Local man donates kiln to potter victimized by Katrina
At a time when controversy has been swirling about aid intended for Hurricane Katrina victims being misspent, one local man made sure his donation was used properly. According to congressional study recently released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. officials handed out as much as $1.4 billion for individual aid that was spent for bogus reasons. The GAO, commonly called the investigative arm of Congress, concluded that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was duped into paying for five season football tickets to New Orleans Saints games, a one-week Caribbean vacation, adult erotica products, “Girls Gone Wild” videos and a sex-change procedure. Prison inmates, a supposed victim who used a New Orleans cemetery for a home address and a person who spent 70 days at a Hawaiian hotel, all were able to get taxpayer help.
When Uniontown resident Jerry Wagner decided to donate a kiln to a Mississippi potter who lost his studio and all of his equipment during Katrina, the thought of any fraud never crossed his mind.
Wagner had been relaxing with his family on a weekend getaway last October when he read an article about Pass Christian, Miss., potter Brian Nettles in Ceramics Monthly.
The article described how Nettles was determined to rebuild after the devastating hurricane broke his home in two and leveled his studio.
Gone were his equipment and kilns, including the anagama kiln, a Japanese-style, wood-firing kiln that was built partly in the ground. With a massive size that required 7,000 bricks for its 25-foot-long, 8-foot-wide, 8-foot-high chamber, it was perfect for creating pottery from clay dug from Nettles’ land.
While the property was fully insured for wind, Nettles did not have flood insurance, so he was not covered for the damage. Told by their insurance agent that they shouldn’t waste their money on flood insurance, Nettles and his wife camped on their property and started to repair their home themselves.
Because Wagner is a potter as well, he understood the devastation Nettles faced from losing his livelihood. Wagner was able to track down Nettles’ phone number and spoke with him the very same day he read the article. He told Nettles, “I think I can build you a kiln.”
Within two weeks, Wagner had all the commitments needed from various companies and individuals to build a new kiln. With his background, Wagner has the connections needed to request and receive donations. The kiln is worth about $40,000.
Wagner received a master’s degree in fine arts in ceramics and has worked in the industrial ceramics field and in the area of glass annealing for about 25 years. In 2001, he started Wagner Pottery, a Uniontown wholesale pottery business.
He also works at Danser Inc., a Parkersburg, W.Va., fabrication company specializing in the manufacture, installation, repair and maintenance of industrial heating and pollution control systems, where he provides assistance and equipment to industrial manufacturers and pottery producers.
“My company told me if I could get everything donated to build the kiln, they would build it,” Wagner said.
Among those who donated items were: Cleveland Electric Laboratories, Twinsburg, Ohio; Axner Pottery Supply, Oviedo, Fla.; Saint-Gobain Industrial Ceramics, Worcester, Mass.; Shenango Advanced Ceramics, New Castle, Pa.; Ward Burner Systems, Danbridge, Tenn.; Star Engineering Inc., New Lexington, Ohio; Standard Ceramic Supply Company, Carnegie, Pa.; Armor Refractories, Titusville, Pa.; Larkin Furnace, Kithonia, Ga.; Marrietta Transfer Co. Inc., Marrietta, Ohio; Metaltech Steel Co. LLC, Marrietta, Ohio; Eric Davis, Washington, W.Va.; New Castle Refractories Co. Inc., Massillon, Ohio and Danser Inc.
And although the GAO reports the government has been swindled out of aid, in this case, it was Nettles who thought something wasn’t quite right about Wagner’s offer of help.
Offer dismissed at first
“When Jerry first called, I thought he was just some nut and really didn’t think much about it,” Nettles said. “Then, as time went on I realized he was serious, and I had to really work faster at getting ready for the delivery of the kiln, because I really did not think it would happen.”
After checking with Nettles several times a month for the next several months to determine when his property would be ready to receive the kiln, Wagner started fabrication early in April.
He then traveled to Nettles’ home near Pass Christian, a coastal town about 10 miles west of Biloxi, Miss., and was on hand when the kiln was delivered on May 10. Although not quite as big as the old anagama kiln, the new one holds its own, weighing in at 6,500 pounds and measuring 7 feet long, 7 feet high and 7 feet wide.
“Jerry donated a 64-cubic-foot downdraft gas kiln,” Nettles said. “It’s the prettiest kiln there ever was.”
Wagner helped install the new kiln and trained Nettles on its use. Ten months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed Nettle’s home and pottery studio, he is back in business.
“Jerry’s wonderful donation gave me the drive I needed to get the studio going,” Nettles said. “So we have been making pots and have opened up one of the storage rooms as a temporary showroom.”
Nettles has received many other donated items for rebuilding his studio, from equipment to clay to cash.
“I have been very, very fortunate,” Nettles said. “I have received grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission to help with filling the 1,000 gallon propane tank (used to fire the kiln), and Craft Emergency Relief Fund, (a nonprofit that provides direct financial and educational assistance to craft artists, including emergency relief assistance), also gave me a grant.”
Nettles also has found a way to give back to the community.
“There are many potters here who have lost everything as well, so I opened the kiln up to any potter in the area who needs to fire work,” Nettles said. “I have about five or six potters who will be using the kiln until they can get one of their own going.”
Nettles originally earned enough selling his pottery to buy acreage fronting on the Wolf River, about four miles from the Gulf Coast, in 2000.
He and his wife, Ann Adele, lived in a small camper on the property and built a house, a pottery studio, the huge anagama kiln and giant shed to cover the kiln and a storage area.
In the studio, he had a big electric kiln and other equipment. He also had two gas kilns under the shed and a clay mixer. He also had a retail studio with several kilns in Pass Christian, but Katrina washed everything away.
Nettles said he and his family are doing well today.
“We are still working on our house,” he said. “We had 15 feet of water come across our property, ripping the house in two.” He said the storm surge on his property was about 37 feet above sea level. They are still repairing the part of the house that was left standing on the foundation and will get to the other section when they can.
His home is located about a quarter of a mile from the river and sits about 22 feet above sea level.
“The studio had water into the attic, ruining all the equipment and supplies,” Nettles added. “But, we have rebuilt it on our land. … Since Jerry left, I have been focusing on getting back into the house, so I have been splitting my time between the studio making pots and working on the house.”
The family is still living in a FEMA camper, which Nettles said is very tight and very hot this time of year.
Although his business is open, Nettles had to come up with a revised plan to keep it open. “I have to change the way I sell the wares,” he said. “Our market was tourism and that is no more. We are currently living in a wasteland with no tourism here, so I am looking at marketing my work outside the area soon.”
Still, he remains optimistic that his business and the area he lives in will eventually return to some normalcy. And it is with the aid of not only the government giving to those who are rightfully in need, but also the help granted from strangers like Jerry Wagner that will turn the tide.
“I talk with Jerry at least every week,” Nettles said. “He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met in my life. There is no way to ever repay him for what he has done for me and all the potters on the coast.”