Hurricane Rita, Cameron Parish, Louisiana The Cameron Parish Pilot, Cameron, La Submitted by Kathy Tell Date 25 Jan 2006 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Where are they now? Report on the evacuees By NELL COLLIGAN Page 3, The Cameron Parish Pilot, Cameron, La., December 1, 2005 BURTON DAIGLE News continues to roll in from Cameron Parish residents. Burton Daigle called while he was visiting his son Coe, in Lafayette. Burton said that he and Audrey have obtained a FEMA trailer and have parked it in Grand Lake in their grandson Willie’s yard. Burton said it is looking like they won’t get anything from their insurance. I guess it is the same old argument: was it the water or the wind that did them in? It’s a tragedy following a tragedy. RAY HENDRIX ROD NUNEZ HOLLY LEJUINE While shopping at Sam’s on Monday, we ran into Debbie Theriot and her inlaws, Cora and Ray Hendrix. The Hendrix’s lost everything in the storm and are staying with Debbie and Terry in Kaplan, La. Debbie works in Kaplan and is a tax associate for H&R Block. Terry’s sister, Tammy and her husband Rod Nunez and their family are in a camper trailer in the Grand Lake area. Terry’s sister, Holly LeJuine and her son are staying in Lake Charles at the present time. Debbie’s mother, Elsie and her brother Tommy and his family initially evacuated to Natchitoches to the home of a cousin. If you recall, Elsie had moved her house from Cameron to Grand Lake after Ray passed away. The house in Grand Lake lost only the carport, but the one they owned in Creole was totally lost. Elsie is remodeling the home in Grand Lake as she intends to remain there. FREDMAN THERIOT CHARLES GLENN THERIOT Fredman and Ethyl Theriot are now living in their camper parked in the yard of their daughter, Sharon Vincent, next door to Elsie Theriot. They also lost their home in Creole. The will be moving into a manufactured home which they will place between their two daughters, Sharon Vincent and Becky Dugan. Elsie’s son, Charles Glenn and his wife, Bonnie Theriot are in a camper trailer parked in Elsie’s yard. They will stay there until they go back to rebuild their home in Grand Chenier. CRAIG GUILLORY Craig and Lynn Guillory wrote to say that they are in Hayes, Louisiana. BOB SCHWARK I heard from Bob Schwark. He and Annabel are renting a house in Iowa, La. They hope to return to Cameron Parish in the future, but not necessarily the town of Cameron. Bob’s son, Bobby is staying with them as he has not received his FEMA camper yet. His daughter Paula and her husband, Tommy have a trailer at the same address. His other daughter, Shelly and all her family lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. They will be rebuilding in Waveland, Mississippi. HELEN COLLIGAN Leland Colligan’s granddaughter, Kathy, called to let us know that Aunt Helen Colligan is safe and sound and living in Carlyss with Kathy’s mother and father, Uretta and Bob Frazier. They are living in a home which belonged to Brenda Colligan’s parents who are deceased. (Brenda is Freddie Colligan’s wife.) Jimmy phoned Aunt Helen Sunday. She told him that she is doing fine, and that Uretta has finished her chemo-therapy treatments. In my book, Uretta is truly a survivor. She was Doc and Aunt Helen’s good right hand for many years, and continues to see about Aunt Helen. More families should be blessed with “a Uretta.” NINA MAE LEBOEUF Nina Mae LeBoeuf sent a letter filled with news about various Cameron Parish families. Nina Mae lost her home which was about seven miles out of Cameron. She is hoping some of her plants might come back in the spring. She is living in Lafayette but her temporary address is with Dale’s daughter who is a student at McNeese University. CHARLES THERIOT LESTER THERIOT DALE LEBOEUF Here’s some of the news she sent. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Theriot; Lester and Lidian Fae Theriot and Mr. and Mrs. Dale LeBoeuf are in Lafayette. LEONARD LITTLE KENT LITTLE Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Little and Mr. and Mrs. Kent Little are in Lake Arthur. WILLARD LITTLE The Willard Little family is in Lowery, La. DALLAS BRASSEAUX TAD CONNER CHARLOTTE TROSCLAIR Mr. and Mrs. Dallas Brasseaux, Mr. and Mrs. Tad Conner, and Charlotte Trosclair are in Sweet Lake. BRENT LITTLE The Brent Little family is in Grand Lake. CHARLIE THERIOT Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Theriot and their family are staying with the Charles Hebert family in Lafayette. Mrs. Macelda had heart surgery last week. According to Nina Mae, she had a triple heart by-pass and is doing well. I tried to phone the Hebert home to get more news of her recovery, but they are not listed in the directory. COLLIGAN FAMILY My husband, Jimmy and our son, Kevin and his wife Jacqueline went to Cameron last Friday to meet Deanne, Madeleine, Phyllis, Billy and Sam at the Colligans’ family home across the street from Cameron Elementary School. There, in the mud, among many of Madeleine and Deanne’s belongings that were too damaged to recover, they found mementos that brought back so many good memories of the family and of Papa and Old Mamma Colligan. The wonderful thing about good memories is that they cannot be destroyed: not by a hurricane, not by a person, not by anything on earth. They remain safely in our heads. So whether it’s a crochet hook, an old saw or a well worn Pyrex dish, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the memory of who used it, what he or she made with it or did with it, and how it touched our own life. That’s where the treasure lies. I’m sure many of you have gone though the same motions of rearranging the mud to see what might be salvaged. In your case, I know that many things that are necessary to your daily life lay buried in Rita’s wake. My heart goes out to those of you who lost the tools of your everyday life. In the case of our children, they mainly went to recapture a piece of their childhood. I think you’ll agree that after a visit to Cameron similar to the one our family had last weekend, it’s hard to turn from the past and think about today and tomorrow, and what must be done now. I know for sure, the task on hand is to get busy building new good memories. I believe I speak for everyone who was at the Colligan home in Cameron on Friday: it was hard work, it was togetherness, it was laughter and tears, and it was another good, although bittersweet family memory. Having baby-sat on Friday, Elaine and I went to the house on Saturday. It’s such a shock the first time you see the parish. The side wall of Old Mamma’s the kitchen is gone, but as we stood there, we could just see her at her stove, preparing one of her delicious meals— and in later years, directing our faithful friend, Francis Benoit who cared for her so lovingly. The wall where the high school pictures of Jimmy, Deanne, Madeleine and Joyce once hung is now bare, but we have them all--alive and well, so it’s ok. Elaine’s trip was for closure, and I think she obtained that. That visit to Cameron is something we will always treasure. That gray, rainy day, seemed fitting for the occasion—a quiet goodbye to a childhood of memories. As we looked at the house one last time together, Elaine commented: “Mom, Cameron was a wonderful place to grow up in.” I have to agree, it was that for sure--and will someday be again. Please mail news to 302 Trailwood Lane; Lafayette 70508 or nnadc67@aol.com or phone 337-988-5395 between 9 a.m and 5 p.m. Thanks. NELL COLLIGAN The CAMERON PARISH PILOT- Weekly Publication Jerry and Joy Wise, P.O. Drawer 1486, Cameron,La. 70631-8998