That Was No Lady

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One of the things most often said about Hurricane Camille is, “That was no lady.” Even if you aren’t a weather geek like I am, you’ve probably heard mention of that notorious monster that ripped a hole in the Gulf Coast in 1969. The damage wasn’t limited to Mississippi, where it came ashore, though. The third-highest dollar figure for damage was in Virginia, which suffered because of the rainfall and resulting flooding that Camille brought as it moved across the country. However, the scars along US 90 are very obvious. Granted, most of the empty lots you see as you drive along the scenic route are what you might call “two-time losers,” properties smashed by Camille in 1969 and then by Katrina in 2005. If you look at the Google satellite images along US 90 you can see the scars very clearly. In Biloxi there’s a memorial to the victims of Camille. Out of the 256 deaths attributed directly to the hurricane, 143 were in the area around Biloxi. This included three bodies that were never identified, given the names “Faith,” “Hope,” and “Charity.” The grounds where the memorial stands is the location of the old Church of the Redeemer Episcopal church. The historical marker pictured above tells the significance of the church (it was the parish of former Confederacy President Jefferson Davis [more on him in a later discussion]), as well as its fate (a similar story along the Gulf: what Camille didn’t wipe out, Katrina did). In two of the photos you can see the “ghost structure” showing where the original church stood. I would imagine there aren’t many people around this area who’ve named a girl Camille or Katrina. And who can blame them. COLLAGE: (upper left) Historical marker for the Church of the Redeemer (lower left) Memorial listing the victims of Camille (the round stone in the middle is designed to resemble the satellite photo of a hurricane) (right) Ghost building showing where the Church of the Redeemer stood, taken from in front of the Hurricane Camille memorial