New Orleans Service Trip 2008
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008
<p>The 2008 Janet Tuttle Alumnae and Student Service Trip to New Orleans</p>
blogadmin2009-11-22T07:46:07ZSaturday, March 22nd, Musicians' Village
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008/general/2008/03/22/saturday-march-22nd-musicians-village
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By Ebba CG ‘65</em>
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We broke up our group again this morning. The "skilled worker team" spent one last day in Harvey, demonstrating their tremendous commitment to the residents of this community. The rest of us were picked up by Glenn and taken to the Musicians' Village in the Upper 9th Ward. We were joined by Melanie Bopp '04, who had re-arranged her work schedule for the occasion. As a jazz fan, I had really looked forward to this day. How would the musicians' community be different from Harvey? It was in the colors of the houses - they were decidedly more vivid and different from the muted tones of Harvey. More like jazz tunes - purple, blue, grey, pink.... The Musicians' Village area will have 72 single-family houses, with about 50% of them completed to date. I imagined the block with all the musicians in place, strolling the streets, visiting on porches, music playing. Infrastructure held together by music. What kind of new jazz creations will come out of this place? Ground had been broken for the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, located in the middle of the block where we worked.
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We worked on two houses. Jesse McBride's house was near completion. He was at the site so we had a chance to meet him. Jesse is 28, a pleasant and friendly pianist with a weekly gig at the Snug Harbor, New Orleans' #1 jazz club on Frenchman Street. He studied jazz piano with "the father of New Orleans jazz," Ellis Marsalis. Jesse's house needed another coat of inside paint. Half the group picked up paint buckets and set to work.
</p>
<p>
Next door was Jesse's neighbor, James Westwood, whose house was still unfinished inside. In this house, we measured, cut and set blocks on wall frames, caulked throughout, and cleaned the floors. A man in his 40's from New Orleans was also there, working on the side entrance door frame. He'd been coming Saturdays for some time, and he knew what he was doing. It felt good to be joining him.
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We had lunch at The Joint, a neighborhood eatery a few blocks away. It's owned by a young couple who lived on the site. They were well known for their delicious backyard cookouts with neighbors and friends. After Katrina, they opened The Joint, serving a Cajun cuisine. In their backyard, we feasted on barbecued chicken, pulled pork, ribs, beans, and macaroni. Deciding to test their version of Louisiana bread pudding was easy.
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</a> After we had cleaned up the site and returned to the Guest House, Melanie surprised us with delicious poolside treats that she had brought from a very special New Orleans bakery. Melt-in-the-mouth kind of treats.
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We had accepted a very generous invitation from Sandy Rosenthal '79 to have dinner with her and her husband at Zea's Restaurant on St Charles Street. This also gave us a chance to thank Sandy for giving us an unforgettable overview and insight into Katrina and the aftermath of this horrendous tragedy. For most of us, the evening ended on Frenchmen Street at Snug Harbor Jazz Club, where we savored first-rate jazz performed by The Herlin Riley Quartet. Our new friend Jesse McBride played jazz piano. It was a great way for us to come full circle on our last day.
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Looking back on this event packed week, it seems remarkable in every way, and a tremendous learning experience for all. Highlights never to be forgotten: ...... Sandy's superb Katrina Devastation guided tour of areas equivalent in size to "seven Manhattans" ........ Fire Chief Armand Buck's moving account of his disaster experience ....... Front yard chats with disaster homeowners eager to post Sandy's Levees.org signs in their neighborhood .....Terry's bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace" after his safety talk on our last official Habitat morning.... The Habitat supervisor who said that it's the Humanity, not the Habitat, that counts ..... Meeting Lorena, her son and her dog Teddy by her house-in-progress ....... Listening to Lorena, Jesse and many others who shared their courageous disaster stories and inspired us to work harder ...... Beignets, po-boys, gumbo, crawfish, bread pudding, and cool Abita beer by the poolside......Preservation Hall Jazz, Frenchmen Street jazz clubs, Zydeco dancing at Rock n'Bowl ... and in the end, 16 uncommon women who became a part of something bigger than themselves and made Mount Holyoke proud.
