Scope and Contents Gary and Norma Sue Byrd were recommended by longtime residents and local leaders because of their family ties to the shipbuilding and lumber industries. The interview took place in the Byrd’s living room, around a trunk full of photos and other memorabilia. These served as prompts for various reflections throughout the short interview.Mr. Byrd began his career in shipbuilding in 1955 at the age of 17 at Arnold V. Walker Shipyards in Pascagoula. The bulk of his employment was with...

Scope and Contents Carl Crawford was recommended to our study team by office personnel at Signal International. When contacted, he agreed to an interview. The interview took place at the Shell Landing Country Club.Mr. Crawford was born in 1943 in Greenville, Mississippi. He worked for several equipment companies, including Caterpillar, in Mississippi and Louisiana before meeting J. L. Holloway, who shortly thereafter helped form Ham Marine. From 1981 to 1998, he was vice-president of marketing for...

Scope and Contents Michele Coats of the Jackson County Planning Department recommended that I talk to Liz Ford. She is a descendant of one of the early families in Pascagoula and a member of the Historical Society. We arranged to meet at her mother Reena Ford's house. It's currently a MEMA cottage just north of Beach Blvd. The original house was on the boulevard, but it was destroyed in Katrina. We snacked on pizza and some wine while we talked.They discuss the changes of the shipbuilding industry...

Scope and Contents I was given Mr. Gazzier’s phone number the day before by an acquaintance. When I called, his daughter/secretary said he had time to meet with me, so I should come over. About 10 minutes later we met in his office at his shipyard in Bayou la Batre.Mr. Gazzier was born in 1947 and built his first boat when he was 13. Both his father and grandfather were in the boat building business. He ran his own shrimp boat and opened a shipyard in the mid-1970s to build shrimpboats for him and...

Scope and Contents Victoria (Tory) Phaneuf had been referred to Mr. Holland by local residents who were aware that he was one of the last remaining wooden boat builders in Biloxi. She contacted him and asked if he would be willing to do an interview. He agreed, so Tory and Diane Austin arranged to meet him at his boat yard in Biloxi, which is located next to his house. The interview took place in the enclosed construction area of his yard. Diane led the interview with Tory present taking notes.M.r...

Scope and Contents Patrick Keene was recommended to me by a lifelong Pascagoula resident as someone who would be particularly knowledgeable about the history of shipbuilding in Pascagoula. We met at his house on Beach Blvd. It's actually a double wide trailer, the house was destroyed in the storm. The garage is still standing, but is damaged. We settled in the living room with our glasses of ice water and Patrick asked a number of questions about the study before I began. The interview was mostly recorded...

Scope and Contents I met Dr. McIlwain at his office at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL). We had spoken on the phone but never met in person. I had first introduced myself and the study some weeks before, and he mentioned he had been giving it some thought before the interview.He has been a resident of Ocean Springs, Mississippi since 1966. He grew up in Pascagoula, living behind Ingalls where his father worked for 44 years. He discusses what life was like in Pascagoula during and after...

Scope and Contents An individual in my yoga class knows Ron Schnoor and said he would tell him about our study. He did, and Mr. Schnoor said I could contact him. I was able to arrange to meet him and conducted this interview.Mr. Schnoor is the chief operating officer of Signal International in Mississippi and Texas. He began his career with Brown & Root, and went to work for Ham Marine in 1984 as a project manager. He progressed through the company and watched it grow and merge with other...

Scope and Contents I stopped in at Willams Fabricators to find out more about the company and was able to arrange an interview with Dale Williams. We met in his office.Mr. Williams was born and raised in Fowl River, Alabama. His parents were commercial fishermen and when the seafood industry was slack, his father took various jobs in the shipyards. He discusses growing up around wooden boat builders and his entry into the industry at the age of 18 in 1969 with a shipfitting apprenticeship with...

Scope and Contents Dr. Casey Westell, Jr., former Director of Tenneco’s Industrial Ecology Department (Chief Ecologist) for 35 years.Casey Westell, Jr. was born during the Great Depression in Wisconsin and served during WWII. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Michigan in 1955 and studied forest ecology. He worked as a general manager for the Packaging Corporation, a pulp and paper company, and subsidiary of Tenneco, Inc., for 10 years before being offered the position of chief...

Scope and Contents This interview delves into the life of Maureen Patton who at the time of interview had been Executive Director of the Galveston Opera House for 25 years. The interview describes the history of the theater and how concerned citizens of Galveston mobilized to preserve it so that today it has attained national recognition as a historical site. Also included are several interesting anecdotes that most historical accounts have not previously recorded.The tone of familiarity between...

Scope and Contents Mr. Pye is the patriarch of a family that has been a part of the opera house from its inception in 1894 when his grandfather was part of the first stage crew. From that date to the present at least one Pye family member has been a part of the theater’s stage crew.This interview describes not only how stage crews remain the foundation of the shows’ presentations but also describes the uniqueness of the Galveston opera house. There are interesting stories about well-known...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: When UH’s Center for Public History and the University Libraries collaborated to create the Houston History Archives (UH-HHA), part of their mission included a repository for oral histories that tell stories of the growth and development of the Gulf Coast region from multiple points of view. To that end, the Houston Oral History Project in the Center for Public History trains history graduate students to research and interview Houstonians with recollections of the city’s civil rights,...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: When UH’s Center for Public History and the University Libraries collaborated to create the Houston History Archives (UH-HHA), part of their mission included a repository for oral histories that tell stories of the growth and development of the Gulf Coast region from multiple points of view. To that end, the Houston Oral History Project in the Center for Public History trains history graduate students to research and interview Houstonians with recollections of the city’s civil rights,...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: When UH’s Center for Public History and the University Libraries collaborated to create the Houston History Archives (UH-HHA), part of their mission included a repository for oral histories that tell stories of the growth and development of the Gulf Coast region from multiple points of view. To that end, the Houston Oral History Project in the Center for Public History trains history graduate students to research and interview Houstonians with recollections of the city’s civil rights,...