Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Getting on an airplane was never so easy, Molly Fraley thought. No luggage to check. No carry-on bags. Just a purse.

All Labor Day flights should be such a breeze, she mused.

But when all one has is the clothes on her back and a small purse, it is understood why Fraley could be so mobile. Flying home from Baton Rouge, LA, was this area nativeís way to recharge and regroup after spending 10 harrowing days in the middle of Hurricane Katrina.

For two days, Fraley and nine others were trapped in the attic of a home in Pass Christian, MS, not sure if the storm surge forced inland by Katrina would wash away the 150-year-old home that stood a mile from the coast.

Safe but not

Fraley, 22, a 2001 Forest Lake High School graduate, had moved to the New Orleans suburb of Metairie just one month earlier. She had taken a job in the training department for Al Copeland Investments, a firm that is opening restaurants across the country, and was enjoying life in the Big Easy.

But then came news of Katrinaís march north across the Gulf of Mexico.

By Saturday, Aug. 27, Fraley, two adult couples with ties to the business and two children understood the need to leave New Orleans, but with little understanding of what was to come.

ìTheyíve done this whole hurricane thing before,î she said. The mentality for many was that in a day or so ìall would be fine.î

The group left Metairie and drove I-10 to the northeast before reaching Slidell where one of the co-workers lived. The reports that Katrina would hit New Orleans as a Category 5 hurricane sent Fraleyís group on a second hurried exodus to Pass Christian farther to the east where they took shelter with another co-worker, a couple and their child.

It was near Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis and the larger cities of Biloxi and Gulfport where Katrina hit land.

The group prepared for the worst at Pass Christian and by early Monday, Aug. 29 they got the worst.

Standing on the porch of the old home at 7 a.m. that day, Fraley saw trees floating by and the water steadily rising. ìIt was like the devil coming,î she said of the rapid rise of the water level.

After spending Sunday night in the attic, the group scrambled back to the high point of the home early Monday. By 9:30 a.m. the water level had risen to 13 feet and the home filled with the storm surge, lapping at the base of the open attic area.

The group was in the attic for two days, having only chips for food and a few bottles of water to drink.

ìThe whole house filled with water,î she said. ìIt came up so fast.î

By Monday evening the water began receding and the group was able to get out the next day. By Wednesday, Aug. 31 they got their first look at the city.

ìThere is not a lot left of that town,î she said. ìLuckily (the home she was in) it didnít come down.î

Post hurricane

For a full week, Fraley got by on very little food or water and not much sleep. There was little time to eat or sleep, she said.

On Aug. 31, an uncle of the home owner managed to get through from Ocean Springs, MS with food and water. The three children and Molly went back to his home.

ìWe were covered in mud,î she said. ìWe had no clothes. I had lost my appetite. The big thing was making sure the little children ate.î

It wasnít until Thursday, Sept.1 where the first semi-trucks loaded with food and water started to reach the Gulf Coast area, she said.

By Friday, Sept. 2, Fraley and others in her party made their way back to Slidell where she had left her 2004 Dodge Stratus. Her luck was still good as the car ran.

She spent that day in her car making the 90-mile drive to Baton Rouge and back hauling food and water to her storm companions. By that evening she was back in Baton Rouge where she stayed with another Copeland co-worker, Krissy Banz.

She ate her first meal in a week that night and slept like she had never slept before, she said.

On Monday, Labor Day, she finally was able to catch a flight home where she was met by her parents, Ron and Lori Fraley of Linwood Township. They had spent an anxious week awaiting a call from their daughter.

Back to NO

After a one-week stay here, Fraley headed home Sunday with the hope of reaching her apartment in Metairie. She heard good news from her roommate, Jessica Dunne, who reported the building was standing with power still on while most area buildings were destroyed by the storm.

She hopes to collect some of her clothes and personal belongings. She will be on the road for the next month in Atlanta, GA, where she is slated to train employees and open a new restaurant for Copelandís.

She feels blessed that her apartment was spared and that she safely rode out the hurricane. But she knows many others are not as lucky and will need outside help.

She hopes more help will continue to reach the area. ìThese people didnít ask for this. You have nothing. No possessions. All gone. The Gulf Coast is just gone.î

The thought of dying in an attic will not soon escape her, Fraley said. Nor will she forget her reaction to the looks on the faces of those hit by the storm.

ìThe sadness in peopleís faces,î Fraley said. ìTheyíve lost everything. Itís not something anyone should ever have to see.î

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Forest Lake Times
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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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