MV George Prince Ferry Disaster - Documentary Is Catalyst For Long-awaited Memorial

Documentary Is Catalyst For Long-awaited Memorial

The disaster was all but officially forgotten until 2006, when historian and filmmaker Royd Anderson wrote and directed the documentary The Luling Ferry Disaster for his Master's thesis project in Communication at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The film was released on the 30th anniversary of the disaster and sparked a movement to bring a memorial for the victims and survivors to St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Soon after the movie's release, on November 6, 2006, local government officials voted to have 2 memorials constructed, but the issue lost traction after those elected officials were not re-elected the following year. Anderson raised the issue again to the newly elected parish president and officials, bringing a score of relatives of the victims to a council meeting on January 28, 2009. A memorial committee led by St. Charles Parish Councilman Larry Cochran was formed soon afterwards, composed of family members and friends of the deceased, St. Charles Parish Council members, and concerned citizens, including Anderson. The committee met for several months, voting on where the monument should be placed and what it should look like. St. Charles Parish Councilman Paul J. Hogan, an architect, created the design for the monument. Local suppliers, vendors, companies, and individuals donated the equipment, labor, and materials to build it. The memorial was unveiled in a solemn ceremony at the East Bank Bridge Park in Destrehan on October 17, 2009, with over 300 people in attendance. A bell rang as each name was called; a white balloon rose in memory of the deceased, and a blue balloon rose in memory of the survivors. By the end, 95 balloons were drifting slowly over the Mississippi River near the spot where the accident occurred.