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</div>General2008-03-22T16:09:55ZnobloggerBut ma we're not done yet!!
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008/general/2008/03/22/but-ma-we-re-not-done-yet
<p class="MsoNormal">
Thursday's
bloggers sheepishly admit that they skipped out on their duties because they
stayed up too late dancing. Here it goes anyway... a day or two late (Hey,
we're on Southern Time here!).
</p>
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Today was
our third and final official day at the Habitat for Humanity Jefferson Build.
We arrived early itching to get to work. After we had set up our work site and
the other groups arrived Terry welcomed us with his own rendition of
"Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes, and he continued to serenade us
throughout the day. What a treat!! Each us of us threw ourselves into our
siding projects in hopes of finishing our sections by the end of the day. Zach
and Terry bestowed the great honor of doing the siding on the front of one
house to Krysia, Lisa, Elizabeth and Laurel, saying that since it was the most
visible they saved it for the most trusted volunteers. Shontia, Shraddha, May
and Maria were able to finish their enormous and tricky wall with much pleasure
and triumph. On the other site the rest of the ladies continued their projects
and helped lead others in their work. With such excellent work going on, Mount
Holyoke received some good natured ribbing from Howard of Montclair State
University, but he was silenced by the sound of our hammersJ After
a long hot day of work we were sorry to call it our last day, and quickly
convinced Zach and Jorden to let some of us come back on Friday morning to try
to finish up the rest of the projects that we started. Happy, tired and covered
with dirt we returned to the Guest House to share a couple beers around the
pool and scheme for the evening and the next few days.
</p>
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In the
evening we were invited by the Mount Holyoke Alumnae of Louisiana to a lovely
dinner gathering at Bonnie Conway's house near the Garden District. She, and
the human rights organization that she is part of, will be receiving an
honorary doctorate this spring for their outstanding work in women’s justice.
Go bonnie!! There was a fabulous turnout of alumnae living in New Orleans, and lots of great food wine and
conversation were shared. As and extra treat Sandy Rosenthal ‘79, brought us a
book of post cards that she serendipitously happened upon in her daily errands.
She had run into a man earlier in the day, and after finding that she went to Mount Holyoke
he gave her a notebook of postcards from Mount Holyoke
dating from 1908 forward. He apparently had found it, and tried various ways of
getting it back to Mount
Holyoke College.
We figured out who we believed the book belonged to based on a recurring name
found in several Glee Club programs and other documents. We enjoyed looking at
all the old and new pictures on the post cards, but we look forward to
returning it to its proper owner soon.
</p>
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At the
dinner we met one of the young alumnae, Melanie Bopp '04, and afterwards she
joined us for a wild night of Zydeco dancing at the Rock 'n Bowl. Ebba, Maria, Laurel, Krysia, Lauren,
Jess, Lisa and Shraddha all tore up the dance floor.... and then learned later
that there were actual steps to the dance. Oops. Sandy Rosenthal generously
offered to take us out Zydeco dancing again on Friday to set us straight. So now we can add Zydeco to the list of skills we have picked up on this trip. Zydeco siding anyone?
</p>
<p>
We've all decided we should just stay here building, eating and dancing for another week or two... or 6.
</p>
<p>
Much New Orleans love from Maria '08 and Laurel '01
</p>General2008-03-22T07:23:28ZnobloggerBack to Work!
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008/general/2008/03/19/trial
<p>
Our day on the Habitat site started with a group meeting where foreman T took a little time to tell us about his experience with the local Habitat for Humanity here in New Orleans. This year marks their 25th anniversary of building homes in the area! In the first 23 years they built 101 homes in and around the city and in the last two years alone they have built just over 100 more. One hundred new homes for families who have struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina and to rebuild life in New Orleans.
</p>
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They were particularly excited to talk to us about the upcoming Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2008. Four of the houses that we are working on this week will be completed and turned over to their families that week in May. In that same week seven homes will be built from start to finish so that when President and Mrs. Carter come to visit they will meet these families and see them take ownership of their new homes.
