http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/index/ en nobody@iusb.edu Copyright 2007 2007-03-16T19:47:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/goodbye_to_the_bond_house_and_bethel_church/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/goodbye_to_the_bond_house_and_bethel_church/#When:18:47:00Z Today was our last day at the Bond House and we will leave Biloxi in just an hour or so.  We completed hanging sheet rock on the second floor and met most of our goals for the week.  This morning a few neighbors and members from the community stopped by to thank us and wish us a safe trip home.  Although you can’t see our progress from the outside of the house, the inside is really starting to take shape.  We were told that a group from the Kessler Airforce Base will come by tomorrow to pick up where we left off, so it is good to know that even though we are leaving, work on the house will still continue.  We all came down here as volunteers but with the way the Main Street Biloxi members and Bethel Church have treated us, we feel like we have been on more of a vacation than a work week. Dinner last night at the Casino left us full through breakfast! The experiences we have had will stay with us forever and we are glad we were able to come down and make a difference.  We (Ben and Sara) see that there has been much progress just in the last year since we have been here, but there is still a lot left to be done.  Hopefully this won’t be the last time that we will be down to Bethel Church; helping the victims in Biloxi. See everyone soon! Sara Lauer and Ben Decker   2007-03-16T18:47:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/true_southern_hospitality/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/true_southern_hospitality/#When:04:35:00Z Our delegation has been showered with hospitality from the members of the Board of Directors for Main Street Biloxi, the owners of the Bond House, the property on which we have been working.  These civic leaders have treated us as though we were the greatest crew of drywall installers in town, even though only EJ Fenner and I have any experience doing this, and this being of the homeowner variety.  Our crew of college students with marginal skill has been treated to numerous visitors, usually bearing gifts of food and beverages, but has also included their taking us on a Shrimp Boat Tour and Demonstration, Dinner at the Beau Rivage Casino Buffet, and a gift of a brass Christmas Ornament depicting the Bond House.  This type of hospitality and appreciation of our assistance to the Biloxi community has of made the task of motivating the student participants in the trip extremely easy. Earlier today, I received an email from Steve Richer, Executive Director, Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau: Mr. Rasch:  Thank you so much for your help.  We are very proud of our volunteer visitors.  Please send my thanks to all the students, too. Submitted by Marvin Rasch 2007-03-16T04:35:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/history_of_the_bond_house/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/history_of_the_bond_house/#When:02:55:00Z The majority of our team has been working on the Bond-Grant House this week, which is one of the few remaining historic homes to survive the effects of Hurricane Katrina.  Below is a brief history of the home, as well as what the future holds for it. According to the Executive Director of Main Street Biloxi, a not for profit dedicated to promoting, preserving, revitalizing and enhancing the economic growth of the downtown Biloxi area, the Bond House significance and history is as follows: THE BOND HOUSE (925 West Howard Avenue, Biloxi, MS) Other names for The Bond House – Chinn House, Vera Dukate, Grant House. The present address of The Bond House is 917 Howard Avenue.  The Bond House was built by William K. M. Dukate between 1904 and 1909 as a wedding present for his daughter, Vera, who married B.A. Bond 17 October 1904.  Vera later married R. Hart Chinn, ex Mayor of Biloxi (1933-35, 1951) on November 11, 1918. Vera Dukate Bond Chinn died April 1977. The Bond House is a two-story four-by-four-bay frame house. The most striking feature of this handsome house is the beautiful leaded, beveled glass of the entrance-way.  The building is wooden framed with the lower story covered in wooden clapboard siding painted tan in color while the upper floor is covered in semi octagonal and common shingles painted mauve in color with all windows, cornice, and ornament the same color as the lower floor. The east-west hipped roof is intersected by a gabled roof that covers the south or rear portion of the house. A hipped dormer extends northward from a secondary roof that intersects the main roof on the north side. A large one story porch supported by a slender colonnade and enclosed by a balustrade dominates the north façade and covers the main entry. A smaller secondary porch rests atop the main porch on the second level. Flanking the east side of the upper level porch is a semi-octagonal bay of two levels with windows on each side of the bay.  The front entry door with its transom and side lights are of handsome, finely beveled glass. A secondary entry door leads into the semi-octagonal bay which is also adjacent to the main entry door.  The style is Queen Anne; the character is neoclassical.  The Daily Herald reports that 4 January 1921 “Mr. & Mrs. W. J. Grant and family are moving into their new home on West Howard Avenue, which they recently purchased from Mrs. Hart Chinn. Mr. & Mrs. Chinn have moved into the Chinn home on Reynoir Street”.  The Grants owned the house at least through 1964. 26 February 1964, Mrs. Grant sold the house to First Baptist Church, but Mrs. Grant had an agreement with First Baptist Church to occupy the house until her death.  Around 1968 First Baptist Church had The Bond House and was using it as either a Kindergarten or Day Care Center or office. When First Baptist relocated to a new site on the north side of Biloxi, they sold the house to the Beau Rivage Casino, and the house has remained empty since.  The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.  During Hurricane Katrina, the house was spared total destruction due to it being shelter to some degree by the Biloxi City Hall.  After Hurricane Katrina, the Beau Rivage Casino donated the house to Main Street Biloxi, on the condition that they relocate the house.  The relocation was done in 2006, and the house moved across the street to property owned by the City of Biloxi. Some aspects of the future of the Bond House are still being determined, however this much is assured that this important structure to the morale of the city will be preserved for future generations.  