One night of terror became a lasting part of Galveston's identity
By HEIDI LUTZ The Daily News
A Galveston Daily News reporter in 1900 said the story of the Sept. 8, 1900, hurricane could never truly be written.
Linda Macdonald's grandfather said nothing could ever make him forget the sounds of that night.
And for many, no words could ever be spoken again about the deadly hurricane that reshaped the Gulf Coast forever.
As Galvestonians and the rest of the country mark the centennial of the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, its story continues to linger in the minds of virtually everyone who lives along a coast. It is the reminder of what can happen when the winds blow and the tides rise along the hurricane-prone coasts of America.
Its tale of death, devastation and eventual recovery is close to the hearts of Galvestonians. And as its centennial anniversary comes and goes, and its stories are passed on again, the 1900 Storm will become part of the history of another generation.
'The storm'
For locals, any reference to "the storm" is obvious. If someone says a house survived the storm, there is no doubt it predates Sept. 8, 1900.
If people say they had family who died or survived the storm, there is no doubt that they are referring to a family history that goes back more than 100 years.
For in Galveston, "the storm" always refers to the hurricane that tore across Galveston on Sept. 8, 1900, and left the city in ruins.
Those who managed, either by sheer luck or the grace of God, to survive the storm faced the challenge of moving forward.
In his memoirs, meteorologist Isaac Cline referred to the morning after the storm as "a most beautiful day."
It was indeed a sunny, warm day, the kind of day people came to Galveston for at the turn of the century. But few visitors would walk the sandy shores for months after the infamous hurricane.
Instead, bodies of the dead that were improperly buried at sea washed ashore on those beaches, leaving even more treacherous work for the cleanup crews.
The storm left behind a legacy that extends across the country. As families moved from the island, they carried with them the story of that night.
Miss Kyrs, the first 29 years of my life were spent on the gulf coast. Some of the finest people I have ever known come from Louisiana, the kind of people that would literally give you the shirt off their back if you asked.
When I was in college, a friend of mine was wearing a T-shirt I liked. I joking asked him for it as we were walking across campus. He took it off and threw it to me and wouldn't take it back. I know that is a silly story but I think it really highlights the kindness of those poor souls caught in harm's way. Lot of good folks back home. Godspeed to them all.
A National Guard truck pulled up and asked if they were ready to leave yet. Two guys standing out on the sidewalk in the company of pit bulls said: “Hell no.”
DePonthiux said: “We’re the last fort on the edge of the wilderness. My family’s been in exile for 300 years; this ain’t shit.”
—–Original Message—– From: Brian White Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 12:16 AM To: ‘Phil White’ Subject: RE: glad to hear you’re helping…
Hey Pop,
Just finishing another long night, and heading to bed. Email has been hit or miss for a while with Cox, so yes this is a better way to chat. Not sure how much of this you want to pass along. so feel free to edit. And I’m far from being any kind of hero. The real heroes are these crazy CG Divers hanging from a cord, pulling people from their rooftops while some idiot neighbor in his crack house is shooting at them!
Glad to hear that you’ve passed the word along about some of the goings on here in Louisiana. obviously the major networks won’t tell you what should be told, and Fox is doing a good job about getting the real word out, but there’s so much more to the story that they just can’t report about. its not in the publics best interest to hear about the incredible number of murders that have been going on, or how the green berets are here on the roof tops at night with their night vision goggles. They’ve been taking out these looters and rapists one by one at night when they don’ t think they’re being seen. The first couple of nights here they were capping about 20 or so a night, now its down to half a dozen a night. they’ve been cleaning out the city very efficiently. The weird part is you never know its coming. just a short bright flash from a rooftop corner somewhere downtown and a few seconds later, a little muffled whoomp from the muzzle blast..sad to say it’s gratifying, but with the stuff that’s been going on, it’s hard not to feel these punks deserve it.
