Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Grand Isle, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Mickie Harris was on Jean Landry's list of contacts. After several messages left on his answering machine, he called me at the motel and we set up an appointment. As it turned out, he had been up in Jefferson Parish court. Much of the interview dealt with local and state politicians, including the incorporation of Grand Isle so that it could get water and gas service.

Mickie Harris, now 76, was a jazz player from New Orleans who went to several colleges supported by musical scholarships and the GI Bill. After meeting his first wife, he ended up on Grand Isle in 1956 and became the first mayor, serving from 1959 to 1968. He operated a contracting business including construction of clamshell roads.