Eunice man discovered rosary craft at Folklife Festival

Many in Louisiana know what it’s like to evacuate for a hurricane, taking only what is necessary, but the ancestors of many in Louisiana did not get to bring anything with them when they arrived first in Louisiana.
“When the Acadians were exiled from Nova Scotia in the mid 1700s, they were not allowed to bring anything with them, not even their rosaries,” said Tommy Myers of Eunice.
Myers has been making rosaries for 25 years since learning how to make them from Dr. Claude Oubre and his wife, Pat, who were making rosaries at the Folklife Festival in the 1980s.
“I bought a rosary from him that day,” Myers said.
The rosary-maker will be one of many crafts people demonstrating their work at the Experience Louisiana Festival Oct. 17-18 at the LSU-Eunice campus.
Myers makes rosaries out of Job’s Tears, a grass plant he grows at his home that can also be found growing around the globe. The hard shell of the plant used for the rosary is named after the biblical figure Job, who endured great suffering.
“The shell has a natural hole in it, so making a rosary with them is very easy,” he said. “They are ready to go.”
According to Myers, many people in Louisiana make rosaries using Job’s Tears, and about six years ago, he started making rosaries with China berries, a product of a tree that was introduced to America in the early 1800s as an ornamental.
“Many locals call them China balls,” Myers said. “The berries made good weapons when I was a kid. We used them in slingshots.”
“I have to drill holes in these beads though, so it’s a little more time consuming than making a rosary with Job’s Tears. It’s a tedious process to get them from a green ball to a rosary bead.”
Myers uses string and wooden cross when fashioning his more traditional rosaries, but he uses wire and metal crosses when customers request more practical rosaries. The folk demonstrator shows off his work at arts and crafts shows each year, and he is looking forward to the Experience Louisiana Festival.
“I am very excited about the festival,” he said. “The Folklife Festival was tops to keep traditions alive. The Experience Louisiana Festival will be a good way to teach young and old folks to do traditional crafts.”
Contact Claudette Olivier at claudette.olivier@eunicetoday.com.