Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Venice, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

On Bud Latham's suggestion, I looked up Mr. E.J. Ellzey by dropping into the Ellzey Marine Hardware Store in Venice. His son-in-law, Ray, who now owns the operation with his wife, said the 80-year old usually comes into the store in the morning, and that he might talk to me. So I came back the next morning - no Ray, no E.J. I called EJ, and set up an appointment for the next morning. As it turned out, EJ had been visiting his wife in Belle Chasse, where she's undergoing treatment for cancer.

EJ was born 1922 in Jackson, Mississippi, where his father was a lawyer/judge and farmer. The family moved to Plaquemines Parish in 1933, settling on the other side of the river a few miles above Pointe a la Hache. There his father started to grow rice - running a pipe over the levee into the river to draw irrigation water. EJ had 2 sisters and 2 brothers, one of whom apparently died young. The family soon bought up some land in Venice and established a grocery store and post office. They ran a mail boat down to Port Eads, delivering groceries along the way. The father also owned a hotel in Venice. One of EJ's early ventures was road building in Venice using barges and barges of shell. He has 6 kids, one of whom is on the 25th floor of Chevron - a "troubleshooter" with degrees in engineering and business administration.