Interviewer(s): J. Piekielek. Dulac, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I met the Magnus and Elvira Voisin at the Knights of Columbus senior bingo the week before completing this interview. Magnus said that he had worked for Dixie Drilling and several other companies in the oil fields, until he quit to work full time as a fisherman. He and his wife "Blackie" agreed to meet with me later at their house. Blackie's sister also lives with them, and she came in and out during the interview a couple times. They live on Shrimpers Row, in Dulac, in a house that they have raised on piles. Magnus is retired, but Blackie still works at the shrimp factory, where she started about ten years ago.

Magnus Voisin was born in 1931 and raised in Dulac, where he has lived his whole life. Elvira "Blackie" Voisin was born in 1936 in Houma and moved to Dulac when she married Magnus in 1953. They have 3 children. Magnus and Blackie are "jacks of all trades," having worked a variety of jobs throughout their lifetimes. Magnus Voisin worked in the oil industry during the 1950s, both on and offshore. He then returned to working for himself full time as a shrimper, a job which he preferred.