Section Chair Lorretta Green's Update on the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on ARCS Members and Religious Archives

Soon after news of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast communities, you were offered the opportunity to sign a letter petitioning that archives of religious communities and non-profits not be overlooked in the disaster recovery activities and grants. Your response was overwhelming. And, the letter was well received by leaders of preservation and state archival organizations to whom it was sent.

Following the letter, Diane Wells, ARCS past-Chair, Gwynedd Cannan, ARCS Vice-Chair, Mark Duffy, SAA Council Liaison to ARCS and I undertook contacting ARCS members impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our purpose was to express concern and support for them individually and professionally. We hoped to gain an understanding of the state of religious archival collections and to offer contacts and information regarding recovery procedures and programs. Everyone we spoke with was extremely grateful for our care and concern.

As ordinary citizens we feel for all our neighbors in the Gulf Coast region who have suffered the wrath of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. As archivists we are especially concerned with the recovery and care of irreplaceable archival collections. As religious archivists, we are particularly aware of the plight of archival materials found in churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions. These records of community life are particularly vulnerable as are the archives of other small, non-profit and voluntary organizations. Most of these religious and non-profit organizations do not have curatorial staff or a flow of resources to tap in times of distress. We are aware that in Mississippi alone over a dozen parish churches have been destroyed, and information on others is still unavailable. We are confronting the loss of numerous archives of local faith communities and civic organizations that are extremely important to the history and cultural fabric of the region.

We now know that as the weeks progressed after the storm the details of the situation became more and more disastrous. Although the following information is dated to our conversations in October and November we want to share it with you so you are aware of the situation your fellow ARCS members found themselves one week after our conference in New Orleans.

I want to apologize to the repositories represented that this information does not reflect current information. I also want to apologize to anyone in the affected area who may not have been contacted. It was only because we could not contact you, you may be in another location and not able to receive our messages or you are not on our list as a registered member of ARCS. We know that we did not contact every religious community or major denomination but at least this was a start. We know too that churches and archives for many communities were seriously compromised. Following is a summary of the condition of collections from individuals whom we could reach.

In summary, the impact of the hurricanes seemed to be all or nothing. Everyone we spoke with seemed to have the disaster recovery information they needed. Several archivists spoke of the value of professional networks prior to the storm because they knew where to turn for help when disaster struck. Louisiana State University provided great conservation services, particularly through freeze drying. There were many hands trying to help in an overwhelming situation. Disaster recovery task forces were active as soon as possible to assess damage and identify recovery procedures and grants. In many cases, the main concern was the lack of power in a region where humidity and bugs are a natural part of the environment.

