Above:A 360-degree photo shows a rusted boat and other wreckage at Bayou Caddy, a port west of Waveland. (John Brecher / MSNBC.com)
About this project
In the coming months, MSNBC.com will focus its coverage of the Hurricane Katrina recovery on two cities on the hard-hit Mississippi coast.
Though Bay St. Louis and Waveland are far from the media spotlight on New Orleans, the intertwined fates of the people, businesses and institutions in these towns tell the story of an entire region's struggle to recover from the most destructive storm in U.S. history.
WEST PEARL RIVER, La. – Denny Holmberg is trying to get by with a little help from his friends: alligators, turtles, flying squirrels, bass and gar, wild boar and 29 different kinds of spiders, just to name a few. Oh, and don’t forget a handful of kind-hearted humans.
Two years after Katrina swamped his once-thriving swamp tour business, Holmberg is still in a world of hurt. In a cruel encore to the hurricane’s devastation, Holmberg was hit just after the storm by a recurrent brain tumor that had been in remission for a decade. Surgery and drugs have left him subject to frequent seizures, unable to run his business, down to his last few dollars and wondering how he’ll pay for another operation.
Ferns hang on the porch of Mary Perkins' new home. Photo courtesy of Mary Perkins
As I sit here thinking about the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I am watching Hurricane Dean moving toward the Yucatan and Mexico. But it could have been here that Dean decided to visit. And we are sure glad he didn't, because we are not quite ready for another one yet.
So, how are things after two years? Well, some things are much better. Two lanes of our bridge opened in May, and it was a very emotional experience. There was a special program at the foot of the bridge on our side, then dignitaries went to the top of the bridge and tied a ribbon symbolically joining the two cities together. Then we had a celebration at the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club. More than 5,000 people attended, drank beer, ate food and visited the more than 150 booths showing local wares. Since the opening, I am now able to travel to Long Beach to the Winn-Dixie Grocery Store in 20 minutes, instead of the 45 it used to take. For me, it boosted my attitude a little more.
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