Could you PLEASE advise me how to get in touch with Eddie Clark? I am interested in having a modular home built and would like to discuss the plans with him. THANKS!

STEVE , man your are wierd!!!...i think that is why i keep in touch with your blogs...keep sending them man...and i'll keep reading....thanks for your updates.....smile brother....just keep on smiling

How wonderful for you both! It's important for people to hear all of your feelings and emotions about this. Especially for those of us still displaced. My family and I may have a place to live in Florida, but our hearts are still in Waveland and I am still not feeling settled. I may never feel at home until we return to Mississippi, but for now, we are healthy and safe and working. It's good to hear how our community is doing. God bless you both and everyone in Hancock County.

So interesting, Steve, to hear the joy of seeing grass grow. Such a little thing, but oh so big, for the Gulf coast area. Life does go on, and I'm sure you and your wife will have a home that will hopefully survive any more hurricanes. Keep your stories coming, the country needs to be aware that this is not an overnight fix.

We were in Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Long Beach, in November for a week to help with debris cleanup. It is so encouraging to hear that there are indeed signs of progress there. We have been wondering how things are going and are so happy for you. There really is grass starting to grow again? That is so wonderful!!! We hope to return to Camp Coast Care in Long Beach to work for a few days this spring. We continue to keep all of you in our prayers.

To CDS: Eddie Clark has Southern Prebuilt homes. He already has a house on Ballentine Street. The website is southernprebuilt.com

What a great one to read! Best of luck with your new home. I was talking to one of my best friends who's getting hitched in September and would love for you guys to play her wedding. You guys always have a place to stay in Montgomery now! So glad to hear your good news.

Its good to hear that things in Waveland and Bay St Louis are starting to come back. I was down there serving with my church right after Thanksgiving and check here to see how things are going. I'm pretty sure we're coming back in the summer to help with more building through Habitat if what I'm hearing is right. The folks of the Gulf Coast are in my thoughts every day. May peace be with all of you as you get your lives back together.

THANK YOU SO MUCH Heather!! I watched that little yellow house on Ballentine St. going up and LOVED IT! I will followup with the info you have given me, and I will hold you close in my prayers as we all "adjust & regroup" and get on with our lives.

Steve, you're right; I can't imagine the devastation you have in your town, but I'm so glad to hear that there are signs of renewal and have things the cheer about. That alone is worth of imagination! (I was a pre teen when floods hit Maine and wiped out chunks of the hometowns my parents grew up in; while my grandparents' homes were gutted by flood waters, the buildings were still there when the water receeded. Outside of that destruction, I have no frame of reference.) I'm so happy to hear the joy in your post. It means that some of my prayers are being answered for all of you in the Gulf Coast!

How wonderful to hear about all the little and big victories! I think the only way to keep going in the face of it all is to search them out and celebrate them...You are wise and a sense of humor doesn't hurt either!

Just thought I'd pass this along. A contractor up here keeps insisting that if the homes on the coast were built with insulated concrete forms, they would have survived. (I keep trying to explain about the water and waves...but maybe it's worth considering, given how our former "hurricane proof" home on beach blvd. ended up as a slab.) The beauty of these things is that they are super insulated. The forms look like huge styrafoam legos...I kid you not. They are simple to build with and super light...and I guess the doors and windows are the trickiest. You put in a footer, build the walls on top of that. Once you have the forms put together and rebar inside them, you have the walls poured with concrete. Then the foundation is poured inside that. Don't know if concrete is available in such quantities...but the result is a super sealed heavy home. The inside walls are stick construction. You can melt a crevice for the electrical and plumbing right into the foam, then you dry wall right onto the inside of the foam, and put your exterior cover on the outside of the foam...stucco, wood, whatever... I saw one of these homes put together up here and it was so simple. The catch is that it does cost more to build a home this way, but much of the work you can do yourself, which could offset some cost. Don't know if anyone is offering these on the coast yet. Anyway...he claims that it is the home of the future. We're considering a sun room made that way, and could put parts of the walls together ourselves, with our four year old helping. How crazy is that?

I know this is not the way homes have been built, or have looked, but maybe the exterior and detail features could be done the traditional way with just the main walls a bit stronger. I love old homes and beautiful woodwork, but shoot, maybe this is an option that could work. God bless you all, and keep helping you find the joy and victories!