The rest of the city is pretty much cleared out now, except for the corpses floating in the water. The airport has been our main staging area for the sick and injured ones. (Can you walk? Great. go to gate 5 please. and your sir, you need a wheelchair? Ok, get on this luggage cart and we’ll take you to gate 7! Just crazy!) There are so many of these people that probably have typhoid, or another bacterial infection that will end up dying that we’ll probably never know the true final death count. The open wounds from they have on their legs and feet from the water burning them, are disgusting. We’ve even seen a number of cases of tuberculosis too. Then there’s the people that went to a NOLA hospital that were so obese that when the water started rising the staff couldn’t get them up the stair wells to the dry floors and were forced to leave them downstairs to slowly drown. Nurses were starting IV’s on each other just to stay hydrated when the water ran out. The bodies in the streets were being tied up to fences and lightposts by the Guard so they wouldn’t float away and could be retrieved later. Have you noticed how the news doesn’t show ‘Live’ aerial shots any more? Too many bodies floating. The only thing thicker than the stench that’s in the air are the flies! We looked around yesterday and thought we heard a low flying aircraft and wondered what in the hell these guys were doing flying so low only to realize it was a swarm of flies! We’re losing our minds! I’m sure a lot of us will need therapy for years to come! There’s so many other things we’ve seen that I’m not even sure how to talk about them yet. I’d almost rather have gone to fight in Iraq than to see what’s happened here. If they don’t tear down the Superdome and start all over with something new, I’ll never be able to walk into that place again. It might just be what the ‘Aints need to start winning, anyway! We heard about some guy who had been rescued from a hospital and when he asked where they were taking him and he heard “another hospital”, he jumped out of the boat because he wanted to go to the dome since he couldn’t sell his crack in the hospitals. Go figure..
So that’s my news for now. I’ll try to catch you up on other things in a few days. I’ll just leave you with one more story that came out of Baton Rouge.
Yesterday the Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up in Baton Rouge, I wished he would have showed up in Sheriff Harry Lee’s office as we would have NEVER heard from him again. He said, “Bush has NOT appointed a Single Black to head up this Katrina Relief, the Black Caucus and Black Leaders all over America are upset with him putting the Black Folks on the side and it is OUR people who are sitting on their roof tops waiting for Rescue, OUR people who are standing in line at the Superdome waiting on Food, Water and a Ride to a safe place, OUR people who have been locked down in Poverty.” and so on.
George Sell the Anchorman for TV 9 news responded to Jesse, “Rev. Jackson, the Mayors of New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Police Chief’s of New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Head of the LA State Police is Black, the Head of the Army conducting the Army’s operation on the Ground in New Orleans is Black, the Congressman from New Orleans is Black and for the last 40 years, the leaders of LA have been members of the Democratic Party, YOUR Party, don’t blame us like you are doing, look in the Mirror, you pull the Race Card any time you don’t get your way, we are in a Terrible Crisis and right now we need to come together and here you come to Louisiana and holler Racism, just like you do, it is NEVER EVER your fault, ALWAYS someone else, but here you are sitting High and Dry, why don’t you go out in to the waters where they are shooting at the Rescue personnel and help in the Rescue???’”
Hats off to George Sell for putting him in his place, Harry Lee would have put Jesse in his place and then some! This is a time to come together and work together, not the time to pull the race card!
Sincere, sounds like you know what I know--fabulous place. Love their coffee mugs among other things. Just a great atmosphere to hang. Thanks for stopping by. :-)
16 comments:
One night of terror became
a lasting part of Galveston's identity
By HEIDI LUTZ
The Daily News
A Galveston Daily News reporter in 1900 said the story of the Sept. 8, 1900, hurricane could never truly be written.
Linda Macdonald's grandfather said nothing could ever make him forget the sounds of that night.
And for many, no words could ever be spoken again about the deadly hurricane that reshaped the Gulf Coast forever.
