Remembering Camille

Woodstock occurred the same weekend as Camille. Nobody on the gulf coast was aware of Woodstock till later in life . Wife and I were married the weekend following Camille in Jefferson parish. Our honey moon destination was a hotel on the Florida coast. To get there, we detoured a couple hundred miles inland. A lot of full grown pine trees were broken off halfway up.

I was in high school. A friend had a VW van and made many trips taking supplies to Miss coast.

I remember a “ hurricane proof” home built on the coast. All concrete and steel, all the family died. Only thing remaining were the steps leading up to the front door. Water is a killer…

The beachfront at Gulfport lies in ruins after Hurricane Camille made landfall on August 17, 1969
Photo credit: Charles Kelly / Herald-Journal

It was the wild, Wild West after Camille.

I would imagine this was the type of forecast back then…





That was a terrible storm.

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But Katrina ended a 3 at land fall. Camille was a full blown 5 when she came ashore. That water was moving at a much higher rate of speed than Katrina’s. That’s why I said unmatched.

I was in Michigan and heard more about Camille than I did Woodstock.

The last "Csmille lot" on Hwy 90 in Gulfport was finally sold 2 weeks before Katrina. That is a lot on Hwy 90 where a house once stood before Camille. Rode out Camille in Slidell. Will never forget the sound of pine trees snapping in half during the middle of the night.