Katrina & Mississippi - One
Year Later
(Photos and Story by Jon Soder)
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To Specific Area of This Story
August 28th Arrival
Katrina Memorial Service
Santa Maria Del Mar Photos
Photo Tour of Biloxi
Beau Rivage Casino Grand Reopening
Bathroom Vanity & Kitchen Cabinet Project
Visit with Tom Lynch - Air
Force Retiree
Gulfport, Long Beach,
Waveland, Bay St. Louis
A Few Miscellaneous Photos
Jon's Trip Home
I live in Minnesota, but I have direct connections to hurricane Katrina through family, friends, victims, and helpers. I personally made a trip to Niceville, Florida and Biloxi, MS right after Katrina to bring my mother and sister and some of their belongings back to Minnesota. They both lived in Biloxi at the time of this hurricane. I also brought a trailer load of relief supplies for my niece and her family who were living in Ocean Springs, MS and lost everything.
This trip back to the Biloxi area over the anniversary date of Katrina was planned for business, pleasure, and health reasons. It was a very productive trip for me and making new connections and revisiting old ones was very fulfilling. It was both a happy and sad trip (seeing both the progress and future outlook and seeing examples of the lack of progress and depression and hardship still going on for many fellow citizens).
There are about 200 photos associated with this story. Because of that, I will just put text links descriptive of the photo in this document instead of thumbnail photo links because it will allow this page to load much faster on your computer. Then you can just click on a link to look at the photos you want to see.
My brother Alan and I traveled separately but together. He was hauling a large piece of furniture in his van and I was hauling myself in my little MINI Cooper S. We both stayed at the Comfort in Ocean Springs during our three day stay in the Biloxi area. This is the same hotel that Anderson Cooper was filming from during the Katrina Hurricane when the awning and roof started coming apart.
Photo of MINI Cooper at the motel Photo of MINI Cooper at the motel
On our first night, Alan and I went out to McElroy's in Ocean Springs for dinner. I had broiled scallops with Cajun spices and I also put some Tabasco on them to kick it up a notch. What a great dinner and way to wind down after a 1300 mile drive.
Since we were so close to the Ocean Springs/Biloxi bridge, we drove as close as we could get to it and took a few photos. It still does not look any different that a year ago, except for some equipment that gives the impression they might start doing something soon.
Bridge Photo 1 Bridge Photo2 Bridge Photo3 Fishing Pier Sunset
August 29th
Katrina First Anniversary Memorial Service
On the morning of August 29th, we attended the Memorial Observance at the Biloxi Town Green. This set of photos includes getting there, copy of the program, and photos of the memorial service itself. It was very hot, but thankfully the politicians all kept their speeches to a very reasonable length.
Approaching Biloxi Program Cover Program Pg1 Program Pg2
Security Presence including Secret Service and other law enforcement
Approaching Biloxi Town Green From The East One Two Three
Fire Fighting Units from all over U.S. Attended
Choir Behind the Speakers The Audience
Santa Maria Del Mar Senior Apartments - One Year Later
After the service, I walked over to the Santa Mari Del Mar. This was the senior high rise apartment building my mother lived in. The entire first floor of this 13 story building was destroyed and the building was condemned. Now one year later, the debris is cleaned up, but the building remains as a reminder of the vast amount of rebuilding that has not been accomplished or even started yet. There are also many signs of progress being made in Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but it is easy to see that much work is still needed.
Photo Tour of Biloxi Area - One Year Later
On August 29th Alan had several errands to do in Biloxi. I rode along and took photos along the way. I tried to capture the essence of what the area looks like one year after Katrina. During our travels of the day, we made some stops at places like the Bay Press, the Post Office, Wherever we saw Media trucks (hand out CDs), and visited Mary Pratt (a Mississippi Artist).
Mary-Pat Forrest was one of the recipients of artist materials donated by a group of artists from Minnesota. The Minnesota Artists then made an art gallery available to the Mississippi artists a week before our trip so they could come to Minnesota and display and sell their art. Alan met Mary-Pat when she was in Minnesota selling her art. We visited her in Biloxi in the afternoon of the 29th. She was a very interesting lady. She is still living in a FEMA trailer and is hoping to rebuild the small cottage that is still standing behind where her large home used to be. She did say she sold all of her most expensive stuff in Minnesota and was very happy for that. While we were there, a TV crew from the Mobile NBC station stopped by. They wanted to interview Mary-Pat because they had already been at the memorial service and the Beau Rivage opening and were now looking for stories on what it is like for others in the community. She allowed them to interview her and Alan and I saw her on the 10:00 news in our hotel rooms. Also, Alan gave them a promotional CD - no surprise there (for more information about the Katrina Benefit CD go to www.mgc-group.org). I'm not sure why, but I did not get any photos of the Mary-Pat visit.
