By: Carola Lillie Hartley
George Baillio (1892-1976), the son of Judge George K. Baillio and Mary Elizabeth Schmit, shown in this c.1909 photograph, was one of five graduates from Washington High School on Saturday, May 21, 1909. Others in the senior class included Estelle Lacombe, Margery Kilpatrick, Milton Kilpatrick and Jasper Neyland. Plonskey’s Opera House on Main Street was filled with an overflowing crowd for the commencement exercises. Following his graduation, Baillio attended Louisiana State University. He married Perla K. Odom, the daughter of James M. and Mary K Odom of Baton Rouge. The Baillio family later moved to Lake Charles where George was an accountant and a prominent theater executive. He was President of the Southern Amusement Company, operating theaters throughout Louisiana including Opelousas, where he acquired ownership of the Delta and Rex Theatres in 1936. In September of 1939, Baillio was appointed a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, a position he held until 1958. He died on April 29, 1976, and is buried in Orange Grove Cemetery in Lake Charles, LA. (Carola Lillie Hartley collection.)
