Photo by Paul Christiansen
The topography and subsequent storms have caused many of the tombs to crumble, and a lone skeleton of a live oak gives the cemetery an eerie feel. Most of the survivors moved away to higher ground, but some rebuilt. You wonder how long it will be there, but then I think of all the storms and disasters the people of this area have been through and I think of their resolve and spirit—and of course it will be here ... There’s no stopping them. —Paul Christiansen
“You learn a lot about a culture or people by visiting their cemeteries,” said Paul Christiansen. Christiansen, his wife Kristy, and their small family are avid Louisiana travelers, writing and photographing their weekend journeys for the blog Getting Lost in Louisiana.
On his frequent trips to Grand Isle, Christiansen makes time to stop at the neighboring Cheniere Caminada Cemetery. “A lot of it seems to be sinking,” said Christiansen. Fiddler crabs scuttle across the fenced-in cemetery and the mangroves grow in number. “It’s going back to nature.”
In early October 1893, a storm rampaged the small coastal community and left nearly eight hundred people dead.
“This was before they named hurricanes,” said Christiansen, of the Great Storm of 1893. On every visit, he’s fascinated by the cemetery’s historic markers, by the various names and communal death date on the hundreds of graves.
“I also think about coastal erosion; the odds are stacked up against people in that area,” said Christiansen. “They sort of have this spirit and determination that they’re going to make it. Somehow they’ll find a way.”
Follow more of Paul and Kristy Christiansen’s statewide adventures at gettinglostinlouisiana.blogspot.com or facebook.com/GettingLostinLouisiana. Details on Relics 2015, our yearlong photography series, can be found here.
