Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal

By Linda Saxon Nix
© 2005 & 2006

December 28, 2005

Updated:
January 10, 2006
April 2006
August 17, 2006

On Friday, December 23 at 10:00 am the ribbon was cut and Popps Ferry Bridge was opened. This was celebrated by the mayor riding across the bridge in a police car with sirens blasting. The first motorists crossing were said to have honked their horns and rolled down windows shouting, "Woohooooooo!" I echo those sentiments. By the bridge opening early, the contractor earned a $50.000 bonus, and those of us "stranded" north of the bridge were saved a 34 mile trip around the world to get to just across the bridge. This is tremendous progress!

On Wednesday, December 21, Biloxi opened Highway 90 as a two-lane road. There are only about 6 entry and exit ways to get on and off throughout the length of the highway in Biloxi. On Saturday, it opened all four lanes. Gulfport had opened 90 a few weeks earlier, but remain only two lanes still, and they don't have many traffic lights up yet.
Once those of us who followed the law, or those of us who didn't have a legitimate pass to get down to 90, were able to get to the beach, we were shocked all over again at the devastation. Nothing is recognizable. Street sighs and familiar landmarks are gone. Almost everything except the strongest and newest buildings were leveled, and nearly everything was gutted. Everything along the beach was flooded if it was left standing. It truly looks like bombs were dropped.

With Popps Ferry Bridge and Highway 90 open from Biloxi through Gulfport, traffic is moving better. We still need to get all of the traffic lights working, and at busy intersections you still see policemen moving traffic.

We have three movie theaters open now - the Imperial Palace, Cinemark and Grand 14. So far Hardy Court and United Artist in Biloxi haven't opened and there has been no word on what they will do.

Second Spring

A phenomenon occurred this year, as happens when hurricanes strip trees of their branches. This fall we had a second spring. Even with cold weather (some nights around 30 º), flowers have continued to bloom, and the second crop of leaves have stayed on the trees much longer, giving us a rare showing of fall foliage. At the end of December, when you look up at the sparse leaves on our trees, you see yellows, oranges, deep reds and brilliant purples. Normally, we have no fall colors. Leaves of our deciduous trees just turn brown and drop off. Roses are still blooming, and my Angel Trumpet plants are loaded down with blossoms. The butterfly bush has purple flowers long after most of the butterflies have left, but they stayed around well through December. I've never seen more beautiful pansies! It's as if God has sent us signs that He is still there watching over us, and giving us a glimpse of beauty to give us more hope that all will be right in the world; at least in His Kingdom of Nature.

Angel Trumpet Photo taken on Christmas Day 2005

The December Miracle

Magnolia on December 11, 0205

A magnolia tree that is hanging onto dear life from near destruction from storm damage bore a beautiful magnolia blossom in early December. The tree in my neighbor's yard was badly mangles and was going to be removed, but I talked the neighbor into sparing it. I was sitting on my back patio that afternoon looking at the trees and wondering how long it would take them to recover and ever look normal again. . Most of our trees look terrible. My daughter likened them to poodle dogs. They have little puffs of leaves scattered along stringy limbs. Looking around, I saw, sitting on an almost bare branch, what I thought was a was a perfect blossom perched way high in the tree on a limb hanging over into another neighbor's yard. I had to blink several times, thinking my eyes had deceived me. My husband confirmed what I was seeing. It was, indeed, a December miracle. If you know me, you know that I love magnolias and have pages and pages about them on the web. I observe magnolia trees, and I have never seen one bloom in the fall, much less December after we have had freezing temperatures.
I choose to believe that this one pristine magnolia blossom is a sign of hope to come as well as a magical "Thank you" from the old, bedraggled magnolia tree for saving her life.

I've seen a good number of pelicans, and on Christmas morning there was a flock of white Egrets flying back and forth around over Back Bay. As I watched from our front window, I truly enjoyed their graceful beauty. It was comforting to know that our water fowl population wasn't destroyed.

I snapped these pelicans along the breakwater by the boat channel coming out of the Biloxi Harbor on a schooner ride in November. There were a large number of then all along the riff raff, and I spotted what looked like nests made of straw.

