It’s the fourteenth anniversary of Hurricane Ike this week, and what do I get from Entergy? Three days of texts saying that they’re going to turn the power off on September 13 for a routine fix. Everything went well, but it did bring back memories. After Ike, we spent a week without power, but it would seem that we brought back a cool front as we returned from Austin, Texas. The weather was nice for a week until the day they turned the power back on. Luckily, we had no damage from Hurricane Ike, but many communities experienced flooding, and some lost everything.
In October of that year, I volunteered for a cleanup crew at Crystal Beach. I have videos of my journey to the site and the devastation of the peninsula. In our team, I met a man from Bridge City whose house was one of the fourteen that didn’t flood. He was there because he was spared the tragedy and wanted to help those who hadn’t been so fortunate. People like him are unique and should be put on a pedestal, but in life, they are the silent ones who help strangers and don’t look for credit. They seek a better life for all.
We moved from Port Arthur to Under the Oaks on Ye Olde Block Farm in 2006, after Hurricane Rita’s visit. We chose well because the other choice was the highest point in Labelle, which didn’t work out after Hurricane Ike. After all, the Corps of Engineers got the elevation wrong. It was a lovely house on an acre, but the neighborhood is no longer there because the flooding pretty much destroyed all the houses. A twelve-foot surge will do that.
September 13, 2007, is also a date to remember—at least, my cat would. At the time, Hurricane Humberto did a wibbly-wobbly thing and landed at Crystal Beach, then moved to our area. Of course, it was a late night-morning storm, and at 3:30 a.m., when I woke up, I checked the radar on my phone and found out quickly that there was a hurricane over the area. The eye passed over my house, and my cat, which had refused to leave for Rita, was doing his thing in the neighborhood. When he saw me come outside, he ran from the neighbor’s yard. I never knew a cat could gripe and relay so many messages in the fifteen seconds it took him to get to the back door. We endured the back half of the storm, but it was a minor event compared to what was happening in Beaumont.
We still had power, so I turned on the television to see what KFDM had to say. Unfortunately, I tuned in to see three guys, two weathermen and Larry Beaulieu, trying to figure out if they were on air or not. Of course, Larry’s backside was front and center on camera, but to be fair, Beaumont took a bigger hit than the southern part of the county. Apparently, their radar was destroyed, and they couldn’t figure out where the freak storm was. They said that Humberto’s eye was in Winnie, but I had already experienced the eye of the storm to the south, and it moved on to Vidor. When you live on the Gulf Coast, you experience these things.
Am I right to remember Hurricane Fern doing some sort of wibbly-wobbly thing and breaking up to have two eyes? I vaguely remember reporters on the Texas beaches interviewing folks and asking if they’d seen the hurricane. I need to ask Al from the radio because I might or might not have this memory because of him. Some of his whines about the old times are interesting, but facts must be checked.
I’ve been busy this week, but I did see that the Beaumont Police honored their fallen brethren, officers George Frederick and James A. Gaines. I also know why these officers were discovered. When I joined the Jefferson County Historical Commission in 2012, I regretted that not much was going on. But in the past couple of years, a few people have added their research and knowledge for others to build on. Regardless of what subject you are exploring, it has been a godsend to other researchers, new and old, to know that someone has done the work. I am happy with my comrades doing the things they love, even if I’m a slacker. There are things afoot that I will contribute to going forward.
Meow for now.
Beaumont Enterprise:
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/officers-honored-after-100-years-17443913.php
Hurricane Ike photos:
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