Center for Louisiana Studies Archival Catalog
This searchable database provides information on images, documents, and audio and video recordings, made between 1934 and the present.
Interview with George Visser
00:00 - Visser was a former schoolboard member
00:35 - Working for Union when he wanted to go back to school. He ended up not going back to school and worked for Union for 42 years;
02:40 - First contact with the oil industry in 1940 - Started as a roustabout; Laid pipelines by hand in the marsh;
03:30 - Describing how they built drill rigs;
04:45 - Cajuns were used to the marsh and did well working in marsh conditions - Talking about their impact on the oil industry
Tape degraded badly, Audio breaks up
Interview with Amanda Hanks.
00:10 - Jack mentions that Amanda is co-owner of Chenier aux tigres;
00:58 - Amanda tells about her life growing up on an Island along the gulf coast. Mentions that they were very isolated and made it with what little they had;
02:20 - Talks about traveling through the canals in Vermilion Parish - was safer than using the Gulf;
03:40 - Teaching in a two room school house on Chenier aux tigres, 36 children attended the school, Worked her way through school at SLI;
05:05 - Living during the depression and how it changed people's perspective;
10:00 - How the first generation of Cajuns handled the oil industry coming to Louisiana - Improved their homes, bought refrigerators, automobiles, etc;
11:10 - The effects of the oil industry on the younger generations;
14:00 - Speaking about current education needs;
16:55 - Genteel Acadians, plantation owners around Vermillion Parish;
25:00 - More commentary on Cajun people;
27:00 - Positive impacts of the oil industry on South LA people;
Interview with Sanders Gaspard.
00:35 - Importance of land to Cajun people - Land was the most important thing in his life. Says he worked as hard as he could to own land;
01:35 - Says that younger people today aren't as interested in owning large amounts of land to farm;
02:20 - Problems of salt water coming into the marshes; Mentions that the land isn't able to be used anymore for farming or for grazing animals;
04:55 - Saltwater intrusion in Vermilion Parish became really bad in the 1960s;
07:00 - Possible solutions for saltwater intrusion issue;
Interview with Sanders "Boo" Gaspard
00:55 - Historical background. His Father was police Juror in Forked Island;
01:30 - "Cuz" Gaspard and grandfather were engineers for canals;
02:25 - 1880 to 1900 - His Grandfather helped with designing and digging canals in Vermilion Parish. They were mainly used for irrigation and drainage purposes. Eventually oil companies used the same canals for their purposes;
03:20 - Discussing his father's dealings with the owners of the oil companies - permits;
04:05 - His father's work was mostly farming rice, goats, and cattle. Wasn't very involved in oil leases;
06:00 - Sanders' involvement in the community - City Councilman, says he just tries to help all people in any way he can;
07:25 - Buying his first piece of land in 1946, about 100 acres. Discusses his farming career Southwest of Gueydan;
10:15 - In 1953, a huge flood destroyed 172 acres of rice; Hurricane Audrey also destroyed all of his rice in 1957; Had to refinance his farm 3 times - Says it was rough, but he made it;
11:40 - Weren't many oil wells in his area in the early 50s;
12:40 - Says there are currently oil wells next to his property, discusses dealing with the oil companies;
14:50 - There's not much trust between locals and the oil companies;
17:00 - Health effects on locals from oil companies' use of chemicals;
20:45 - Dump sites, open pits and the eventual clean up of these sites;
23:00 - Positives of oil companies for his farm;
24:30 - Concerns about chemicals on the health of the people;
25:00 - Cajuns never went hungry before or after oil companies came into town, they were resourceful;
28:00 - Effects of oil industry on the family units and family farms;
30:05 - The impact of the Cajuns on the oil industry;
33:00 - His mother's father, Mr. Primeaux, bought land and told his children he was going to start a town call it Primeaux Ville but the area was already Forked Island;
34:00 - Mr. Primeaux gave land to build the church and school. He was a talented woodworker, used Cypress
C.J. "Bubba" Montgomery
00:30 - Mr. Montgomery describes himself as a Jack-of-all-trades - hunter, crawfish retailer, farmer;