I want to come over to Bay/Waveland soon so I can see what is going on. So happy to hear that progress is being made in that you now have some plans on paper. We are rebuilding also, but in the Pass. Our contractor and the 8th insurance adjustor was at the site yesterday - our files have been lost so that process has to start over! But we are going to forge ahead and deal with the insurance later as it HAS to be done one way or the other. All of our neighbors except three are rebuilding and I am eager to see how things will start to look now that so much has been cleaned up on our street. Three of my favorite restaurants across the Bay of St. Louis has opened again so what a "happy day". Now if we can just get that ferry going --------------

Laurie,....now i'm confused...not sure what ya talking about....but i've been confused alot lately...keep on talking with us...love ta here from ya!!

In response to Laurie in Colorado,

I know of at least two homes built with insulating concrete forms in Waveland. They were both within 1000' of the beach, and both were destroyed. While ICF may resist wind loads better than traditional framing techniques, I'm not convinced they will withstand the storm surge loads we had in Katrina.

There is a house in Pass Christian that is made of concrete and did survive the storm surge. An article was recently published about it in the Sun Herald, so you could probably look it up on line.

Bottom line is that there are very few residential building techniques, even those that meet or exceed the latest hurricane resistive construction codes, that will stand up to the full on 30' storm surge of a Katrina size storm. Designing a structure to withstand hurricane wind is fairly simple, and something we all should do when rebuilding. Designing to resist surge will probably be cost prohibitive for everyone but the most wealthy homebuilder.

PS Steve - thanks for the shout out.

John & Laurie - I'm not sure if this is the same technology you are speaking of, but check out this website:
http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/DAC-ART/hurricane-proof-home.html

John is exactly right - not sure if anything (other than solid concrete) could withstand something of Katrina's magnitude - however, some how Our Lady of the Gulf Church remained standing with major damage, but they began repairs months ago and it is coming along nicely. Some think the cement "girdle" at the bottom of the structure (about 4-5' high)helped in the survival of the church - and also, the church is on the beach road, about 25ft above sea level and still got at least 10' of water.

John, Thanks for the fill in...The contractor here kept mentioning something about a home on the coast that had survived made of concrete...probably the one you are talking about. I showed him pictures and tried to describe the waves in Bay/Waveland. I would never have believed our brick house, stabilized by telephone poles ten feet in the ground with the slab poured around them, would be just rubble. But the impact of the waves must have been unbelievable. The poles snapped about 6 inches from the slabs like tootpicks. So...I have some info to pass on to the contractor. There really is no easy way to do this. I know that concrete is pricy here too. God bless you all, and help you through all the decisions.

at the bottom of this page....it says MSNBC.com 2005...should't that be 2006?...or are more people like me out there?....LOL!!!

Your story, and several of the replies posted here, is inspiring.

I hate to be a negative voice -- but -- here goes.

In January 2005 we moved from NE Tennessee to the Bay where we were living in the Manor House Apartments while building a house on Whispering Pines Dr in Waveland.

I spent 30 years in the Army and my wife spent 35 years in the classroom. We had managed to save $160,000 with which to build a house in Waveland. After months of planning and design, shopping for materials and appliances, and interviewing sub-contractors, we set to building. We were acting as our own general contractors.

Our slab was poured in early August and framing was to start on Tuesday, 30 August. The previous week we had over $15,000 worth of building materials delivered to the lot. Meanwhile, we had another $15,000 in appliances and fixtures in a storage unit in the Pass. In the same storage unit were all our family photos, much of our lifetime collection of artwork and treasures from our travels around the world.

Now, it's all gone.

Builder's risk insurance does not cover hurricane losses so, when I add up what we paid for the lot, for design and plans, and for building materials that were washed away, we are out $80,000 cash and nothing to show for it but a useless slab under 10 feet of debris.

I say the slab is "useless" because -- our lot was surveyed at 15.7 feet above MSL, well above the then-existing Waveland requirement of 14 feet above MSL. Now with the requirement being 23 feet above MSL, I'll never build on this lot. I hope that someday someone will pay me close to what I paid for the lot, tear up my slab, and build something on my lot.

The point of this lament is: We left the Coast after Katrina and will not return except one day to stick a for sale sign on the lot.

If someone could guarantee to me that we could build our house and never experience any more than a Cat I or II storm, then we would be back in a heartbeat. The Bay and Waveland were the best place we have ever lived.

