COTTAGE GROVE – With Bohemia Mining Days making its annual appearance in Coiner Park last weekend, so did the Slabtown and Lemati Feud Games.
In the late 1800s, Cottage Grove was split between the east and west sides. The east side, near the railroad, grew quickly, while the west side (Slabtown) resisted incorporation. Disputes over building sites, water systems, walkways, and even the location of the post office led to a petition to split the city.
In 1895, the east side was incorporated as Lemati, named after the railroad’s “Lemati” station. The rivalry became a defining part of the city’s identity, and now every year, during the BMD festival, feud games bring the two sides of town together for friendly competition, old-time festival humor, and bragging rights in Bohemia City.
The Feud Games are a collection of playful festival competitions where visitors can compete, spectate, and cheer on either Lemati or Slabtown. Some games are quick individual contests, some are team challenges, and some are made for the whole crowd to get involved.
Slabtown defeated Lemati by an estimated score of 52–38. The final score was recorded on a handwritten tally card using tick marks, according to executive director Matthew Hewlett. Points were accrued through feud games. Piper Patterson was recognized publicly by the mayor of Bohemia City, Dana Merryday, and presented with a BMD button as the winner of the Feud.
The games stretched over Friday and Saturday. This year’s feuds included fuse winder, costume contest, outhouse cornhole, cherry pit spitting, beard and mustache contest, junior marshals game, mining in the dark, and two towns tug-o-war.
On Friday at 3 p.m., the fuse winder initiated the feud games, and participants gathered around the gazebo in the park. A red cylinder imitated a stick of dynamite, and a long white string attached to it was the fuse. Players raced as members of Lemati or Slabtown to wind the fuse tightly around the dynamite and the first properly wrapped fuse won.
A costume contest followed shortly after on the stage, where folks showed off their best frontier, mining, pioneer, or festival-themed outfit. Judges announced four winners for various divisions: the youth prize winner was Miss Sarah of Little Rock, Arkansas; the men’s prize winner was Curly Bill, the women’s prize winner was Becca Young, and the crowd favorite was Echo and her pony, Spirit.
Later that evening, a beard and mustache contest took place. The best available record for winners of this contest is Chris Ceaham with the best untamed beard, Tim Schweitzer winning the best fancy mustache, and TJ Jones winning the crowd favorite.
The Lemati gang came out triumphant during the two towns tug-o-war, which had six folks from Lemati (including Merryday) and five folks from Slabtown, tugging on both ends of a long rope.
An award ceremony honored all the winners on Saturday evening, including winners of competitions that were not feud games. Ray Perdue was the fastest of 10 participants to down a chocolate pudding pie during the pie-eating competition.
Last year, Perdue went head-to-head with Tobi D’Amore, both devouring an entire pie in less than three minutes. The two rivaled again while D’Amore flashed his winning medal. After roughly two minutes, Perdue emerged victorious.
“I’m just glad I took Tobi down, my competitor,” Perdue said.
