New Shipyard Work, Fishing Replace Oil Income : Louisiana Town Has Knack for Survival

P. T. Bailey was a partner in an oil field boat company--until he almost lost everything. Now he packs crabs at a brand new fish plant he started.

“I was lucky to survive with my pants on,” he said.

A lot of people in Morgan City were lucky. While most of the Louisiana Coast has been decimated by the collapse of the oil industry, Morgan City has been staging something of a rebound.

Shipyards are hiring again and working two shifts. Fish plants, such as Bailey’s, are teaching unemployed oil workers the ways of the sea. City employees got back 9% of a 15% wage cut. Sales tax collections are $680,000 over projections.

“We’ve had to make do with different things,” said Mayor Cedric LaFleur, who has used a $3-million “rainy day” fund and profits from the city-owned utility to spark new businesses.

Road for Fish Plant

For Bailey, the city built a new road so he could build his plant on a waterway.

At the Conrad Industries shipyard, employment has increased 100% over the last year, said general manager Ronald Chiasson. The firm, which used to build nothing but oil field boats, has survived by switching to construction barges, floating dry docks for South America and even an excursion boat for the Bahamas.

“We just weren’t willing to give up,” Chiasson said. “You have to go with the flow.”

At the Wheel House Lounge, on what was once a rough-and-tumble waterfront area, patrons talk of surviving, not partying.

“There’s been almost a 100% change in character in two years,” said John E. Roe, the owner.

“If you’re going to live down here, you’re going to have to know how to be a survivor. This town survives because these people know how to survive,” said patron Peggy Sue Miller.

Happy Sign Posted

At the Morgan City Bank, the marquee recently invoked a popular song to express the community’s sentiment: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

But despite the hopeful signs, Morgan City is still wrestling with the same problems as much of Louisiana.

Unemployment still runs between 10% and 11%. “But hell,” LaFleur said, “it used to be 27%.” The city has lost 1,500 people but recently gained about 500, LaFleur said.

That population loss is felt in the city’s two major Catholic churches, which have lost one-sixth of their families, the Rev. John Gallen of Sacred Heart Church said.

“Most of our young people have gone to Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fla., and places like that where there is employment,” Gallen said.

The church has started a thrift store and runs seminars on business and financial affairs--and depression.

‘Cautiously Optimistic’

“People seem to be cautiously optimistic,” Gallen said. “Remember, there are still a lot of people in business just hanging on.”

Survivors such as Bailey, who now ships Louisiana crabs to Maryland, say they don’t miss the wild days at all.

“I’ve got mixed emotions about what I’m doing. I feel bitter about how much money I lost, and how I had to start over again,” he said.

And if the price of oil should skyrocket again, Bailey will resist temptation and stick with fish.

“If this business goes, and I think it will, I just don’t feel confident enough in the oil industry to invest any money in it,” he said.