Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Morgan City, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I was referred to T.R. Naquin by Jerry Cunningham. Jerry had worked for T.R. at Tidex. T.R. at first believed he did not have much to offer because he had worked as an office manager and not on the rigs and platforms. I explained that we were interested in people in all aspects of the industry and that the information about his career was important. He agreed to do the interview but was clearly still hesitant. As we talked, though, he warmed up to the conversation and shared lots of information about his work and also his community. His wife, Elaine, came in after an hour or so. She stood and listened a bit and then T.R. told me that she had worked in the industry as well. She agreed to join us. T.R. finished his story and then Elaine told hers. They concluded the interview talking about living and raising children in Morgan City.

T.R. was born and raised in Morgan City. He finished high school in 1942 and was drafted into the Navy the following year. He spent three years in the Navy, returned to Morgan City for a month but found that many people he knew were gone. He had been granted 90 days to decide whether or not to return to the service, and he decided to do so. He returned to California and worked at a couple of jobs there. He returned to Louisiana in 1950 and worked in a night job for Kerr McGee for six months. He had a wife and young child at the time and left to return to the Bureau of Yards and Docks in California until 1957 when he returned to Louisiana because California had become too crowded. He worked as a clerk for Pure Oil until they sold to Union Oil of California in 1966. He left rather than have to commute to work or move his family. A friend got him a job at Tidex and he remained there for three years. He then went to work for Offshore Logistics, a new transportation company opening in the Gulf. He left them to help a friend start Briley Marine and stayed in the business until 1983 when things in the oilfield turned down. He went to work for his son-in-law at McClary Offshore Construction Company, a company with pipelaying barges throughout the Gulf, but he retired soon afterward.

Elaine grew up in Oregon and went to work for the Civil Service during her junior year in high school. She joined the Navy as soon as she was old enough and was sent to training at Hunter College in New York and then to Corpus Christi to pack parachutes at the base where they were training pilots. She was one of two women doing her job at the base. After the service, she returned to Oregon for six months. She met T.R. when he came into her parents' restaurant where she was working, and she moved to California about six months later. T.R. found her a job in the surplus department, and she worked there until he was transferred to San Diego. They had two children, and Elaine stayed out of work for 8 years. They moved to Morgan City, and she got a job with National Supply Company in 1959. She remained with them until she was asked to retire in 1982. By the time of her retirement, she had advanced to office manager, the highest position available to a woman.