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by William J. Thibodeaux (Author)
Fascinating tales dredged from the swamps and bayous of Southwest Louisiana.
A century on, the twisted wreckage from the Ricohoc disaster smolders, passenger trains turned into husks amid predawn fog. Would-be assassins draw straws to determine who will take out Huey Long. And pickers stroll the banks of the Vemilion River during the heyday of the Spanish moss industry, plucking their livelihood from majestic oaks, many of which still stand. This strange country flummoxes Vermilion Parish pioneers and The Olive once again plies the waters of the Mermentau River. Author William Thibodeaux plumbs the historical record, breathing fresh life into the history of Acadiana.
Author Biography
William J. Thibodeaux is a native of Rayne, Louisiana. He attended Rayne High School and joined the U.S. Navy in 1967 when he was eighteen years of age. William served on a World War II Fletcher Class destroyer--the USS O'Bannon DD-450, which spent all of its time in the West Pacific, mostly doing shore bombings in Vietnam. After his military obligation, William took a job with Southern Pacific Railroad in 1970 as a track laborer, repairing the railroad, preforming maintenance to the track structure and inspecting the railroad for defects. He held several supervisory positions, but mostly, he was a roadmaster (engineering manager) with Southern Pacific Railroad on the Schriever District and--after the merger--at Union Pacific Railroad's Livonia Service Unit. He retired with more than forty-four years of service. William is married to the former Judy Clark of Morse/Gueydan, Louisiana. William said she is one of the sweetest and most generous persons he has ever known. She is the love of his life. William, Judy and Baby Bear, their soon-to-be-fifteen-year-old toy poodle, live in Lafayette, Louisiana. He is the author of Hidden History of Acadiana (2019). This is his legacy.