</p>
<p>
Day two on the Habitat site started out quickly with everyone heading straight into their pre-assigned jobs. We are all growing in confidence as we tackle new challenges like siding, trim, flooring, and the joys of caulk. Skills that seemed tricky and unfamiliar are becoming more commonplace. We heard more than a few folks speak proudly of hammering nails with precision and speed, making multiple notches in siding to fit perfectly around doors and windows, climbing ladders easily and working with power tools.
</p>
<p>
One of the highlights of the day was a visit from homeowner-to-be Lorenna, her son and their little dog Teddy. Lorenna enthusiastically praised the flooring installed by one group and the sanding done by another. She noticed every tiny step forward and was gracious in sharing her story with us. She posed for pictures with our group as well, but with some technical difficulties tonight we hope to bring you those photos soon!
</p>
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After packing it in on the job site and bidding a fond farewell to students from Illinois who have other commitments around town, we decided to enjoy a special New Orleans treat- boiled crawfish. A few pounds of crawfish met their fate at the hands of hungry Mount Holyoke women! A cheerful group, we demolished the spicy delicacy on newspapers with pecan pie to share around the table. There is always room at a round table... After that we headed out for dinner. Dividing into smaller groups we all had a chance to get to know one another better over delicious New Orleans seafood, creole and more. Our group had dinner at Cochon- most excellent!
</p>
<p>
After dinner many of us headed to Preservation Hall to hear some authentic New Orleans jazz. Established in 1961 and housed in the oldest building in the French Quarter (built in 1751), this institution is dedicated to the preservation of the New Orleans jazz style. Often featuring musicians in the 70s and 80s sharing the stage with the next generation of great musicians, this event was a treat.
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We hope to bring you some of our very fun pictures soon! Stay tuned!
</p>
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</p>General2008-03-19T21:39:32ZnobloggerTo Work
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008/general/2008/03/18/to-work
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Last night was St. Patrick’s
Day, traditionally celebrated as a day of spiritual renewal and service, and as
you read in yesterday’s blog, our day was insightful, emotional, and profound.
As New Orleans’
citizens and tourists celebrated, with green attire and festive music, this
vibrancy juxtaposed and counterbalanced its communities in crisis.
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Alarm clocks rang at 6am (and some, due to excitement, rose
at 5am) followed by breakfast and we reached the Harvey site at 8am. There were close to 100
volunteers from Universities of Illinois and Iowa,
George Washington and Mountain State in New
Jersey. We were guided by three Habitat for Humanity
staff, and three AmeriCorps volunteers. Energetic teams divided into working groups
to continue the construction of 8 different homes in progress (there are 12
total on the sites).
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As we prepared for the work ahead of us, Terry (“T-Ray”),
our Habitat for Humanity leader, spoke to us of one of the individuals for whom
we are building. Aneita Paige or “Ms. Ann,” originally from Jamaica, came to the States 20
years ago with just two suitcases in hand. Days before Hurricane Katrina, she
went to visit her sister out of state. While she was gone, the hurricane hit.
She returned days later with just those two very suitcases to find that her
home and everything in it had been lost. Though she lost everything, for the
first time in her life, she will now be a homeowner. Every house we are working
on has a family behind it, a story behind it, and a future highly anticipated
before it. It was a fantastic way to start our day off, just as the tour of the
disaster areas was an important way to end our day yesterday. It put it all
into perspective. And though, as Sandy Rosenthal ’79 said yesterday, “what
happened was not a natural disaster but a man-made one,” we are happy to be a
part of a very human solution to a horrible situation.
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It was easy to smile and look thrilled in the photos today
as we sweated and challenged ourselves to new tasks. Amongst the Mount Holyoke
volunteers, we had a great mixture of skill levels, and while the experienced
stepped into their elements, beginners succeeded with new challenges. The
spirit of willingness and joy today produced concrete work for the betterment
of this wonderful place.
