Interviewer(s): C. Cummings. New Iberia, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

This was very much a "couples" interview. Mr. Rene Patout and his wife, Violet, are a wonderful source for exploring the oil industry and its effects on the family. The couple raised seven children, several of whom have been, or are currently employed in the industry. The fact that the Patouts were neighbors of mine put the interview on a personal level.

Mr. Patout is a native of New Iberia, Louisiana. His family owned the Frederick Hotel located on Main Street. Mr. Patout was born in 1927 and is one of eight children. After graduating from St. Peters College in 1946, Mr. Patout joined the Navy. At one point during World War II, Mr. Patout and four of his brothers were serving in different branches of the military. In 1948 Mr. Patout was attending USL (now ULL) as an agriculture-engineering student. He was also assisting his mother in running the Hotel. While on duty at the hotel he met Leland Millstead, a drilling superintendent for Shell Oil. Mr. Millstead hired Mr. Patout as a roustabout for the new rigs that were starting at Weeks Island, Louisiana. During the 39 years that Mr. Patout worked for Shell Oil, he was promoted from roustabout, to roughneck, then to derrick work, and ended his career as a drilling foreman. All of his job training and experience was acquired "on the job".

Mr. and Mrs. Patout share, from their individual perspectives, the challenges of raising seven children during his career. Often, Mr. Patout was gone for two to three weeks at a time leaving Mrs. Patout alone with their very young children.