Interviewer(s): J. Sell. Houma, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Percy Rhodes was recommended by Diana Edmonson of the Houma-Terrebonne Council on Aging. She contacted him directly and got his agreement ahead of time. On my visit, he and his wife, Ann, were both welcoming. By the end of the interview, his wife sat in and made some comments. He was very excited about the photo book and made some corrections.

Percy Rhodes started with Texaco in 1956 as a kitchen hand at the camp at Lake Pelto. In 1959, he was 21 and then allowed to work on the rigs as a roustabout. Later he worked in production. In 1969 he worked as an independent contractor as a tugboat captain. When oil work slowed in 1976, he lost his contract, and began working for Texaco on a boat crew. By 1986, he became a mechanic and worked in that capacity at Caillou Island until retirement in 1994.