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Sept. 21, 2006
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Katrina gives couple new calling |
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Coordinating volunteer effort in Gulf Coast |
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MILWAUKEE — When Harold and Cindy Lederer decided it was time to retire, they found the place to do it — Waveland, Miss. With their three children grown, they felt the time was right to sell their Milwaukee home and go south.
Cindy’s last day at the job she held for 10 years at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design was Aug. 15, 2005. Harold decided he would stay at his lumber mill job until Labor Day, and that weekend, they would head to their new oceanfront home. Everything was ready to go, until Aug. 29 – the day Hurricane Katrina roared into the Gulf Coast.
When asked if they have a home, Cindy said they did and now, “We have a slab.” They feel fortunate to be renting an acquaintance’s apartment over a garage. Apartments are scarce.
Cindy, 56, and Harold, 58, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in November in Mississippi, were at home in Milwaukee packing when the hurricane hit.
“We were watching the hurricane and were very upset about it because we were in the midst of our move,” said Cindy in a phone interview with your Catholic Herald. “Our son was going to be renting our house; we felt we didn’t want to sell the old homestead yet, thank God.
“We were in touch with friends from the area and they said not to come down, there were no facilities to stay in anyway. We kind of put ourselves in a place of recovering at home and mourning the loss of what we had. We talked to our pastor at St. Vincent Pallotti and they made an announcement in the bulletin that we lost our home in Waveland and we received lots of prayers from parishioners.”
It was a Mississippi-based insurance adjuster who visited the Lederer’s property in Waveland and who told them the severity of the damage.
“I think she was an angel, too,” said Cindy. “She walked over fallen trees and everything to find our slab, and was able to write up our assessment.”
The new role for the almost retirees is as on-site coordinators for volunteers from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and around the country, as part of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s Rebuilding Lives, Restoring Hope campaign. Cindy estimated that 250 individuals from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee have come to help.
The Lederers feel they’ve been called to this new role in Mississippi.
“I would say that for both Harold and I, as a couple, the way that God was so present in our decision-making process,” said Cindy. “It was something we’d never experienced before as a couple. We’ve prayed, we’ve always been loyal Catholics, but we couldn’t forecast or plan all the things that fell into place when we came down here.”
According to Fr. Paul Esser, the archdiocese’s coordinator for the campaign, Rebuilding Lives, Restoring Hope funds have been used to roof houses, finance drywall and paint, and allowed for more Milwaukee-area volunteers to participate in the post-Katrina renewal.
“We bought our home eight months before the hurricane hit,” said Cindy. “We were enamored with the area; it’s a very Catholic area. There are four Catholic parishes within a 15-mile radius. We were surprised to find a warm climate with a strong Catholic community.”
According to Fr. Esser, the clearing of debris is complete and most of the salvageable homes have been gutted. The majority of homeowners in the area are relying upon volunteers from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and elsewhere to aid in rebuilding. Fr. Esser stressed that the need now is for skilled labor.
“Our job is to interest parishes, not to just give money, though that helps too, but to volunteer,” said Fr. Esser. “We’re past the stage of clearing debris. Now we need trained volunteers like electricians, plumbers, carpenters, roofers.”
Fr. Esser remarked that last month alone more than 40 volunteers from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee lent a hand and volunteered in Mississippi. He is certain that the work is not nearly complete and that more volunteers are needed.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has taken two collections to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Both collections have been coordinated by Catholic Charities. According to Bill Leon, Catholic Charities’ Milwaukee parish support supervisor, the first collection in September 2005 was sent to Catholic Charities USA to be used on a more universal scale. Catholic Charities USA received $130 million from around the country.
The second collection, taken March 25 and 26, netted $225,000 and, according to Leon, those funds will be kept local to help the four designated parishes in Mississippi.
Cindy concurs that the rebuilding is not even close to complete and that it will take many years.
“It’s 90,000 square miles in Mississippi of devastation,” she said. “I would say there’s one home on a block that’s done and a whole mess of houses aren’t.”
While the work can be emotionally and physically draining for the Lederers, they plan to continue.
“I honestly have to say there’s a special blessing in this area,” said Cindy. “There’s a presence here in the people that we met before and after the storm that we really feel is connected to God.
“We feel very fortunate to be here,” she continued. “I know that sounds funny. But we feel we’re getting blessed here more. The gratitude of the people here … that’s something that I think (volunteers) would be changed from.”
Cindy is also happy to listen to survivors and try to lift their spirits.
“The work isn’t easy,” she said. “You’re emotionally drained by the end of the day. You’re meeting people who lost everything. These people are still living in trailers. The FEMA grants are starting to come, but people have been waiting for them since January. We’re hoping people (in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee) can offer them gift cards for Home Depot or Lowe’s, or come down here and help them build.” |
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