Interviewer(s): A. Gardner. Bayou Vista, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Bill Williams was recommended to me by John Ryan. I had a hard time finding him - there were several Bill Williams in the phone book - but I was finally able to track him down. He was the oldest person I interviewed, and we got along fine. He makes hootch as a hobby, and we had some after the interview. Bill lives alone; his wife passed away several years ago, and although he talks slowly, all his faculties are intact. I returned for a second interview (AG027) several days later. In the second interview, we cover some additional topics we missed the first time around. He reiterates that the reason he didn't go offshore was because he didn't want to be away from his family, and at the time, the schedules were a lot more difficult. We talk about Morgan City and some of the changes that occurred as a result of the oil industry, and then he talks about the death of his son in the oilpatch. He had a bad accident of his own in which he almost lost his arm, and he tells the story of that as well. There are good discussions of safety and pollution here as well - he's very clear that the practices have changed significantly over the years.

There are good discussions of the relationship between family and industry, the incompetence of inexperienced engineers, the operation of gas plants, and a story about a doctor that would fail prospective employees if they weren't from Houma. Also, he talks about the sale of hot oil to the Germans during the war, and problems with too many familial relations in the Texaco crews in Houma.

Bill was born in 1910 in Mansfield, Louisiana. He worked for Shell for two years in the 1930's, and then he spent the rest of his career with Texaco. He started in drilling, but in that position the company wanted him to move around all the time, so he ended up finding a position in production. There are several sections of the interview in which Bill is very specific about the reasons for this decision. He ended up working at the cryogenic plant near Morgan City.