Word: robersons
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Josephine Roberson positions a chalk line along the top of a sheet of plywood as Nolan Derouen flicks the taut string and imprints a fuzzy red stripe across the board. They slice the wood to size, carry it into Betty Hines' living room and nail it to the ceiling. Hines works at the back of the room, straining from the rungs of a ladder as she attaches tiles to the plywood with the aid of one of Derouen's assistants. Heavy rains, excessive groundwater and years of neglect in southern Louisiana's sugarcane region have led to creeping decay...
...Four Corners are replacing old wood with fresh clapboards, drying up stagnant pools and sealing busted pipes. The homes are livable again, and the community has found a new pride and hope for a better future. "It is a hard job, but together we can do a lot," says Roberson in a soft, raspy voice. "What gives us so much courage and strength is that we have so many people standing behind us helping us build our community...
...Roberson, 59, is one of a determined band of women in this small unincorporated hamlet 20 miles east of New Iberia. Most of the 150 houses have antiquated wiring and leaking roofs; few public services reach places like Four Corners. As the cane industry became mechanized, many people lost jobs that their families had held for generations. The average annual family income in this town of 400 is below...
...announce upcoming projects. A few members ask to borrow $500 to $1,000 for paint or supplies. New members sign a pledge to help repair every house in the community, and the lax and lazy are goaded to work harder. When all is done, the women hold hands as Roberson leads them in an impassioned prayer thanking God for his help. They then wish each other good night and head out into the dark, back to their refurbished homes to prepare for another day of work, another day of change...