Interviewer(s): Diane Austin; Christina Leza; Colleen O'Donnell. Larose, LA.

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Charlie Wallace learned of the history study when he visited Carol Mathias at the Ellender Archives at Nicholls State University to give her a copy of the book he created about his experiences in WWII. She learned that he had worked in the oil and gas industry and asked if he would be interested in sharing his story. He agreed and was my first interviewee. When I arrived at his house, he was at the kitchen table with a spiral notebook in which he had listed various topics he wanted to discuss. We spent over five hours talking about the industry and his experiences working. The second interview was conducted as part of the study of the links between WWII and the offshore industry.

Charlie was born and raised in Kinder, LA and began working for Pure Oil Company in 1947. He attended McNeese Junior College and LSU but had to drop out for lack of money. Though he never earned a college degree, he combined his knowledge, skill, and experience to develop a successful and colorful career. He left Pure Oil to work for Shell Oil Company and then worked for Chevron. Of his many inventions and modifications, Charlie patented one, the mud scale. His sale of that patent made it possible for him to buy the land on which his house and a housing development that he built himself now sit. Charlie was never one to do things in a conventional fashion, and he discusses his projects and adventures.