Interviewer(s): A. Gardner. New Iberia, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Cliff Hernandez was referred to me by Jimmy Hebert. I met him at his house just outside of New Iberia. His wife Emily was there as well, and after the interview we ate lunch. They are a great couple, and Cliff is a great storyteller. He worked for Shell most of his life, and he has a brother up in White Castle who did much the same. There are some great quotes here about a guy advancing by pimping out his wife to the bosses, a good discussion of the environment and the oil patch, and a description of the work going on in East Bay.

Cliff was born in White Castle, Louisiana. His father ran the ferry across the Mississippi, but Cliff got in to the oil industry the first chance he got. He started working in 1947. He worked as a driller for various contractors, including Harris Drilling, and then finally got on with Shell in 1963. He did a short stint in production, but returned to drilling for the rest of his career. His work for Shell also carried him to Cameroon and Brazil.