New Hampshirite in for the long haul

He becomes director of community = center

Sunday, September 03, 2006=20

By John Pope

Staff writer

=20

When Raphael M. "Iray" Nabatoff heard about the desperate = conditions in=20 St. Bernard Parish, he left his native New Hampshire in January = and headed=20 south, determined to volunteer for 18 days.

At the end of his stint at a free kitchen in Arabi, Nabatoff = flew home,=20 but it was only to tie up loose ends. He returned to St. Bernard = on=20 Valentine's Day, committed to stay for five years and determined = to do=20 whatever he could to help the storm-racked parish get back on its = feet.=20

"Meeting the people in St. Bernard was like connecting with = family I=20 hadn't met before," said Nabatoff, 53. "I realized that = everything, with=20 the exception of the good will, was short term, other than the = need. All=20 the disaster-relief agencies have cut back and pulled out in = preparation=20 for another disaster, and the need is still here."

A month later, he started meeting with residents about setting = up a=20 community center in Old Hickory Hall, which had been part of the = Andrew=20 Jackson Masonic Lodge No. 428 on Lebeau Street in Arabi. He is the = executive director, and he drives around the parish in a Nissan = pickup=20 truck with a bumper sticker saying, "St. Bernard Parish: We're = Coming=20 Back!"

"I gave a five-year commitment to this project," he said. "I = literally=20 walked out of my life in New England to make this happen. I = consider it a=20 life-defining moment, and I knew in my heart that this was a very=20 worthwhile project that needed to happen, and I just felt that if = not me,=20 who's going to do it?"

Nabatoff said his decision to stay crystallized when he saw = people=20 socializing at a St. Joseph's altar.

"I saw residents connecting with friends and relatives they = hadn't seen=20 since before the storm," he said. "The power of community and the = power of=20 this community, as displaced as it may be to some degree, really = touched=20 me. The vision of the community center really jelled that = weekend."

Wearing a beret and sandals, Nabatoff spoke as he walked around = the=20 dark, stiflingly hot Masonic hall, which still has no electricity. = Masonic=20 paraphernalia, pews and a dusty American flag have been pushed to = the=20 middle of the vast main room.

One of the community center board members is Alberta Lewis, = whose=20 father founded the lodge.

"We're very grateful for his vision and for the effort that he = has put=20 forth," she said. "We're very proud of him."

Partitions have been set up in the hall for what will be a = computer=20 room, and Nabatoff plans to set up a kitchen that will offer hot = dinners=20 on weeknights.

"My dad was a butcher," Nabatoff said. "He had a meatpacking = plant and=20 a restaurant, so I've been around food service pretty much my = whole life."=20

Because he receives Social Security for a work-related back = injury 20=20 years ago, Nabatoff, who is single, has been able to be a = full-time=20 volunteer. Before coming south, he had worked at a community = kitchen in=20 Keene, N.H., serving as many as 130 people a night.

"To me, breaking bread has always been a spiritual act and a = way of=20 sharing," he said. "I've gone to gatherings of people and cooked a = pot of=20 food just to share, just for the joy of breaking bread."

Nabatoff has stayed, even though that meant spending 5 1/2 = months=20 living in a communal tent. He has graduated to a camper in = Chalmette.

"I'm in the middle of the Murphy Oil spill," he said, smiling. = "I hope=20 to live in Old Arabi at some point, but my plate is so full making = the=20 community center. I'll deal with my personal comfort at some = point, but we=20 need to get our door open."

The Community Center of St. Bernard has been established as a = nonprofit=20 corporation, and it has a Web site, groups.msn.com/ccstbp.

Although he expects the center to be in full swing in five = years,=20 Nabatoff said he might stay after that.

"Some people have a house in Mississippi they go to, to get out = of=20 town," he said. "Mine'll be in New England."

. . . . . . .

John Pope can be reached at jpope@timespicayune.com or (504) = 826-3317.=20


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