Catherine Holcomb Interview

A teacher, Catherine Holcomb was spurred into action after watching a news story about several unexplained cases of children diagnosed with neuroblastoma in the small community of Morgan City. One of those young children diagnosed with the cancer---Nicole Price---was the same age as Catherine’s daughter. She and three other educators from Morgan City spent ten years attending and testifying at hearings until the facility was closed. She was a founding member of the Atchafalaya Delta Society, organized to address the Marine Shale Processors incinerator. She and four other women from the area were recipients of the award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their role in ensuring the safety of their community in the closing Marine Shale Processors. She just recently retired after thirty-three years of teaching in the Louisiana public school system. Audio interview with Catherine Holcomb for Women Pioneers of the Louisiana Environmental Movement by Peggy Frankland, conducted by Jennifer A. Cramer, Director of the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History. Copyright: Louisiana State University Special Collections.