Squandered Heritage
 The size and scope of Hurricane Katrina sent New Orleans residents across the country, and many still want to return. But without a house, it's not an easy task.
With Squandered Heritage, Karen Gadbois, Laureen Lentz, and Sarah Elise Lewis banded together to track lists upon lists of demolitions for the community—sometimes being the first to tell homeowners that their homes were on the chopping block. They've spend countless hours at citywide meetings, scanning through documents, photographing homes, and helping their neighbors rescue the unique heritage of the Crescent City. In the midst of all their work, the trio still had time to share what inspires them and what they love about New Orleans. What made you decide to start Squandered Heritage? Karen: To capture our city as it was Post Katrina. Then tell the story of demolitions and the impact of loss. Laureen: I met Karen at a small soirée last August. Architecture has been a lifelong passion since my teenage years in Chicago, and one reason I love New Orleans. Our streetscapes provide an enchanting background for the mundane routine of daily life and work. I was beginning to become concerned about the impact of the demolitions on our historic districts, and was already taking photos of hand demolitions done before Karen and I met. So the partnership was a perfect match. I had purchased my own historic home in Tremé to renovate, but it was in very bad shape and did not survive Katrina's winds. This was a great replacement for my time on that project. I had also been a volunteer for the Preservation Resource Center for about 10 years and was doing some writing for their publication, "Preservation in Print," before I met Karen. This was a great way to write about architecture and make public information accessible and pertinent with photos. It merged my talents as a librarian and my passion for architecture and writing. Do you know how many people have found out about the demolition of their home (either before or after it happened) on your site? Karen: I know of a few, but one stands out: a rabbi in New York. He somehow found my phone number and called me crying while I was standing in the street watching someone else's house get demolished. It was a very unreal moment and made me realize the value of what we are doing as well as the responsibility to do it right. Sarah: I could not begin to guess how many homeowners learned of the possible demolition of their houses from either our website or a personal visit from one of us from Squandered Heritage. All together it might be about 100. What's been the most inspiring thing you've seen since Katrina and the flood? Karen: Really simple things move me. For example there's a group of people who mow the grass at City Park. There is a saying, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." I believe that the New Orleanians who "show up" by staying in a city that is very difficult to live in are an inspiration. I also believe that the continued support by volunteers who come and do the dirty work of helping out is an inspiration. When you see some kid who could easily be spending their spring break in Cancun choosing to come here instead, you realize that they are taking back a piece of New Orleans and that is the most powerful message we can send. Laureen: The help of volunteers across the nation has been our only real saving grace. I got swept up in it and joined the Americorps ranks last May for one year just because I wanted to help people. I did not want to sit behind a desk at one of the universities. With the lack of help from the government, average people from all over the world have been our only hope. The involvement of the citizens in the civic process has been a significant phenomenon in New Orleans. The blogging community has had a big impact in building that counter-culture. Sarah: Bar none, the most inspiring development in New Orleans since Katrina has been the growth of strong grassroots organizations, buttressed by personal relationships among neighbors. As Councilmember-At-Large Arnie Fielkow said at one neighborhood meeting, "It's not true that nothing is going on in New Orleans. A lot of progress is going on in New Orleans. You just have to go into the neighborhoods to see it." What do you love the most about New Orleans? Karen: Before the storm, I just loved the fluid cadence of life. We seemed to have lost it, but every day I see a little bit of it coming back. I think we are all sort of living with Stockholm syndrome in the way that New Orleans is our captor. Right now she treats us mean, but we love her in spite of it. Not a day goes by that people are not talking about leaving, but it is like they have taken the padlocks off the cell door and we are still here. I love that my daughter is being raised in the midst of a messy democracy. Laureen: The architecture and the tree canopies. The people have taught me a lot about community that does not exist in Chicago (where I'm from). They help each other every day! Sarah: I'm a native New Orleanian, and my family has been here almost 200 years. That's not very long compared to