Longtime Catahoula parish feud to reignite next weekend

Published 12:09 am Saturday, October 31, 2009

JONESVILLE — Next Saturday, a long-smoldering Catahoula Parish feud will reignite.

For the second year in a row, a re-enactment of the historic Jones-Liddell feud will take place in Jonesville.

The re-enactment will be 1 p.m. Nov. 7 beyond the seawall at Four Rivers Park, and scriptwriter, chairperson and narrator Dot Lazarus said the re-enactment will something to remember.

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“We will have horses, guns, wagons, confederate uniforms, real gunshots, props — everything,” she said.

The re-enactment began last year with the Catahoula Parish bicentennial, and Lazarus said she was asked to write a script about the feud because it was an important part of the parish’s history.

“It went on for 18 years, and 18 men were killed,” she said. “Last year was a learning experience, and this year — if everything works — should be pretty good.”

Sixteen people descended from those involved in the feud will be involved in the re-enactment, as will veteran reenactor Wayne Elliott, Lazarus said.

“Wayne goes all around the country doing re-enactments,” Lazarus said.

The re-enactment will be a fundraiser for the Catahoula Parish museum, which is tentatively planned to be located near the reconstructed Great Mound in Jonesville.

Plans are to build the museum using a Preserve America grant, but Jonesville first has to be declared a Preserve America city, and reenacting the Jones-Liddell feud is part of the efforts to get it declared so, Lazarus said.

In addition to the re-enactment, the events will include two hours of music, 13 arts and crafts booths and vendors selling food items.

Those wishing for seating will need to bring their own chairs, and should be seated by 12:45 p.m.