
The Oil Boom in Plantation Country: The Company Town
11/28/22 • 38 min
Part 2 of our Oil Boom episode series is all about the company town! Were refinery company towns really that different from the old sugar plantations they sprouted up around?
In this episode, Kenny & Lauren focus on St. Charles Parish - home to two refinery company towns, one of which is still around today. Contributor Travers LaVille joins to watch and comment on the corporate propaganda needed to sustain company towns and the refineries they served.
Join our Patreon for hours of extra content & to support independent research: www.Patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Episode 5 Show Notes Page: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com/episode-5
Shell Norco 1997 video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/328540723
1916-1917 Pan American Record at Google Books: https://books.google.com/books/about/Pan_American_Record.html?id=jYQwAQAAMAAJ
Music:
Blood & Oil Theme - Travers LaVille: www.instagram.com/BrothaTrav
Wilderness Mindset - Humans Win
Support Blood & Oil on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Visit our website for more information: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com
Follow us! Instagram: www.instagram.com/bloodoilpod Twitter: www.twitter.com/bloodoilpod
The opinions voiced within this podcast’s conversations are just that - opinions.
When facts and research are given, the sources are cited within our Show Notes page on our website and/or within the episode.
Questions, comments and corrections: [email protected]
Part 2 of our Oil Boom episode series is all about the company town! Were refinery company towns really that different from the old sugar plantations they sprouted up around?
In this episode, Kenny & Lauren focus on St. Charles Parish - home to two refinery company towns, one of which is still around today. Contributor Travers LaVille joins to watch and comment on the corporate propaganda needed to sustain company towns and the refineries they served.
Join our Patreon for hours of extra content & to support independent research: www.Patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Episode 5 Show Notes Page: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com/episode-5
Shell Norco 1997 video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/328540723
1916-1917 Pan American Record at Google Books: https://books.google.com/books/about/Pan_American_Record.html?id=jYQwAQAAMAAJ
Music:
Blood & Oil Theme - Travers LaVille: www.instagram.com/BrothaTrav
Wilderness Mindset - Humans Win
Support Blood & Oil on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Visit our website for more information: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com
Follow us! Instagram: www.instagram.com/bloodoilpod Twitter: www.twitter.com/bloodoilpod
The opinions voiced within this podcast’s conversations are just that - opinions.
When facts and research are given, the sources are cited within our Show Notes page on our website and/or within the episode.
Questions, comments and corrections: [email protected]
Previous Episode

The Oil Boom in Plantation Country: Why Louisiana?
Here it is, folks! The stage is set and the main act of “Blood and Oil” has arrived.
In this episode, hosts Kenny and Lauren talk about what led to the creation of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” as we know it today. Why did global oil companies choose Louisiana back in the 1910s, and what was it like for the generation who experienced Louisiana’s Petrochemical Revolution?
Contributor Travers LaVille joins to discuss the “Louisiana paradox” - high concentration of industry and high levels of poverty.
The story of Alex Royal is based upon census data and historical newspapers, and is inspired by Saidiya Hartman’s style of “critical fabulation,” filling in gaps of the cold historical record with warmth and life.
Part 1 of 3. Listen next week for Part 2: The Company Town.
Episode 4 Show Notes Page: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com/episode-4
Together Louisiana’s “Why Louisiana Stays Poor.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWTic9btP38
Music:
Blood & Oil Theme, Travers LaVille: www.instagram.com/BrothaTrav
Support Blood & Oil on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Visit our website for more information: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com
Follow us! Instagram: www.instagram.com/bloodoilpod Twitter: www.twitter.com/bloodoilpod
The opinions voiced within this podcast’s conversations are just that - opinions.
When facts and research are given, the sources are cited within our Show Notes page on our website and/or within the episode.
Questions, comments and corrections: [email protected]
Next Episode

The Oil Boom in Plantation Country: Labor in Louisiana
In part 3 of our Oil Boom episode series, we dive into Louisiana’s labor history. We talk about why the Jim Crow South had so few labor unions before World War II and when labor finally arrived in Louisiana, how it changed the refinery forever and killed the company town.
Join our Patreon for hours of extra content & to support independent research: www.patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Episode 6 Show Notes Page: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com/episode-6
For more about the history of the Oil Workers International Union, see Ray Davidson’s book, Challenging the Giants.
Music:
Blood & Oil Theme, Travers LaVille: www.instagram.com/BrothaTrav
Support Blood & Oil on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bloodandoilpodcast
Visit our website for more information: www.bloodandoilpodcast.com
Follow us! Instagram: www.instagram.com/bloodoilpod Twitter: www.twitter.com/bloodoilpod
The opinions voiced within this podcast’s conversations are just that - opinions.
When facts and research are given, the sources are cited within our Show Notes page on our website and/or within the episode.
Questions, comments and corrections: [email protected]
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