SNOHOMISH – Hot cocoa, cookies and doughnuts filled the table outside the church.
The free goodies drew children on their way to school Thursday morning.
“Just for kids,” Jim Alphonse said, his breath turning white in the chilly air.
Giving away his homemade doughnuts is a small way of giving back to the community for Alphonse. He and his wife, Sheryl, found a home in this town long after Hurricane Katrina forced them out of New Orleans.
The doughnuts called beignets are also a reminder of New Orleans.
People get coffee and the doughnuts made of fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar to sober up in the notorious party town, the 63-year-old man said.
The couple plan to leave later this month for St. Bernard Parrish in New Orleans. They have been approved for financial assistance from the state of Louisiana, Jim Alphonse said. They expect to receive up to $150,000 to fix their damaged property.
Before they leave, a farewell party for the couple will be held today at Zion Lutheran Church on Union Avenue in Snohomish.
They have come a long way.
When the hurricane hit the Gulf Coast region, water quickly rose in their one-story brick house and forced them to flee to their son’s two-story house in the neighborhood, Jim Alphonse said.
Even there, the water threatened their family. As it came halfway up the stairs, the couple, their children and grandchildren, and relatives – 19 people in total – stayed in two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.
The water eventually receded.
Chaos followed.
The family was dispersed over different states. Jim and Sheryl Alphonse moved from town to town, from hotel to hotel, and finally to Washington, where his sisters live.
People’s generosity and kindness eventually led the couple to a house in Snohomish. The Lutheran church let them stay there for free.
“We are doing something for them. But they’ve brought a lot of goodness for us,” said Rosemary Randall, a church member.
The couple delighted people with their homemade gumbo, barbecue chicken and Southern dialect. And they helped people remember the disaster and its aftermath, Randall said.
“Jim and Sheryl are personally sharing their story with us. It’s something,” she said.
Leaving the town will be hard, Jim Alphonse said.
When the couple moved into the house, neighbors threw a welcoming party, he said. A stranger gave them a used Pontiac Sunbird. People donated furniture and food.
“We’ve made good friends here,” he said.
On Saturday, Alphonse will serve his seafood and chicken gumbo one more time.
It will be his thanks to the community.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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