PELL CITY — One wrong turn on Interstate 59 landed them in Pell City.The city’s newest residents, Ed Russell, his fiancée, Valerie Jackson, and their daughter, Brittney Jackson, 16, evacuated their New Orleans east side apartment last Saturday before Hurricane Katrina hit — a day Russell and Jackson said was "the calm before the storm," with blue skies and warm temperatures.
They left the city with next to nothing — a few changes of clothes, a laptop and Brittney’s school uniforms.
Little did they know they wouldn’t be returning for a long time.
They traveled through Mississippi, and somewhere on that long stretch of highway they went the wrong direction on I-59. They laugh about it now as they think about the hotel reservations they had in Pensacola, Fla.
"We were in deep conversation and really did take a wrong turn," Russell laughed.
They drifted through Tuscaloosa, but all the hotels were full.
They were told there was a Hampton Inn with vacant rooms about 40 miles northeast of Birmingham.
"Our daughter really led us here to Pell City," Russell said, "because she started calling all the hotels and this one came up as being available."
As they exited and turned left onto U.S. 231, fleeing a storm that could have claimed their lives, they knew things would be different. Like so many others, they found their way to the local American Red Cross office and got help.
That help included plenty of free, hot meals, and a homeowner who was looking to rent them a house at a great price. The three arrived in Pell City a mere week and a half ago, but have already settled in to their new home off Comer Avenue. Brittney’s already in classes at Pell City High.
To their surprise, local church volunteers furnished their modest, one-level home, and on Wednesday, the family was able to move in with the cable TV already hooked up, food already in the refrigerator, dishes in the cabinets and curtains on the windows.
Pell City has welcomed the family with open arms, inviting them to family suppers, football games, church services and much more.
"Everyone has been such a godsend," Jackson said. "They’re such sweet, giving people and to see such heartfelt goodness, I am just loving everyone right now. I didn’t know people like that existed," she said.
They’re not alone in their life change, though.
Many families have evacuated to Pell City. Some are leaving as soon as things die down and some are not. Jackson and Russell know that New Orleans isn’t fit to return to, and certainly not fit to live in right now. They’ve spent many nights at Hampton Inn reminiscing with others like them about the days of Jazzfest and Mardi Gras — what their life once was in the Crescent City.
Both born and raised in New Orleans, Jackson, 38, and Russell, 57, have plenty of stories to tell.
The day they left, Russell remembers well the overall death-defying attitude the locals had for the approaching storm. People were walking around the French Quarter, having afternoon highballs and doing the usual, he said.
When Katrina came ashore, breaking one levee after another, it was a day that stunned the world. She wreaked havoc on lives and brought to reality the deadly potential of what experts have warned about for years.
"I’d heard horror stories, but I couldn’t believe it actually came to this," Jackson said. "Nobody anticipated the levees breaking."
But they did.
Though news organizations haven’t shown any footage on their side of town, Jackson said their third-floor apartment is probably washed away.
"And you never know with all the looting going on if there will be anything left," she said.
They both know their daughter may graduate from Pell City High before they see New Orleans again for any length of time.
But it’s not a question of if they will move back, just when.
Until then, they’re settling into life in Pell City.
Russell, a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service for more than 30 years, is trying to get a job with the postal service in Anniston. Jackson, a medical assistant, is interviewing with a local medical office.
Brittney, who plays the snare drum in the band, is an aspiring corporate lawyer. And since she always attended an all-girl private school in New Orleans, she is, as to be expected, going through quite a culture shock.
"But she’s a good kid," Jackson said. "And she’s on the road to accepting it. I just keep telling her she has to continue on and do what she has to do."
Brittney stays on the phone a lot, talking with her friends and comparing stories of their new school life and life without video games and other luxuries.
The family is in such high spirits that it’s hard to tell they’ve lost anything.
"Nobody but God has helped us in that way," Jackson said, adding, "We could be moping around here but I want that big, old house in the sky He promised one day."
It’s easy to see that one thing they miss is their New Orleans cuisine, and the main concern Jackson has right now is finding a pot big enough for her gumbo.
She’s no stranger to entertaining guests and said there’s an open-door policy at their home when it comes to her cooking.
They said that perhaps the spicy food will keep alive their way of life. Russell said they want to remember their city for what it was — the live electricity of it with a culture like no other. And they have hope for what it will become.
"It’s not the city we know anymore," Russell said. "But just give it time."
They don’t doubt it will be rebuilt — bigger and better than ever.
"They’ll rebuild it with better levees and all the new technology," Jackson said.
The couple said they know that only time will tell how their home city will recover, but meanwhile, this family is happy to make Pell City a home away from home.