01:25 - Inflation and the grain embargo and the impacts on local economy;
04:15 - Oil revenue helping land owning farmers;
06:00 - C.J. Montgomery, Sr. - Part owner and president of the Kaplan, LA Rice Mill. Sold the mill in 1975. It had a milling capacity of approx. 750 barrels of Medium Grain rice per hour and 700 barrels of long grain per hour;
07:40 - Kaplan rice mill ran off of steam power from 1920-1975; Was one of the last rice mills in the country to convert from steam to electricity;
10:00 - Discussion about coastal erosion; Lock systems in canals effecting erosion on the gulf coast and coastal canal and marshes;
11:00 - Impact of oil industry on shrimping and fishing industry;
11:45 - Drilling mud and trash being dumped off rigs and polluting water;
12:50 - Commercial divers, construction work and cleaning up debris under older drilling rigs;
14:00 - Government regulations to make oil companies clean up their pollution - Items found under drilling rigs: drilling mud and chemicals, I-beams, forklifts;
15:00 - Long-term effects of drilling mud and caustic chemicals on the fishing industries;
16:30 - Dumping and cleaning of platforms done under the cover of night so the Coast Guard wouldn't see the actions of the companies;
17:30 - Oil industry separating families for longer periods of time, but pay and jobs where plentiful;
19:00 - Cajuns know the oil industry better than any other group;
21:30 - Some Cajuns have shunned their roots and family backgrounds;
23:50 - Man-made coastal canal erosion doubled or tripled the size of the canal;
26:30 - 1973-1981 was the boom time for growth and drilling; Larger companies bought out local specialty service companies in the oil business;
31:40 - Discusses his career as a diver; labor pay is one of the most affordable parts of the oil industry but was the first to be cut. Costs on rental supplies and equipment stayed the same;
33:30 - Cajun workers were not taken care of if they were injured;
34:00 - Law protecting divers from working in unsafe conditions;
Interview with C.J. "Bubba" Montgomery III
00:40 - Importance of the land to Cajun culture - livelihoods depend on their land;
01:15 - Condition of the land is deteriorating, oil companies responsible for erosion in coastal canals;
02:25 - A study at LSU, concluded that the canals that oil companies dug are responsible for 80% of the coastal erosion;
03:25 - Bubba says that the cleaning chemicals used and vacuuming mud from under offshore drilling platforms is more of "a show" than actually helping clean up the environment;
05:20 - Mentions that not as many locals are working in the oil business;
06:50 - Offshore divers being paid less than in previous years and companies are exploiting new arrivals to the business;
07:45 - Local companies have more experience and knowledge than northern companies when it comes to drilling in the marsh
Interview with Father John Inverse
02:05 - First oil well in LA was in Jennings, found local workers in the Cajun community. (1901);
01:50 - 7 on 7 off schedule of offshore workers. Discussion about people not attending church because of work schedule and families being pulled apart;
05:00 - Demands on priests trying to help families
05:55 - Anyone can rough-neck without a college degree.
06:10 - Local workers having tougher time making a living off the land (hunting, fishing, trapping) because of damage to the environment;
08:20 - Family units and the oil industry, continuing education diminished to work offshore work;
10:40 - Pagers (beepers) interrupting mass on Sunday;
12:45 - What other industries would step in to help the southern Louisiana economy?;
13:20 - Oil companies only spoke with the church on regards to drilling around church grounds or cemeteries; Conflict with economics and the spiritual world;
22:55 - Cajuns were an assett for oil companies;
23:50 - Discussing future generation of workers: will they be spoiled by the affluence that was gained when oil was found on family land?
29:30 - Talking about early settlers in Point Misère
Interview with Father John Inverse
00:30 - Importance of religion to the Cajun Religion - The Church was the focal point of the community.
01:30 - Education affected the attendance of mass as did the harvest season
04:00 - The priest was the only one that had education when the first settlers arrived; Lawyers would bring documents that were written in French to Father John for translation.
