The Death of Oswald (And It Is Not The Oswald You Are Thinking) - UPDATE

by R. Martin Guidry

Lowell "PeeWee" Guidry of Cecilia, LA telephoned me on 24 March 2023 to discuss the article in the February 2023 issue of "Generations" on the death of Oswald Devillier . Lowell also is nicknamed Coach because of his over 50-year teaching career at Cecilia High School where he taught history and coached the various sports teams. PeeWee is 80 years old and lives on the original property of Pierre Guédry married to Marguerite Miller in St. Martin Parish. He descends from the Olivier Guédry père, son of Pierre Guédry and his second wife, Claire Babin. PeeWee said that within a half-mile north and south of I-10 all the folks living to east of Bordelon Road descend from Olivier's brother Louis and all the folks living west of Bordelon Road descend from Olivier Guédry. He is a lifelong resident of the Cecilia area and knows most of the folks there.

PeeWee's mother attended the dance the night that Oswald Devillier was murdered; however, she discussed it very little during her life. There are still several people in the Cecilia area that remember the murder although most were children in 1934. PeeWee and several of his elderly friends discussed the original article after Mass one morning and knew additional details about the murder of Oswald Devillier. PeeWee gathered all the comments and we discussed them during his telephone call and a subsequent visit that I made to PeeWee's house on 26 April 2023.

Although the community of Nina no longer exists as a village, it was located just south of the intersection of I-10 and Louisiana (LA) Highway 347 (Grand Point Highway) stretching south and along Grand Point Highway and east along today's LA Highway 352 (Henderson Highway).

The dance hall was located at the southwest corner of Grand Point Highway and Dermelie Calais Road (Parish Road 250) about 1.5 miles north of today's I-10. It fronted on Grand Point Highway. Dermelie Calais owned the dance hall so local folks called it La Place au Melie. Today folks often refer to it as the Dermelie Calais Dancehall. The structure no longer exists.

Peewee was a good friend of Bennet Talley's son and said that Oswald Devillier was a big, strong fellow and could easily beat a single person in a fight and maybe even two persons. Oswald had a high-pitched voice and during the dance an older gentleman by the name of Melancon made fun of Oswald because of this. At some point Oswald got angry and slugged Melancon very hard. Several of the young men that later attacked Oswald were related to and/or friends of Melancon. Words may have been exchanged because, when Oswald was leaving the dance, he asked a policeman to escort him from the dance to the wagon; however, the policeman had other business that needed his attention and he could not escort Oswald.

Oswald then left the dance and got into the mule-driven wagon with Uline Dejean, his fiancé, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leonce Dejean. Almost immediately the six young men attacked Oswald and beat him with a post until he was unconscious. Mr. Dejean got the mules to pull the wagon south down Grand Point Highway toward Nina; however, near an old oak tree about three-quarters of a mile from the dance hall, two of the young men, grabbed the bridles of the two mules and stopped them. The young men then continued to beat Oswald whose head swole up very large. Oswald was rushed to the hospital, but died on December 19th without regaining consciousness.