Nathan Hudson with Southern Pine Electric Cooperative began as an apprentice lineman only five years before catastrophic hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. He was a young journeyman at the time.
Hudson, now 47, has been with Southern Pine for 26 years and currently supervises his own six man crew.
He remembers going in that Monday morning at 7:00, knowing the storm was getting close. Hudson recalls, “They called us all in, got us all together once they realized how bad it was going to be. They said ‘We’re going to let everybody go home and be with their families until it passes and then try to get back here in the morning safely and as quickly as you can.’”
The wind was picking up and power lines were beginning to fall when Hudson headed home where his wife Jennifer and their two-year-old daughter waited. His mother and sister lived in a nearby mobile home, and they joined the Hudsons to ride out the storm. Not long after returned home, power went out.
Hudson remembers that shortly before dark the storm had moved out. “We got out my saw and truck and we went to checking on people – family down the road and neighbors, trying to cut trees out of the road, do what we could. We did that on into the night.”
He and his family live outside Taylorsville, and Hudson noticed on his way in to the district office that most of the downed trees had been cleared before he headed in Tuesday morning.
“I remember walking in that morning and it was quiet in the little district office. Mr. Don, the general manager, was sitting at a desk quiet when I walked in the door. You could tell the wheels were turning. I walked in and spoke. It’s like where do we start? As everybody started coming in someone brought a generator. Some of us went outside to hook it up to get the building back going. (Headquarters down the street had a standby generator.) We hooked it up and got power back going.”
Once everyone arrived, crews in Taylorsville were divided to begin assessing damage. Hudson and his crew went to the Rawls Springs area near Hattiesburg. They loaded materials and equipment they thought might be needed. The men began at the substation. “On the way down there looking at everything you’re thinking, this is a mess. It’s unreal. I remember thinking all the work these guys have done over the years and now so many poles down; stuff torn up; homes. There were a lot of homes damaged.”
One thing Hudson remembered was getting lines up to water wells in Rawls Springs as they had no generators on those lines. “You can make it without electricity but no water? That’s tough!” He also spoke about the outside crews coming to assist Southern Pine. Hudson believes at least 1500 came and were split between their districts. He said he thinks that Taylorsville and New Hebron had worse damage because they were farther south than Newton and Brandon.
Their crew was able to travel home each day, but there was still no power at home and no water. However, his mother had an above ground pool where he would bathe. Power was out at least a week at Hudson’s house.
He said several trees fell on their property and the roof was blown off their barn, but the house sustained no damage. Unfortunately, his mother’s home was a total loss as the entire roof was torn off. She salvaged what she could.
Hudson shared a personal story of a silver lining to such a catastrophic event. His family attended church with some people whose timber had suffered great damage with which they could do nothing. “He told us ‘if any of it y’all want, come get it; it’s going to be no good to us.’ So me, my granddaddy and several others went over there, cut it up and got it out. We got a saw mill and ended up sawing all the lumber and built Mama a house back.” Hudson’s grandfather was a carpenter.
There were positives and negatives during the restoration. Hudson was appreciative of everyone coming together, working. “A lot of churches came together and opened their doors. People would be up there cooking and try to feed you all day long…anything you need.” And while the heat was unbearable, the dry weather was beneficial. It allowed linemen to get in and out of areas without requiring special off road equipment. Hudson was adamant about one negative. “The love bugs were terrible! I remember taking pictures of the white bucket truck. I don’t know what it is about those white bucket trucks. I took a picture— it was like it was almost black. It was crazy!”
Hudson says Southern Pine is definitely better prepared for a next big storm if there is a next one. “I think that’s one big thing with the new office we have in Taylorville. A lot of what was put into that new office was in preparation for if we ever had another one. There’s a full kitchen and several showers.” The building is outfitted with commercial generators.
The company also keeps more replacement material and equipment inventory on hand should another catastrophic weather event occur. Crew members may start making repairs while waiting for more help to arrive in the coming days. And there are better facilities for storage.
“It was an experience. To me being in the middle of something and being able to experience what’s going on, you learn so much more than reading it out of a book. It was really something.”
