A Pearl Street store is lined with black and gold, but its owners’ team wasn’t always for the University of Colorado. Paula Johansen and Christopher Riley are Saints fans, raised in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina brought them to Colorado and gave new love to the colors.
When Hurricane Katrina roared toward New Orleans in 2005, Johansen and Riley thought they were riding out another storm. Like so many others, they packed a few days of clothes and expected to return to the life they knew.
Katrina was different. Within hours, the family was on the road, bumper-to-bumper with thousands of others fleeing the state. By the time they were able to return, their home had been underwater for 11 days.
It’s been 20 years since the hurricane, but the memory is still vivid for many who lived through it…