The recent Mardi Gras festivities may have renewed a longing for their beloved city of New Orleans, but the Clements family of Naples is settling in nicely to their new life in Maine.

Just over six months ago, on August 29, Hurricane Katrina muscled through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, leaving behind a course of destruction that will mark the area for years to come.

Evacuation warnings of that impending storm convinced Kurt Clements and his wife Ann Bragdon to take their three children, Haley, 6, Nate, 4, and Grady, 8 months, and leave their New Orleans home of nearly ten years. Bringing almost nothing with them, they fled first to Alabama, and later, to family in Maine. And once they realized the extent of the damage to their home and to their way of life, they decided to remain in the Lakes Region.

The family has been living at a relative’s cottage in Naples, but will soon move to a mid-1800s farmhouse they purchased in Casco.

“We managed to get the needed repairs done on our house in New Orleans, replace the roof and repair some wiring and the front porch, and sell it just before Christmas,” Bragdon said.

This allowed them to buy the old farmhouse on Mayberry Hill. But before they can move in, they must complete a major renovation.

Although some of the work was accomplished by previous owners, the house needed many new windows, a new roof, wall repair, a bathroom and kitchen, floor refinishing and, of course, paint everywhere. And that’s not even counting the barn, which was in such bad shape their home owners insurance required them to sign an agreement to repair and re-roof by the end of April.

A part-time professor of English Literature and Writing at Andover College in Portland and Lewiston, Clements works on the farmhouse every day that he’s not teaching. Bragdon acts as general contractor – finding the materials they need to turn the house into their home.

She also makes special-order quilts out of clothing that is significant in some way to her customer – perhaps from a grandmother or from old baby clothes. Bragdon is hoping to expand her market locally, adding to customers she still has from New Orleans.

A first grader at Songo Locks Elementary School in Naples, Haley is enjoying her new life, friends and activities.

“I can write ‘paleontologist,'” she said proudly. “In kindergarten my friend wanted me to be able to spell it and now I can.”

Still in touch with many of her New Orleans friends, Haley called her friend to prove she could spell the challenging word.

The family has been busy getting to know the area and introducing their children to life in Maine.

Bragdon said they went on a horse ride during Christmas and Nate added with excitement, “We saw Santa in two places.”

Nate is still attending preschool in Casco and has made many new friends. It’s a bit harder for him to recall New Orleans but, when he’s reminded, he can still conjure up a few memories.

But they all have fond and vivid memories of Mardi Gras – a celebration, they say, that’s much different from the one familiar to most non-New Orlinians.

“Any time you mention Mardi Gras to somebody who’s never been there or who’s never been on the inside track as far as what locals do, they think of this orgy kind of party thing but that’s not the real Mardi Gras, at least that’s not the Mardi Gras I know,” Clements said.

Bragdon agreed, adding that it’s a family celebration.

“Families go to the same corner every year,” she said. “And you see those same families every year and each year the kids are a little bit older. It’s a cultural, traditional family thing that doesn’t get depicted right.”

Next year, the family plans on visiting New Orleans during Mardi Gras. But Bragdon said this year’s celebration was too soon for her to be able to handle it emotionally.

Instead, she volunteered at both Haley and Nate’s schools to teach the children about the celebration. They sang songs, made masks and had a traditional King Cake.

Bragdon was glad that the city decided to go ahead with Mardi Gras this year, even though the length of the revelry was reduced.

“To say to a New Orleans kid – a kid who’s probably in his third school this year; whose house is probably in disarray – that there will be no Mardi Gras is like saying Santa’s not going to come this year,” she said.

And, although the Clements family may not be there to celebrate, they’re keeping the tradition alive by sharing it right here in Maine.

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