Oilfield divers will meet again for rally in Morgan City

A year after a monument to oilfield divers was unveiled, organizers are planning the first Morgan City Oilfield Divers Rally.
The event is scheduled for April 26-28.
Last April’s unveiling of a life-sized statue of a diver at Monument Park near Morgan City Municipal Auditorium drew hundreds, many of them divers and former divers who spent a weekend telling stories about the early days of offshore work.
This year’s rally includes these events:
—A welcome reception 4-7 p.m. April 26 at Legends at Clarion Inn & Suites, 520 Roderick St.
—The unveiling of a granite monument at 10 a.m. April 27 at Monument Park, 728 Myrtle St.
—At 10:45 a.m., April 27, a moderated panel discussion on commercial diving at Lake End Park, 2300 La. 70. Everyone is welcome.
—A crawfish boil at 1 p.m. April 27 at Lake End Park. The fee is $35 per person.
—An informal breakfast 7-10 a.m. April 28 at Morgan’s Restaurant at Clarion Inn and Suites.
“Our motto of ‘By Divers for Divers’ has tremendous meaning and we all should be so proud of ourselves,” said Bryce Merrill, curator at the Diving & ROV Historical Preservation Museum,
The Oilfield Divers Monument project has awarded three $1,000 scholarships to South Louisiana Community College’s School of Commercial Diving.
The project also started a SLCC Dive School Endowment Fund funded by $20,000, which will be matched dollar for dollar by the state of Louisiana.
The project has some funds left to add to the endowment.
“This is what the Rally Weekend is raising funds for,” Merrill said, “besides the gathering of old friends, crawfish boil, having a beer and as Mayor [Lee] Dragna put it, a bunch of old guys standing around hugging each other.”
All money goes to the scholarship fund. There will be a small silent auction and a few small items for sale as donations.
“All you young divers come on down, share your stories,” Merrill said. “You will be the ones to carry on our traditions and the diving business into the future. …
“One day sooner than you think, you will be the old guy and wish you had the chance to be part of our most interesting history.”