Life-long friends Gay-Lynn Folse and Yvette “Peachie” Roger will serve as Grand Marshals of the 2022 Krewe of Des Allemands Mardi Gras parade.
“I had two of the committee ladies come to my house … they had gone to Gay-Lynn’s house first and then they came here and they asked if I would be the grand marshal and I said, ‘Sure,’” Roger said laughing. “They told me that Gay-Lynn said, ‘Well if Peachie rides I’ll ride’ and I said, ‘Well we’re riding … we’re rolling.’”
Roger, a Des Allemands native and resident, said she acquired her nickname as a baby.
“My father nicknamed me Peachie when I was a child because I had a peach fuzz on my head and I had rosy, rosy cheeks,” Roger said. “It just continued.”
She said her journey to Mardi Gras Grand Marshal has been a lifetime in the making.
“I’ve been parading in Des Allemands for as long as I can remember … the first parade I rode in … I think it was 1959 and I was on my bike,” she said laughing.
Roger graduated at Hahnville High School before attending Spencer Business College. She worked at the ENT hospital in New Orleans, for Dr. Albert Hebeeb and later at Otto Candies before retiring in 2018. She said her Mardi Gras experiences have also included riding in the New Orleans parade Iris and in various truck parades in Metairie and New Orleans.
“Between 1972 and 1980 the group I rode with in Des Allemands won first place six times,” she said. “They would judge the floats. Then in 1995 … that was the first year the Des Allemands parade was called The Krewe of Des Allemands … my mother Voz and father Skee were the king and queen. They rode in a white horse-drawn carriage with a red interior … it was really neat.”
Folse remembers the Rogers riding in the carriage.
“It was absolutely beautiful,” she said, adding that just like her friend Roger she has found memories of the Des Allemands parades throughout the years.
“I can remember one year … it was Peachie’s relatives and they created a giant shoe and we were all the kids of the old lady in the shoe,” she said. “Then I served as queen of the Des Allemands parade when I was 13 years old. I was very shy and didn’t want to do that at all, but my mom wanted me to do it and now it’s a great memory to have.”
Folse was also born and raised in Des Allemands and is a parishioner at St. Gertrude. She worked for The Courier in Houma as a graphic design artist for 32 years.
“I retired from The Courier in 2010,” she said. “In 2011 I joined the Busy Bees of Holy Family Church. Both me and Peachie belong to the Busy Bees.”
As part of the organization the friends have donated to abused women in St. Charles Parish, collected food for food banks and collected school supplies.
Roger and Folse have also been active volunteers with the Catfish Festival, Lady’s Altar Society and St. Joseph’s Altar for many years.
Folse said she doesn’t know what to expect this year at the parade as far as crowds and floats go because of Hurricane Ida, but she is excited for the parade.
“I hope it can just lift everyone’s spirits,” she said. “I put in my order for a beautiful day. The closer it gets the more excited I am. I’ll be more excited if the weather is good because if so a lot of people can come out and enjoy it.”
Roger said she is also excited about the upcoming festivities.
“I want to thank the Krewe of Des Allemands committee,” she said. “Let the good times roll … we’re ready to roll.”
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