Main Street Biloxi has written a grant to support turning the home into a community center, with the main level being available to groups for private and public gatherings, and the second floor serving as the offices for Main Street Biloxi, whose prior offices were completely destroyed by the hurricane.  Contingencies for how the house will be used, should the grant not be secured, are currently being determined. Submitted by Marvin Rasch 2007-03-16T02:55:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/day_three_working_on_bond_house/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/day_three_working_on_bond_house/#When:23:02:00Z Today was our third day of work, here in Biloxi.  We once again worked on hanging sheetrock on the second floor of the house.  I think one more day of hard work and my group can finish the room we were working on and move into another.  Last night we toured the neighboring areas, some hit hardest by the storm.  I still can not comprehend how much damage was done.  I knew coming down here that things were going to bad but I don’t think I ever thought about things beging as bad as they are, a year and a half after the storm.  Complete blocks are leveled still, and some of the houses that are still standing still don’t have roofs, or windows.  After seeing what I have seen these past few days I don’t think I will ever be the same. Back to today, we made some progress, and things are starting to flow smoothly for the most part.  Main Street Biloxi, the group that owns the house we are working on, had been so generous to us.  Each day they stop by to say hello, see how we are doing, and they have even been bringing us snacks and drinks each day.  Today they treated us to a Shrimp Boat Tour.  It was nice to get a chance to see some of the culture of the area, we even got to see a couple dolphins while on the tour.  And then tomorrow they are taking us to dinner at the Beau Rivage Casino Buffet.  Well myself and some of the others are going to walk down to WinDixie to see it and get a few things, so I will say good night, and have a good rest of the week, to all who read this. Amy Baumgardner 2007-03-14T23:02:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/first_day_at_the_bond_house/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/first_day_at_the_bond_house/#When:00:47:00Z Today Sara, Josh, Kristie and Amber stripped paint off the doors. We are revitalizing a house that is over a hundred years old. We spent the day stripping paint and cleaning up the yard. We are going to continue to clean up the yard tomorrow. We all came home to a home-cooked meal of salad, chicken chili, and cornbread muffins. After dinner we all headed for one of the three showers! We are making daily trips to Wal-Mart to pick up some of the little things we forgot to pack. Too exhausted to do anything else, we are heading off to go lay in bed and talk....something we do plenty of around here! After coming from the fluctuating winter and spring temperatures of Indiana, it is nice to know that it will be warm and hopefully sunny down here most days.  A few of us have already gotten a little burnt after just the first day...it’s nice.  We are also getting to know a lot of people too.  It’s fun to meet new people from all over the country that all share the same interest of coming down here and helping the hurricane victims.  I’m looking forward to getting to know more of the volunteers!! Everything has been going great here in Mississippi!!! The weather is amazing and the work is tuff but fun!!! This is my third time being here and I still love coming down!!!! Everyone is so nice and just everyone down here is nice!!! Joshua!!! 2007-03-13T00:47:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/these_trees/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/these_trees/#When:00:06:00Z These Biloxi trees tell the entire story.  Weathered but strong.  Bent but not broken.  They stand alongside new casinos and new hotels and yet the trees have come to represent what the people here must have endured nearly a year and a half ago.  Where there once was a house, much like yours and mine, only small reminders of lives (once thought to be normal) remain.  Yesterday we took a drive along the gulf coast.  Looking out the window I couldn’t even begin to imagine the calm, restful water doing the slightest bit of harm--let alone destroying miles and miles of lives.  The chaos, even as I’m down here, seems so long ago.  Every person I see down here I wonder about her or his story becasue, as far as I know, the chaos continues as she or he tries to live a life after losing so much.  Many of them look weathered, but I know, without a doubt, they are strong--they are not broken.  I have a feeling I’ll be learning more down here than helping.  With that said, today was spent dry-walling, sanding paint off walls, fixing doors and tearing down plaster from ceilings.  I think we are all a bit tired after this first day of work, but still look forward to tomorrow.  Until next time, Megan Smith Over a year and so much still needs to be done even though I’ve heard many times in my two days here, “This is nothing compared to a year ago”.  2007-03-13T00:06:00-05:00 http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/anticipation/ http://www.iusb.edu/~sblife/asbblog/index.php/site/anticipation/#When:02:00:00Z As the day of our departure for the 2007 Alternative Spring Break trip approached, I was very much looking forward to traveling to Mississippi’s Gulfcoast for the third time and the second time with a group from Indiana University South Bend, but at the same time apprehensive about what I would see.  The reasons for this apprehension were as follows: • How far would the recovery have progressed, since were here in March of 2006? • Would the local community still have the spirit, drive and will necessary for the long period of recovery? After two days of travel (17 hours of driving), including an overnight stay in Birmingham, Alabama, our group of 16 people, including 14 students arrived in Biloxi, Mississippi at around 3:00 pm (central time), and my anticipation was immediately put to rest by the reception of the staff at the relief center that is hosting us.  The staff recognized some of us, who have been here before, and welcomed us with handshakes and hugs.  It seems that some of the staff and volunteers here are like long lost friends that you can instantly rekindle that old bond with. While yes there is still much to do, and the affects of the hurricane are visible in everything that you see, the recovery seems to be going very well.  We took the time this afternoon to drive around the community, including some of the sites that we volunteered at last year. We have received our first work assignment and are looking forward to the coming days endeavors. In coming posting, I will have the participating students posting messages, recounting their experiences. Marvin Rasch Director of Student Life 2007-03-12T02:00:00-05:00