From the editor.

The legend of the singing river is alive and well in Pascagoula.

As the story goes, the peace-loving Pascagoula Indians chose to march hand in hand into the Pascagoula River rather than be enslaved by the encroaching Biloxi tribe. If not for the sounds of progress--cars speeding by on the nearby highway--locals say you could still hear the plaintive song of those who perished here.

Since we spotlighted the city of Pascagoula in a "day trip" article in our September/October issue, the singing river legend has taken on an entirely new meaning. For just as the issue began arriving in mailboxes around the state, the song of the fiver was drowned out by the roar of Hurricane Katrina, which swept through the Gulf Coast with a fury unmatched by any other modern storm.

As in many other cities along the coast, the devastation was hard to comprehend. But just as incredible was what began to take place after the waters receded and the winds died down. A new song began to fill the air--a song of survival. Yes, most of the historic beachfront homes had been destroyed, but the white-columned Longfellow House still stood proudly. The LaPointe-Krebs House, built in the early 1700s and considered the state's oldest standing structure, was waterlogged but still intact.

Local restaurants suffered heavy damage, but some began serving much-needed meals only a few weeks after the storm. "Giving people comfort and food is a way to make them feel good," Monica Ballew, owner of Monica's Restaurant on Pascagoula Street, told the Biloxi Sun Herald. "And we needed to make them feel good."

New friends from far away are joining in the song as well. Remembering the kindness Pascagoula schoolchildren had offered them following last year's Hurricane Charley, a school district in Port Charlotte, Florida, returned the favor by sharing books and supplies as well as their expertise in dealing with disaster. Other schools in Michigan, Georgia, and Washington also took up the cause. And the marching band at Winton Woods High School in Ohio held a special parking lot performance to raise money for Pascagoula High's band. The song plays on!

We at Mississippi Magazine are adding our voices to the song, too, by directing 100 percent of the proceeds from our new poster, "The Promise of Hope," and our "hats of hope" to the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund. For details, see page 19.

The spirit of rebuilding and sharing so visible in Pascagoula permeates all of south Mississippi as we enter the holiday season. So as we celebrate "the most wonderful time of the year," we also salute the wonderful people who are working to restore the region we all love. You'll find more stories of hope and renewal in "After the Storm," page 50.

As writer John Kernell wrote in last issue's article on Pascagoula, "It isn't over if the great, wild river sings again!" There should be no doubt that with every day that passes on the coast, the song of hope rings louder still.