DONNA KEATING

PHOTO 1: A CONCRETE SLAB, a religious statue and church pews appear to be all that remains of this River Parish church after Hurricane Betsy. The River Parishes suffered mostly from wind damage during Hurricane Betsy. (Photo courtesy of John Ferguson) ARABIE – September 9, 1965 New Orleans received the worst direct hit from a hurricane in recorded history, Hurricane Betsy. On the night of the full moon, Hurricane Betsy went straight up the Mississippi River, blowing 120-mph winds toward the city. The Category-Three storm pushed a massive wall of Gulf water ahead of her, making it impossible for the river to follow its natural path. This influx of Gulf water choked up the river and caused unprecedented flooding. The Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River became one body of water, and it was nearly impossible to tell where one started and the other began. The hurricane also resulted in an unusually high number of fatalities. Most of the people who died during Betsy were residents of the Ninth Ward, where the water had reached its highest level. The storm required $16 million in Red Cross aid and resulted in the creation of the Army Corps of Engineer’s Hurricane Protection Program. With the new program, levees are now made taller and stronger in order to withstand category three storms. PHOTO 2: DEBRA AND JOHN FERGUSON of LaPlace, at top, review a scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings from Hurricane Betsy, including the devastation left by the storm. The couple’s survival stories, will be featured in “An Evening With Betsy: Voices From the Storm,” along with many other survivors’ stories May 25-27 in Arabie. (Staff Photo by Donna Keating) Today, through the efforts of Barry Lemoine, survivors of Betsy have united to share their first-hand experiences of the storm. Many of their stories are being told in “An Evening With Betsy: Voices From the Storm,” a multi-media comedy/drama taking place May 25-27 at the Maumus Center in Old Arabi, a building which once served as a shelter during Hurricane Betsy. The production was written and produced by Lemoine, a St. Bernard Parish journalism and theater arts teacher, who first placed an advertisement in the newspaper, advertising for Hurricane Betsy survivors to respond. As part of his students’ class project, Lemoine’s students interviewed and videotaped the people who responded to the advertisement and came to tell their stories. Later, Lemoine used the students’ transcripts to write the play. Some of the stories and characters were combined for the production and many of the roles are being played by actual survivors of Betsy. Two survivors from LaPlace, married couple Debra and John Ferguson, told their stories and also received acting parts in Lemoine’s production. Debra recalls, “When I heard some of the other survivors tell their stories, it was heartbreaking hearing about their losses.” She will play the part of a grouchy old Cajun woman, modeled after her late grandmother Louisiana Keating, her great-aunt Naige Druin and her aunt, Joyce Russell. She says “They always liked to use the old Cajun words.” This will be her first experience as an actress and she admits she is enjoying it. Debra hopes the play will educate people who have not been through strong hurricanes. She says “Hurricane Betsy changed a lot of peoples lives.” Debra’s husband John, who has also acted in St. John Theater’s productions of “Annie” and “Arsenic and Old Lace,” will play the part of a nosy neighbor. John recalls Betsy’s fury, he was 10 years old and remembers his brothers tying a rope around him and sending him out into the storm. They thought it would be fun to see how far John would go. Luckily, his mischievous brothers did not send him very far and quickly pulled him in unharmed. After the hurricane, as a Cub Scout project for a merit badge, John put together a scrapbook of old newspaper clippings of the damage Betsy left behind. John’s scrapbook will be part of a memorabilia display featured at the production. Other items featured in the display include music, cars, posters and other items from the period. One room will be dedicated to the Hurricane Preparedness Center and will include videos, brochures, tracking maps and safety checklists assembled by the Red Cross and parish government. Show times for “An Evening With Betsy: Voices From the Storm” are May 25 at 8 p.m., May 26 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and May 27 at 2 p.m. The event takes place at the Maumus Center, 721 Friscoville, in Old Arabi. Tickets for the event are limited; call 276-3947 for information.