While we certainly admire those who are returning and who are sticking it out to rebuild, my question is: Rebuild for what? To see it all washed away again?

While I admire your courage, I am not prepared to lose the little bit of life savings I have left. Now, instead of having a house I built myself free and clear, I'll have to buy something already built or contract a house myself and take up a mortgage at age 62. We are now at 1,500 feet above MSL and folks here can't even spell hurricane. We are not coming down the mountain.

Green grass growing...I lost it right there. It is the little things in life that sometimes make the biggest impact. What a joy to read this blog, Steve. So happy that the joys now seem to be out-weighing the lows. And I have not forgotten the trumpet! I will get it packaged up soon and shipped out.

COME ON SPRING!!{MORE JOY!}

Joe, that is so sad to hear. I moved to the Pass 7 weeks before Katrina and lost everything too. But I am only 35. I will stay here because I actually grew up on Whispering Pines and I was thrilled to finally be home, but at 62 - I cant imagine starting all over. I am so sorry ... its hardest on the children and elderly!

Hello Steve,
I would like to take this time to thank you for your intrest in the rebuilding of Bay St Louis, Waveland and along the coast. I have a personal intrest also I have lived here since 1976 and for the past 12 years in Bay St.Louis. I am a local contractor and have spent many years renovating older homes building new homes as well as many additions with many customers along the coast.My house suffered major damage from Katrina I am one block from the beach. The devastation that has occured here is unbeleivable.We had a unique community filled with many older homes and buildings destroyed. As I would drive through the streets I realized how much of the charm and architecture we lost. That is why I decided to do what I could to bring back some of what has been taken from us. That brings up Southern Pre Built Homes. I do need to empasize that hese are not modular or premanufactured ,They are custom built for each indivdual for there needs. I understand the need and desire of people to get back into there home as quickly as possible. But I want the people to make wise choices and have the ability to have a quality custom home designed for them.To make that happen as soon as possible and yet build an attractive home that will stand for many generations.We can build any size home that you would like, the plans on the website were designed to fit on a 50ft wide lot . We wanted to give people an idea of what they can do within the boundaries they may be in. Any shape or size can be built it is a custom home built for each person.Thank you for your time if you or any one would like to cotact me please do not hesitate Thank You Eddie Clark.

Steve,
i am a misplaced orphan of the Coast. Strange as it may sound i wish my "misplacement" had been because of katrina.
You see, i committed a felony DUI in Harrison County. My second felony for the same thing. I am very thankful my actions never involved the injury of another.
When I posted bond in 2003, I left the state. Mississippi has only placed a 300 mile extradition limit on my return. I even turned myself in out here once. They had to let me go as I had committed no crime in Arizona.
Some would argue that maybe I am not a criminal. But I am. As Judge Jerry Terry put, "I violated the peace and dignity of the great state of mississippi". He is right.
Now that I am needed or at least could be used, I cant come home. Or wont. And that makes me a coward of the worst sort. And I am filled every day with a shrimp boat load of shame & guilt. I guess that I should be.
Reading your postings have reminded me of what it was like living there ( i did for over 20 yrs), the people, the culture, the traditions. Things i cant seem to get any enthusiasm for where I am at now (phoenix). I miss my home and I guess that I should.
Please continue writing your diary entries. I check for new ones all the time. You may call it maudlin reminiscence but at this point I'll take what I can get.
If you could, believe me when I say I would come home tomorrow. my cowardice wont allow it. I'll pay a greater price later than I am now.
But I have learned that God has a wierd way of working things out. So who knows.Maybe I'll be there someday in a place where I can do some good.
If I ever make it back, I'll look you up. Sober. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for uniquely named bands & yours and Heathers sure takes the cake.
Oh yeah, since katrina, I have went out & bought every Dr. John cd, Neville Bros., Tophats, Radiators (used to see them in a little dive on Henderson Point, just around the big curve on Hwy 90. which they did away with way before Katrina)3 Doors Down, Jimmy Buffett. Anything to bring me home.
I have never been a poster child example of the people of the Gulf Coast but maybe ya'll are. Not a bad thing to be.
If you want love, you gotta give a little
If you want faith, you gotta believe a little.
give a little bit. give a little bit, til it hurts.
Then give a little more.
Maybe thats what a God, the God, wants us to learn.
I hope that this mail finds you & yours well & consider yourselves prayed for.
greg cleek
phoenix, az.