Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): D. Austin. New Iberia, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaI met Bill Fullerton at the divers' reunion on March 10, 2002. Bill was a tender for George "Dog" Taylor, and the three of us spent some time talking about oilfield diving during the 1960s and 1970s and especially efforts to increase safety. Bill agreed that I could call him for an interview and was happy to set up a time to meet. We met at his house in New Iberia. Bill has lived in New Iberia...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Scottsdale, AZAffiliation: University of ArizonaI was referred to André Galerne by Jim Doré, the president of the Association for Diving Contractors. André is a former president of ADC and has been on the board of the organization for much of the past 25 years. Jim called André for me from his office in New Iberia, and André was very friendly and agreed to talk with me. André lived in New York for almost 40 years and had moved to Scottsdale...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Houston, TXAffiliation: University of ArizonaI met Mary Ann Galletti at the president's reception of the Association for Diving Contractors meeting in New Orleans. Mary Ann's husband, John Galletti, was a co-owner of J&J Marine Services, one of the few Texas diving companies that was able to get jobs in Louisiana in the early days. John was one of the founding members of the ADC. The ADC named an award after John after his death from...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): S. Wiltz. Lafayette, LAAffiliation: University of Louisiana at LafayetteMr. Lionel Galvan was born and raised in Texas. He went to Texas A&M for about a year and then, not wanting to be drafted into the Army (this was after the Korean Conflict), volunteered for the Marine Corps, where he served as a mechanic/crew chief for four years. After serving, he got his Airframe and Powerplant license from Spartan School of Aeronautics and, in 1961, got a...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): T. Priest. Houston, TXAffiliation: University of Houston/History InternationalA native of Cisco, TX, Ray Galvin graduated in 1953 from Texas A&M University and joined Gulf Oil Corporation. In the 1950s and 1960s, he served in various natural gas production engineering assignments with Gulf, eventually in 1975 rising to district engineer in New Orleans. In 1979, he became Gulf's vice president of production, U.S. operations, and vice president of...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): S. Wiltz. New Iberia, LAAffiliation: University of Louisiana at LafayetteOriginally from Franklin, Ben Garacci first forayed in the oilfield as a roughneck with Humble Oil in 1948 and worked out of Grand Isle. Wanting to be home at night, he left the industry for a bit, but after he found he made much less money, went back into the industry by taking a job with Rowan Drilling Company. After two years and feeling that he was being passed up for...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): A. Gardner. Franklin, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaPete Gardner and his wife were recommended to me by Clyde Hahn. Clyde suggested Pete would be good to talk to about his career with drilling contractors. I met Pete at his house in Franklin. His wife was there, and both participated in the interview. Clyde was right about Pete - he had a lot to say, and he didn't mince words. He spends a lot of time talking about the negative impact of college...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): A. Anand. Houma, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaMr. Lloyd Gaudet was referred to me by Fr. Freddie Decal of St. Gregory's. When I called, I spoke only to Mrs. Gaudet, who set up the interview. The Gaudets live very close to the center of town. I knocked on the front door and waited a while before going round to the side door, where I was let in after knocking twice. Mrs. Gaudet watched TV in the living room, while Mr. Lloyd and I went to the...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Larose, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaArthur "Tuts" Gautreaux had been identified by Windell Curole as the head of the Texaco retiree's group in the Lafourche area. I met with him briefly in July to explain the project; he was busy at the time, but agreed to locate other retirees for interviews. Several calls to "Tuts" in September ultimately produced not an interview with oldtimers, but a session with his son, Murphy, and one of...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): J. Pratt; B. Beauboeuf. Houston, TXAffiliation: University of Houston/History InternationalMr. Ron Geer was born in West Palm Beach, FL in 1926 and received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1951. That year he began his 35-year career with Shell Oil and became a principal contributor to Shell's overall pioneering offshore technology efforts in developing deep sea floating drilling vessels and subsea wells. ...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): James Sell; Lauren Penney; Colleen O'Donnell. Gray, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaI (Jim) had known that Lloyd Geist was the pioneer aviator in Houma, who set up the first flying service after his military service in WWII. CJ Christ set up the interview as a way of recording Lloyd's experiences in both WWII (he was a combat fighter pilot) and the oil field. The interview with Mr. Geist then represents a view of aviation pioneering in the area. ...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): S. Wiltz. Lafayette, LAAffiliation: University of Louisiana at LafayetteAl George was born in 1928 in Alexandria, Louisiana. His father was a railroad man but lost his job during the Great Depression. As a result, his father resorted to farming to feed his family. After the Depression, he was given his railroad job back. He graduated high school in Winnfield in about 1944 and went to LSU on a football scholarship. At LSU he was in ROTC, studied...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Metairie, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaI met Beverly George at the Desk and Derrick Club meeting in New Orleans in March (see also DA036). She was one of the early members of Desk and Derrick and shared that she had been Doc Laborde's executive secretary. When I asked her if she would be willing to do an individual interview, she agreed and told me to contact her the next time I was in New Orleans. I called her in July and arranged to...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): A. Gardner. Metairie, LAAffiliation: University of ArizonaI was referred to Jimmy Gibbens by Jerry Shea in New Iberia. Between the time Jerry recommended an interview with Jimmy and the day of the actual interview, I bumped into quite a few Texaco hands who knew Jimmy, and not a single one of them had a bad word to say. Jimmy used to work for Jerry's grandfather back in the 30's, and their families have been friends ever since. Jimmy and his wife have...

Scope and Contents Interviewer(s): J. P. Theriot. Houston, TXAffiliation: University of Houston/History InternationalJim Giblin, a native of Virginia, lives in Friendswood, TX. He spent more than 40 years in the maritime industry. He joined the Merchant Marine in 1942 and served on tankers and Liberty Ships during the war delivering oil and supplies to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and the Pacific. His ship, the Stephen F. Austin, was torpedoed off the coast of North Africa in '43,...