Blues and jazz man ‘Frankie Keys’
With his beloved keyboard, Frankie Baskin, who goes by the stage name “Frankie Keys,” plays the blues and dedicates a song to his hometown, New Orleans.
The evacuees, after being housed since Sept. 1 at BSCC, were allowed to return
to New Orleans. Buses arrived at the college early Friday morning, Sept. 5, and
began the exodus home.
Marion County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Jimmy Mills first heard
the evacuees were headed this way when he got a message Sunday morning, Aug.
31, at church.
The governor’s office gave the order to open the two-year college system, designated as EMA pre-planned shelters, to the evacuees. There are also 375 evacuees at BSCC’s Sumiton campus and 290 at the Fayette campus.
Mills said, “(BSCC-Hamilton Campus Associate Dean) Susan Burrow deserves a big hand. She’s the glue that’s held all us together. I’ve learned a lot from her. It’s the first time I’ve been though this part of the system, seen how it works.”
Mills also mentioned the college staff. “They’ve done a lot of work, so has DHR (Marion County Department of Human Resources), the churches and the community. There have been many other businesses and individuals asking how they could
help. This community has been great to the evacuees. There have been all kinds
of donations--physical, spiritual, praying, and monetary.”
Mandatory evacuation
Lona Courington is the Service Center Manager of the Walker County Red Cross
Center. She said the evacuees began arriving Labor Day morning (Monday, Sept. 1) around
9.
According to Stacey Sayles, it was a forced, mandatory evacuation. “The police came around to my home and asked if I would be evacuating. They said,
‘If you don’t evacuate, you’ll be arrested’.”
Shirley Johnson, 70, Lake Charles, a retired nurse, advocate, and textile, glass
and clay artist, said, “We were not allowed to stay. It went from voluntary evacuation, to recommended
evacuation, to mandatory. The consequences were we could not stay. We would be
arrested.”
According to press reports, Hurricane Gustav began as a tropical depression and
at one time strengthened into a Category 4 Hurricane with winds of 150 mph. It
entered the United States as a Category 3 (111-130 mph) with winds of 115 mph
and dropped to Category 1 four hours later, becoming a tropical depression the
next day. The eye of the storm came ashore on Sept. 1 around 9 a.m. CDT 22
miles west of Grand Isle, La.
By Aug. 31, 1.9 million people had evacuated southern Louisiana--200,000
residents of New Orleans alone, making it the largest evacuation in the history
of the state.
Massive effort
When the Red Cross first directed the evacuees to the area, Courington thought
the college system could control the numbers, but due to so many buses
traveling together, some churches were called upon to assist. First Baptist
Church in Jasper took 52 evacuees and Farmstead, also in Jasper, is hosting 32.
Courington said, “Birmingham has been overwhelmed. We had to lean on other shelters. Everyone here
has grouped together and served the needs. Whatever we need, they are creating
it, and we go get it. This is a massive effort.”
Courington mentioned that the colleges and churches were supplying all types of
aid, from meals to clothing, games and crafts for the children, transportation,
even showers. “Everything!”
Burrow said, “The community has been supportive, actually fantastic. There’s been a great outpouring. We are delighted we can help these people who’ve been displaced. Hopefully, we can get them home soon.”
Bevill State interim president Neal Morrison said, “Bevill State Community College is glad we were able to help folks out. I’m very impressed with the amount of support from the faculty, staff and
community. Without these folks stepping up to the plate, we would not be able
to provide (these) services.”
Bevill students have volunteered too, including the track and cross country
teams. Since the Bevill Business and Community Center is serving as a Red Cross
Shelter, day, night and weekend classes are cancelled until Monday, Sept. 8.
Bevill employees are reporting to work to help with the shelter.
Morrison also spoke of the evacuees. “I’ve been around the world, these are some of the nicest people I’ve met.”
What do the evacuees think of Bevill?
Tyron Nelson, 49, New Orleans, said, “Good hospitality. They treat us well. Good food, showers, very good. I feel
comfortable. It was a rough ride, 24 hours. Last time (Katrina in 2005), I was
stuck in the convention center. This time, they are better prepared.”
Shelia Fields, 44, New Orleans, said, “They’re treating me real beautiful. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I really appreciate them. If I have to come back, I
would love to come back here. I had a bad heat rash, they got me medicine. And
medication I needed, blood pressure, nitroglycerin, cholesterol pills...I am an
asthma and emphysema patient. They treated me in the emergency room--beautiful,
very nice, lovable.”
Besides Fields, North Mississippi Medical Center in Hamilton treated around 30 other patients in the ER. Dr. John Kerr opened his
clinic to see another 20 evacuees and Rich’s Pharmacy also opened its doors to fill prescriptions.
