ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Henry E. “Gene” Yoes III was born on November 8, 1948 in Baton Rouge, the son of Gene Jr. and Iola Robillard Yoes.

He moved into the parish in 1954, when his parents purchased the St. Charles Herald from the Triche family. His family lived in Norco and he attended St. Charles Borromeo Elementary through the fifth grade and then entered Destrehan High School, which had grades five through twelve. He graduated from Destrehan in 1967 and graduated from LSU in 1971 with a degree in Social Studies education. Gene III began researching this history in 1969 while a student at LSU. After graduating from LSU, he became Associate Editor of the Herald and lived in Norco, Hahnville and Luling. In 1978, he founded the River Parish Focus, a regional magazine covering St. Charles, St. John and St. James Parishes. The Focus concentrated on the history and politics of the region.

He won national and state awards for editorial and news writing, including the Community Service Award, the Louisiana Press Association’s highest award. After a successful tenure at the Herald, he went back to LSU for a law degree. He graduated from the Paul M. Hebert Law School in 1982 and began practicing law with Sessions, Fishman, a large law firm in New Orleans. At the time, he resided in Slidell, Louisiana. In 1985, he accepted a position with a Lake Charles firm, where he now lives. In 1992, he started the Racing Pigeon Digest (www.racingpigeondigest.com), now the largest magazine in North America on the subject of racing homing pigeons, his long time hobby.

After the turn of the century, he was urged to reissue his History of St. Charles.

He agreed to update it with new materials and sources, but decided not take the book past the original 1973 closing date. The original book, named “ A History of St. Charles History to 1973” was reissued in 2005 under the name Louisiana's German Coast: A History of St. Charles Parish.

He is now in private practice in Lake Charles. Yoes married Melody Louise Walker, of Norco, in 1969. She was also a graduate of Destrehan High and LSU. They are the parents of five sons: Henry IV, Travis, Chad, Brandt and Brett.