Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Amelia, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaLloyd Charpentier was referred to me by Richard Carline, another long-time Tidewater employee. Lloyd was not at work when I interviewed Richard, but Richard talked with him about the study. When I called, he was happy to arrange an interview. I met him at his office at Tidewater.Lloyd began his career on the water in the 1950s when he went to work on his uncle's fishing boat. He then...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Galliano, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaI called Mr. Jimmie Martin for referrals to shrimpers; he recommended Steven Charpentier as a man who had really made a living on the water. He's been retired for 6 years, and is 71. He is an avid duck carver, on the board of directors of a carving club. After the interview he showed me around his workshop; he intends to donate many of his carvings to the Cajun Heritage Museum that is being set...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): A. Anand. Chauvin, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaMr. D.J. Chauvin, a retired mud engineer, was referred to me by Rob Gorman of Catholic Social Services (Houma). I met him at his home in Chauvin, where I also met his wife Lucy. They live in a relatively new subdivision, and the house was easy to locate. D.J. and I conducted the interview by the mantelpiece in their dining room, while Lucy sat further away at the dining table. D.J. and Lucy...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): A. Anand. Chauvin, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaMr. Ferrel Chauvin was referred to me by his younger brother, Mr. D.J. Chauvin, who also called him to introduce me. Both Mr. and Mrs. Chauvin (Grace) were quite friendly (she came in mid-interview), and the interview was quite informative. We talked for a while about traveling, and about various things in general like cultural differences. The Chauvins have traveled a fair bit, and Mr. Ferrel...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): J. Sell. Houma, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaA significant number of people in government and business suggested talking to Kerry Chauvin, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Gulf Island Fabrication. The interview took place at the corporate offices near the main yard at the end of Thompson Road. His office is unpretentious, considering he is CEO and chairman of the board of a NASDAQ listed company. That, and small things like the...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Galliano, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaMJ Cheramie and his son, Tony, had been recruited by Kerry St. Pé of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program to be part of the "action team" for this project, and both had agreed to talk with us. For several days, I had been working through Tony to set things up with some of the companies old-time captains, and I interviewed MJ in his office when he returned from a trip to Mississippi...

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Interviewer(s): J. P. Theriot. Houston, TX

Affiliation: University of Houston/History International

Niels Aalund is a native Houstonian. He graduated from the University of Houston and worked in D.C. as a martime lobbyist before taking a job with the West Gulf Maritime Association, where he currently serves as Vice President of the Maritime Affairs. He also serves on the Houston Maritime Museum Committee.

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): J. Sell. Houma, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaBobby Acosta was contacted though Diana Edmonson of the Council on Aging. We met at the Council offices in Houma.Bobby worked mostly in the Houma District for his 40 year career with Texaco. He started as a kitchen hand in 1948 (Dog Lake, Bay Ste. Elaine, Lake Barre). At 21, he became a roustabout (1951). In 1955 he became a pumper, working up through meterman to production supervisor...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): Andrew Gardner; Jamie ChristyAffiliation: University of Arizona, University of Houston/History InternationalRed Adams is well known in and around Morgan City. He runs a company called Oil and Gas Rentals, and this company is one of the larger employers in town. He was quite willing to talk with me. Red has an office in his business complex in Amelia, alongside the bayou. We met there and talked for just under an hour. Red reviews some of what he...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Houma, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaKerry St. Pé had referred us to Gerald Adkins as one who knew a lot of the commercial fishermen in the area. I had called him several times in September 2001, but his "on-call" job forced him to cancel a couple of appointments: he drives vehicles around to car lots all over the region. He retired in 1997, and rather than return to his native Shreveport, he built a house in a new subdivision behind...

Scope and Contents Audio Only.Interviewer(s): T. Priest. Herndon, VAAffiliation: University of Houston/History InternationalMr. Ralph Ainger grew up on Long Island, NY. A marine biologist by training, he was hired in 1976, around the time of the first Mid-Atlantic offshore lease sale, by the Bureau of Land Management as an oceanographer. After a few years in the New York office, he moved to Washington to work in the environmental policy group, and in the early 1980s took...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): S. Wiltz. Lafayette, LAAffiliation: University of Louisiana at LafayetteMr. Vernon Albert was born in Pennsylvania and grew up an "Army brat." He studied business at San Antonio College before joining the Army, where he went to flight school and spent two years in Vietnam. Upon leaving the military in 1967, he went to work for Petroleum Helicopters Incorporated (PHI), where he stayed until he retired in 1994. The first six years he worked for PHI, he...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): S. Wiltz. Lafayette, LAAffiliation: University of Louisiana at LafayetteNedra Andrus is the wife of Lafayette realtor Dwight Andrus. She was born in Merryville, but lived in a number of different towns in southern Louisiana while she was growing up. Her father was a manager for Morgan-Lindsay stores (a five-and-ten cent chain store). She moved to Lafayette when she was in the third grade and studied music at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (SLI) and...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Houma, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaJoe Sanford referred me to Tom Angel. Tom was one of the first employees hired by Sanford Brothers in Morgan City. I met Tom at his office at Submar in Houma. He had an hour and a half for the first interview. During the interview he told me about scrapbooks his wife had put together from his early days in diving, and we agreed to get together again to look through his books.Tom first...

Scope and Contents Audio Only.Interviewer(s): T. Priest. HoustonAffiliation: University of Houston/History InternationalBruce Applebaum retired from Texaco following its merger with Chevron. He had been vice president of Texaco and president of the company's Worldwide Exploration and New Ventures. Prior to joining Texaco in 1990, Applebaum had held positions for several independent oil and gas companies, including exploration manager with Sun Oil and Texas Eastern,...