Herbert J. Wiltz

Born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana in St. Martin Parish, Herbert was reared by his grandparents. It was there that he heard, on a daily basis, the Creole language spoken by all who came to his grandparents’ home. His parents resided in Houston, Texas. Throughout his childhood, he communicated with family members, neighbors and peers using the Creole language. He later earned a four year scholarship to attend Southern University where he majored in French with a minor in Spanish. During his tenure at Southern, he traveled to France and studied at L’Universite Catholique d’Angers in Angers, France. This was a CODOFIL French Study Program. Herbert earned a Masters Degree in French and Spanish and a Masters Degree in Administration and Supervision. He would return to his high school, Holy Rosary Institute, to teach French and Spanish and served as an Assistant Principal. He was an assistant Principal at Lafayette High School from 1996-1998 and appointed Principal at Immaculate Heart of Mary School from 2003-2005. He also studied and toured Guadeloupe and Martinique on a scholarship sponsored by CODOFIL.

Herbert’s knowledge of French and Spanish afforded him the opportunity to demonstrate the many ways to use the languages outside of the educational arena. He served as Master of Ceremony for many festivals, such as Festival International and Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival. He served on the Board of Directors of Festival International de Louisiane. He hosted a KRVS Zydeco radio show called “Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés” for thirteen years. He was cast as “JoJo” in a French speaking play “Les Attakapas” presented by Mr. James Fontenot. He has participated on various panel discussions. For three years he presented information on the Creole Culture sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz Fest. He was invited to participate on a panel at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. on the “Modern Migrations and Identity in the African Diaspora.” He authored and was the featured narrator of Episode 10 of the French speaking video series “Gumb-oh! Là! Là!” This was a personal narrative on Louisiana Creoles presented by Charles Laroque. He assisted Mr. Roy Williams with French terminology of his children’s book, “Bouki’s Honey: The Creole Folktales of Bouki & Lapin.” He has assisted in various presentations at Creole Day sponsored by Vermilionville.

In 1988, Herbert met and married his high school sweetheart, Sueline Taylor. He also joined the Lafayette Parish School System where he taught Spanish for twelve years. During this time he assisted in the creation of C.R.E.O.L.E., Inc. (Cultural, Resourceful, Educational Opportunities toward Linguistic Enrichment, Incorporated). He served as President and continues to be an active member. He was named Teacher of the Year in 1992 for Comeaux High School and in 2007 for Milton Elementary/Middle School. In that Creole was only considered an oral language, an important project to Herbert was the creation of Creole lessons written over a span of three years. These were published in the monthly Creole Magazine created by Ruth Foote. To date, these lessons, with modifications, are being used to educate individuals interested in learning Louisiana Creole and also served as inspiration for parts of this book.

Herbert is the recipient of many awards. In 2006, he was awarded the Richard Catalon award at Vermilionville during the annual Creole Day celebration. He was also awarded the Citizen Award presented by councilmen Chris Williams and Louis Benjamin. He retired from the Lafayette Parish School System in May, 2015. His future endeavor is to envision the creation of a Creole curriculum that will be used by various learning institutions as a vehicle to preserve the Louisiana Creole language. Herbert writes:

“The language I heard and spoke at home, in the streets, in the stores and even at school during recess was Kréyòl. Native of Breaux Bridge, LA in the parish of St. Martin, I, Herbert Joseph Wiltz, was drawn to this language at an early age. Everyone who visited my grandparents’ home communicated using Kréyòl. I was immersed in the language in that I heard it everyday. As well noted, Kréyòl was considered an oral language. It was in the 1990’s that I decided to put into words what I heard spoken in the regions where I grew up. Up to that time very little written resources existed. I wanted to showcase what the spoken Louisiana Kréyòl language may have looked like. I began to write vocabulary listings, dialogs and lessons that were published in the monthly Creole Magazine created by Ruth Foote. I felt that it was important to preserve the language as it was considered a dying language. Many of the younger generation did not speak Kréyòl with their parents. Presently I have collaborated with Nathan Wendte, Oliver Mayeux and Adrien Guillory-Chatman in the creation of the Ti Liv Kréyòl which is a guide to teach, learn, and speak Kréyòl.”