POWERGRAMS

13 Visitors to Bayou La Batre may drive past the Oyster monument. L Lifeeldomtrays far from theea in Bayou La Batre. Most everyone is inextricably linked to the water through seafood and ships, often going back generations who anchored along the Mississippi Sound at the bottom of Alabama. "Dad shrimped and oystered all of his life with his father," says Raymond Barbour, president of Junior Barbour Seafood, one of scores of similar businesses along streets lined with massive oaks draped by Spanish moss. Built on the bayou, 13 feet above sea level at its highest point, the 2-mile-wide town of about 2,500 people – with perhaps the state's most diverse population – both prospers and suffers at the whims of Mother Nature. The huge historical bounty provided by calm waters has periodically been tossed keel over by a storm surge or hurricane winds. Only concrete slabs or grass-covered lots remain where so many familiar family stores once did business. Were the locals not such a tough lot, Hurricane Katrina might have written the final chapter of this town that dates to 1786. The 15-foot-high flood surge in 2005 covered all of Bayou La Batre, reaching farther inland than any recorded storm and damaging everything it didn't destroy. Everyone who stayed on afterward has a story … only to be topped by tales of the big brown BP sludge that came ashore in 2010. "The oil spill was a totally different disaster," says Mayor Annette Johnson, whose husband is a generational shrimper who suffered physically and emotionally in the aftermath. "I think a lot of the fishermen, their hearts were just broken. I'll never forget the expressions on the faces of folks. 'What are we going to do now?' It was just devastating." Today, Johnson heralds an "amazing" turnaround from the twin blows that cost the local economy untold millions of dollars. Bayou La Batre has since reclaimed its crown as the Seafood Capital of Alabama, with an estimated annual impact of $400 million, and has a booming shipping district near City Hall. "As they always say around here, 'Down but not out,'" says Dena Pigg, manager of Alabama Power's Bayou La Batre Office that was closed for six months for renovations after Katrina. "This is one of the most resilient towns anywhere. I absolutely love it." Pigg grew up in nearby Theodore and has worked for the company 25 years, but has become a Bayou La Batre fixture in her three years working alongside 40-year employee Shirley Conner and fellow Customer Service Representative Latanya Mozeke, who's been with the company 11 years, and Merchandise Salesman Mike Jernigan, who is a four-year employee. In January, Pigg ended 30 months as the Chamber of Commerce president, proudly promoting the annual Blessing of the Fleet, Taste of the Bayou, Coastal Connection Scenic Byway and other attractions, including a new one she pushed the past two years: the Kayak Classic, this year on Aug. 6. "I call it my baby," Pigg said. "It's the only event of its kind in Alabama. It combines fishing and kayaking in our beautiful bayou. We had about 200 entrants last year coming from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, and we hope the classic will continue to grow." On the Horizon The inlet adjoining the Mississippi Sound that attracts kayakers is the same waterway that ships travel on their inaugural voyages or following repairs in Bayou La Batre's shipyards lining Shell Belt Road and nearby avenues. About 20 companies employing some 1,000 workers construct an average of 115 vessels annually for customers from around the world. Since the 1970s, changes in the oil and fishing industries have reduced the local shipbuilding output, but the mild climate and capable area workforce continue to work in Bayou La Batre's favor. Conner, Jernigan and Pigg of the Alabama Power Bayou La Batre Office.

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