photo by Marcus Frazier

Arnold’s Personal Care Home employee Lakeshia Mitchell lights her way with a florescent lantern during the black out cause by Hurricane Gustav.

No electricity brings out candles, lanterns

By Marcus Frazier (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Natchez — So often do we take the luxuries of the modern world for granted. But with the recent visit from Hurrican Gustav, residents of the Miss-Lou got a chance to see what living in the dark ages felt like.

All of Natchez was pitched into the darkness the evening Gustav’s winds graced us with their presence. Only those who were well prepared and had generators were fortunate enough to have suitable of power.

And for those who didn’t have generators, they’d better have had some batteries, or candles, or something.

Flashlights became the torches that illuminated homes, and items such as florescent lanterns became very cherished and useful tools.

Lakeshia Mitchell, an employee at at Arnold’s Personal Care Home, found herself relying on one of these lights.

“Without this light, I’d really be in the dark because you can’t walk the hall with these candles,” she said.

“Now I see what the people in old days felt like.”

Operating in a large house with high ceilings, her candles wouldn’t stand up to the breeze that dance down the long main hallway. But the lantern she found herself clinging to stood up to the task, and gave the situation one of those old timey feels.