St. Bernard Parish Katrina Memorial

It's been a crazy few weeks!  I've traveled to several different monuments across South Louisiana.  Me and my hubby went to Lake Charles to investigate the Great Lake Charles Fire of 1910 then went on down to Cameron to check out a Hurricane Audrey and a Hurricane Rita memorial.

The next weekend I took a trip down to St. Bernard Parish to visit a BREATH TAKING memorial for Hurricane Katrina - WOW!   A beautiful cross coming up out of the water.  I cried.  I want to share that experience with you guys now...I just can't wait.

I decided to open up the sun roof and hit the road to St. Bernard Parish.  It was a beautiful day!  Perfect for a Sunday drive.  Driving from Baton Rouge to my destination took about an hour and a half and I had to drive through New Orleans and the 9th ward.  Not a lot of traffic!  Thank goodness! You never know about traffic in the big easy.

Once you make your way through New Orleans and head south east, you are heading to the toe of Louisiana.  I've never driven this rout before and found it beautiful.  My final destination would be Shell Beach.

As I got closer to my destination, I began noticing empty slabs, grow-over lots, and a set of stairs that were standing tall...as though they were the literal "stairway to heaven".

Katrina happened in August 2005...it was heart wrenching to see that there were so many homes still in shreds. I slowed down as I drove to really take it all in.  I cried.

I finally found Shell Beach. This is a small fishing community with lots of camps.  There were boats preparing to leave and some coming in from the gulf.  After a few wrong turns, I found the exact location of the memorial. This memorial is VERY WELL DONE!  The cross coming out of the water is beautiful.  The marble slab with the names etched is wonderful.

I decided to make my way to the waters edge and just sit there....and sat...and sat.  It felt like it had only been a few minutes, but when I walked back to my car it had been over an hour.  What I personally experienced during Hurricane Katrina was nothing compared to what others went through.  Seeing these names etched in the marble of those that died made me realise how blessed I am.

Annually, a small ceremony is held where all of the names are read and a widow/widower walk to the water's edge and places a wreath.  I will make it a point of going in August.

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Getting some great leads!

Getting some great leads!  Follow me on Facebook and Twitter and let me know if you know of any monuments in Louisiana that were put up after a disaster.  Thank you Judy Riffel, Claude Slaton, Donna Kaye Brittain, Wally Dees and Tom Malmay!

www.ladisasters.com
www.facebook.com/monumentallouisiana
https://twitter.com/@monumentalbook
www.pinterest.com/monumentalbook
https://monumentalbook.blogspot.com
Email:  monumentallouisiana@gmail.com

Travel Schedule

We finally have a firm travel schedule.  Would you like to meet us at one of the sites and chat about your knowledge on one of these disasters?  Shoot me an email!

www.ladisasters.com
www.facebook.com/monumentallouisiana
https://twitter.com/@monumentalbook
www.pinterest.com/monumentalbook
https://monumentalbook.blogspot.com
Email:  monumentallouisiana@gmail.com

ALL MONUMENTS	SITE VISIT
1976 George Prince Ferry disaster - Destrehan	Sunday, February 23, 2014
1976 George Prince Ferry disaster - Luling	Sunday, February 23, 2014
1957 Hurricane Audrey - Cameron	Saturday, March 01, 2014
1957 Hurricane Audrey - Lake Charles	Saturday, March 01, 2014
2005 Hurricane Rita - Cameron	Saturday, March 01, 2014
2005 Hurricane Katrina - Pet	Sunday, March 02, 2014
2005 Hurricane Katrina - St. Bernard	Sunday, March 02, 2014
1899 Great Fire - New Iberia	Saturday, March 08, 2014
1982 Pan Am Flight 759 - Kenner	Sunday, March 09, 2014
2005 Hurricane Katrina - 17th Street Canal	Sunday, March 09, 2014
2005 Hurricane Katrina - 9th Ward	Sunday, March 09, 2014
2005 Hurricane Katrina - Charity Hospital	Sunday, March 09, 2014
2005 Hurricane Katrina - Vera	Sunday, March 09, 2014
1973 Upstairs Lounge Fire - New Orleans	Saturday, March 15, 2014
1910 Great Fire - Lake Charles	Saturday, March 22, 2014
1893 Cheniere Caminada hurricane	Saturday, March 29, 2014
1946 Baudoin Foret School Fire - Raceland	Saturday, March 29, 2014
2010 Deep Water Horizon - Grand Isle	Saturday, March 29, 2014
1853 Yellow Fever Epidemic - Washington	Saturday, April 12, 2014
1873 Colfax Riot - Colfax	Saturday, April 12, 2014
1925 Allendale Fire - Shreveport	Saturday, April 12, 2014
1927 Point Lookout Cemetery  - Angola	Saturday, April 26, 2014

Look at all the monuments!

