Interviewer(s): J. Sell. Houma, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

A number of people said I should talk to Ron Brooks at Patterson Real Estate. While he has been living continuously in Houma since 1978, he was president of a major real estate firm and known as a collector of economic information about the community. I called him and told him I was interested in his perspective of the role of oil in community development, and he said he could spare an hour. As we talked, he continued for almost two hours, although some of this was informal discussion, not on tape. He offered information about his business, but also about the experiences of a Protestant newcomer from northern Louisiana.

Ron Brooks first came to Houma as a pharmaceutical representative for Eli Lilly in 1967, but he didn't stay. He was transferred to Baton Rouge in 1970, then to New Orleans in 1973. In 1978 he returned to Houma to stay, working as a real estate broker. He is now president of Patterson Real Estate, a well established, full service real estate company.