Interviewer(s): D. DiTucci. Lafayette, LA

Affiliation: University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Ronald Deshotels was born in Kaplan, Louisiana in 1934. His father was the first person to organize a Credit Union in the United States in the early 1950s. Ronald graduated from Louisiana State University in Geology and Economics. When he finished school there were too many geologists so he became a mud logger. He worked for Universal, Baylard, and then Oil Base. He was laid off from Oil Base in 1986. He is now a consultant to the oil industry. In his interview, he discusses the economic, cultural, and technological impacts of the oil industry in the region.