[StBernard] Gladiators make a welcome return to storm-hit New Orleans suburb for Mardi Gras

[Westley Annis]

Gladiators make a welcome return to storm-hit New Orleans suburb for Mardi
Gras
2008-01-26 22:42:38 - 

CHALMETTE, Louisana (AP) - Hundreds of people braved the dreary weather
Saturday to welcome home the Gladiators _ and mark another, modest milestone
in this region's recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

The Krewe of Gladiators paraded through the New Orleans suburb of St.
Bernard Parish for the first time since Hurricane Katrina ruined many of the
houses and businesses along its traditional route nearly 2½ years ago.
Krewes are clubs that plan parades, balls and other activities during the
Carnival season, which culminates with Mardi Gras.

This isn't the same community or same krewe. Perhaps 30,000 of the 67,000
people who lived in blue-collar St. Bernard before Katrina are back,
according to the parish president, and the krewe, traditionally a men's
organization, went coed this year to fill out its storm-depleted ranks.

«It's been a booger trying to get back,» krewe captain William Egan said
several hours before the afternoon parade. «A lot of my members are still
God knows where.

Rain and thunder ruined several parades in greater New Orleans on Friday,
but lingering storm clouds did not stop the Gladiators, or excited
parade-goers, on Saturday.

Manuel Trevino, a 29-year-old iron worker and Chalmette native, parked his
truck along the parade route and cracked open a cooler to tailgate with
friends.

«It's like the Super Bowl,» he said. «We're not going to stop just because
it's raining.

Founded in 1973, Gladiators is the parish's oldest Carnival organization.
Another krewe, the Knights of Nemesis, formed after Katrina and paraded in
2006, during the first post-storm Carnival.

Eleven floats with about 140 people, not counting several marching bands,
made Gladiators a bit smaller than usual. Krewe members tossed beads from
floats featuring the paper mache likenesses of Superman, Wonder Woman,
Godzilla and King Kong _ superheroes and larger-than-life figures.

The words «We're Back,» painted on one float, were the most obvious nod to
Katrina. Parish schools superintendent Doris Voitier and Chalmette High
School Principal Wayne Warner were the grand marshals _ a tribute to the
leading role the schools have played in the parish's recovery.

St. Bernard schools had 340 students when they reopened in November 2005.
Around 2,500 had enrolled by the end of 2006.

«If you don't have a school, people aren't going to come back,» Warner said.

Reminders of Katrina dotted the parade route. The starting line was flanked
by a storm-shuttered Italian bakery and a house with government-issued
trailers in the front yard. There also was a newly opened restaurant nearby.

Parish President Craig Taffaro estimates about two-thirds of St. Bernard's
businesses have reopened. «The recovery has been somewhat slow,» he said,
«but we're very hopeful that the pace will accelerate over the next year.

Business was initially slow when Steve LaBrosse opened Natz Cafe and Bakery
on Jan. 2. A steady stream of customers passed through Saturday.

«It's challenging, but it's well worth it,» said LaBrosse, who moved his
family to Mandeville, across Lake Pontchartrain, after Katrina flooded their
Chalmette home with 12 feet (3.66 meters) of water.

Joe Luparello, Sr., a new member of Gladiators decked out in a yellow
costume and New Orleans Saints visor, lived in Arkansas for more than a year
after Katrina damaged his Chalmette home. His son fixed the house so
Luparello, 55, and his wife could move back in September 2006.

«The house is 100 percent,» he said. «We're tickled to death to be back
home.