CRESTVIEW — On Friday, Aug. 26, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tracking aimed the storm directly at Okaloosa County. The county emergency management team went into full emergency mode.
But instead, the Category 3 typhoon veered west and another storm hit the area.
Starting that weekend, a steady tide of storm evacuees — and later, refugees — streamed into the county, many of them to the Crestview area.
Residents responded, opening homes, churches, hearts and wallets to people from Louisiana and Mississippi, many of whom had been rendered homeless, jobless or both, literally overnight.
The Crestview Wal-Mart’s parking lot became an impromptu RV camp as Gulf Coast evacuees sought refuge from the storm.
Veronica Myers welcomed more than two dozen New Orleans relatives to her Crestview home, and is about to do so again.
“I had 27 people staying with me then, and they’re coming back next week to celebrate the 10-year anniversary,” she said.
“To me it was a good experience,” Myers said. “I’d come home from work and my house would be cleaned and dinner would be cooked.
“You’d think there’d be arguments and complaints, but everybody worked together and they enjoyed it. I enjoyed the company. And it was fun.”
A MIGHTY ROC
Almost 300 evacuees moved into Central Baptist Church’s Recreation Outreach Center, staying for three or more weeks, Mary Jo Woodruff, the ROC’s facilities manager at the time, recalls.
“Honestly, we received a blessing because we had the opportunity to help them,” Woodruff said. “When they came in there, they were mighty sad people. Many of them didn’t know if they lost their homes or family members.
“They’d get up early and watch the TV we’d set up for them. They’d just cry and say, ‘Oh that’s my aunt or my kinfolks, or their house.’”
A Sept. 3, 2005, News Bulletin article by reporter Ken Nielsen describes an outpouring of help, from daily pastry deliveries by Publix to ERA Realty’s donation of dozens of air mattresses.
Cox Communications hooked up cable service to a TV donated by a Fort Walton Beach appliance rental store, and internet service to a pair of donated computers.
City government under former mayor George Whitehurst, the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce and other area churches joined the relief effort, Woodruff said.
COMMUNITY OUTPOURING
“There wasn’t a church in Crestview that didn’t come forth and help and donate,” Woodruff said. “Even one of the animal societies set up a place for (evacuees’) pets outside.”
“Pastor (Dwight) Baggett from the Macedonia Baptist Church …has sent me over here to…pick up dirty laundry, wash it, dry, and bring it back,” Nielsen reported Mary Jones told Central Baptist’s Rev. Derrick Boring.
Woodruff said many of the refugees pitched in to help their hosts with cleaning, cooking and other chores at the ROC.
“They didn’t just come in and want us to wait on them,” she said.
Woodruff said though volunteers’ tasks first appeared overwhelming, the outpouring of community support made their mission a success.
“The Lord provided everything we needed there,” Woodruff said. “It was almost unbelievable what was done. I still every now and then hear from the evacuees.”
The Crestview hosts vow that if a similar situation arises, they’d do it all over again.
“To this day, if something would happen, we’d still open our doors,” Myers said.” You never know what will happen.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: KATRINA 10 YEARS LATER: Crestview community opened hearts, homes and churches for storm evacuees (PHOTOS)