As Galvestonians and the rest of the country mark the centennial of the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, its story continues to linger in the minds of virtually everyone who lives along a coast. It is the reminder of what can happen when the winds blow and the tides rise along the hurricane-prone coasts of America.
Its tale of death, devastation and eventual recovery is close to the hearts of Galvestonians. And as its centennial anniversary comes and goes, and its stories are passed on again, the 1900 Storm will become part of the history of another generation.
'The storm'
For locals, any reference to "the storm" is obvious. If someone says a house survived the storm, there is no doubt it predates Sept. 8, 1900.
If people say they had family who died or survived the storm, there is no doubt that they are referring to a family history that goes back more than 100 years.
For in Galveston, "the storm" always refers to the hurricane that tore across Galveston on Sept. 8, 1900, and left the city in ruins.
Those who managed, either by sheer luck or the grace of God, to survive the storm faced the challenge of moving forward.
In his memoirs, meteorologist Isaac Cline referred to the morning after the storm as "a most beautiful day."
It was indeed a sunny, warm day, the kind of day people came to Galveston for at the turn of the century. But few visitors would walk the sandy shores for months after the infamous hurricane.
Instead, bodies of the dead that were improperly buried at sea washed ashore on those beaches, leaving even more treacherous work for the cleanup crews.
The storm left behind a legacy that extends across the country. As families moved from the island, they carried with them the story of that night.
Looks like September is not a good month for us... here in the Gulf Coast.
Miss Kyrs, the first 29 years of my life were spent on the gulf coast. Some of the finest people I have ever known come from Louisiana, the kind of people that would literally give you the shirt off their back if you asked.
When I was in college, a friend of mine was wearing a T-shirt I liked. I joking asked him for it as we were walking across campus. He took it off and threw it to me and wouldn't take it back. I know that is a silly story but I think it really highlights the kindness of those poor souls caught in harm's way. Lot of good folks back home. Godspeed to them all.
Olá...
Vim agradecer tua visita sempre tão gentil!
Um beijo!
E, você é sempre assim muito agradável a mim. Eu aceito seu beijo. Beijos a você meu amor.
Quote of the day:
A National Guard truck pulled up and asked if they were ready to leave yet. Two guys standing out on the sidewalk in the company of pit bulls said: “Hell no.”
DePonthiux said: “We’re the last fort on the edge of the wilderness. My family’s been in exile for 300 years; this ain’t shit.”
I just don’t see these people leaving.
Just stopped in to say Hi and catch up on the latest. :)
Hi Sherri, :-)
Hey hey...no fair speaking in foreign languages!!!
Just wanted to stop in and say hello. Thought provoking as always Trée.
Linny, she started it. ;-)
Hope you've been able to keep your pencil's in check. :-)
—–Original Message—–
From: Brian White
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 12:16 AM
To: ‘Phil White’
Subject: RE: glad to hear you’re helping…
Hey Pop,
Just finishing another long night, and heading to bed. Email has been hit or miss for a while with Cox, so yes this is a better way to chat. Not sure how much of this you want to pass along. so feel free to edit. And I’m far from being any kind of hero. The real heroes are these crazy CG Divers hanging from a cord, pulling people from their rooftops while some idiot neighbor in his crack house is shooting at them!
Glad to hear that you’ve passed the word along about some of the goings on here in Louisiana. obviously the major networks won’t tell you what should be told, and Fox is doing a good job about getting the real word out, but there’s so much more to the story that they just can’t report about. its not in the publics best interest to hear about the incredible number of murders that have been going on, or how the green berets are here on the roof tops at night with their night vision goggles. They’ve been taking out these looters and rapists one by one at night when they don’ t think they’re being seen. The first couple of nights here they were capping about 20 or so a night, now its down to half a dozen a night. they’ve been cleaning out the city very efficiently. The weird part is you never know its coming. just a short bright flash from a rooftop corner somewhere downtown and a few seconds later, a little muffled whoomp from the muzzle blast..sad to say it’s gratifying, but with the stuff that’s been going on, it’s hard not to feel these punks deserve it.
