My sister Jamie called me a few minutes ago. She and my Mom and Dad are standing in a neighbor's yard across the street from my Mom & Dad's house, watching the wrecking crew as the demolition begins. I only wish I could have been there today to see it.
The red bricked tract house on Warwick drive was purchased in November, 1963 by a young couple starting a family. They were one of the first of many young families buying the cookie-cutter homes in the small subdivision of about 200 homes. Since that time, children have grown and moved on, neighbors have changed, houses have been remodeled, but the spirit of the people who still live there after 45 years is still strong.
The subdivision was built on a tract of land known as the "Marrero Ridge." My Mom worked for Jefferson Parish's Drainage Department back then, and when they were buying the house, the "old men" working with her told her it was the highest point of land in the area and that the levee on the Mississippi would have to break in order for it to flood. Imagine her surprise (and fear) when on May 3, 1978, she was home alone (with Pepe the black poodle) during a thunderstorm and the house flooded with nearly 18 inches of water! Luckily, the levee hadn't broke, but that day nearly every home and family in that small subdivision, as well as many other parts of the Westbank, experienced their first flood and the mess that came along with it.
It was the first of many heavy rain floods in the area, and with each, my parents dutifully dragged out wet stuff, tore out sheetrock and rebuilt and replaced what was lost. It was never a fun task or something that they wanted to do, but it kept the house liveable.
Until August 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina roared through the Gulf Coast area, devastating people's lives from Louisiana to Alabama. The wind did a number on the old house and of course, the flood waters rose in the neighborhood once again. Even though it wasn't the amount of water seen in New Orleans proper, it was enough to finish the job that the wind started. The water sat in the house for several days (we don't know exactly how long since 99% of the neighborhood had evacuated and didn't return for nearly 2 weeks) which had never happed before - most of the time the water receded withing a few hours.
Since that time, my parents cleaned and repaired the house to the best of their ability, but have been fighting mold and mildew constantly. Jefferson Parish had a program to help homeowners raise or rebuild their houses; unfortunately, our house's foundation cracked and it engineers determined that it could not be raised and that it needed to be rebuilt. Off the ground, of course!
It's taken one month shy of 3 years for my parents to navigate the complex world of applications, meetings, paperwork and phone calls that has become life in post-Katrina Louisiana to get the work started. But started it has. And they can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel: their contractor has said that barring any unforseen problems, they should be in their new house in about six months.
Then they can live happily ever after.
Until next time,
Kel
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