Biloxi Photos: Damaged Homes: One Two Three
Bombay Bicycle Club Restaurant & Bar Biloxi Historic Street Historic Biloxi
Sharkheads Souvenir Store Damaged Industrial Business in Back Bay
Destroyed Car Dealership (Notice What is being built in its place)
Post Office: Damaged Main Bldg Temporary 1 Temporary 2 Alan Mailing CD
VA Hospital & Grounds: One (Entrance) Two (Entering) Three (Hospital)
Four (Hospital) Five (National Cemetery)
Beach Boulevard: One Two Three (Denny's) Four (Broadwater Resort)
Grand Reopening of Beau Rivage Casino - August 29, 2006
Alan and I were at the Beau Rivage on opening day (twice). The first time we were turned away because they were not open for business yet and we were not VIP guests of the hotel. We came back later to attend a Community Celebration. We had our official invitations from Sara Miller. This was an amazing celebration party and the Beau spared no expense on this lavish welcome back party. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of Sara as she was so busy greeting people and hosting this party. She worked over 12 hours on this day.
Alan and I really enjoyed the party. I took many photos. Some of the photos are a little blurry, but considering it was held in a very large ballroom, was very dark with and ever-changing light show going on, they did turn out pretty good. I took photos of the light show, the band, the people, the open bars, and the food. This was the best FREE party I have ever been to and it was a real honor to be invited. By now, you have seen lots of media photos of the grand re-opening showing the building, gaming rooms, restaurants, etc., but I think this will be the first ones you have seen of the Community Celebration in the Magnolia Ballroom. Here are the photos:
Missing Photo: MDOT had construction electric sign trailers on I-10 and I-110 announcing the Beau's opening. I guess the government was happy to see the Beau open too.
Beau Rivage Outside Views: Building1 Building2 Countdown Sign
The Very Entertaining Band: One Two Three
The Fabulous Bars: One Two Three
People Enjoying the Party: One Two
The Great Food: Chinese Southern Prime Rib Beef & Ham
Oysters1 Oysters2 Sushi1 Sushi2
On August 30th, Alan and I took care of some project business, did some visiting, and toured the Gulfport, Long Beach, Waveland, and Bay St. Louis Areas. It was a very long day, but worthwhile, interesting and mostly enjoyable. Although there are a lot of pretty sad photos in this section, the are some high points and humor showing through in the spirit of those who are bringing the Gulf Coast back to life.
Kitchen Cabinets and Bathroom Vanity Projects
This is about some good deeds that were done for a Navy disable veteran named Mike Maldo (AKA CoastCop) and his wife Patty who live in Long Beach. Mike and family are living in a FEMA trailer while rebuilding their home. The home itself is brick so it remained structurally sound, but it had to be completely gutted because of the flood damage cause by the huge storm surge. Mike is one of those who had insurance on his house, so he ended up getting very little from FEMA (he did get a trailer), and very little from the insurance company because they used the flood vs. wind damage loophole in the policy. Anyway, Mike is a former Navy Seabee and is very talented in construction, so he made tremendous progress on the house himself by buying a few materials at a time and doing the work himself. He has to give the FEMA trailer back in October (he has already had two extensions on the turn in deadline). The main thing keeping him from moving back into the house was getting a functional kitchen and bathroom done.
Two major items were holding him up because of the cost. One was that a normal size vanity for the bathroom would not fit and he could not afford to hire a cabinet maker. The other one was that he could not afford designing the layout and purchasing kitchen counter and wall cabinets (he already had his appliances, but nowhere to install them). A retired cabinet maker from Minnesota named Joe Balazs volunteered to construct a custom made vanity to fit in the space. Kim provided the measurements, Alan paid for the materials, Joe built the vanity, and Alan delivered it to Mike's house on August 30th. We have since received word from Mike that it is installed and that it fit perfectly.
