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DeLisle
DeLisle Survivors
Tired of running from the water, Kevin Gallagher decided after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his neighborhood to move inland. He hates to leave the land where his great-grandfather, Sylvester Dedeaux, settled some 150 years ago. Gallagher grew up here, fishing and swimming in DeLisle Bayou, getting thrown off the bridge in his underwear by Uncle Itsy, playing in the shade of the majestic Dedeaux oaks, one of them famous in these parts for being almost 1,000 years old.
The property overlooks the bayou as it feeds into the Wolf River and the Bay of St. Louis. The view, framed by the old oaks, is priceless. But the cost of living here has grown too steep for some.
Hurricane Katrina swamped the neighborhood with 35 feet of water. Residents have returned to their slabs, biding their time in trailers until they settle insurance claims and rebuilding plans.
On one side of Kevin Gallagher’s property, his mother and father plan to rebuild. Betty Gallagher, daughter of Sylvester Dedeaux, was raised here. Forget the batteries and flashlights. When a hurricane threatens, she packs her belongs in plastic containers, labels and loads them, and leaves.
“She’s part of this as much as the trees are, part of this hill,” Kevin Gallagher said. “And I am, too. I’m just going to plant myself somewhere else.”
To his north, J.C. and Kay Necaise are undecided about their plans. They lost their home, his business and his father, 78-year-old Horace Necaise Jr., to Hurricane Katrina. They chose to stay on the property during the storm.
“My father, you couldn’t have driven him out of here with a log truck,” Necaise said.
J.C. Necaise figured his house, built on pilings 20 feet above sea level, would withstand Katrina just fine.
When the water rose and debris knocked out the south wall, the other walls began to separate. The Necaises swam to an oak tree, but Horace Necaise either never made it or could not hang on. J.C.’s Automotive, next to the house, was lost, too. J.C. and Kay Necaise are trying to start over. “I bought a trailer,” he said. “I bought a dump truck. I’m hauling trash. That’s all I can do.”