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We returned to our guest house complete with the grime of a
hard days work, all feeling relieved to have accomplished something. Most of us
went out to dinner together and had the opportunity to, yet again, be so well
fed. This place, though clearly still devastated and bouncing back from
Katrina, is also intoxicating. The air is thick and sweet, the people kind and
welcoming, the rhythm contagious, and the food fills you up like no other. It
makes you hopeful that those 1 in 15 that have returned to their city since the
hurricane will continue to grow, that they will have something to return to,
and that this city may get back to the rhythm it once had. You can still feel
it.
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Though we just arrived Sunday, many of us have wanted to
come down here to aid in the reconstruction since the damage first occurred. Driving
those first nails was an incredible relief. Driven women that we are, there
were snippets of conversations as the women looked up at their work at the end
of the day, already setting goals for what we might accomplish by the end of
the week—together with brewing plans for future trips.
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Anni Amberg
</p>
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Frances Perkins ‘09
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Krysia L. Villón ‘96<br />
Assistant Director of Clubs<br />
Alumnae Association
</p>General2008-03-18T22:42:04ZnobloggerFirst Blog from N.O.L.A.
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008/general/2008/03/17/first-blog-from-n.o.l.a.
<p>
Hello from New Orleans!
</p>
<p>
The Janet Tuttle service group has now been in this incredible city for over
24 hours, and we definitely have some stories to tell. We arrived yesterday
(Sunday) afternoon and spent some time acquainting ourselves with the lovely
and charming St Charles Guest House-- run by MHC alumna Layne Hilton's ('06)
father.
</p>
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</a> We then hopped the St
Charles street car down to Bourbon Street and the French Quarter,
one of the hot spots of the New Orleans
social scene. Bourbon street
is hopping with plenty of Jazz, Blues, and Zydeco music, as well as incredible
food and (of course) bourbon.
</p>
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</a> We found some of that Zydeco at the Tropical Isle in the form of the dynamic
Bourbon Street Boys. They seemed excited that some "angel girls from Massachusetts" came
and sat in the front row and even selected a couple of us up to play the
washboards. Maria tore it up with the washboard and spoons, and then Anni and
Lindsay had washboards put on them and sat (looking mildly alarmed) while the
washboard player played on them (video forthcoming). We then met up with
most of the group at the famous Cafe Du Monde for cafe-au-lait and beignets.
Delicious! After dinner in the French Quarter, we headed back to the
Guest House for the night.
</p>
<p>
</p>
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<p>
Today we went on a walking tour of the Garden District, saw some incredible Louisiana architecture
and ate lunch at a po-boy restaurant on Magazine Street. Then we met up with
Sandy Rosenthal '79, who took us on a tour of the city, specifically looking at
the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
</p>
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</a> It's difficult to express to someone who has not seen the destruction what
it is really like down here. Even now, over two and a half years since Katrina
happened, many parts of the city are still completely and utterly devastated.
And there were two very significant points about this disaster which came up
time and time again: 1) no matter where you go, no matter how many miles you
drive through the city, in every single part of the city there has been
incredible damage; and 2) that it was not Hurricane Katrina itself which caused
this devastation, but was in fact a combination of numerous human errors which
resulted in the floods that wiped out so many formerly vibrant and thriving
communities.
</p>
<p>
On the first point:
</p>
<p>
We started out near the Garden District where the flood damage was minimal,
and moved into the Lakeview neighborhood which suffered fairly extensive
flooding and damage. We visited the 17th
Street Canal, where one of the famous levee breaches
occurred. Evidently the flooding in Lakeview was only a few feet-- six feet or
so-- but because the water sat at that level for days and days the water damage
and mold damage was more than enough to cause many, many houses to be damaged
beyond repair. Sandy pointed out a few of the famous "X"s, which were
spray-painted by various relief efforts and denoted which houses had already
been searched and how many people had been found dead in them. As we drove to
the canal, we saw many empty lots which had houses on them before the flooding.
We then moved across the inter-coastal waterway, catching sight of the despised
MRGO (Mississippi River Gulf Outlet). I'll talk more about the MRGO in a
moment, but first I want to get to St Bernard Parish, which was our destination
across the inter-coastal waterway.