Christmas came and went, and those who wrote in to the "Sound Off" column in the Sun Herald were proved wrong when they neysayed that we would have no Christmas this year. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and he lives in the hearts of children and adults all over the country who raised and collected money and sent (or hauled themselves) truckloads upon truckloads of toys to all of the boys and girls on the Coast who lost all of their toys, and some, I'm sure, who never had many to start with.

Yet there are many who are still living in tents, and those who can't find living places to return to the Coast, and those who are finally in FEMA trailers but are having to deal with leaky roofs, broken door locks, faucets that don't work, and, yes, even one that came without a kitchen sink. There are still stores that can't find enough employees to return to the store hours they had before Katrina. There are those who can't decide whether or not they should rebuild where their slabs are, or move away from the beach to higher ground.

The malls are coming back to life. A lot of stores have reopened, but stocks aren't like they used to be, nor is the service we were used to. We still don't have a Toys r Us or a book store. Shoppers at McRae's who use a fitting room have no mirror and change on a bare concrete floor. Katrina really whammed the malls.

Our city fathers are toying with approving higher density condos, grappling with FEMA height guidelines for homes being rebuilt, and casinos scrambling to get the good land down in Point Cadet where many homeowners are selling out and moving inland. We have probably thousands of construction workers who have come in from other areas working on roofs, making repairs, and amazingly, continuing construction on buildings that had been started before the storm. Rebuilding will be very slow. I, for one, am not in favor of high density condos lining our beaches, and am afraid that our city councilmen will see the $$$$$ and forgo the quiet life we were used to. Besides, how many of our native residents (that is, before Katrina) could afford $500,000 to $1,000,000 condos anyway?

Gone are all of the beautiful, hundred year old homes that graced our beachfront. I can only hope that some will rebuild, but they won't be old anymore, at least not for another hundred years. I do not want to see us turn into a Gulf Shores, or a Destin or Panama City Beach with a highway lined with nothing but hi-rise condos.

Life is getting back on track. Cities had Christmas programs, Christmas arts and craft shows. The little theaters and the symphony are performing again. We had Christmas on the Water, albeit a little late and a little smaller than usual, but we had it. Churches that were destroyed are meeting in churches that are still standing. Children are back in school, even if it is in portable classrooms or going split-session. A large percentage of teachers lost their homes, and are living in FEMA trailers or with friends or family, so they are to commended and praised for the work they are doing in not the best of circumstances.

Debris removal is ongoing. Neighborhoods in some areas are almost clear; yet people are still hauling stuff out as they find the time to clean up, saw up fallen trees, muck out mildewed sheetrock, and clear out downed sheds, etc. In some places, piles still remain of homes and businesses. The old Bombay Bicycle Club hasn't been cleaned up a bit on Highway 90 in Biloxi. They are still dismantling casino barges that landed on top of other buildings.

The President Casino barge by the Coliseum is being torn down. It landed on top of the Holiday Inn. In that space a huge condominium project has just been approved. I mean, it is humongus!

Here is some handiwork of debris removers. They totally destroyed a storm drain by our house. Not only did they tear up the concrete cover, they broke the brick foundation and the metal frame. So far, after reporting it to the city who told me to call the debris removal contractor who said they would fix it, nobody has come out. Both drains in our cul-de-sac are stopped up with debris and the street floods when it rains. I'm sure this same scenario plays out all over the area. Those who are cleaning up are also tearing up.

Crime is up on the Coast, and there have been some suicides. You can bet that some marriages are severely strained or have ended, and stress is evident everywhere. It took about four months for the shock to wear off, and many people are suffering from post-traumatic shock. Tears come extremely to many, especially women, and although they are trying to be strong, men are having a hard time dealing with their situation, also. One can only imagine the effects this has had on children, who are often unable to voice their feelings and fears. One thing is for sure, something like this is certainly character-building if it doesn't destroy you. It may even make people stronger. It certainly has caused many to turn to their faith in order to deal and cope with the situation.