 
• Sr. Marie Richard Eckerle, SSND, provincial archivist for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Dallas Province, reported from St. Mary of the Pines Retreat Center in Chatawa, MS. They are about 90 miles north of New Orleans and sustained wind damage, lots of downed trees, but otherwise were all right. They served as an evacuation site for about 180 people and continue to help the evacuees.
• Sr. Dorothy Dawes, Archivist/Historian, Dominican Sisters, Congregation of St. Mary, New Orleans is located in the Garden District. After three months away, she recently was able to return to her archives to assess its condition. She had been back only one for a superficial review. At this point, it looks like there is not any obvious damage. Earlier reports had indicated that her building was relatively intact but the main concern was the lack of climate control due to five weeks without electricity.
• Sister Jane Aucoin, Archivist for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille reported that their mother house was under water. Her records were in a protected part of the building and are okay. She is working “in exile” at the Diocese of Baton Rouge. As for her mother house, she wrote, “Giant hoses are pumping clean, dry air into rooms on the 2nd floor. The noise is infernal.” The last news from Sister Jane is that an office in a strip-mall setting will be rented for the provincial offices and archives. She is fortunate to be able to inspect this empty area for bugs and other potential structural problems prior to occupancy.
• Loyola University and Tulane University: We were not able to make contact with the archivists there. We know that Darla Rushing, who coordinated our reception at Loyola, is okay and engaged in fund raising for Loyola.
• Rob Sherer, Tulane’s archivist, and Carol, his wife, lost their house. Carol is a minister at the United Methodist Church in New Orleans. Their church lost its steeple but their records are okay. She said that while many of their parishioners had lost everything others had no substantial damage.
• Last month, Lester Sullivan reported that Xavier College is in perfect condition.
• Barbara Dejean, Diocese of Lafayette, said there are a lot of low lying parishes with damage in her diocese. She thinks sacramental records have been saved but, in any event, they have been microfilmed through 2004. She received recovery information from Lee Leumas at the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
• Charles Nolan, Archivist for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, is working out of the Diocese of Baton Rouge and is assessing the needs of the diocesan records. He said many parishes in New Orleans have lost everything. The rare books in Notre Dame Seminary were not damaged. LSU was especially helpful with conservation measures. Chuck and his wife were separated for the initial four days after the storm and after being reunited learned that their current home and new retirement home on the Gulf coast are losses.
• Sisters of the Holy Family - The situation seems bad for their motherhouse and the sisters are mainly relocated to Shreveport.
• In early November, Catherine Kahn was able to return to the Touro Archives. Her good news is that the Archives are on the second floor and were virtually untouched. Computer cataloging was undamaged and is working. The hospital (one of two in metro New Orleans) is serving the community as it has for the last 153 years. Catherine will gather oral histories from individuals who stayed at the hospital until the generators failed and beyond. Catherine did not fare well personally: the lower floor of her house was flooded.
• We have not been able to reach anyone from the Diocese of Shreveport, LA or the Tyrrell Historical Society in Beaumont, TX.
• Six churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi are completely gone – no trace – and one other is severely damaged.
• The Sisters Servants of Mary, New Orleans, is a community whose ministry is night nursing in private homes, accepting only offerings from the patients’ families. Sister Magdalena had been keeping meticulous records for their community since their ministry began in New Orleans in 1914. As the flood waters rose in their Perlita Street convent and the sisters relocated to the second floor, she was able to move all records except one file drawer, which was then covered with flood water. These records have been freeze-dried.
• Sister Therese Gregoire, Treasurer/Archivist for Sisters of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, fled both Katrina and Rita. Her motherhouse was heavily flooded and it was five weeks before she was allowed back to assess the archives situation. The first floor was still underwater but she was pleasantly surprised to see that the archives were safe. The records were moved to a windowless location last year and this proved Providential since the old archives room suffered damage. Nothing was wet and her battery operated hygrometer was reading 58% in this hot and humid environment. There was no sign of mold or mildew on walls, furniture or boxes. Sister Therese has moved their foundress’ letters and ledgers and the computer to a new location in New Orleans.
• Emilie (Lee) Leumas, Archivist, Diocese of Baton Rouge, rapidly became the point of reference for those affected by the aftermath of the hurricane. The diocese is hosting the New Orleans diocesan offices and some archival and museum materials as well as offices for several religious communities. Religious communities contacting the bishop were referred to Lee who provided recovery and grant information and advice as best as she could. At one point, Lee reported she was receiving more and more sacramental records in deplorable condition. One day she received some from the lower 9th ward. They were in a file cabinet which was floating in contaminated water. The books were so swollen that they could not get them out of the drawer so the entire drawer was delivered to Lee. With a screwdriver and a hammer (and much female muscle) she popped the rivets on the drawer and got them out. They then attempted to savage part of them. In the near future, the goal of the diocesan archives will be to make sacramental records available first and then worry about access to other records in due time.
• Some synagogues moved their Torah to other synagogues prior to the storm. Shortly after the storm, the Torah from one synagogue was housed in a Baptist church and the congregations are sharing worship space
• Some diocesan offices were displaced: The Diocese of Houma/Thibodeau took on much water and the Diocese of Beaumont relocated with the Diocese of Galveston/Houston
• One religious community was fortunate to have their records out for conservation with Louisiana Book Binding Company. Before the hurricane hit LBB evacuated with all their equipment and client’s materials so the company is up and running providing recovery services. The records they had for conservation work are safe.

Yours,  

Loretta Zwolak Greene
Chair, Archivists of Religious Collections Section
Society of American Archvists