Hill to be crowned king

Korean War Veteran Hillery Hill will serve as this year’s Boggy Bayou King.
Hill has attended every festival’s opening ceremony and even provided the very first American Flag to fly at the opening of the festival.
A native of the Faubourg community, Hill is the son of the late Harry and Azalie Hill. He has three brothers and five sisters, who are all deceased.
A graduate of Sacred Heart High School, Hill enlisted in the United States Army after graduation. He soon found himself stationed in Korea on the 38th Parallel as a code interceptor for the next 16 months. He returned to base in Texas before returning home. He got a job with Southern Pacific Railroad as a relief clerk, a job he held for eight-and-a-half years. He then became a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service, serving the Ville Platte community. He remained in this job for the next 30 years.
In 1962, Hill met Jeanette Craig for a blind date and they remained together until her death from cancer in 2010. During their marriage, they had two children: David Hill of Ville Platte, and Elizabeth Hill, who now resides in Bayou Chicot.
Even though he officially retired in 1992, Hill has never stopped serving his community. He is a volunteer with several retirement facilities in Evangeline Parish and also with Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Ville Platte, where he is in charge of the monthly barbecues, ice cream parties and watermelon parties. He is also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3803, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans. He has served for a period of time on the Louisiana Cotton Festival Board and served as Parade Marshal of that festival several years ago.
Hill was named Lion’s Club Man of the Year in 1989 and the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year in 2011.
He also volunteers each year with the Special Olympics.
A good friend of the late Father Leslie Prescott, Hill recalls, “I never thought being King of this festival would happen to me. It’s a great big honor.
“You know,” Hill hesitated a moment, “This festival is for the best cause in the world - Prairie Manor Nursing Home.” Hill went on to say his mother and two of his sisters resided in the Pine Prairie facility.
“I just do what I can to always help out,” he adds. “I just want to always make sure our veterans are represented.”
Hill often gives money out of his own pocket to help others. “It’s just something I do,” he says.
So when you attend next weekend’s Boggy Bayou Festival, make sure to congratulate Hillery Hill, a man most deserving to serve as King.