Long Road Ahead for Pass Christian

June 15, 2006 — -- Residents of Pass Christian, Miss., held a picnic this week to thank the Army Corps of Engineers who have been helping the Gulf Coast town recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Even at an event to celebrate progress, though, signs of devastation were not far.

A battered sign and trash hanging like Spanish moss in trees were just a couple of the constant reminders of the 34-foot surge from the Gulf of Mexico that slammed into Pass Christian during Hurricane Katrina and killed 24 residents.

"When you look at it now, it's a little more depressing than it was after the hurricane," said Chipper McDermott, acting mayor of Pass Christian. "Things have slowed down, and it looks like the original settlers were here right now."

The landscape of Pass Christian, the hometown of "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts, is now stunning because of its sheer emptiness.

"It's wide open," McDermott said. "The water, sand and side open space. That's what it is. It's going to be a long haul."

Nine months after Katrina, most of the heavy debris has been hauled away, leaving behind an occasional staircase or concrete slab. The hurricane destroyed all but 300 of Pass Christian's 2,400 homes. A few have been rebuilt, but only one-third of the previous residents have returned.

Pass Christian's city hall is now a trailer bank. The library, banks, cafes and real estates agencies have reopened in temporary quarters. All of Pass Christian -- a town of 7,000 before Katrina -- now has a transient look.

What remains of resident Scott Nogle's bookstore is a cement foundation. He now sells books on the Internet and wherever he can. He says the hardship has given him a new appreciation for an old virtue.

"Patience," Nogle said. "A new skill you have to learn. But there were signs. I found signs of hope every day."

Patience, however, does not put food on the table. The fishermen have had a particularly difficult year. The hurricane wiped out oyster beds, and now fishermen like Adam Toller are coping with higher fuel prices and far fewer customers.