” hit comedy series of the 1960s. The show was premised on the lives of Jed Clampett and his oil-rich, backwoods family that moved to Beverly Hills, California.

“I get a lot of comments on the radio,” Conn said at the time. “One guy, he even sang the Jed Clampett theme.”

The rig was parked next to an oil-pumping unit displayed at the Fair Park planetarium in Dallas. Conn’s Pete, used at the time for hauling chemicals, won three awards at the 2006 Pride & Polish. (photo by Paul Hartley/ADDmedia.com)