Interviewer(s): Rylan Higgins; Diane Austin. Morgan City,LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

During June and early July, when I interviewed McDermott retirees, I would asked them about Black workers who were at McDermott during the early history of the company. Several of the people I interviewed told me that Caleb Henderson would have been a great person with whom to talk, but that Caleb had passed away. I mentioned Caleb to a friend, and she told me that Dolores Henderson, Caleb's wife, could tell me lots about him. Dolores is pleasant, easy to talk to and dons a nearly permanent smile. We sat at the dinner room table, and she brought out a couple old photo albums full of pictures of her husband at work and playing with their children. She offered me a soda, and then I asked her to talk about her husband. She was not sure how to start, but once started, she had plenty to say. Her discussion focused mostly on Caleb and his work and less on their family life. The interview lasted about 45 minutes, and, as I left, she invited me to come back anytime I wanted. In March 2003, Diane contacted Dolores again. Dolores remembered her conversation with Rylan fondly and agreed to be interviewed again, this time focusing on her life rather than Caleb's.

Caleb Henderson joined McDermott after serving in the Navy during WWII and working briefly for the shell plant in Morgan City. He took advantage of the GI Bill to study refrigeration and radio, and he turned down a college scholarship so he could go to work and begin building his own home. Upon recommendation of a friend, he was hired at McDermott and remained there until he retired. He developed a new technique for loading platforms and was eventually promoted to supervisor, the only black in that position at McDermott in the 1960s.

Dolores was born in Morgan City and lived in the community all her life. She and Caleb raised two sons and one daughter, all of which they sent to college. Dolores credits her mother for her attitudes toward education; her mother wanted her children to have more education than she did. Her mother left school after the third grade and worked as a domestic all her life. After graduating from high school, Dolores went to Baton Rouge to live with her blind uncle and attend college. She fell in love with literature and became involved in oration, so she studied to become a librarian. She married Caleb during this time. When she finished school, few schools were hiring black librarians, so she became a teacher-librarian. She took a job in Slidell and stayed there during the week, returning home on weekends. She got a job in Houma for one year, took a year off to have her daughter, took a job as a librarian in Thibodaux for six years, and then got a job at Hattie Watts High School in Patterson, where she stayed until she retired. Dolores began storytelling after the schools were integrated and the high school was turned into an elementary school. She organized a library and reading program in her home and remains very active in community service. She has been recognized with numerous awards and received The Angel Award in 1996.