The bridge that is to be built between Biloxi and Ocean Springs has caused quite a little controversy. I had just complemented Mayor Moran of Ocean Springs at the job she had been doing when I saw her at the Peter Anderson Festival. Then she up and disappointed me by not wanting to approve the bridge that was proposed by MDOT. She got some concessions she wanted, then mounted a campaign that the bridge would be too big. She wants Ocean Springs to stay the way it is now - small, charming and (I guess) isolated from the rest of the Coast. She withdrew her support for the bridge. She thinks that we won't need a large bridge for 50-60 years. She is wrong. The Popps Ferry Bridge was too small and the wrong type as soon as it was built. We now need a four lane bridge there, and one that is high-rise to boot. The Biloxi City Council voted their support for the six-lane bridge, and so did the Harrison County and Jackson County Boards of Supervisors. I hope MDOT goes forward with their plan for a modern high-rise bridge that will meet our needs now and in the future. We have federal money, so now is the time to plan ahead and use it.

Broken Dreams

This is all that remains of the home of a friend of mine in St. Andrews in Jackson County. They had renovated a home on a very spacious lot just across the street from the Gulf. Nothing is left but the rubble of their destroyed home. The insurance company is saying that it was water and not wind that did the damage. They did have flood insurance, but not enough to cover the new value of the home and its contents. I photographed the property for them so they could try to show how it wasn't water alone that broke out the tops of trees on their property. They are angry, as are so many other people who are left with nothing and found that they insurance companies are refusing to be humane enough to accept the possibility of wind before water. They seemed stoic as we picked our way around and through the rubble, and seemed to be holding up, but I think they are still in shock. They have to be to not show emotion.
They are fortunate to have found a house to live in in Ocean Springs, but for a while they shuffled around in various places. They do not plan to rebuild near the water. This loss is enough for them in one lifetime.
Perhaps 10, 20 or even 30 years from now, some unsuspecting newcomer will find this lot and think that it is the perfect place to live, as did so many on the beach years after Camille I only hope that they get insured to the hilt and not become attached to earthly belongings.

News reports say that two out of three people who own property on the Beach in Biloxi and Gulfport are planning on selling. Some die-hards plan on rebuilding. It is heartbreaking to realize that our coast line will never again be the same.

A contract has been let and work has begun cleaning up the beach. Machines imported from Phoenix are literally sifting the top foot of sand so that when they are finished, the beach will be safe to be on. Not so for the water. It is still filled with tons of debris that will take longer to remove. It isn't safe to go into the water, but strangely, they say that crabs and fish are safe to eat. I think I'll pass for a while.

I'm proud that one of my photos will be published in the Governor's Report on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal at the end of this year. It was spotted through a Google search by someone on the commission. The report will be available to the public after the first of the year.

Nobody said that all of this will be easy. As we near the new year, lets hope and pray that we aren't hit again with either a large or a small hurricane in 2006. Hopefully, as the new year dawns, we will be able to move forward, but it will take years, if not decades, to recover from this horrendous mess. Needless to say, everyone who lived here on August 29 will ever be the same, for everyone was affected by Katrina in one way or another.

January 10

It was just announced that Toys r Us will not reopen their damaged store near Edgewater Mall. This is a blow to our economy and our shopping choices and a pooh! on them.
Last week it was announced that United Artist Theaters will not reopen, and when I drove by Hardy Court Cinema, I was shocked to see that it had been completely demolished and was gone. That was my most favorite theater to go to, as it was cheaper, and not crowded, and the people who attended didn't stay on their cell phones during the movies.
Things are not looking as good as they should be looking.

I was told, however, that all of the Waffle Houses, which are owned by the same person, will be rebuilt as soon as building heights and codes have been established.
Dillards in the Mall still isn't open, and none of the restaurants around the mall even look like they are starting to rebuild. They are all most likely waiting to learn how high they will have to go to meet building and FEMA codes.

April 2006

Here it is April 22 and we've finally had a good, heavy rain - our first in many months. The drought has taken a toll on all of our trees that are struggling to survive. Even so, with Spring has come new green leaves on our trees, and although they are still funny looking because most trees have short tufts of new growth rather than long branches, at least they look fresh and green. By now we can just about tell which trees didn't make it, although tree experts have said that trees that seem to be surviving may in the long run die, especially without enough rain. The oaks are sending out new growth, but the magnolias are still looking pitiful. Many were killed, many ware damaged and still have virtually no leaves, with the few leaves left brown and yucky. Still, my small Little Gems have struggled to produce buds. I'm hoping that they won't have used all of their energy to reproduce and then die. I'm working on a new series of magnolia photographs this year called "Katrina Magnolia Series". I know a lot of the flowers will be without leaves surrounding them, but I've found that some of the trees that were farther inland, and those in secluded yards have fairly nice leaves.

