Interviewer(s): E. Bernier. Houma, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I met H.L. Jackson at the Exxon retirees luncheon with Andrew Gardner. After our talk he was one of the first ones to come up and ask to be interviewed. He said he'd been involved in the oil field for a long time and had a lot of stories to tell. He and his wife Shirley both talk a lot about what it was like to live in the camps for so long in such a little town. Their descriptions of community and their teenage daughters' lives are vivid and full of details.

H.L. was born in Texas in 1923. His father had worked for Humble in the early 1900's. After his military career (he was in Okinawa in 1945) he worked for contract companies until he could find a stable job. In 1947 he began working for Humble on a drilling rig offshore. In 1955 he was transferred to Grand Isle. H.L. and his wife Shirley raised 2 daughters down there. H.L. Jackson retired in 1983.