Katrina became the new gold standard, no doubt, when the storm made landfall Aug. 29, 2005, but Mississippi filmmaker Rex Jones wanted to make sure the original monster storm, Camille, got appropriate due in 2019, when the killer storm’s 50th anniversary rolled around.
All this month, the anniversary months of Camille and Katrina, the city’s municipal TV channel, BTV, will be airing Jones’s “Camille: The original monster storm.” The hour-long documentary airs at 8 a.m., 8 p.m. and 2 each afternoon throughout August.
Also on BTV this month: Replays of Biloxi Council Council meetings at 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. each day; a new “Biloxi Cooks!” episode, highlighting the new downtown restaurant One Thirty One Lameuse, airing daily at 7 a.m., 7 p.m. and 1 each afternoon throughout August; and new episodes of “Biloxi VA Today,” monthly infrastructure report and “Shuckers Insider.”
Camille, however, is the month’s special presentation. The storm ranks as the second-most intense hurricane to strike the continental United States, claiming the lives of 256 individuals and causing more than $1 billion in damage. The hour-long documentary was produced for the Southern Documentary Project at the University of Mississippi. Jones interviewed Coast residents Charles Sullivan, George Schloegel, Gerald Blessey and others for the project.
Said Jones of the storm, which officially made landfall in Waveland, 52 years ago, on Aug. 17, 1969: “Hurricane Camille sometimes gets forgotten in the wake of Katrina, so it was important to me as a filmmaker to commemorate this natural disaster by gathering first-person stories and extensive archival material as we approached its fiftieth anniversary. Disaster preparation and recovery were so different in 1969 than today or even 2005.”
“Biloxi Cooks!” this month turns its attention to One Thirty One Lameuse, which is at one of the busiest culinary corners in Biloxi, Lameuse at Water. There’s the always-popular Half Shell Oyster House, Adventures, Le Beignet, and Fuji, which shares a roof with Rena’s, the lunch spot. Now, add One Thirty One Lameuse to the collection. It’s situated atop Fuji, at 131 Lameuse St., of course, and serving lunch and dinner.
BTV: Watch online and see the August schedule
See past BTV programs
News & notes: Weekly report, pool hours
The week that was: Medical calls continue to drive the increase in calls to the Biloxi Fire Department, as shown in the recap of last week’s emergency responses. To see new weekly reports from the departments of Fire, Police and Engineering, click here.
Pool hours: The Biloxi Natatorium and the Donal M. Snyder Sr. Community Center swimming pool are dealing with COVID-19-related staffing issues this week and will reduce hours as needed. Visit on Facebook or call the facilities: Natatorium, 228-435-6205; Snyder Center, 228-388-1340.
