Ralph was born and raised in Fredericktown, Missouri. Upon graduating High School, Ralph joined the U.S. Navy and served for 21 years from June 1975 to June 1996, retiring as Chief Warrant Officer (CWO3).

     After retiring from the Navy, Ralph relocated back to Fredericktown with his wife Maria and their three kids. He found employment with Little Tikes Commercial Playground Equipment of Farmington, Solar Communications and Glister-Mary Lee, both of Perryville, where he retired. 

      Ralph has gathered genealogical information for over 40 years. His interest turned to the local history of Knob Lick and the area, where both sides of his family had relocated from various places around the country.

     During this time Ralph created three historical calendars of Knob Lick and two for the railroads along with  authoring four books: “Knob Lick: A History” and “The Railroads of Southeast Missouri, a three Volume Set.” The latter is three books that chronical the approximate 54 railroads of that area. Ralph has also created a Libertyville Historical Calendar for the town’s Historical Society and a  historical calendar for the St. Louis, Iron Mountain Railway of Jackson, Missouri, a traveling history museum.

     He is currently working on a series of historical books on "The History of the Rairoad" and a sequel to his Knob Lick book called "Knob Lick: The Stories."  These books should be ready mid summer of 2024.

     You can alo find his books in digitable format at amazon.com. Lookup his authors page at www.amazon.com/author/rkhughes3.bard. Each book is $7.99.