In The Pipeline:

“I miss the oil wells today. I haven’t been to Huntington Beach in over a month. I want to visit my parents, but there’s so little time left of summer and so much to do. So here’s a picture for me.”

So reads the caption next to a classic shot of a Huntington Beach oil well at hboilwells.blogspot.com, created by artist Terri Hughes-Oelrich. You’ll find all sorts of odes to oil on the site, along with images of art Hughes-Oelrich has created — art that was inspired by the oil wells that, once ubiquitous here in town, for many are a faded memory. Still, there are plenty scattered about, still pumping up the resource that truly put Huntington Beach on the map.

Today, the little girl who grew up mesmerized by an oil well adjacent to her family’s backyard in Sea Cliff is an assistant professor of fine arts at San Diego City College. And though the class of ’85 Mater Dei High School graduate lives with her husband and two sons, ages 4 and 7, in San Diego, she’s back here as often as possible.

“My boys get as excited as I do when we see the wells,” she said. “When they were younger, they’d start yelling ‘Oil Welly!’ as soon as we saw them. I think they get that from me.”

When Hughes-Oelrich was a child, the sounds, sights and smells that emanated from the nearby well made a huge impression on her.

“It wasn’t a bad thing,” she said. “It was impressive. It was this living piece of city history, something really monumental.”

Interestingly, her grandfather, an oil worker, once bumped into another Hughes in the Sea Cliff area — Howard Hughes, who was surveying the property. The Hugheses ended up having lunch on Main Street, talking about — what else — oil. (Howard Hughes’ father, Howard Hughes Sr., made his millions after designing a drill bit for oil companies that could penetrate hard rock.)

Here’s how Hughes-Oelrich describes her most recent work and the inspirations behind it: “‘Oil Wells’ consists of interactive installation projects — toys, parade floats, narrative environmental signage and city planning for tourists. Inspired by my childhood memories of Huntington Beach, these projects critique the growth of a city, speak about sugarcoating the past and question land use for oil production. As an environmentalist at heart, I struggle with the beauty of the oil derricks, the towering structures and glowing refineries.

“Just like most cities, Huntington Beach has transformed dramatically since my grandfather used to work in the oil fields, and 40 years ago, my parents’ tract home was built on the same fields. Today, instead of oil fields, there are numerous large estates, SUVs and parks, and it left me wondering where the oil derricks went.”

And she’s doing more than making art: Hughes-Oelrich has created her own brochure featuring a historic tour of Huntington Beach wells. In breathless, touristy language, the clever piece touts a ride-your-bike tour featuring the “Pretty Oil Well,” Discovery Well Park and the dreaded “graveyard of abandoned oil wells” (among others).

Hoping to eventually get some funding to produce more, Hughes-Oelrich has printed about 500 herself, which are free at various locations around Huntington Beach (check her website for more information or write me). As one who enjoys offbeat tourism based on unique local history, I can easily imagine the tour becoming popular not just with locals, but adventurous visitors as well.

Does Hughes-Oelrich have a goal beyond her art and the brochure?

“I just want people to remember the city’s past and maybe even celebrate it,” she said. “Before surfing and everything else, it was oil. That’s what made everything else possible. It’s how the city grew.”

I’d like to thank Carla, Hughes-Oelrich’s mom, for making me aware of her daughter’s work. And to show how deep oil runs in the family, here’s a poem Carla penned.

Its bittersweet ending reflects the end of an era — when the oil well by the family home was replaced with more homes.

Up and down

Hear him rock — day and night, up and down

We smell the oil — black oozing oil

Up goes the crane

Workers ascending to the sky —

to guide the long metal rods

Noisy poles clanking up and down

Clearing out from below

a journey taken many times

from below the earth

What a neighbor he is

No bothersome gossip

No barking dogs

Just a beautiful specimen of production

Black Gold from earth he brings

Then he is gone, a sad grave

he leaves for us

We mourn our loss — Goodbye

I am sad to report that California Greetings, a favorite store of mine, is closing April 30.

“The economy has been brutal on us,” said owner Debbi Moussafir. “I am very, very sad.”

Me too. Saturday starts a 30%-off-everything-in-the- store sale — so you can help a great store finish big (301 Main St.).

You could be saving a lot of money right now thanks to two local coupon sites that are thriving. The website www.surfcitysavings.com is the only coupon site endorsed, sponsored and supported by the city. Run by Victoria Alberty-deGoede, it provides dozens of ways to save lots of money.

“There is no charge for the businesses to have their discount on the site,” Alberty-deGoede said. “It is free. Anything and everything we can do to help keep our spending dollars local.”

Huntington Beach Ambassador Chris MacDonald has created what he calls his “own stimulus package” to help businesses.

“I want Surf City businesses to succeed and our residents to save,” said MacDonald, who came up with the idea of www.huntingtonbeach coupon.com.

He has more than 70 businesses on the website, where anyone can print a coupon and save at local stores. Another dozen business are coming to the site soon.

Again, the site is free for all participating businesses.

Good work, Victoria and Chris.

And remember, local high school writers: The inaugural In The Pipeline writing competition is underway. Deadline for entries is April 16.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 17 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at chris@chrisepting.com .