Interview with Barry Heinen
00:30 - Family background - German, one of 8 children;
01:00 - Great-grandfather bought property in Robert's Cove from a German abbey in 1883;
03:00 - Little interaction between German and Cajun settlers until 1950-1960 then intercultural marriage began;
05:50 - Family has leased land to oil companies since the 1950's - talks about lease amounts;
08:00 - Barry, as an attorney, deals with the oil companies for his family and placement of rigs on the properties;
09:00 - The German community was hesitant to lease to the oil companies. Pugh clause and leasing acreage to the oil companies;
12:00 - Regulation on price of gas depending of depth the rig would drill, thus paying more for gas locally than out of state;
15:00 - Federal government regulating oil prices, and oil companies limiting production to make profits;
16:30 - Supply and demand on the price of gas prices; Mexico and UK not members of OPEC;
19:00 - Economic impact in Lafayette "Lafayette lives and dies in the oil field." All the money was new money coming in, not money circulating within the community;
23:30 - Comp law lowered to 25% disability for workers;
24:00 - Overall slow down in the area is due to fewer exploration in the out areas around Lafayette;
Wilma Subra
00:30 - Subra Company 4 years old in 1985;
00:55 - Main services of her company - Chemical Analysis, Environmental Services, food chemistry, etc. Funding comes from private industry and some government work;
01:50 - Her company assesses chemical spills on oil rigs and the long-term environmental impacts; They are not a "watchdog."
02:50 - Biggest problems - Potential for surface and ground water contamination, soil contamination;
04:30 - discussing who checks for leaks in casings;
05:00 - Discussing Mr. Landry - a man who had a solid waste disposal site in a marshy area. Moved his site to Big Woods for "home industry" disposal, had no soil borings for 2 years, looking for new sites to dump trash, he was accepting oil field debris/trash. These sites have been contaminated with heavy metals surrounding the dump site. The heavy metals being found are the same used for drilling. Out of state companies dumping on these sites as well;
10:30 - Environmental impacts of these disposal dumps - Groundwater, surface water, soil is all contaminated with Barium, Chromium, Cadmium, Zinc, Arsenic, Mercury;
12:15 - Super Fund investigating spills and clean up areas;
13:15 - In only Vermilion Parish, there are 55 surface disposal sites;
17:30 - Marlow Corporation - They are a commercial saltwater disposal well permitted by the LA Office of Conservation;
20:30 - Discussing the biggest challenges for the Subra Company;
29:00 - Land owner, Leo Fontenot , allowing a company to use a borrow pit for dirt and sand to heavy metal offshore waste. Gulf Coast Pre-Mix dumped in the pit for $7 a load;
30:30 - Possible solutions for dumping - Subra says more money into enforcement to stop allowing dump sites is necessary; Education is important, as well;
Interview with Sonny Qurik
00:30 - Family and biographical information - Went to LSU, was in the Marine Corps;
02:30 - Discussion about how the oil industry affected the banks;
04:45 - Lack of education and sudden income lead people to "run" through their new-found wealth; They overspent on new property and equipment;
07:00 - Some farmers received federal money to stay and farm their own land
08:30 - Oil drilling started dropping in 1983 around Washington, LA;
11:00 - Lafayette banking grew during the oil growth, larger banks began to acquire banks when oil drilling slowed down.
16:15 - Fewer oil leases but more farming around Washington
17:45 - Did smaller banks see the decline in the oil business coming?
19:00 - Short term fixed loans were most used to accommodate the oil industry
22:00 - Mr. Quirk's bank saw some profit FHA loans
23:15 - Deregulation on interest rates hurt the local farmers;
Agnes Derouen
00:00 - Grew up near Avery Island, has been at KATC for 3 years. Father was salt miner;
01:30 - Interviewed Jimmy Owens for KATC, featured in Esquire Magazine;
04:40 - Hosts "Acadiana Down Home" on KATC - Reported most of up-beat stories at the time of slower economic times;
06:20 - Younger people started doing a "Cajun Jam" but size of the crowd became so large, they moved to a night club, around Milton, at Mr Sam's Club;
07:30 - Talking about musicians Cedric Benoit, Bois-Sec Ardoin, Canray Fontenot;
08:50 - Being Cajun becoming popular across the country
12:20 - Agnes says it's a good thing to speak Cajun French out in the open, it helps people to take pride in the area and their culture;
Interview with Carl Braseaux
00:30 - Born in Opelousas, Attended Sunset High School (class of 1969);
01:10 - Both parents owned property around Sunset to Cankton, LA Highway 1776;
03:30 - Brasseaux says that Cajuns settled around Cankton, LA. It was "prime" land - land that was on or near waterways;
07:00 - First generation houses were 16'x20' raised on piers, near Coulée Croche area (Upper Bayou Vermilion);
08:50 - Jean Mouton developed the Lafayette area (Bayou Carencro);
10:30 - Small houses were doubled in size by the mid 1800's;
11:00 - Cotton was the main small farm crop;
11:35 - The federal government owned most of the land, so people squatted on the lands; Lands weren't put up for sale until late in the 19th century;
13:40 - The "marais," referred to the prairie that would flood during for a short time during rain storms;
16:30 - Rice boom in the Lafayette area around the time of the Civil War, property values spiked; Number of stores and merchants doubled around Vermillionville;
17:30 - Washington, LA was large exporter of cattle to New Orleans
24:20 - During Civil War, most soldiers foraged around the Lafayette area for food.