Most lawns still look bad unless people have sprinkler systems and have done a lot of work to get rid of the multitude of weeds that have come in from who-knows-where, to fill in holes from fallen tree stumps removed, or from the debris removal claws that tore lawns up when they grabbed for the debris piled on the fronts of lawns, and to re-sod. Nurseries and garden centers are doing a booming business with people trying to replace flowers, trees and shrubs that were destroyed or died from salt spray and lack of water.

To some, worrying about a lawn is frivolous. They still are waiting for insurance payments, or are fighting with their insurance companies for fair settlement in order to start rebuilding their homes. They are left with slabs, mostly on piles of dirt. All greenery is gone from their desolate lots. Most of the insurance companies are playing hard ball and refusing to pay anything if a house had water damage, even if caused by Hurricane winds and not flood. Mortgage companies are not playing fair, either. They are withholding insurance payments that are needed for home repairs. They had a three-month moratorium on mortgage payments after Katrina, then demanded all back payments in a lump sum after three months. These people don't have jobs or places to live. Whoever said life was fair???

The situation nearly everywhere on the Coast is that people are waiting for cities to adopt building height codes that meet FEMA guidelines. I believe that some have, but I know that Biloxi is still struggling and the city council hasn't acted yet. The problem is that if some people were to rebuild their homes that were ground level to the recommended heights, they would have to raise the level of ground floor so high that they would need an elevator if they are elderly. The cost of rebuilding up will be expensive, and some people just don't think they can afford it. A lot of people will have to sell their property and move inland. That leaves casino development and condos where there were once homes and neighborhoods.

It looks like it will take years for most of the rebuilding right along the Gulf and along the Back Bay to resume and for things to proceed at any discernible pace. On the other hand, a lot of gutting and repairing is being to homes that are salvageable. Thanks to thousands of volunteers and church groups that have flooded to the Coast to help people, homes are being repaired and refurbished so that people can move back in and live. Some people have been back down three and four times, and say they will come again. It is so touching to see the human kindness and the selflessness of everyone who comes so willingly. I've even heard of people who are thanking us for the opportunity to help, as it has changed their lives.

Status of Biloxi

It's still impossible to go out to eat without long waits because so many of the restaurants haven't even started to rebuild. Wait staff is scarce, so service is usually slow. Those who work, work hard. Some are still on unemployment and it has been said that until that runs out, they aren't going to try to find work. It's like that all over the Coast. It's such a treat to go out of town or out of state and eat in an uncrowded restaurant, and have a good choice of dining variety.

Casinos are back in operation, with more on line to open this summer. They are using temporary locations as every one of their actual gaming barges were destroyed. Usually they are refurbishing the first and second floors of their hotels as casinos while they are rebuilding. Grand Casino is bulldozing their entire structure south of Highway 90 and will start over. I can't help but hope that they don't take over our city. They have their place, but I think our mayor (and the city council) wants even more to build here, and I feel that he is compromising the integrity of our once-charming town with too many. I realize their importance to our economy, but I don't him to sell our soul for a buck or two or three. Ditto for condos. They are getting bigger and taller, and each one seems to ask for and get a height and density variance. Can you say, "Dollars under the table???"

Our population is changing, just like New Orleans. Nagan wants a chocolate city, but has mostly vanilla because the blacks aren't going back to New Orleans very fast. They have no place to live there, either. Block after block of homes and apartments sit empty because they were flooded. Here,where we've had a mixture of heritages for years, with the Vietnamese our latest new culture up until now, the Chicanos are coming in from Mexico and filling the void by providing the labor that is rebuilding and re-roofing our city. It's strange to see signs in Wal-Mart in both English and Spanish. Today I happened to go in to return something, and there was a long line of Mexicans cashing their weekly pay check and some where sending money back home to their families.

