Storm evacuees now making their home here

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Gretna, La. residents David Boyle and Elizabeth Hoehn are making a new start on higher ground in Hartselle after losing nearly everything they owned in Hurricane Katrina.
They both found jobs and moved into a Hartselle Village apartment earlier this week after spending several days as houseguests of Tony Wallace in Tanner Heights.
Boyle rode out the storm in a one-bedroom mobile home; Elizabeth left Gretna before the storm to be with an older sister who was hospitalized. She was staying with her mother in Falkville when the storm made landfall.
Boyle, a sheet rock finisher and painter, said he knew the storm was coming and he wanted to leave but he had nowhere to go or any means to get out.
"The storm hit shortly after 9 p.m. on Saturday and lasted all night. I was following its path on TV until the power went out. Wind gusts up to 200 mph were being reported," he stated.
"The wind was tilting the trailer from side to side and lifting it off the ground. I held my dog Roxie in my arms and waited anxiously for the storm to die down. I was scared for my life," he added.
When daylight broke Boyle found the trailer in shambles. The TV was burst and nothing was left hanging on the walls. The power and telephone were still out and there was no running water. However, the trailer park had escaped flooding and all six of its residents who rode out the storm survived.
"We tried to stick together and help each other," he noted. "We were all in a state of shock and had no way to communicate with others outside of our neighborhood. We shared food and water and kept a fire going in the street at night hoping it would keep looters away."
"David and I were out of touch for nearly three days, Hoehn stated. "We talked by phone before the storm and we both felt like Gretna would be hard hit. Afterwards, I couldn't reach him by phone and my concern for his safety grew as I watched TV coverage of the aftermath. I didn't know whether or not he survived."
Boyle said he and a neighbor decided to launch a search for a way to get out on Tuesday morning. They borrowed a truck from his neighbor's girlfriend and drove to the Gretna expressway. There they found about 300 people waiting to catch a bus out of the city. They returned to the trailer park, gathered a few possessions and returned to the expressway.
"We finally got a seat on a bus at midnight and were taken to an elevated section on I-10 in New Orleans. About 1,000 people were gathered there waiting to be evacuated. We found some cardboard and lay down to get some sleep," he said.
"The next day (Wednesday), Boyle and his friend caught a bus bound for Baton Rouge. While enroute, they stopped at a shelter in Denham Springs, La. where they received a change of clothes, water, food and a shower. Boyle also was able to reach Elizabeth by phone and let her know I was on my way to Alabama.
"He was in Vicksburg, Miss. the next time I heard from him," Hoehn said. His destination was Birmingham.
Hoehn said she and Wallace became acquaintances several years ago when they worked for the same telemarketing company.
"We have kept in touch and he was the first person I thought of when I learned David was on his way and I needed to find a place for us to stay," Hoehn stated. "When I called him and explained our situation he told me he had two empty bedrooms and to come on. I don't know what I would've done without him."
Boyle and Hoehn were reunited at the Birmingham Greyhound bus stated at 10: 30 a.m. on Saturday, nearly a week after Katrina. Wallace provided the transportation.
"I didn't hesitate to offer help when Elizabeth called," Wallace stated. "I had heard President Bush make an appeal for people to open their homes to the hurricane victims. I could do no less.
"It has been heartbreaking to see the devastation of the hurricane on TV. I felt this was something I could give. The good Lord has been a blessing to us," he added.
Boyle said he likes what he's found in Hartsell,e in spite of the fact that he was born and raised in Boston and always lived in a big city.
"Tony took us in and has treated us like family. He helped me get a job at Copeland and the people there have accepted me as one of their own. Elizabeth has been offered a job at Wal-Mart. Everybody I've met has been very nice and supportive," he pointed out.
Boyle said out of the darkness and devastation of Hurricane Katrina he sees a spotlight pointing the way to a brighter future.
"The Lord put me here for a purpose," he said. "I plan to stay."
To help them make a new start, Boyle and Hoehn have received $2,660 in lump sum payments from the Red Cross and FEMA. They used a part of it to buy a small used car for transportation to and from work. They plan to be married in the near future.
Wallace said he wants to continue to help them get back on their feet and invited anyone who is willing to help by donating something for their apartment to call him at 773-9328.