Betty Press Photographs
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of three CD’s and approximately forty-one pages of letters that were posted on a tree felled in Press’s Hattiesburg yard.
One CD has 79 images showing damage from Hurricane Katrina in Hattiesburg. Images include damage to homes, businesses, cars, churches, and power lines; streets blocked by debris; long lines at stores and gas stations; debris removal; Salvation Army volunteers distributing meals; and scenes inside a shelter for hurricane evacuees.
Another CD contains 101 images of damage in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, and at the USM Gulf Park campus in Long Beach. Included are trailer life, tent schools, damaged homes, damage in downtown areas, and cleanup efforts.
The third CD has 96 images showing devastation in Biloxi, Long Beach, and possibly other areas along the Gulf Coast. Includes images of damage to homes, schools and business; a relief center; checkpoints with military and police guards; cleanup efforts; and scenes showing Vietnamese citizens coping with the aftermath.
Dates
- 2005
Creator
- Press, Betty (Photographer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Noncirculating; available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).
Biographical / Historical
Raised on a Nebraska farm, Betty Press moved to Africa in 1987 where she worked as a freelance photographer and worked on projects “I Am Because We Are: African Wisdom in Image and Proverb” and “Young Rising: The African Urban Cultural Landscape.” Press moved to Florida to teach at Stetson University in 1995, and she taught as an Adjunct Professor of Photography at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2003-2014. She is currently photographing Mississippi in her “Finding Mississippi” project, and her work has been displayed at international galleries in London and Kenya as well as in Mississippi.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005, Press resided in Hattiesburg and photographed the subsequent damage. A huge tree was felled in her yard, on which she invited others to post their Katrina stories.
Extent
.25 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Betty Press Photographs Collection consists of three CDs of images taken by award-winning photographer Betty Press, which show damage along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Hattiesburg after Hurricane Katrina. There are also forty-one pages of letters left on a tree felled in the photographer’s yard. This collection is particularly useful for researchers studying Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi storms, and public reactions to natural disasters.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into four folders.
Provenance
Donated by Betty Press on December 7, 2005; February 2, 2006.
Sources
Case File
Contents from the collection
“Betty Press: About,” https://www.bettypress.com/about
- Bay Saint Louis (Miss.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Biloxi (Miss.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Compact discs. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Gulf Coast (Miss.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hattiesburg (Miss.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hurricane Katrina, 2005. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hurricanes. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Letter. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Photographs. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Betty Press Photographs
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Collection processed and finding aid written by Jonathan Puckett
- Date
- 16 January 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Repository
118 College Drive - 5148
Hattiesburg MS 39406-0001
601.266.4345
