Dr. J.C. Munday was the young, handsome and popular doctor in Lake Charles, circa 1880s. He was one of the most active members of the "Amateur Troupe" a group composed of young girls and young men of that day drawn together by a desire for some sort of recreation other than picnicking in Perkins' Grove, or attending Wednesday night prayer meetings. Dr. Mundey had married Miss Smart of Vernon parish whom he had met as a young girl when he stopped at her father's house on his way home at the close of the Civil war. Later, the young couple moved to Bagdad and Mrs. Munday taught school while Munday attended lectures in Charity Hospital in New Orleans and studied to become a doctor, her salary going towards his maintenance there. Returning, as a doctor, he immediately plunged into dissipations that finally broke up their home and with it broke Mrs. Munday's heart. Many are the stories told of his adventures with the falr and frall ones of his day. There was a Mrs. Falgout, a pretty little French seamstress, who lived in a cottage near the Southern Pacific depot. When she died in giving birth to Dr. Munday's child, her husband sent a messenger to the doctor to "come after his brat". To his credit, Dr. Munday took the infant into his home and reared him with his other son, Pearl. The Munday home was on Ryan street - about where Parker's store is now - south of Rigmaiden's hotel. Later this house was moved back to Bilbo street, and, finally, after being acquired by L. Kaufman, moved to Broad street and made Into a two-story apartment house. It is between the Presbyterian church and the Methodist church now and belongs to the Methodist copporation. After his wife's death, Dr. Munday married a Mrs. Cawthorn, a divorcee, with whom his name had long been linked. A large home was built on Kirby street, afterwards purchased by Jo Elster, and here the couple lived in seclusion. Mrs. Munday was never recognized by the respectable women of the town. Their home was just across the street from the public school and I remember her walking about the grounds or back and forth across the wide galleries - alone. Occasionally, he would venture forth into the stores on Ryan street, dressed in black silk with passementerie trimmings - the last word in elegance dress in those days - but the women shoppers she met always carefully turned their heads when she passed by. The men whose business brought them to "The City", as New Orleans was then referred to by the country residents, had heard of Mrs. Cawthorn in that gay city and coming back, had warned their ladies against association with The Painted Lady, even though marriage had given her a semblance of respectability. Then too, there were those that remembered the gentle Mrs. Munday, whose place had been supplanted by this bold, painted creature and no atonement for past sins could ever make them forgive or forget. Curiously enough, this taboo did not extend to Dr. Munday. While not recognized in the social sense (in the late nineties) he was always used in a professional capacity. He was the most popular doctor in his day, being considered the best doctor in town (which was not saying much) and such simple surgery as was then done, he did it. Mrs. Haskell, whose aunt was the first Mrs. Munday, tells me that Dr. Munday made it a rule in his house to serve a pinch of quinine every day with the early morning coffee that all Louisianans begin the day with. He said this helped to keep away malaria. And no doubt it did. In I877-78, Dr. Munday conducted a drug-store in partnership with J.A. Landry, occupying the corner of J.W. Bryan's store that abutted on Ryan and North Court streets. Later, the partnership was dissolved and the two men became mortal enemies, but apparently were yet friends when the performance was given for the benefit of the Baptist church. Dr. Munday, who seemed to have had a dangerously loose tongue for a doctor, repeated some gossip about Mr. Landry, in the late nineties, Landry gave him such a terrific thrashing that Munday was in bed for weeks after and, indeed, never entirely recovered from the effects of lt. This was not the first thrashing that Munday received. Sometime in the nineties his wife, the former Mrs. Cawthorn, decided she wanted to join the Methodist church. Accordingly, Dr. Munday went to the then Methodist minister to sound him out on the subject. Mr. Upton was the Methodist minister. He told Munday that the church would be glad to receive Mrs. Munday, but as she had never been christened it would be necessary for her to go through with this ceremony. Munday, who was originally (and perhaps remained) a Baptist, desired his wife to be baptised by immersion, as Baptists do it, in a pool. He wanted a literal and thorough washing away of sins. The two, the minister and the doctor, had a prolonged discussion about this; Methodists baptize by sprinkling water on the head, and Mr. Upton considered this sufficient. Dr. Munday differed with him. One word led to another, until both men were hurling bitter words at one another; finally Mr. Upton, in righteous wrath, raised his cane and brought it down on Mundays back a sufficient number of times to bring the argument to a decided close. Afterwards the boys in town made up a song that was sung on the streets for some months about this fight.. The song,
"Tar-rah-rah-boom-de-aye" was popular then, and the words were adapted to this tune. It went something like this:

"Upton and Munday had a fight
Upton knocked Munday out of sight
Broke his jaw with a loaded cane
Upton never saw Munday again.
Tar-rah-rah-rah-boom-de-aye!

At the turn of the century, Dr. Munday and his wife moved to San Antonio, Texas. However, before they left Lake Charles they were embroiled in family quarrels that lost Dr. Munday the public favor. During an illness that he had, he claimed that his wife attempted to kill him. Later, she retaliated by saying that he tried to poison her, and she would eat or drink nothing that she had not prepared herself. After their removal to Texas they were soon forgotten by the general public. Mrs. Cawthorn, the second Mrs. Munday, was the aunt of "Red" Cagle, the famous Army football player. (Source: Trent Gremillion)