Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Houston, TX

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I met Peggy Michel when I arranged a meeting with her husband, Drew, to go over the photos he had contributed to the project. Peggy came in to listen while Drew and I were talking, and I discovered that she had worked in the offshore oil and gas industry as well. I suggested that I should interview her as well, and she began by telling me she did not know very much. However, when I assured her that I was interested in her story, she agreed to an interview and ended up having much to contribute.

Peggy Michel was raised in San Diego. She met her future husband, Drew, while in college. Peggy graduated with a degree in art history in 1965. The couple married and lived in San Diego for several years before deciding to return to the south. They ended up in Drew's hometown of Morgan City where Drew began working for Ocean Systems. Peggy began looking for work and discovered she was overqualified. After changing her resume to downplay her college experience, Peggy got a job as Personnel Manager for Twenty Grand. Much of her time was spent helping applicants who could not read or write. When Drew got a job in New Orleans several months later, the couple moved and Peggy went to work as Personnel Manager for Crestwave Offshore. She left around 1970, had a son, and then she and Drew started PDC Enterprises, a company that manufactured and sold electronics equipment such as dive phones and unscramblers for diving companies. Peggy was responsible for sales and managing the company. She and Drew closed the company after ten years and Peggy returned to college to earn a degree in accounting. She worked in the financial field and for the Foreign Service during the 1980's and early 1990's.