Heading South

Note: The following was written by Jeff Johnson. One of the coordinators for local (Southern Indiana) disaster relief for the Hurricane Katrina Victims.

The donated Nancy Bear tractor trailer that had, "Jasper a Great place to Live" on it's side, pulled out of the Jasper, Indiana Wal-Mart parking lot at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 7th, 2005. The truck was filled with donated water, food, clothes, flash lights, toys, camping item, generators, personal care items, and much more. Most of the items were new, some used. It was like a department store on wheels.

The items on the truck came from people who purchased them at area stores and left them at the store to be picked up by  volunteer workers who would make the round of 17 different stores each day and return them to the trailer to be put on pallets and shrink wrapped. The pallets would expedite the off loading of the items at there final destination. Other people brought things directly to the truck which was a big help. They got wind of our Katrina relief project in different ways: word of mouth, by the truck sitting in the parking lot, newspaper articles, and the local radio station.

The truck was driven by Don Neukam, a retired employee of Nancy Bear trucking. We followed the truck in our mini van with my wife Lorraine, my 17 year old daughter Monica (who took off school for three days to get a lesson in life not taught in the schools), and my 12 year old home-schooled son Joshua, who turned thirteen on this journey.

After going through Nashville Tennessee we took I-65 down to Birmingham Alabama, then I-59 heading towards Hattiesburg Mississippi, which was about 70 miles from the coast. Sixty to eighty mile before reaching Hattiesburg we began to see trees leaning more than they should, and signs twisted here and there. As we kept getting closer, 40 to 60 mile out, from our destination we began to see trees completely down, one or two every tenth of a mile. 20 to 40 miles out we noticed entire areas of trees flattened, signs down, homes damaged, but some areas looked like they hadn't been touched at all. The next 20 miles the damage was much more consistent and severe until we reached our destination: Bass Memorial Academy, a Christian high school operated by the Seventh-day Adventists. Taking exit 51 west to 11, then south on 11 we traveled about two miles past the little town of Purvis.

As we approached the academy at about 5:30 p.m. we noticed a berry farm on the right and some ware houses. We found out later that they belonged to the school and aided in funding the school. Next we saw a church with its metal roof rolled back like a giant sardine can. After the church we saw several other buildings: girls and boys dorms, activity building, and the dome shaped gym, my favorite because my family and I live in a dome home. The dome gym had a gaping whole in one of its brick walls and all of the shingles were stripped from the roof. In front of the gym a large blue and yellow open air tent (with out side panels) and a lot of people, most of them young, sitting around tables eating. We pulled into the sandy parking lot along with other tractor trailers waiting to be unloaded.

Walking up to the tent we found a lot of tired but happy student volunteers. We learned immediately that, while one bus was leaving, another was arriving with a bus loads of student from other Christian academies of all faiths from around the country. This was done on a 4 to 6 day rotation basis. They had come to Bass Academy as volunteers to clean debris, help remove trees,  distribute food, unload trailers as they came in, and sort the items into functional categories; food here, water there, clothes over there.

After locating Dale Bass (no relation to Bass Memorial Academy), the director of ACTS ( Adventist Community Team Services ) and the relief effort for that area, we learned that FEMA had asked if ACTS would move one of its three kitchens, that could feed thousands of people a day, down to Waveland Mississippi, about one mile from the coast to set up relief efforts there. After learning what we had on our truck, they were very pleased that everything was on pallets and that we had two much-needed generators donated by the emergency room personnel at the Memorial hospital in Jasper. They said we would not be unloading there but that our load was needed just as it was down at Waveland. So after getting a bite to eat from the kitchen under the tent we bunked down on mats on the floor in the boys dorm for the night.

The next morning after eating a great meal of pancakes, eggs, toast, gravy and much more under the same tent, we received instructions from Dale Bass as to what needed to happen that day. After receiving magnetic ID signs that we placed on the side of our vehicles to get us through security stops that we would pass along the way, we created a convoy of trucks, vans, flat beds, carrying fork lifts, and bob cats, refer trucks, a bus load of students, and cars. The convoy had about 70 miles to get to Waveland. Once again we began to measure the devastations in our minds as we headed south to the coast. An occasional "look at that" or "hey look over here" only grow more frequent the further south we went.

As we approached I10, the National Guard wielding what looked like the old M16's and borrowed police from other states where splitting the vehicles into two different groups. Those who where there to help in the disaster relied in an official manner and those who were trying to get in and look at things out of curiosity. We were waved on through with the first group.

We noticed a distinct change in the aroma of the air. There was drying and cracking mud everywhere that swelled into a hot, humid stench that infiltrated our van. When we crossed under I10 we saw where the water surge had settled and left a line of debris in the grass level with the bottom of the bridge that we just drove under. It was at least 13-14 feet deep in that area just a few days earlier.

At this time we began to see total devastation. Cars, one on top of another, cars tuned upside down, boats in trees. We even had to drive around a house that had floated onto the highway. There was a man who was riding with us who was from Alaska, and his name was Kim. He had been there from the first day of the relief effort. I asked why weren't more homes totally destroyed? Because to my surprise there were quite a few buildings left standing including a Wal-Mart, K Mart, banks, strip malls. He told me that the area we were now in was all under water which protected the buildings from the 150 mile an hour winds, but it did not stop the homes from floating off there foundations onto the road. Something I never thought of before.

We pull into the parking lot of Hudson's Treasure Hunt, Fred's Food Market and other small stores. There was glass, dirt, and trash everywhere. People from the area where rummaging through things washed out of the stores onto the pavement and through some of the pallets of food left there the day before. There was a large open area surrounded by pallets of water where the day before some organization of the site was made in preparation for our arrival that day.

The National Guard helped us unload the Jasper truck, Don Neukam had a load to pick up, so after a lot of thanks and hugs he was on his way. We helped them unload seven more military tractor trailer loads of food, water, MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat). Before the day was over there were lines of cars that heard we were now handing out things people needed. There was a lot of thank you's, and appreciation for what we were doing from the local folks. The kitchen was up and running and handing out hot meals. That week cars would take pre-made hot meals out into the community for those who had no way to get to us because their cars had been destroyed in the storm. The few tents we had went in a heart beat giving shelter to those who had been sleeping on the ground under bank drive through's, Car Washes, and store awnings. A week earlier this area was about 28 feet under water. We were there three days and then headed back home.

Two weeks later after another trailer was filled with food, cleaning supplies, and water, my family and I where back down at Bass Memorial Academy. We arrived just two days before hurricane Rita. We spent those two days taking down tents, covering food crates, and whatever it took to get ready for Rita.

The storm did not hit as hard as we feared, so on the third day we were putting things back up getting ready to serve our fellow man with another load of goods from the good people of Jasper, Indiana and the surrounding area. My family thanks you for making it possible for us to help, the people from Southern Mississippi thanks for your kindness and generosity during this time of their greatest need. May God bless you for blessing others.

Because it is in our hearts and in the hearts of so many others to help, we have decided to start a local non-profit disaster relief organization. It is called "CPR3" Crisis Point Response, Relief, Recovery. If you would like to learn more, or would like to become a part, please contact me, Jeff Johnson at 812-936-4255 or e-mail us.

Jeff Johnson