Photographer eyewitness to Katrina victims’ grief
Tears flow amid countless stories of human loss

THE AFTERMATH — A power pole and lines are reflected in the water, sewage, and oil that cover a residential street in St. Bernard Parish north of downtown New Orleans. (Catholic Herald photo by Allen Fredrickson)

By Maryangela Layman Román
Catholic Herald Staff

Regular Catholic Herald readers might recognize the name Allen Fredrickson, a freelance photographer, who for the past seven years has taken hundreds of photos for the Catholic Herald. A contract photographer for Reuters News Service, he also regularly shoots Brewers, Bucks and Packers games for the wire service.

On Aug. 31, Fredrickson was interrupted during the seventh inning stretch of the Brewers-Pirates game at Miller Park with a phone call from Reuters asking if he’d be available to rent an RV and head to the hurricane damaged areas of the country to photograph the devastation for the news service.

A day later, he and a friend from Waukesha, Paul Rembas, headed to New Orleans.

For the last two weeks, Fredrickson has observed the destruction up close, seeing much devastation and despair, but also occasional signs of hope.

In between taking photos for Reuters, Fredrickson has provided support to the Reuters operation, he said in a telephone interview with the Catholic Herald.

“Since I’ve been down here, I’ve been doing some photography everyday, filling up generator tanks, hauling water, emptying the trash, filling gas cans, running 400 feet of hose to the RV water tanks and some other boring, mundane things,” he said.

A seasoned photographer who has shot crime scenes, including the shooting earlier this year at a Brookfield hotel, Fredrickson admitted some of his experiences in Louisiana have brought tears to his eyes.

Last Saturday, he met 52-year-old Daniel Weber at a shelter. Weber, speaking to Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, one of several athletes and celebrities in the area to offer support, told how he lost his wife, Rosetta, who was wheelchair-bound following a stroke. The water current pulled Rosetta’s clothing off and away from Weber’s grasp. After Manning walked away, Fredrickson and a couple other members of the media stayed to hear him speak of his loss. His sister, at his side comforting him, told Fredrickson and the others, she worries about his strong desire to commit suicide.

“It still brings strong emotional feelings six days later writing about this moment in time,” wrote Fredrickson in an e-mail to the Herald.

He’s also been shocked by the apparent toxic water now polluting the area. Fredrickson has flown over the city several times in military aircraft — working as an embedded member of the media. One of his photos taken from above shows a utility pole silhouetted against multi-colored water, contaminated by fuel.

The smells of the area are horrendous, described Fredrickson.

He said he was moved to tears on Monday during a meeting for New Orleans residents gathered at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge where parish councilpersons updated evacuees on the condition of their neighborhoods. Residents of St. Bernard parish learned their area remains underwater complicated by sewage and large oil spills.

During the meeting, St. Bernard council woman, Judy Darby, told an emotional story of the rescue of a parish priest, which Fredrickson said left tears rolling down his cheeks.

In a phone interview with the Catholic Herald, Darby, a Catholic, whose home in St. Bernard Parish is under 20 feet of water, described the plight of Fr. Dennis Hayes, pastor of St. Louise de Marillac in Arabi, La.

After he swam to the second floor of the school roof, Fr. Hayes was rescued by a helicopter, but he was not allowed to take his dog or the Eucharist that he had carried with him.

Very upset that he was unable to save the Eucharist, Darby said she told him, “Father you had to swim for your life, I’m sure Jesus will understand.”

The U.S. Coast Guard, which had rescued Fr. Hayes, left him near the levy, explained Darby, who said he planned to walk to Notre Dame Seminary. Somehow, he became disoriented and ended up instead at Cooper Projects, which Darby described as the most dangerous area in the city.

“A black lady, Julia, took him in, fed him, let him sleep there and gave him a clean change of clothing,” said Darby. From there, Fr. Hayes decided to walk to what he thought was a safe refuge, the Superdome. But once he arrived, Darby said, something told him not to go inside. He stayed on the perimeter without water or food and slept under a tree. When the rioting and shooting began in the dome, Fr. Hayes was safely on the outside.

He began a 15-20 mile walk back to his church, and when found, was soaking wet, “in terrible condition,” she said.

Fr. Hayes arrived at a barricade set up to protect the parish from New Orleans, and initially was not admitted. Although he said he was a priest, he was now wearing street clothes and he had no identification. Fortunately one of the sheriff deputies recognized him as a seminarian who had been at Our Lady of Prompt Succor in White Castle, La. Fr. Hayes was admitted and is now “a refugee,” said Darby at the same shelter where she is living.

Miraculously, she said, he was able to safely retrieve the Eucharist.

Now at the shelter, Fr. Hayes is a spiritual comfort to the 200 or so evacuees who reside there, said Darby.

“He’s a refugee like us, but he is our spiritual advisor, ministering to families, the firemen, police,” she said. Because Fr. Hayes is there, the group has celebrated several Masses together and holds nightly prayer services.

Darby said his presence is a great comfort to her. “You have to understand, this is middle-class America. I never thought I’d be on this side of things. My real role in life is as the local Red Cross chapter manager.”

“(Arch)bishop (Alfred C.) Hughes, our archbishop, should be quite proud of this young man,” said Darby.

During her presentation at the state Capitol, Darby broke down in tears as she told her story. It left Fredrickson in tears, too, he said.

Fredrickson expects to return to Waukesha later this week.

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