</p>
<p>
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</a> We went into the Arabi neighborhood in St Bernard's Parish, which was eerily
empty of people and depressingly full of badly damaged houses and empty lots
where houses used to sit. We noticed signs on many of them, nearly every fourth
or fifth house, which were a curious yellow rectangle with a red "X".
Since neither Sandy nor Glen (our driver) knew what they were, we decided to
get out of the van to investigate. The signs turned out to be involuntary
demolition orders.
</p>
<p>
As we wandered among the condemned houses, we were struck by the emptiness
and desolateness of the neighborhood. It is hard to imagine, having seen it
today as almost a ghost town, that it had been a thriving, busy neighborhood
full of families and businesses. Now, those businesses are closed, most of the
families have left, and the few people still holding out are struggling to
reclaim their lives. We were lucky enough to meet a couple of residents
standing outside one of the houses and listened as they told us about the
immediate aftermath and how their lives have been affected since then.
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Mr. B is a firefighter and was a first responder to the Katrina disaster. As
we gathered around, he told us about the 16 feet of water that stood for 11 days
in St Bernard's Parish, and spoke eloquently about the ill-conceived
engineering which resulted in such widespread tragedy. He stressed that this
was not a natural disaster-- it was man-made, from the construction of the
levees and the MRGO to the straight-cutting of the cyprus marshes. He told us that the
reason St Bernard's Parish and other parts of the city were hit so hard while
the French Quarter was spared was because the levees were built that way. On
the French Quarter side the levees were 14 feet, while on the St Bernard's side
the levees were 13 feet, which directed the water away from the French Quarter
and into the residential areas. He further told us that the real tragedy was
that the levees would have held the water if the natural buffer zone of 65
miles of marsh had still been intact.
<p>
Which brings me to the second point: that this was a man-made disaster and
not a natural one. Since the 1930s or so, there have been canals cut into the cyprus marshes
for shipping and pipelines, primarily for the oil industry. The canals allowed
salt water to intrude into the marsh which killed the cypress trees and caused
the erosion of the marshes. Then in 1968 the MRGO was completed. The
construction of the MRGO resulted in further destruction of the marshes, so
that what once was a 65-mile natural buffer zone now only extends 2 miles. The
marshes had for centuries protected the gulf coast from hurricanes, but when
Katrina hit, this protection no longer existed.
</p>
<p>
For us personally, it was astounding to drive mile after mile, from
one end of the city to the other, and see uninterrupted signs of devastation
and destruction. In some places the houses and businesses have been restored,
but next door might be gutted home or a vacant foundation where a home stood two
and half years ago. Neighborhoods which were adjacent to less-impacted
communities had an easier time getting back on their feet. Neighborhoods where
the devastation was so widespread that they were isolated from supporting
communities and infrastructure have struggled to recover, if they have
recovered at all. It is heartbreaking to think about each on of the
families in these homes - their lives will never be the same.
</p>
<p>
We're anxious to get to work, and make whatever difference we can.
</p>
<p>
<em>Marguerite, Peg, and the late night crew</em>
</p>General2008-03-17T22:59:31ZnobloggerWelcome
http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blogs/blog/new-orleans-service-trip-2008/general/2008/02/22/welcome
<p>
The Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College and the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, New Orleans City Park, and Levees.Org, announce a joint rebuilding project in New Orleans. The New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH), New Orleans City Park, and Levees.Org are partnering with the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College for a week-long building project March 16–23. Seven Mount Holyoke alumnae and seven Mount Holyoke student volunteers, all chosen from a competitive applicant pool, will work with staff from NOAHH, New Orleans City Park, and Levees.Org at various construction, park, and city sites in and around New Orleans. They will be joined by Alumnae Association staff members Maya D’Costa, associate director of campus programs, and Krysia L. Villón, assistant director of clubs and graduate of the Mount Holyoke class of 1996.
</p>
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The New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity project is the second annual service-oriented travel program sponsored by the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College through the Janet Tuttle Alumnae and Student Service Travel Program. In 2007, the group traveled to Costa Rica for a week of home construction with Habitat for Humanity.<br />
</p>General2008-02-22T13:07:31Zblogadmin