Interviewer(s): E. Bernier. Houma, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I got Burleigh Ruiz's name from F.J. Matherne who has been a very good resource. The two worked together for 30 years both in drilling and production.

Burleigh Ruiz worked for Texaco for 39 years. His father was in the sugar business, but Burleigh wanted to make more money. He began as a radio operator in 1948 and then worked as a roughneck for two years. Burleigh was a gang pusher in 1962 out at Lake Barre. He didn't really like all of the responsibility and asked for a different assignment. He then became a gas lift specialist out at Caillou Island in 1972. That is the job he held until he retired in 1987. After retiring, he and his wife concentrated on their income tax business. Burleigh had taken an H&R Block course while he was still working for the oil company. He stated that the first Black man to work at Lake Barre was in 1966 - 1967. That is a bit earlier than other estimates I'd heard previously, but Burleigh and his wife Molly insisted that that was correct.