Kim also got exact measurements of the kitchen area which Jon used to work with a Home Depot kitchen designer (Neil Lewis) to draw up a plan for the right kind of cabinets and pieces and parts to fit this kitchen area. This planning process took about a month and a lot of back and forth calls and emails before we got it right. Kitchens are more complicated than I ever thought. On the day before we left for Biloxi, We got the final design worked out and I paid for it and made the shipping address to Mike's house. On August 30th, I gave Mike all of the design, order, warranty, and installation instructions. About a week after we left Mike said the cabinets arrived in good condition. We have also heard that he is nearly finished installing them even though he ran into a couple of structural issues he had to fix first.
Here are the photos of our August 30th adventure at Mike's house:
Yes, Mike lives on Wisteria Lane!! Mike & Patty's House & FEMA trailer
Al & Jon Arrive Vanity in Van Unloading Vanity Inspecting Vanity
Al & Mike by Vanity Vanity Close-up Where Vanity will be Installed
More details about these projects can be found at www.mgc-group.org
Visit with Air Force Retiree Tom Lynch
Later in the day on August 30th Alan and I met with Tom Lynch. Tom is the person who bought some CDs and wrote a very special testimonial about how good it is and how each song captured the true essence of Katrina and struggles that have followed. I have been in contact with Tom for a couple of months and I finally got to meet him on this trip. Since we are both retired from the military and are both disabled as a result of our military service, we had an immediate built in bond with each other.
Tom was so excited when he saw us because he wanted us to see his "special edition" t-shirt. It has the words "I survive Camille 1969 AND Katrina 2005" on it. He is retired from the Air Force and has lived in Biloxi since 1949.
Tom was so anxious to tell his story and we listened intently to him for three hours. He lost his home because he was living in the Armed Forces Retirement home that has not been rebuilt yet and it is beginning to look like it will never be rebuilt. He told us the entire history of that home and how much he loved it and how it was so much better than the one in Washington D.C. where the government wants to send those who live in the Biloxi home.
Tom spent much of his career as an instructor at Keesler Air Force base. In fact, during the Korean War, he somehow got his wish of going to Korea but then got sent right back to Keesler because the Air Force believed he was more valuable as an instructor than being on the front lines.
Tom's daughter also lost her home and is having a very difficult time getting restarted. We did not have enough time left on this trip to find out more about the daughters situation, but Alan and I will try to see if we can get a better idea of what her specific needs are so that maybe we can connect her up with some help.
Tom is a very interesting person, but you can tell that he is very upset about what the government is doing to him and other veterans living in the area. We could have talked hours more, but the coffee shop we were in was closing up after we talked over three hours. Here are a couple of photos of this visit. Tom is the one who is not Alan or Jon.
Gulfport, Long Beach, Waveland, Bay St. Louis
This next set of photo was taken during the day on August 30th. We were in several areas during the day and I did my best to separate the photos by area, but I may have some of them labeled wrong. I am fairly familiar with Biloxi, but Alan had me kind of lost on all the side roads we took to get to the various places. From what I could see, these four towns still show less reconstruction progress than Biloxi, but that might be because I did not see everything everywhere.
Gulfport: Destroyed Motel Destroyed Apartments Trailers
Grand Casino Grand Casino Parking Ramp Shell Gas Station
S.S. Camille Memorial Boat A Sign Of What Is Coming
Gulfport KFC: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven
Long Beach: Damaged Home Lunch in Long Beach Stranded Boat
Damaged Mansion Will Return FEMA Trailers
Waveland: Love State Farm Tent Compound Tent Church: One Two
Trailer Damaged Home Fixing Church Seafood Stand
Trailer Damaged Home Damaged Home MINI vs MACK
Damaged Home Tent Home Destroyed Home
Bay St. Louis: Destroyed Home Destroyed Home Bridge Gone
County Courthouse Destroyed Home Destroyed Home
Alan and I did not travel together on the way home, but we did keep in contact by cell phone. I drove 900 miles the first day, so I went from Biloxi, MS to Davenport, IA in one day. That left me plenty of time the second day, so I took a more scenic route home along the Mississippi River through Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Here are a few photos of the trip:
Entering Dubuque, IA Typical Iowa Traffic
Struggling through a stretch of Corn: One Two Three
Valley in Wisconsin Lacrosse, WI Memorial Park One Two
Crossing into Minnesota One Two Three House on a Bluff
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