by Emily Morgan (California Eta, '04)
Hurricane Rita hit in
September 2005. Yet, today farmers and ranchers are still recovering from
the storm. Alpha Zeta has been doing a small part. In January and December
2006, members from across the country traveled to Louisiana to help. Fences were restrung,
sheds were rebuilt, debris was cleaned up and lives were one step closer to
normalcy. Hurricane Rita is often overshadowed by Katrina. It's easy
to forget the destruction from the hurricanes didn't just happen in New Orleans and other cities.
From an agricultural perspective, farmers were hit just as hard or harder than
people in the cities. Homes that had survived three and four generations were
demolished.. Floods destroyed crops, killed herds of livestock and salinified
fields. People lost their livelihoods. Rita hit September 24, 2005, 14 months before
our group of 32 Alpha Zetas arrived in December.
The trip was my second to the Louisiana. In January 2006, a group of 19
students traveled down to Louisiana
to help farmers and ranchers rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. The first trip
was such a success that talk was immediately started on a second trip to areas
hit by Hurricane Rita. We returned Louisiana
in December, this time to Abbeville in Vermilion Parish.
Both were an amazing opportunity to see first hand the
damage caused by the hurricanes and floods. Campus organizations all over the
country, including California Eta, my local chapter of Alpha Zeta, raised money
for to help hurricane victims. The work trip has been a chance to see how that
money has helped the ravaged communities.
Being from California, Louisiana does not cross
my mind very often. However, in the past year, and especially in the past month,
I could honestly say that I mention my experience and love of Louisiana at least once a day. I was lucky
enough to jump on board with the first group of students that traveled down to
the areas that were hit by Hurricane Katrina. The experience changed the way I
viewed Louisiana.
I knew that I would be going back down there when the next opportunity
presented itself.
First, I can't thank the Louisiana Farm Bureau enough for its
hospitality. I especially want to mention field representatives Scott Bickham,
whom I met the first trip, Julie Baker and Field Service Director Nolan
Babineaux. They, and others from the LFBF, connected us with six farmers and
ranchers who had plenty of work for us.
Every farmer lost something. Hank Moss, a cutting horse
trainer, lost a home that had been built by his grandparents. Kern Hader and
his grandson, Ross, lost half their rice crop. However more than a year and a half after Hurricane Rita hit,
they keep moving. They are rebuilding, and it's just another day for them. I've
never met stronger, friendlier people in my life.
Again, I ran into the same problem as I did during my first
trip. Our gracious hosts wanted to show us the damage done by the hurricanes
more than they wanted our help recovering from them, but I hope to make the
most of it. Part of helping them to recover is telling others about the
experience I've had and the depth of the recovery effort.
We all made our connections with different people, and we
all have a favorite person or family in mind. Mine was Mr. Quintin Winch. Mr.
Winch is a part-time cattle rancher and full-time oil worker. He's also a
husband a father of two.
The day we worked for Quintin, we had a crew of five girls
and two guys pile out of the vans on his neighbors ranch. If he was nervous
about the inequality of gender numbers, he didn't show it. The job: build
fence. During the two work trips Alpha Zeta has built a lot of fences. With a
flat bed of wooden posts and two very heavy post-drivers, we went to work on a one-mile
stretch. It started raining not to long into the day. While Quinten suggested
we take cover and wait it out, we kept right on going. That's what I loved
about our crew.
Lunch was brought by a "good friend" of Quintin. Everybody
is a good friend to him. Later in the day took us on a tour of the ranch and
back swamp. Rita had knocked down all of the fencing. It has also brought in
new grass and salt water species that have thrived. Thanks to the flooding farmers
are experiencing new species of weeds, which are proving difficult to eradicate.
As the day neared to its end, Quintin admitted he was anxious
when he first saw all the girls pile out of the van. But by the end of the day,
he said he would take our group over any bunch of guys he's ever worked with. "You're
going to make some mighty fine wives for some young men one day," he said. That
is a compliment I have never received, and I'll never forget. Thanks!
After Quintin called it a day, he took us on a ride to show
us more damage. I learned that ranchers had pumped off water to open grazing
fields, but the hurricane turned these fields back into lakes. We passed a
couple of mostly empty FEMA mobile-home parks. Quintin and others said most residents
preferred to stay on their property or have yet to return. Most of the homes we
saw were new and stood on tall wooden or steel stilts. At the very least new
construction has been on three- to five-foot concrete pylons.
We spent the last day touring a rice mill and crawfish farm.
Coming from California
rice country, I was interested in their farming techniques. The rice mill we
visited is completely energy self-sufficient. Additionally, rice farmers make a
second income during the winter months as crawfish farmers; not something you
find in the North Valley of California.
That night the Louisiana Cattleman's Association put on a
fantastic barbeque for us. I would like to give a big thanks to them and the
LFBF for the cookbooks. I was lucky enough to receive one that night for traveling
the farthest and for a second time. Thank you so much for this book. While I
haven't tried the recipes with the hog's head, I have definitely put some
stains on the seafood gumbo. I hear that everyone else has received their copy
in the mail, too!
None of us were ready to leave Abbieville. As we pulled away
after the BBQ, I couldn't help but feel sad. The work we did was rewarding and
the people we're able to help were amazing. I hope that the connections I made
with Mr. Winch and his family, along with the LFBF, will continue. Thank you to
everyone - Louisiana Farm Bureau, Alpha Zeta Foundation and AZ alumni - who has
supported the Gulf Coast Work Trip.
Emily Morgan is a
founding member of the California Eta Chapter
and a 2005 graduate of California State University
in Chico. She
participated in both Gulf
Coast Work Trips in
January and December 2006. She currently works as a customer representative for
InsightExpress in San Francisco.
|