Katrina Sunflowers

I had said that weeds have come in from everywhere. I've never seen so many weeds take over the yards, and my flower beds are nothing but weeds. In fact, the volunteer flowers that are usually coming up by now have been taken over by weeds. There is a new phenomenon this year - the Katrina Sunflowers. All over the Coast you see sunflowers blooming where there never have been sunflowers. Where did they come from? Kat Bergeron did a story about them in the newspaper a week or so ago. I found out about them over a month ago from a group of artists in Ocean Springs I sometimes paint with. They told me they had cropped up all over Ocean Springs, and several of them were doing sunflower paintings from them. After that, I spotted quite a few in my yard, especially down the hill where the water surge came in. These sunflowers aren't terribly tall; they may get up to between one and two feet, and the flowers aren't huge, either, but boy, are they prolific. I spotted some in Gulfport while shooting Katrina photography with a photographic workshop. They are everywhere.
Why are they sprouting?
It's anyone's guess. Kat speculated that they were from bird seed that got scattered with the storm. Yet, I have never had a sunflower bloom in my yard from my bird seed, and I've been feeding birds sunflower seeds for years. And this year has been very dry. What germinated them? I can barely get my tiny new azalea plants to keep from dying from lack of moisture. (Postscript - most of the new plants died over the extremely hot summer.) Why everywhere? I think it is God and Mother Nature's way of telling us that life is precious, and it perseveres, and will continue even through such hardships as a devastating hurricane. It's nature's way of replenishing the earth and providing beauty and hope amidst the rubble and the slabs.
Besides the sunflowers, little pink petunias have shown up. Not as many as the sunflowers, but I have one in my front yard and one in the back. I've only had petunias in my yard once, and only in the front, and that was many years ago. The scent is too strong for me.

Poke Salad Annie

And the poke berry plants are taking over the universe. One sprouted up in our yard about five years ago. My husband used to eat poke salad when he was growing up. They make pretty dark purple berries on a stalk, and the birds love them. Well, I guess the birds "dropped" the seeds around, because over the years, the number of plants popping up has increased, but I've not had over 4-5 plants volunteer in our year each year. Last year, one had come up in the flower bed behind our patio. I left it because I love to watch the birds light on them and eat the berries. It was little, and hadn't bloomed yet. That was August, and when the storm hit, it was damaged, and bent over under other debris, but I staked it and later in the fall, it made berries for the birds. Don't know if many people know this, but the plants die back in the winter, but the next winter it comes back huge. Well, this year the plant is now huge, and taking over my flower bed. Not only that, but they are taking over the whole yard. In my front flower bed, my side flower bed, in the yard where grass hasn't grown back yet, and yesterday I looked down the hill in the woods behind my house (at least there used to be woods there - it's more like a field now, since most of the trees are gone, and the land is covered with poke berry plants! I guess the increase in sunlight hitting the ground has allowed them to germinate. The birds should be happy this year!

The Frogs

One of the things I have missed the most is the sound of frogs singing in the woods and trees, and down the hill by the creek that drains into Back Bay. You could go out at night and the sound would almost be deafening. You couldn't distinguish a single frog song because there were so many that it sounded like a chorus of hundreds. Since the storm, I haven't heard the frogs, and I thought they were all dead... that the salt water had killed them. Tonight, after our first rain in months, I heard frogs singing. At least several different pitches and voices. The sounds were like music to my ears. It was a sign that the frogs are returning and will reproduce and make more. Maybe even a little Bronze from will come up from the woods and join my little foggy that lives in my patio pond. He is the only survivor of at least six. He made it though the storm, lived through the muck that landed in the pond, and survived the winter in hibernation. He came out in February, and he sits there alone. He needs a mate.

August 2006

Beleive it or not, I know of people who are still homeless, living with whomever they can at the moment, waiting for a FEMA trailor. This person is on the board of directors of a newly formed non-profit organization, just graduated from community college and is still attending school tryng to better herself. She is not alone. There are others who are having trouble with finding places to live. There aren't enough apartments in Biloxi, so imagine what it is like in places like Waveland and Bay St. Louis, that got practically wiped out.

Contracts have been let on the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge. They have finally begun work removing what was left of the old one. They began the Pass Christian - Bay St. Louis Bridge several months earlier.

