Preservation In Action
A volunteer's story of rebuilding one small piece of New Orleans.
The view onto the street from the house on St. Ferdinand Street that National Trust volunteers worked on.
Credit: M. Gattis
Margaret A. Gattis I March 20th, 2008
Almost immediately after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit in late 2005, the National Trust for Historic Preservation was on the ground in New Orleans, providing leadership and advocacy to help in the revitalization efforts in this most unique of American cities. In one of the hundreds of different efforts throughout the Gulf Coast, we have partnered with the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans and Rebuilding Together New Orleans to bring National Trust volunteers to Louisiana so that they can see preservation-in-action and participate first-hand in the massive rebuilding effort from one of the worst disasters in our nation's history.
When I was given the opportunity to accompany a small group of National Trust Members who had volunteered for this expedition, I jumped at the chance. Having never been to New Orleans before, I welcomed the opportunity to join with National Trust Members to actually practice what we all preach: using historic preservation as a key to community and neighborhood revitalization.
The six of us arrived at this first National Trust/Rebuilding Together Volunteer Week in late February, we embarked on our job determined to offer what we could. The house to which we were assigned was a double-shotgun house, typical of many neighborhoods in New Orleans, in which each room lies directly behind the next with no hallway; the definition of efficient living space.
Located in the St. Roch neighborhood, the house quickly became our base of operations for the week. The home had been previously gutted; a task that we were glad did not fall to us. However, what lay ahead were holes to be spackled, 20-odd cans of paint to use, crown molding to be cut and nailed up, and some rotting floor that needed to be cut away and replaced.
The house in New Orleans that National Trust volunteers worked on in February, 2008.
Credit: M. Gattis
It doesn't seem like a ton of work, but the power tools involved made it a learning experience for all of us. Christine Page, a Member from St. Petersburg, FL, happily became the master of the circular saw. Even those of us with no previous construction skills (who were secretly afraid of power tools… myself included) ended up with a love of the air-powered nail gun. By the time we left, the house was near move-in status and we were looking forward to letting the older gentleman who owned the house come home.
When we weren't working, we enjoyed getting to know the Rebuilding Together staff and other volunteers; talking about how we ended up where we were and where we came from. But aside from our own lives, the conversation almost always turned toward the storm.
National Trust volunteers paint the inside of a window frame in New Orleans.
Credit: M. Gattis
Its presence was so overwhelmingly felt, even after all this time, that you could not ignore the feeling of loss. The devastation that exists in New Orleans and the surrounding areas is still so vast and extensive, it is almost impossible to describe. I'm not sure what I was expecting to find in New Orleans, but it was nothing like what I eventually saw. Even though you don't hear much about it in the news anymore – it's still there.
We were staying at a “camp” built to host numerous volunteer groups in St. Bernard Parish, so we saw a lot of things that regular visitors to New Orleans wouldn't necessarily see. Along the route to work some days, we stopped to look closely at what we were passing. We saw vacant fields in the lower ninth ward, slab foundations and porches that stood alone. The corresponding homes were nowhere to be seen – 904 days after the storm.
We lived and ate with other volunteers at Camp Hope, including some St. Bernard locals who depended daily on its food or shelter, even now. Many shared their personal stories, and their appreciation – "Look where we would be without you," they would say, "everything good that has happened here since the storm has been driven by volunteers and non-profit organizations." Going in, part of me felt that one week of work by just the six of us wasn't going to be a big accomplishment. But now, knowing what I know and having seen what I saw – it's impossible to imagine never going back. Every volunteer on our trip expressed interest in returning and helping more, simply because they need us. No matter how large or small the project, everyone one was grateful for our being there; as if simply seeing it with our own eyes somehow brought hope.
In the end, bonding over our sack lunches, we shared an experience that would be hard to recreate in any other circumstance. Together we overcame the relative discomfort of being away from home for the betterment of the world around us and to participate in the preservation of this part of America's heritage.
Actually saving and salvaging architecture, actually rebuilding and restoring neighborhoods -- this is what preservation is about and is why we all do what we do. It was an amazing experience and not one that I will let pass easily from my mind.
National Trust volunteers stand in front of the house they helped rehab in New Orleans.
Credit: M. Gattis
Ready to make a difference? Consider volunteering for a week in New Orleans with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Learn more.
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Margaret Gattis is the Program Assistant in the office of Member Engagement at the NTHP. Her many duties include working with state and local preservation organizations and Main Street towns to spread the message of historic preservation by helping them build their own membership and support bases and assisting with the online engagement of National Trust Members.
