It was 18 degrees in Missouri and I was freezing when I saw the job posting in New Orleans. There was ice on top of snow on top of more ice. There were no leaves on the trees; the sky had been gray since November; and it was King Cake season, and the Midwesterners didn’t care. My hands were so chapped they were bleeding. I’d been living in Missouri for a decade, yet I knew I would never get used to the winters or the food or the lack of Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.
After Hurricane Katrina, when so many people were leaving the city, all I could think about was getting back. I kept talking myself out of it. What about the crime, I’d say, or the mosquitoes or the likelihood of another catastrophic hurricane? But there I was, looking for jobs in my beloved, broken hometown.
And now here I am, helming a magazine whose very title seemed like a joke to my friends in Missouri. “New Orleans Homes?” they scoffed. “Do you photograph FEMA
trailers or what?”
***
New Orleans never seemed that extraordinary when I was growing up here; it was just home. After I went away to college, though, it finally registered just how special this city was. And after Katrina, I realized just how hard we were going to have to fight to keep New Orleans from being just like anywhere else.
One thing that sets New Orleans apart is its homes, its quirky, funky, elegant, wonderful homes. In the awful days that followed the storm, I remember worrying that all of those homes were going to be bulldozed, replaced with shoddy construction that looked like Anytown, USA. It’s too soon to fully breathe a sigh of relief on that one, but I am happy to see that there is still a lot to celebrate in terms of homes. No, I don’t plan to feature FEMA trailers, though I am happy to see trailers rather than abandoned houses and hopeful that where FEMA trailers now stand, fabulous renovated homes will soon follow.
I feel very strongly that city magazines such as this one are vital to a city’s identity and morale, and I am thrilled to have a chance to play a part – however small – in the recovery of one of the most incredible and vibrant cities in America.
***
It was 75 degrees in New Orleans when I drove to my first day of work at Renaissance Publishing. Everything was green and blooming; there was King Cake in the break room; and when I returned home, my godmother surprised me with an enormous pot of beans and rice – it was Monday, after all.
So, honestly, I’m just trying not to worry about the crime or the mosquitoes or the likelihood of another catastrophic hurricane. Because I’m home. I’m home, and I’m warm, and I’m so very happy.
–Eve Kidd Crawford
We Have a New Editor
Eve Kidd Crawford is the new editor of New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles magazine.
Crawford, a New Orleans native, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. Her work experience includes editorial positions at Columbia Home and Jefferson City Home magazines.
Former editor Sue Strachan has accepted the position of public relations director for the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
With the changes, New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles continues its commitment to being the leader in regional home coverage.