The hospital also collected $350 cash in 15 minutes to help. The nursing home
allowed evacuees to shower there and the Wellness Center donated towels. The
dietary department also donated food, drinks and other items.
Cora Stewart, 55, also of New Orleans, is a friend of Fields and agrees with her
about the conditions at the Bevill Center.
“Things have been beautiful here, like a vacation. I was more stressed at home,
out here--I’m feeling fine.”
People are still hurting from Katrina
Edwin Harrison, 53, lives on the West Bank and teaches music to pre-K through
eighth grade at Live Oak Elementary School. He said, “People have been very nice.”
Harrison added, “If I were doing my thesis on at what point society breaks down, this would be
interesting. How much stress can people take before they fall apart, get
anxious? There are people still hurting since Katrina. I saw tears. There are
children still without families. People are still traumatized.”
And it’s not just people who are out of their homes. One evacuee is a black spitz dog,
named Nene Ann, belonging to Rona and Frances Morman and Lionel Parker. Nene is
being cared for at the Marion County Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Susan Rice said, “She’s a sweet dog. She doesn’t seem to be too shook up. She’s done good.”
One of the bus drivers for the evacuees is staying at the new Key West Inn in
Hamilton. He visited Fred’s Pharmacy in Hamilton and spoke with Sandy Sandlin. Sandlin said, “I helped him out with his medication and he had a lot of nice things to say
about Hamilton. The driver said the people in Hamilton have been the nicest,
are the nicest in general I’ve met. He also said that his wife likes to move and the next place they’re moving to is Hamilton, Ala.”
After the third night at Bevill, Pamela McCree, 44, said, “I woke up about 12:30 a.m. and everybody was at peace, resting--compared to the
night before when everybody was in and out of the building all night.”
Sayles added, “It was the TV. It put everybody to sleep. Took their mind off thinking about
back home.”
McCree, an overnight stocker at Wal-Mart in Lake Charles, La., also added, “I’d like to thank all the workers and volunteers. They’re wonderful, they’ve treated us good.”
Jazz and Blues Man
One who lost everything from Katrina is musician Baskin. This time, at least, he
has his suitcase and keyboard. Baskin said, “The governor said several hundred buses were staged to get us out. I couldn’t afford to drive, so I caught a bus in LaPlace. I was on the bus 24 hours. Everywhere we went they were full and kept sending us
other places. We stopped in Cuba, Ala., and then drove another two to three
hours. My legs were so cramped, I couldn’t even stand. Whoever had money was helping out the others. There were eight
buses following each other.”
When asked about the rumor that evacuees were only allowed one suitcase, Baskin said, “That’s true. One suitcase. But, I wasn’t leaving without my keyboard.”
How is Bevill treating him? “I love it! The hospitality is great. They’ve been treating us very well, been good to us, been helpful. I can’t express enough, how nice they’ve been.”
Baskin is also giving back. He’s helping to clean the area, the bathrooms, and even outside where the evacuees
smoke cigarettes. “I’m doing my part to help the situation.”
Baskin has been playing music all his life. He’s been a musician on Bourbon Street for 22 years and says the keyboard is his
wife.
He added, “They’ve been treating us very well, been good to us, been helpful. I can’t express enough, how nice they’ve been.”
Following up Wednesday, Sept. 3, with Baskin, who performs on Bourbon Street as “Frankie Keys,” he said, “I had a toothache and went to see Dr. (Jarred) Sartain at the clinic across the
road. He gave me a shot and a prescription.”
Later that evening, Baskin appeared on a local TV station in Hamilton, playing
his beloved keyboard, jamming out the blues, thanking everyone here for all
their help, and dedicating a song--to New Orleans.
The Journal Record visited Bevill on Thursday, Sept. 4, for an update. Courington said, “We’re looking toward people possibly being on their way toward the end of the week.
Everyone is working toward making it a smooth transition back to the buses and
back home.
“We hope their experience has been less than stressful. We’ve tried to make it as memorable as possible. The local churches and volunteers
have helped us with activities.”
Courington added, “We have something special planned tonight to entertain them and keep their
spirits up, make them feel better. It’s a concert.”
And who was the star of the show?
It was the jazz and blues man, Baskin! He played his keyboard and sang the blues
for his fellow evacuees who were smiling, clapping and swaying to the
music--even before they found out they were leaving the next morning. He was
accompanied by another evacuee, Oscar Longs, and a local group, Unity, with
Hamilton residents John Deblieux on saxophone and Janet Alexander on keyboards
and vocals.
Asked if he had any last words before heading home, Baskin said, “I don’t want to go home. I’m lovin’ it out here.”
When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, many in Hamilton watched with tears running
down their faces--helpless to help.
