Item 467: 00467_Williams, Eldridge "Tot"_MMS-History, 2004
Interviewer(s): J. Christy. Morgan City, LA
Affiliation: University of Houston/History International
Eldridge "Tot" Williams was born in Morgan City, Louisiana in 1927. His father, George Williams, was a shrimper /trapper turned crew boat owner who grew up on Bateman Island (across the Bayou Shaffer from Morgan City). His father had a second-grade education and became one of Morgan City's wealthiest citizens because of the oil fields. Eldridge worked as a deckhand on his father's crew boats and then went into the family business as a crew boat captain. He also took out seismograph crews and invested in tug boats and moving rigs. He worked for large companies like Shell, Texaco, Mobil, and Exxon, but also for smaller companies like Mallard and General Geophysical. Eldridge remembers gas explosions in the bayous and while he admits that the oil companies did some damage, he says that they did not pollute and / or harm the environment as much as people think they did.
Dates
- 2004
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Oral history interviews are only available for use when the University of Houston Libraries is in possession of a release form signed by both interviewee and interviewer allowing for such access.
Extent
From the Collection: 25.0 linear feet
Repository Details
Part of the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections Repository
University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
MD Anderson Library
4333 University Drive
Houston TX 77204-2000 USA
713-743-9750