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

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I was referred to Marcelle Ordogne by Steve and Jean Shirley because she is a long-time resident of Morgan City. When I called her and told her about the study, Marcelle said she would be happy to participate. She is very busy, though, and we were having a hard time finding a time to get together. She asked if I could come right over, and I did. We talked for a couple of hours, turning the tape off to discuss personal issues and then back on to continue her story.

Marcelle was born in a small town in east Texas. In 1947, when she was 17 years old, she moved to New Orleans with her sister. She enrolled in business college and began looking for a job. She had applications in at several places, including the telephone company and oil companies. At that time she did not have a telephone, and she remembers getting a fax from Shell Oil Company telling her to report to Mr. Williams for an interview. She got a job with Shell doing clerical work such as pasting up drilling reports and typing. She stayed there for three years until she married and moved with her husband to Morgan City. Her husband was an only child, and he began working with his parents at the motel and restaurant they had established in Morgan City. The restaurant was open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and she and her husband worked there for many years. One of the highlights of her work at the motel was hosting Jimmy Stewart and the entire cast and crew while they were in Morgan City making the movie, Thunder Bay. Marcelle and her husband raised three children, two who still live in the Morgan City area. Marcelle also became involved in civic organizations such as the Entre Nous reading club, the PTA, the Garden Club, and the Morgan City Planning Commission. She was named Citizen of the Year in 1967.