Katrina victims receive help from Logan
one would be no different.
But there was an urgency in New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s voice. Her pastor had a bus and her friend convinced her to go.
So, she locked the door on her new apartment and left.
“Really if it wasn’t for my church and my pastor supplying the van, I would have been one of the ones in the Superdome,” she said.
Instead, she watched the destruction on television in at her friend’s home in Winer, Ga. She watched bridges that she had driven over days before collapse and the only city she had really known fill with water.
Now a homeless evacuee, she needed a place to live. Her son, Damion Sterling, and his fiancée, Monique Gurman were in the Superdome.
Enter Utah State University. Sterling’s daughter, Tremaine, is a doctorate student in nutritional food science. The department saw knew that she was from the city and got to work.
They gathered frequent flier miles and flew the Sterlings and Gurman to Utah.
The group arrived and crowded into Tremaine’s one-bedroom apartment, sleeping on couches, floors, wherever. The busy doctorate student stepped up, serving as the family’s only driver for food, doctor’s appointments and errands of the day.
Recognizing the family’s plight, university housing donated three apartments. With the space, they are learning to get around in Logan.
“What excites me is that you can catch the bus for free. You can’t do that in New Orleans,” she said smiling. She’s now comfortable enough to take the bus to the doctor, so she doesn’t have to ask Tremaine.
The first time she rode the bus, the bus driver not only showed her the right stop, he got off the bus and pointed out the doctor’s office. Occasions like this are common, she said.
“I love everybody and a lot of times I just sit back in awe at the things people do because they didn’t have to do it.”
Carolyn was excited to discover that Logan had a Wal-Mart and a Wendy’s – though she does miss certain types of food, like red beans, and is going to send out for some soon so she can cook a “New Orleans meal” for those that have served their family.
Service for the family has come from all angles of the valley.
A portion of the Flood of Service week money was donated to the family, and groups around campus have donated clothes and supplies.
When Tremaine Sterling’s car was broken, Pam Zetterquist (TITLE) of the NFS department, called her mechanic and he said that he would help.
In the flurry to leave the city, Carolyn lost her eyeglasses. A doctor in Logan donated the exam and the glasses.
“There’s a lot of good people in Cache Valley,” Zetterquist said. “They want to help. We can’t imagine what it’s like back there. We see it on television, but I’m sure it’s far worse than that.”
Carolyn stresses that it really isn’t the material things that she’s so grateful for.
“Sometimes it’s not about clothes and it’s not about donations,” she said. “It’s a simple smile.”
She spreads her own smile and cheer as well. Her apartment smells of burning wood, a sign of a new hobby she’s started to make thank you gifts. The wooden plaques are personalized for each doctor and friend that have impacted her life.
Still, starting with nothing is difficult.
“The hardest thing is adjusting. I’m up in age and I’m starting all over again,” Carolyn said. She is used to working in daycare, but doesn’t know where to start. She hopes to start volunteering somewhere soon.
“You try to keep yourself busy,” she said. A card on her fridge from a Logan 4-H group has become her motto, in child’s writing it reads: ‘you will smile again’ She cried when she received it, but smiles now, relieving it’s truth.
Carolyn recently heard that her apartment in the Garden District didn’t flood. The family plans to visit the area over Thanksgiving break, but doesn’t know if they’ll stay.
“I can understand what the mayor and the governor want to do-get in quick and rebuild-but sometimes quick isn’t always the best to do.”
They may even call Logan their home.
“It’s different,” Carolyn said of Utah. “It’s really different. I like the mountains. I could live here.”
She’s even excited for the snow.
-natan
(Jessica Alexander)
Carolyn Sterling talks about the experiences her mother had dealing with Hurricane Katrina and moving to Logan after the disaster. She also said how much she appreciated all the donations and help form Utah State University and the community (Jessica Alexander)