Interviewer: Laura Ek

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I was referred to Jill Chiasson-Jordan through Dennis Sullivan. Dennis and Jill used to work offshore together (Dennis was Jill’s boss), and he thought Jill would be a good person for me to talk to regarding work offshore in the 1970s.

Jill graduated from high school in Lafayette in 1974. She was born and raised in Lafayette; her parents are both from Lafayette as well. She went to University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then University of Southern Louisiana) and received an Associate’s in secretarial sciences in 1976. She became a secretary, but wanting to make more money she began looking elsewhere for employment. This led her to find work offshore. In 1977, she was hired on as a mudlogger by Emrata Hess oil for two years. She then went on to work for Penzoil as a roustabout in production the last year she worked offshore. She left work offshore in 1981 to get married to her husband who she met offshore. She said she began having children and starting a family (she has 3 sons). In the 1990s, her family moved to Cotton Valley for four years, and then moved back to Lafayette where they have been for the past 9 years. Today she works as a secretary a few days a week at her Catholic church. She said one of the biggest benefits to working offshore is her understanding of her husband’s work (he works for Hunt Oil), which she said helps their relationship.

She talks about her work offshore between 1977-1980 for Emrata Hess Oil Company and Penzoil doing mud-logging work. She describes her reasons for going offshore, her experiences, and the reactions of her friends and family to her choice. She also discusses the moratorium and the effects she’s seen, and the history of the community of Lafayette