The rest of the city is pretty much cleared out now, except for the corpses floating in the water. The airport has been our main staging area for the sick and injured ones. (Can you walk? Great. go to gate 5 please. and your sir, you need a wheelchair? Ok, get on this luggage cart and we’ll take you to gate 7! Just crazy!) There are so many of these people that probably have typhoid, or another bacterial infection that will end up dying that we’ll probably never know the true final death count. The open wounds from they have on their legs and feet from the water burning them, are disgusting. We’ve even seen a number of cases of tuberculosis too. Then there’s the people that went to a NOLA hospital that were so obese that when the water started rising the staff couldn’t get them up the stair wells to the dry floors and were forced to leave them downstairs to slowly drown. Nurses were starting IV’s on each other just to stay hydrated when the water ran out. The bodies in the streets were being tied up to fences and lightposts by the Guard so they wouldn’t float away and could be retrieved later. Have you noticed how the news doesn’t show ‘Live’ aerial shots any more? Too many bodies floating. The only thing thicker than the stench that’s in the air are the flies! We looked around yesterday and thought we heard a low flying aircraft and wondered what in the hell these guys were doing flying so low only to realize it was a swarm of flies! We’re losing our minds! I’m sure a lot of us will need therapy for years to come! There’s so many other things we’ve seen that I’m not even sure how to talk about them yet. I’d almost rather have gone to fight in Iraq than to see what’s happened here. If they don’t tear down the Superdome and start all over with something new, I’ll never be able to walk into that place again. It might just be what the ‘Aints need to start winning, anyway! We heard about some guy who had been rescued from a hospital and when he asked where they were taking him and he heard “another hospital”, he jumped out of the boat because he wanted to go to the dome since he couldn’t sell his crack in the hospitals. Go figure..
So that’s my news for now. I’ll try to catch you up on other things in a few days. I’ll just leave you with one more story that came out of Baton Rouge.
Yesterday the Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up in Baton Rouge, I wished he would have showed up in Sheriff Harry Lee’s office as we would have NEVER heard from him again. He said, “Bush has NOT appointed a Single Black to head up this Katrina Relief, the Black Caucus and Black Leaders all over America are upset with him putting the Black Folks on the side and it is OUR people who are sitting on their roof tops waiting for Rescue, OUR people who are standing in line at the Superdome waiting on Food, Water and a Ride to a safe place, OUR people who have been locked down in Poverty.” and so on.
George Sell the Anchorman for TV 9 news responded to Jesse, “Rev. Jackson, the Mayors of New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Police Chief’s of New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Head of the LA State Police is Black, the Head of the Army conducting the Army’s operation on the Ground in New Orleans is Black, the Congressman from New Orleans is Black and for the last 40 years, the leaders of LA have been members of the Democratic Party, YOUR Party, don’t blame us like you are doing, look in the Mirror, you pull the Race Card any time you don’t get your way, we are in a Terrible Crisis and right now we need to come together and here you come to Louisiana and holler Racism, just like you do, it is NEVER EVER your fault, ALWAYS someone else, but here you are sitting High and Dry, why don’t you go out in to the waters where they are shooting at the Rescue personnel and help in the Rescue???’”
Hats off to George Sell for putting him in his place, Harry Lee would have put Jesse in his place and then some! This is a time to come together and work together, not the time to pull the race card!
Brian
Wow. Thanks to Brian! And T... Great job as always posting it.
Very much what I'm hearing too...
God Bless us all...
hello Tre how is it going?
Keshi.
Keshi, I'm doing well. Thanks for asking.
Oh Cafe' Du Monde at Jackson Square!!Awww
Sincere, sounds like you know what I know--fabulous place. Love their coffee mugs among other things. Just a great atmosphere to hang. Thanks for stopping by. :-)
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