MY START WITH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
by: bertha rudisill desormeaux
My first contact with the American Red Cross was many, many years ago in
October, 1962. Our great-grandmother had been very ill and we got the
call that she had passed away. Our oldest brother was stationed in Hamburg,
Germany with the United States Army and our mother wanted him to come
home for the funeral. Our mother decided to contact the Commanding
Officer at Fort Polk, Louisiana, to see if she could find out what she needed
to do to get him home. They told her to contact the local chapter of the
American Red Cross and the people there would help her. She contacted
the local chapter there in Leesville, Louisiana and they were very helpful.
They were able to contact our brother's Commanding Officer with all the
necessary information and he made it home.
October, 1963, we had to utilize the services of the American Red Cross
again. This time to get our oldest brother home for the funeral of our
great-grandfather. Then in May, 1975, we had to contact the
American Red Cross, (Beaumont Chapter in Beaumont, Texas) to get
in contact with him in Limestone, Maine, to get him home for the
funeral of our youngest brother who had been killed in a car wreck.
Then in the summer of 1975, I had another meeting with the American Red
Cross but this time it was to take a First Aid Class that was required for my
job. Little did I know at this time that farther on down the road, the lady,
Martha Marlowe, who was the instructor for this class, would become a
very big part of my life.
The years go by and with the kids growing up, I decided to become a
volunteer with our local Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance
Service. The department paid for me to go to classes to become an
Emergency Care Attendant and then two years later, I went on to become
an Emergency Medical Technician Basic. I had always wanted to be a
nurse and growing up with four brothers, the finances just weren't
available for me to go to school to become one so I figured this would be
the next best thing to being a nurse.
One night at one of our meetings in October, 1990, Lois McBride, a friend
of mine, was dressed up more than she usually was for the meetings. Being
my usual nosy self, I asked her, "What are you all dressed up for"? She
told me, "I am going to go work a first aid station at the fair with the Red
Cross. Why don't you come with me as they could use some more good
EMTs". I told her to let me go out to the house and make sure it was okay
with Pat, my darling hubby. I knew that he wouldn't mind but I just wanted
basically to let him know where I was going.
Talk about a surprise when we got there! The lady, Martha Marlowe, who
had been my first aid class instructor 15 years earlier, was the first aid
station manager. There were only 7 nights left of the fair and I ended up
working every one of them. During these 7 nights, Martha and I did a lot
of talking and getting to know each other. One of the persons that she did
a lot of talking about was her husband who had passed away. She told me
that his name was Dr. Robert Marlowe and that he had been an optometrist
at Texas State Optical at Gateway Shopping Mall in Beaumont, Texas.
I asked her if by chance they called him "Dr. Bob"? She told me yes.
Well, will wonders never cease! I then told her that I knew him.
When I was 13 years old, Dr. Bob had given me my very first eye exam
and prescribed my very first pair of glasses.
In 1991, I worked a few more first aid stations with Martha. She finally
convinced me to become a volunteer with the Beaumont, Texas Chapter of
the American Red Cross. Then in January, 1992, this wonderful lady and
Ray Carter, another volunteer, were my instructors for the classes that I
took to become a CPR & First Aid Instructor. Over the next couple of
years, I continued to work first aid stations and became an instructor in
BAT - Basic Aid Training, FAFLP - First Aid For Little People and
CPR/FPR - CPR for Professional Rescuers. I would also go into the
chapter and do different things that they asked me to do. I would work
on the computer inputting course records and volunteer information.
This was my first time to have anything to do with a computer and I was
so scared until I got the hang of it. Then I enjoyed working on the computer.
Still do to this day.
Every now and then, Martha would be gone out of town with the National
Red Cross to work on a disaster that had happened as the result of a
hurricane, earthquake or tornado. She would always tell me about her
experiences on these disasters when she got back into town. She was really
just getting my "curiosity" up so that she could "set the hook and reel me
in". Well, she did her "job" very well. I was already a member of our
chapter's Disaster Action Team that handled local disasters such as house
fires, small local flooding and tornadoes that only affected a small area in
the chapter's jurisdiction.
I started talking it over with my hubby and told him that I would very much
like to be a part of the National American Red Cross Disaster Team. He
asked me what all it would involve, what all I would have to do. I told him
that I would have to fill out an application to become a volunteer member.
The chapter would sign off on it and send it in to National. Then I would
have to take the Disaster Classes. If and when I was accepted, then when
there was a disaster somewhere, then National would call the chapter and
the chapter would send me out. The only thing that it would cost me would
be 3 weeks of my time as National Red Cross would pay to fly me there and
back, pay for my hotel accommodations and give me an advance for my
meals. He told me that it sounded okay to him if that was what I wanted to
do. So, in April, 1994, I took my first disaster class, Intro to Disasters.
Martha Marlowe helped me to fill out the necessary papers,
John Bergeron - the Health & Safety Director - signed them then
we sent them to National.
I got the notification in June, 1994, that my application for the National
Disaster Team had been accepted. Then in July I received the call that
National was calling for me to go out on a disaster to do Damage
Assessment. I told John that I couldn't go as I had not had any of my
disaster classes yet. He and Martha told me not to worry about it. We were
getting ready for the annual Super CPR Saturday so I spent the next three
nights with Martha while she "crammed" as much as she could about
Damage Assessment into this "pea brain" of mine - haha. We did the Super
CPR on Saturday, July 9th. and I left for Columbus, Georgia on July 10th.
to work the disaster that resulted from Tropical Storm Alberto. Martha's
"cramming" paid off as I was paired up with a nice guy who understood
what it was like to be a "new recruit" and was very helpful. He did the
driving and I did the "tallies". I would get him to go over the
paperwork for any mistakes before we turned them in. I made it
through just fine and after I got back home, I took the
Damage Assessment class.
Little did I know that this would be what would happen with all the
disasters that I would go out on - work the disaster in a specific function,
get "on job training", then come back home and take the classes. Actually,
I understood the classes better by having already worked in that function.
I am now into my 10th. year as a volunteer for the Beaumont Chapter
located in Beaumont, Texas. I am in my 6th. year as a volunteer for
the National American Red Cross Disaster Team. I have worked
disasters in Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Washington State,
Minnesota, California, Alabama and several in my home state of Texas.
My family and friends are always telling me how proud they are
of me for doing this. I am still enjoying it as much now as when
I first started volunteering with the American Red Cross.
In closing, I would like to say "Thanks" to my friend, Lois McBride, for
taking me with her that first night back in 1990. A great big
"THANK YOU"!!!! to "Mom" Martha Marlowe who has taught me
so very much about the American Red Cross. Martha has been
a volunteer for 50 years and needless to say, she has
probably forgotten more than I will ever know about the Red Cross.
THANKS, AGAIN, "MOM" MARTHA FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE
TAUGHT ME ABOUT THE RED CROSS, FOR BEING THERE FOR ME
WHEN I NEEDED SOMEONE TO TALK TO, FOR YOUR TIME AND
UNDERSTANDING AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - FOR THE LOVE THAT
YOU HAVE SO FREELY SHOWN AND GIVEN TO ME AND MY FAMILY
"WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH, "MOM" MARTHA MARLOWE"
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© June 28, 1999 Bertha Rudisill Desormeaux
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