WOW!  What a collection.  To date we have identified 28 monuments that are connected to 19 different events.  Keep in mind that some events may have had multiple monuments.  For example, Hurricane Audrey - there is a cemetery in Cameron and in Lake Charles with monuments.  For Hurricane Katrina...whew!  There are six different monuments!  I thought you would like to see the entire list! 

	INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
1	1800's Virgin Island - Pierre Part
2	1800's Yellow Fever Epidemics
3	1839 Félicité - New Iberia
4	1856 Last Isle Hurricane
5	1873 Colfax Riot - Colfax
6	1893 Chenière Caminada Hurricane
7	1899 Great Fire - New Iberia
8	1910 Great Fire - Lake Charles
9	1925 Allendale Fire - Shreveport
10	1927 Point Lookout Cemetery  - Angola
11	1946 Baudoin Foret School Fire - Raceland
12	1957 Hurricane Audrey
13	1973 Upstairs Lounge Fire - New Orleans
14	1976 George Prince Ferry disaster
15	1979 Belle Isle Salt Mine Explosion
16	1982 Pan Am Flight 759 - Kenner
17	2005 Hurricane Katrina
18	2005 Hurricane Rita - Cameron
19	2010 Deep Water Horizon - Grand Isle

	ALL MONUMENTS
1	1800's Virgin Island - Pierre Part
2	1839 Félicité - New Iberia
3	1853 Yellow Fever Epidemic - Washington
4	1856 Last Isle Hurricane - Cherenton
5	1856 Last Isle Hurricane - Plaquemine
6	1873 Colfax Riot - Colfax
7	1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic - Baton Rouge
8	1893 Cheniere Caminada hurricane
9	1899 Great Fire - New Iberia
10	1910 Great Fire - Lake Charles
11	1925 Allendale Fire - Shreveport
12	1927 Point Lookout Cemetery  - Angola
13	1946 Baudoin Foret School Fire - Raceland
14	1957 Hurricane Audrey - Cameron
15	1957 Hurricane Audrey - Lake Charles
16	1973 Upstairs Lounge Fire - New Orleans
17	1976 George Prince Ferry disaster - Destrehan
18	1976 George Prince Ferry disaster - Luling
19	1979 Belle Isle Salt Mine Explosion
20	1982 Pan Am Flight 759 - Kenner
21	2005 Hurricane Katrina - 17th Street Canal
22	2005 Hurricane Katrina - 9th Ward
23	2005 Hurricane Katrina - Charity Hospital
24	2005 Hurricane Katrina - Pet
25	2005 Hurricane Katrina - St. Bernard
26	2005 Hurricane Katrina - Vera
27	2005 Hurricane Rita - Cameron
28	2010 Deep Water Horizon - Grand Isle

Pierre Part, Louisiana

What a fantastic weekend!  Kim-Loan Ngo and I took a drive down to Pierre Part to visit the Virgin Island.  The drive was beautiful - the sun shining and Kim and I were excited about meeting new people and learning about the Virgin Island.

We arrived at the Pierre Part Branch Library and quickly settled in to some reading.  We found the Catholic Church Directory which had a FANTASTIC history of the church and of the Virgin Mary that inhabits the Virgin Island.

Here is how the story goes....

After the flood of 1882, the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary survived undamaged in the Catholic Church.  It was deemed a miracle because of the flood water and destruction around her.  She was then placed lovingly in the chapel sacristy.

In 1902, Father Pillian decided that it was a miracle that the statue survived and had the statue moved to where everyone could see it and pay homage.  That's when she was moved to the Virgin Island.

In 1909, a larger statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary replaced the old smaller one, which was buried on the islands.

At the time, the only way to the island was by boat.  Once a week, the Priest and parishioners would row their boats to the little island and say the rosary.  Imaging that!  All of the little boats floating around a small little island with the Blessed Virgin Mary standing there - protecting the people of Pierre Part.

The island was restored in 1976 and again in 2011.  According to the two librarians who shared personal stories with us, during the great flood of 2011, people would gather there every day to pray the rosary.  According to them, "You can't discount the power of prayer". 

Today, you can visit the Virgin Island by foot - the Army Corp of Engineers build a small foot bridge (apparently some local controversy arose around that project).  They gather once a week to pray the rosary and know that the Blessed Virgin Mary is watching over them.