NBC29Rebuilding New Orleans: 60 Local Volunteers Journey to the Big Easy (Part 4)

Rebuilding New Orleans: 60 Local Volunteers Journey to the Big Easy (Part 4)

Reported by Dana Hackett
November 23, 2006

Almost a year ago, the Musicians' Village was simply an idea. Today it's a reality.

In this part of Rebuilding New Orleans, NBC29's Dana Hackett talks to the family who lives in the first home ever built at the Musicians' Village.

He has passion for music. You can see it in his face, hear it in his voice and feel it in his heart. J.D. Hill has been singing, playing the guitar and playing the harmonica for 47 years. He moved to New Orleans more than 25 years ago and quickly meshed into the city's music scene, playing with some of the biggest names in town.

"The music is really what made this city, and I'm part of it now," said Hill. 

He's also part of one of the biggest disasters to hit our country. He, unlike so many others, lives on to tell the story of how Hurricane Katrina changed his life.

"I still feel like crying because a lot of people, they don't talk about what really went on here when this mess was going on," he said. "They just found another body not too far from here and they're still finding bodies. And that's what's really hurting because...Good God, it's been over a year."

A year ago, J.D. Hill and Polly Noble were living in one New Orleans house when Katrina hit. "The wind was blowing bad. The roof came off. A tree fell down," remembered Hill. 

But they were lucky. The home didn't flood but it was left in shambles. So they fled the city like so many others, but unlike so many others they came back.

Now the couple has a new home. They're settled into a house in Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village. They've called the place home for almost two months.

"We were the first ones over here, so the whole city was excited about it--the Musicians' Village--and these pastel colored house just popping up in the midst of all this devastation," recalled Polly Noble. 

Being the first family to move into a home has come with a number of unexpected perks. President Bush and the First Lady visited the couple's home during the dedication.

"Oh, that was pretty cool...George is a good guy. And that's what he told me, he said, 'call me George." So I called him George," shared Hill. 

And other visitors have come through their doors, including Barack Obama and Harry Connick Junior. "Harry came in, and he got on the organ a little bit...and we did a song together," said Hill. 

But in the midst of all the excitement, there's an underlying sense of anguish because while the couple is celebrating a new beginning, others are still coping with a devastating end.

"It feels good, and then it feels bad too because there's a lot of other people that need to have a house," explained Hill. "There's a few people that are mad at me, or jealous or whatever, because I got house number one."

But Hill says other families should apply because Habitat is there to help. "Habitat for Humanity will work with you...and we're trying to build new orleans."

Rebuilding what Katrina took away, bringing back the city's people and lighting up the city once again.  "If Habitat keeps making these houses, they will be back," assured Hill. 

Tune in Friday night for Dana's final installment of "Rebuilding New Orleans". She'll introduce us to a woman who's working to make sure local families who have nothing, at least have a happy holiday. She'll also tell us how you can help.