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Local volunteers install cabinets in houses ravaged by Katrina
By Justin Goble
A Sylva elected official was among a group of Western North Carolina volunteers who made a recent trip to the Gulf Coast to help rebuild houses devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Sylva town board member Harold Hensley was part of a team organized by the Rev. Eddie Stillwell, also of Sylva, that spent a week in Gulfport, Miss., installing new cabinets in four homes that are being rebuilt.
Stillwell, who is pastor of Holly Springs Baptist Church in Bryson City, said he heard about the effort through the N.C. Baptist Men’s Association, which has had volunteers in the Gulf Coast region ever since the storm hit.
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Sylva town board member Harold Hensley, second from right, and the Rev. Eddie Stillwell, right, recently joined seven other volunteers from Western North Carolina in a week-long trip to Gulfport, Miss. to help with relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Though it has been a year since the storm struck, reconstruction continues, and the group spent time installing cabinets in four of the houses being rebuilt. Stillwell, who is pastor of Holly Springs Baptist Church in Bryson City, said he first learned about the project through the N.C. Baptist Men’s Association. Both he and Hensley were well suited for the task, since they have been building and installing cabinets for the last 30 years. Also taking part in the trip were, from left, Ruth Sitton, Arthur Wade, Sheena Jenkins, Walter Simmonds, J.T. Winchester, Michael York and Nolan McIntosh.
The job is one for which Hensley and Stillwell are well qualified – Stillwell has owned Speedy’s Cabinets for 30 years, and Hensley is a retired carpenter and cabinet maker. Three sets of cabinets the group installed were made in Stillwell’s shop.
“It’s something that I’m qualified to do,” Stillwell said. “I usually don’t go when the storm hits unless they call me to help out.”
Hensley, who was maintenance supervisor for Jackson County schools for 29 years, said he often built and installed cabinets.
“I built whatever kinds of cabinets they needed – computer cabinets, kitchen cabinets, just about anything,” he said.
Stillwell and Hensley have worked together a number of times over the years, and Hensley agreed to go along when Stillwell told him about the planned trip.
Hensley could have gone to the Gulf Coast with a team from his church, East Sylva Baptist, which sent a group of volunteers last month. While he respected their efforts, he said he made the choice to go with a group that could put his skills to use.
“East Sylva went down to put roofs on houses,” Hensley said. “I decided to go with Eddie and his group because cabinet work is what I do. I’m much better at working with cabinets than I am doing anything on the roof.”
The Holly Springs group that traveled to Gulfport were not the only volunteers from North Carolina repairing houses. Hensley said their team would go in with groups of electricians to work on the interiors while volunteers would complete roofs.
“The houses we worked on were already there before the hurricane hit,” Hensley said. “Instead of putting in new ones, they were trying to rebuild what they had. Before we went in, they would tear out the inside part, leaving just a frame. I’d even seen it where the whole insides of a house have been piled out on the street.”
All volunteers from the N.C. Baptist Men were housed in the National Guard armory in downtown Gulfport, which was the base of operations. Hensley said the operation is massive and that there’s always a large turnover in workers from week to week.
“We were just one cog in a much, much bigger machine,” Hensley said. “When we were there, they had 400 volunteers in the armory, all who were helping to rebuild. About 100 people switch out every week. There was a big mess hall, rows of trailers with showers, and people slept eight to a room in bunk beds. It reminded me of my time in the Navy.
“You feel inadequate, because the effort is so big,” Hensley said. “Even if you’ve never done volunteer work, you do it once for something like this and you end up wanting to turn around and go back to help the first chance you get.”
Though it’s been a year since Katrina struck the region, Stillwell and Hensley said people are still trying to recover from the storm. While the situation is improving, there’s a long way to go before the area gets back to normal, they siad.
“It’s still pretty bad, but they’re getting a grip on things,” Stillwell said. “But we could still be working down there for five years. The Baptist Men have a contract to build or rebuild 400 houses over two years. We’ve only been able to do 200 so far.”
“I’ve heard that if not for the levees breaking in New Orleans, Gulfport would have been the worst hit,” Hensley said. “There was bad damage to houses 10 miles in. One of the houses I saw was a mile inland, and it still had four feet of water in it.
People are grateful for whatever help is offered, Stillwell and Hensley said.
“One of the little ladies who we put cabinets in for seemed like she was about to shout,” Hensley said. “The families were so appreciative you couldn’t imagine it. That’s payment within itself.”
“People down there are so thankful for the help,” Stillwell said. “They take time to say ‘thank you’ even if you just pick up a piece of paper.”
With all of the reconstruction left, Hensley and Stillwell said they would not rule out another trip to the Gulf Coast.
“It’s one of the greatest blessings you could ever get,” Hensley said. “The people down there are not getting the big bucks (from the insurance companies). So it was nice to help them rebuild.”
“It was a wonderful experience,” Stillwell said. “It’s was something that was very rewarding to do, and I was just glad we were able to help out.”
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