Ms Althea

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I spent today at her home, Actually she has two homes, both drying out after being inundated with six feet of water and buffeted by 150 mph winds. I had been working at establishing a rapport with her after being told by her wonderful friend and neighbor that she wasn’t going to allow ”Just anyone to go through her stuff.” Perhaps 90 percent of homes that can be rebuilt have undergone the ‘mucking’ process. Ms Althea was one of the last holdouts.

Lyn and Gary Cheslek paid us a visit and Althea threateed to start charging if I asked her to pose for any more photos. . . but she did allow me to take her to God's Katrina Kitchen for lunch. What a beautiful lady!She learned very quickly that we felt as guests in her home and as volunteers were there to help her through the process

Our crew of five college students and their professor had been assigned to “(muck out) the house which simply means removing everything down to the bare studs and the six inches of muck that has seeped to the floor. Finishing the muck out process and stripping the walls fell to the next group . . . a dedicated group of volunteers from Louisville, Kentucky

Imagine, if you can, thinking for five months about your every worldly possession slowly deteriorating into a soggy mess and finally taking the bold step of prying open the front door to begin the task of reclaiming memories from the past 83 years.The highligt . . . looking through the foot locker of her grand daddy a veteran of world War 1 (one that is). Including his helmet, dog tags uniform, gas mask and much more It was also exciting for me!

She learned very quickly that we felt as guests in her home and as volunteers were there to help her through the process.