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

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Mrs. Mary Samaha was born in 1930. She is active in many different organizations, clubs and groups. She approached Andrew Gardner at an oilfield workers meeting in New Orleans expressing interest in talking with someone about her experiences growing up in the oilfield with her step-father, Escoe "Joe" Benton. She lives in a newer part of Houma, LA. in a large modern house. Her husband, M.J., was present for most of the interview. He would add things that Mary wouldn't, such as reiterating time and again how important Mary was to Joe as well as how much work she did while working in the company. M.J. also worked in the oilfield. He worked at Shell in the exploration department for 36 years. Mary is a master gardener and does a lot of community outreach work, mainly in the field of community education concerning environmental issues

In the second interview, I asked Mary about the growth of Houma and how local businesses associated with the oilfield contributed to the transformation of Houma from a small fishing town into a thriving oil town. I acquired the names of five businesses that began in the 1950's and are still operating under the same name. Mary's stepfather, Jerry Benson, Sr., owned one of those businesses, Benton Casing. Mary had been one of the major shareholders in the company as well as head of the accounting department. She was pleased to talk about the company. She called her brother, Jerry's youngest son, who was still running his own business under the same name. Jerry Benton Jr. had only 20 minutes to sit and talk, but he agreed to be interviewed again later. Mary, Jerry, M.J. and I talked about how the business got started, how Jerry Sr. made contacts, and how he kept his business running even through the rough times.