For those that remember back to 1962, here is a little history on a tragic event that took place at Natchitoches in the early morning hours of November 11th. John Fisher was a 22 year old senior at Northwestern State College. He was from Detroit, Michigan and came to Natchitoches to further his education. He was a relative of the Fisher family who owned the Fisher Sporting Goods store at the corner of Amulet & Second Street, directly across from the Zesto. John worked part time for KNOC radio and on this Saturday he helped the station broadcast Northwestern State’s 20-0 homecoming football victory over the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After the game, John Fisher and his friends had gathered for a party at his apartment, located at 801 Second Street at its corner with Lafayette Street. This house is located on the hill behind the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The students gathered into Fisher’s small apartment and they were celebrating the earlier homecoming victory. Around midnight, two of the students (one was named Weeks), left the apartment and walked down the hill to the Circle Café to get something to eat. (The Circle Café was located where the museum now stands, in fact, if you stand in front of the Shaq O’Neal display, you will be standing in the center of the old Circle Café). As the two students neared the café, they got into a confrontation with three black youths, It turned into a rock throwing altercation and the car that the three youths were in, had its windshield broken. The car had been borrowed earlier that evening from one of the youth’s uncle, an Edward Ward. After the dispute, the two students went into the café to get their food, while the three youths left to find the uncle and tell him about the damage. The youths found the car’s owner, Ward, at the Casa Grande Club on Dixie Street. After hearing of the confrontation and of the damage to his car, Edward Ward got a pistol and told the youths to get into his car and they headed downtown. The youths told Ward that one of the students that had thrown rocks was wearing black pants and a white shirt. When Ward drove by Fisher’s apartment, it was early Sunday morning and the party at Fisher’s apartment was breaking up. Fisher, along with some others, was standing in the front yard. It was then that one of the youth mistakenly pointed out Fisher to Ward, because he was also wearing black pants and a white shirt. Ward stopped the car, drew a Spanish made .38 caliber pistol from beneath the seat, and fired two shots. The first shot missed, but the second one struck John Fisher in the back, killing him instantly. The three youths and Ward all were charged with murder and all were found guilty. Ward was found guilty of a capitol murder offense. All the finding were appealed according to the article. It is unclear if Ward was ever executed for the murder. Law enforcement officers who testified in the trial included Sheriff Earl Morris, Chief Deputy Sam James, Police Chief Boyd Durr and La. State Trooper Herman Reed. Jurors for the trial were E.L. Kelly Jr., foreman, T.B. Jackson, Walter Scarborough, Cecil Ebert, T.S. Dowty, Noble Flenniken, L.A. Newman, Fred Yancey, Ludlow McNeely, R.W. Hatch, Leary Taylor, and K.T. Phillips. Alternates were H.D. Canerday and Jim Bob Key. John F. Fisher III, age 22 was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Fisher of Detroit Michigan. ---------------------------- Thanks once again to Robert Gentry for providing me with information. My uncle T.B. Jackson was on the jury
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 18:58:22 +0000
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