Interviewer(s): A. Anand. Houma, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Mr. Floyd Fanguy was referred to me by Andrew Gardner after a Petroleum Club meeting in Morgan City. The Fanguys live in central Houma. We did the interview at the kitchen dining table, where Mrs. Fanguy washed dishes for a while, and then joined in, intermittently, bringing albums of old pictures. After the interview, the Fanguys asked me where I was staying, and linked me up with a network of folks who rent their rooms out to tourists-mainly French tourists-as part of an effort to revitalize the Cajuns' French heritage.

Mr. Floyd was born in Montegut in 1926. His father started working for Shell during WWII. Floyd left high school to join the Air Force and then returned after the war to finish high school and then trade school. He joined the Shell drilling department in Buras, LA, in 1948. He began as a roustabout and helped drill Shell's first well at East Bay in 1951. He then became a welder. In the early 1960s when Shell got rid of its rigs, Floyd was transferred to production, where the pay was better. In 1971 he became gangpusher on Shell 65A platform. He retired in 1989.