Museo de los Isleños

Sunday, November 14th (Afternoon)

More serendipity.  We were introduced to William Hyland, the Director of the Museo de los Isleños.  He’s quite an imposing figure - a tall, erudite Southern gentlemen blessed with a baritone voice.   Sister Frances, who had never been to museum, inquired as to how we could schedule a tour of the museum.   As he knew that we would be busy during the week with Nuns’Build, he offered to show us the museum  right then.

The Museo was only about a ten minute drive away.  It's a complex of historic structures and acreage.  (Check out:  http://www.losislenos.org/ and click on Museum.)  For the next 45-minutes of so, this distinguished Southern gentlemen gave us a private tour of the buildings and grounds.  A real learning experience.

Mr.Highland told us that these buildings wer sitting in anywhere from five to eight feet of water.  This picture gives you an idea of high how the water was.  (And remember, these buildings are built on stilts.)

 
But again the spectre of Katrina was lurking in the background. The grounds of the Museo are immediately adjacent to the St. Rita Nursing Home.  Thirty five people died in the home while waiting to be rescued from the floodwaters. 

We drive by the shuttered nursing home at least twice a day and it gives me the creeps every time.

For a harrowing description of what happened here, read http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11658446/

It’s difficult to fathom the chaos and death that was in this area five years ago.