BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – In some mysterious way, Hurricane Katrina served as a wake-up call for Dane St. Pe, unleashing a creative force in the 37-year-old former Marine that he had no idea even existed.
The storm slammed St. Pe (pronounced san-PAY) much as it did thousands upon thousands of other Gulf Coast residents. But by demolishing his home and sending him off on a mud-drenched on a hitchhiking odyssey, it somehow transformed him from a heavy-drinking man bitter after a failed marriage into a dynamo aiming to fulfill dreams that are far too big for the FEMA trailer that he shares with his 9-year-old son, Dane Jr.
In addition to managing his new electrician’s business, St. Pe is the driving force behind plans for a Katrina memorial monument in his hometown, the small community of Clermont Harbor just southwest of Waveland.
He plans to form the monument out of toppled pillars that once stood as part of an arch in front of Garcia’s Grocery and welcomed visitors who arrived by boat in the tiny town. He already has gotten permission from the Hancock County Board of Supervisors and the state Department of Marine Resources and enlisted the help of Charles Gray, director of the Hancock County Historical Society, to form a nonprofit corporation – the Harbor of Hope Foundation -- to build it.
Gray also put him in touch with other volunteers who drew up blueprints for the memorial, which is expected to feature three brass plaques that will detail the history of Clermont Harbor, a personal remembrance of the storm by an anonymous resident and a brief description of the destruction that Katrina wrought on the Gulf Coast.
As plans for the monument progressed, St. Pe continued to expand on his original vision. He is now attempting to organize an annual Clermont Harbor Festival in September that would raise money not just for the memorial, but for the historical society, the Clermont Harbor Civic Association and for people in need across Hancock County.
“I want to throw the biggest party Mississippi has ever seen,” he says.
In order to pull that off, though, he says he needs volunteers to help him share the burden.
“I’m juggling a company, a nonprofit, a monument and I’m a single parent and it’s gotten to be too much," he says, asking that donors or volunteers contact him by e-mail or by phone at (504) 473-7466. “I need help.”
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If it's the biggist party Mississippi has ever seen....shoot I wanna be there!
andy,booneville ms. (Sent Aug 28, 2006 8:03:39 AM)
This is a good story and I agree with the idea, but while so many families are still in FEMA trailers and so much of the community remains devastated, the timing for a project like a monument funded by donations may be a little off. The county can't even cut its grass right now... I'm sorry to be such a stick in the mud...
Mike Scheid, Long Beach, Miss. (Sent Aug 28, 2006 10:36:15 AM)
What a great, POSITIVE story ... why doens't the major media report more on stories like this. All I read/hear about is New Orleans, and how that city is stil la mess. What about Biloxi? What abour Mobile? Those people picked themselves up, worked together, and rebuilt THEMSELVES! All the people in N.O. want is for the fed. gov't to do things for them. Those people deserve what they get, especially after they re-elected that totally incompetent racist "Choclate" Nagin.
Dennis, Orlando, Florida (Sent Aug 28, 2006 11:55:52 AM)
This story is not getting a lot of interest so I'm inclined to think that most people feel the same way I do; although a Katrina Memorial and an annual festival may be a good idea, the timing may be off. Clermont Harbor suffered devastating damage- Katrina's eye passed about 18 miles to the west, and some very high tidal surges occured in the Clermont Harbor/Lakeshore/Pearlington area. The area is not heavily populated but the people that live there lost nearly everything. The people of Clermont Harbor, in the midst of their recovery and rebuilding, regrettably may not have the time or resources now to dedicate to this noble effort. But be patient, Mr St.Pe, as people's lives start approaching normalcy and they start getting back into their homes, endeavors such as yours will begin to sprout up in many of the communities along the coast, maybe even my community. Good Luck.
Mike Scheid, Long Beach, Miss. (Sent Sep 7, 2006 2:59:18 PM)
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