The Coastline looks even worse now. What buildings that were beyond salvageing have been torn completely down and now we have acres and acres of nothing. Practically nothing is being rebuilt along the water. People and businesses are still waiting for FEMA and insurance settlements, and those homeowners who are getting state grans to rebuild and still waiting for the checks to arrive to rebuild. That is, those who can. Many have height restrictions now that would necessitate elevators or a high flight of stairs to get to their first floor in the low-lying areas, so a lot of people, especially on the Point, are selling out to the casinos, who are promising to come back huge and huger.

The vacant lot across from me (where the house that Katrina flattened was) is now up for sale for $500,000. Good grief! Somebody would be crazy to pay that much in an area that was destroyed. The owner is greedy. The one next to it is priced at over $400,000.00. Looks like we will have a nice view of the Bay for a long time.

We have finally started to have a little rain, but it has been so dry and hot that things are dying. There are hundreds and hundreds of pine trees that have died since last fall. Most of them got salt water surge, but some of them just got the salt spray from the driving rain. We just had to have 4 more pine trees removed. Although some of the other trees have greened up, this area has lost a tremendous amount of trees. Those that are left look thin and scraggly. They say that it will take nearly five years to see if the Live oaks will survive; many can still die.

I don't think I am sounding very positive. We are nearly a year into recovery, and although we are making progress, things are slow. It will take a very long time to rebuild.

On the up side, people are still streaming in from all over to help. Work crews are going in and helping the elderly and those without means and insurance rebuild their homes. It is extremely heartwarming. KaBoom and other groups are building playgrounds all over the Coast for our children. ABC soap stars came down last weekend to help work on repairing John Henry Beck Park, a park in a predominately black area of Biloxi. They scraped paint off buildings, hammered and nailed, and did publicity promos. Then, they went over to Pass Christian where I believe they helped build a park, then had a picnic for the public. The were working with Home Depot, which has done a lot to help rebuild our parks.
Kimberly was quoted in a local paper as having sent money for the recovery effort, and I'm sure many movie and TV stars have done the same. They are not the only celebrities who have come down, either here or to New Orleans.

Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio) talks with ABC staff while getting ready for some promos. She was on a break from scraping paint from a building to be repainted. It was about 95 humid degrees that day.

Tyler Christopher (Nicholas Cassadine) was pulling (in his words "about 1,000 staples) from a gazebo/bandstand in the park prior to a new paint job.

There were also atars from the other ABC Soaps, but I don't watch them, and didn't know who they were.

More recovery:

The piers for the two Biloxi schooners have been completed and are in use. They were nearly destroyed by Katrina, but are really nice with two pavillions and docking space for several boats besides the schooners. It is directlyu across from where the new George Ohr Museum is being rebuilt.
Schools are back in session, all with lower enrollments than pre-Katrina.
More casinos are open, some in lobbies of their hotels that were not on the water and enough was left to be repaired and remodeled.

We now have bookstores! Barnes and Nobles opened a few months ago, and this month Books a Million opened. Now we have a place to purchase books and drink our lattes.

The art scene is getting better, but not great. Several cities around the country have mounted exhibits featuring Coast artists. Seems to me they are capitalizing on the destruction, though, because in one exhibit they are displaying a lot of debris right in the exhibition area. It does give our artists good exposure, and I hope some sales, as many had everything wiped away, including their studios, all supplies and equipment and art work.

I wish I could keep this site more up-to-date, but it is impossible to include everything that is happening. I do appreciate those of you who make it to this site, and who write with encouragement. We are just hoping and praying that we will be spared another hurricane for a number of years, and could yse your prayers, also.

The entire Broadmoor complex is being demolished as it was damaged beyond repair; besides, it had been sold and plans were to build a huge complex and casino in its place. The Tivoli Hotel was demolished, also. Something else will go up there.

Updates

Some of you have written wanting more frequent updates as to our recovery. It's hard for me to keep up with everything. I'm glad you stopped by to read my Katrina pages, but if you need more frequent updates and news of what's going on along the Coast, you can always log onto WLOX or The Sun Herald's web pages. They are both very good about writing the latest that is going on and will keep you in touch with our progress. Thank you for caring, and thank you for your prayers, your help, and your good wishes.