many, but still a tremendous history of cultural and personal integration. Every day that I live in New Orleans, I'm reminded that I'm sharing the same space that my grandmother and her grandmother loved. What are some of your daily reads online? Karen: I read Your Right Hand Thief, Library Chronicles, Dangerblond.org, Ashley Morris: the Blog, b.rox, Maitri's VatulBlog, and Think New Orleans. Laureen: Not that many. I read Nola.com and Bart Everson's blog (b.rox). He introduced Karen and me. He doesn't just rant about things he has read in the paper or drivel on about boring daily diary stuff. I don't have a steady read routine, but I do love Your Right Hand Thief and Some Came Running for their thorough work. Sarah: Unfortunately, I don't have as much time to read blogs as I used to. I mostly read the Times-Picayune online. Besides your daily reads, what are some of your favorite blogs or sites about New Orleans and recovery? Karen: I like moldy city, American Zombie, and Michael Homan's blog. Is there anything that's surprised you about the site? Anything you regret? Karen: I regret not having the brains or money to make it a better, more beefed-up site. There are a lot of holes in it. The information is coming in so fast and furious that we have not had time to breathe, and we look forward to building the site. Laureen: We wished we had upgraded to a web site about four months after we started. That way, we could feature multiple issues and have a more user-friendly site, but we have literally been swamped with demands from City Council and a constantly rotating problem with the management of the demolitions. We simply could not stop and start again. Sarah: I'm always surprised and humbled by the positive response we've gotten, and the dialogue we've been able to participate in through the blog. How has Squandered Heritage changed things for you? Karen: Well, for me personally, it has made me feel that the most vital link in this recovery is the grass roots energy. We have created a model for our own media. We write the story. We will not be ignored when it comes to redefining this city. Bloggers in particular have forged a very strong bond. Laureen: I know what we are doing is vital if only for its documentary value, not to mention the service we provide now as advocates. No one else is doing this. It does seem to be a natural extension of my passions. How fortunate that Karen and Sarah and I could essentially create our own niche and job from this passion after a year of struggling. Sarah: Squandered Heritage has changed my entire lifestyle. It's now a full time job for me—more than a full time job, really. It's given me the ability to create a professional life centered around two things I love—historic architecture and civic discourse. What's the biggest thing that we can do for the people of New Orleans? Karen: I think what people can do for us is to just remember that the damage done to this city and caused the deaths of thousands was an engineering failure. Not a natural disaster. This country needs to reinvest in itself, including infrastructure, as well as education and health care. Laureen: We need economic development, jobs, and education to get out of this violent crime situation which is chasing people away and killing people. We need investment in our city in the way of smart rebuilding. Slab on grade was a bad idea, and developers sold people down the river when they built against the tradition already unique to the area. It may happen all over again. We need government transparency to attract economic development and faith in our educational system. The bloggers help keep the politicians honest along with the mainstream media. Sarah: Tell your elected officials that, while the people of New Orleans fight every day to rebuild the city, we still need help. Urge them to support further funding for recovery efforts. What do you want people to know about the current state of the city and what its residents need right now? Karen: We live in a very fragile city. All our institutions, the ones that worked as well as the ones that didn't, are in a state of chaos with a slow movement towards reconfiguring. Our fate is your fate. Laureen: People need money to rebuild. In our depressed areas, we need the option not of rental but a program of public housing that permits people to own their homes. This would be fundamental. How do we spend so much money in Iraq and yet are afraid to give a homeowner here $150,000 to rebuild their house? People like Karen and me who are involved in forcing change and documenting all we see are exhausted. Sarah: New Orleans is worth saving. Not just because we are the birthplace of jazz or a throwback to a more "authentic" cultural experience that was lost in most urban areas with the advent of more hegemonic American culture. We're worth saving because we are people fighting every day to rebuild our community. We are not just a vestige of the past, but people who are making great sacrifices to try to build a more equitable, culturally rich future. Thanks, ladies! You're our heroes!
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