Coastal Mississippi's post-Katrina letters to Santa

By Gulf States Newsroom staff

Published December 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM CST

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A copy of Linda Gieseler's letter she wrote for the "Dear Santa" program. She was in third grade when she wrote down what happened to their home during the storm and what her family wanted for Christmas.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, families found themselves trying to recover and put their lives back together during the holiday season.

In Mississippi, one museum is documenting what that looked like for folks on the coast 20 years ago.

In this week’s episode, community engagement reporter Elise Gregg reports from Waveland, talking to the people there in 2005, and the people keeping those memories alive today.

This episode is hosted by senior reporter Kat Stromquist. The podcast is produced by Elise Gregg, Drew Hawkins, Orlando Flores Jr. and Ryan Vasquez. Nellie Beckett is our community engagement producer. Our social producer is Joseph King. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email connect@gulfstatesnewsroom.org.

And support our local station partners by donating to WWNO, MPB, or WBHM.

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