The City of New Orleans - Late June 2006

“I didn’t want to come, but I’m so glad I did!” stated one of the many New Orleans visitors we interviewed on our recent trip to the city. The wife of a convention attendee told us how she had watched scenes on television showing the devastation and losses suffered by residents from Katrina, and she dreaded the trip.  After she was at the Hilton Hotel for a few hours, she ventured out and made a point of talking with the people she saw in the shops and restaurants. She was overwhelmed by the beauty of the city, the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter and the spirit and optimism of those who are rebuilding the residential areas and the small businesses that serve the neighborhoods. 

 

We, too, were continually inspired by the shop owners, clerks, waitresses and other workers as they told their stories of survival and how their love of the city has given them the strength and determination to stay and rebuild. They want to restore the unique spirit of New Orleans to where it was before the storm. A book store owner in the French Quarter who had evacuated and then returned, renovated his beloved store. He told us of an old saying that if you walk barefoot in New Orleans, you will always return there to live. And so he did!

 

Many tourists from Mississippi and Texas were visiting the city for retail shopping and dining as they were determined to spend their money and do their part to help the city in its economic rebuilding effort.  We also met several remarkable young men and women attending a meeting at the Hilton Riverside who were from parts of the devastated areas of New Orleans.  Despite a tinge of melancholy in their voices when they spoke of how long it was taking to get things fixed, there was an absolute resolve to stay the course until their job of renewal was done.

 

We spoke with several students from Tulane University. None were from New Orleans. They were evacuated before the storm and did not return until February. Their parents had encouraged them to switch schools, but they are determined to graduate next year or the following year from Tulane. Their dedication to the city is awesome and their support is translated into a variety of volunteer and paid activities to help the city make its comeback. One student works every weekend, just for tips, in an upscale restaurant in the French Quarter. She feels it is worthwhile for her financially, and she knows that extra hands are needed to make the restaurants run smoothly. She is “summering” in the city and looking forward to starting her senior year in the fall. There were many similar stories.

 

The city of New Orleans is coming back and it is beautiful. Many of the neighborhoods not touched by the flood reflect the splendor of the Old South with the pillared mansions and manicured grounds that dominate the main streets near the Mississippi River.  You can follow the path of the St. Charles Avenue streetcar past the stately mansions of former Kings and Queens of Mardi Gras, in the world famous exclusive Garden District and Audubon Park, home to one of the top five zoos in the nation. You can also catch one of the river boats that take you down the Mississippi; they are running full steam ahead.

 

So when you come to the ASHG meeting in October, be ready to enjoy the sights and sounds of the French Quarter, plan to visit Jackson Square and the Brewery shopping center, the Garden District, the River Walk and the Aquarium and even take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the old streets of the Big Easy.  You will be glad you did.

 

Elaine Strass

ASHG Executive Director

 

Jane Doran Salomon, MS

Media Relations Manager