25:10 - During the war, the area continued producing sugar and cotton;
25:35 - Spring of 1863, the Union Army march through Lafayette, many cattle were killed, buildings were destroyed, homes were looted;
27:50 - Lafayette area very slow to recover after the Civil War.
29:15 - Citizens Bank in New Orleans was the only major bank in Louisiana. Plantation owners had to take out large loans;
30:15 - Mechanization really didn't come to the area until after WWII.
35:30 - Oil companies looked at Cajuns being lazy. Cajuns were content just being comfortable and living off the land
36:30 - The oil industry workers that came for out of state were mostly Protestant (Baptist)1960-1975, a century worth of growth in a decade and a half
43:00 - Cajuns couldn't compete with larger land plots (growers) and migrated to the oil patch;
Interview with Carl Brasseaux Part 2
00:30 - I-10 under construction in early 1970's;
01:00 - Carl worked in an auto parts store through college;
02:00 - Febuary 13th, 1986 - world news, oil prices dropping dramatically, Governor Edwin Edwards wanting to start closing different departments in the state to save money;
04:15 - Integration in the 70s
05:40 - Sixteen year olds dropping out of high school to work in the oil patch. Most with minimal skills (welders) making more money than their fathers. Bottom falls out, property values decrease, unemployment soars.
07:30 - 1980's brings more of a focus on education.
07:50 - "Don't be a rough-neck, become a petroleum engineer."
09:45 - White Collar Oil workers in Lafayette demanded higher standards for education.
10:15 - School system in Lafayette Parish has been one of the better quality systems in the state
14:30 - Thoughts on the future - People working offshore less
16:30 - Cottage industries start to spring up as oil jobs decrease. (crawfish farming, welding, restaurants, boat builders)
18:45 - Growing problem of pollution from the oil industries, Louisiana cancer rates; Waste sites not looked at until 1980;
20:35 - $30 million crawfish contract fell through because of poor water tests (standards)
21:00 - Saltwater intrusion in drinking well up to Iota, LA
22:00 - Diversification is crucial to Lafayette and the surrounding areas
Interview with Lionel Leleux
Kaplan, LA
Fiddle maker
Leleux was after Ammis Leleux, Had a General store, rice mill, racetrack, blacksmith shop from 1912 to WWII, prices of crops rose;
The Post Office and school moved from Leleux to Kalpan just after WWII;
Built Leleux Grammar School in 1907-1911 (02:57);
Hess Oil Company occupied Leleux oil patch;
Lionel's father had a German made fiddle, which he had to sell to pay off his seed rice, early 1920's;
In 1924, his father made a agreement to pay him to water the live stock to buy a small fiddle;
"Memories of the Great Depression" (book) features the Leleux Dancehall;
Lionel would listen to the music from across the street because his father wouldn't let him go;
Cajun music modernized came about with Lawrence Waker (13:50);
Lawrence Walker learned by listening to Joe Falcon's music;
Different styes of Cajun music were influenced by trends;
The accordion would come in and out of popularity (17:20);
Joe Falcon's stringband (17:30);
Adam Hanks wrote and sang Chère Alyce - The horse that he sings about in the song was named "Henry" (18:30);
Listen to "The Country Waltz" by Lawrence Walker and then play "Chère Alyce", then you see the difference (19:45);
Oil Industry first moving into the area (22:00);
Out-of-state residences put more money into local economies (27:00);
Cajuns very welcoming to the new influx of people from Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi during 1950's on