Nola.com: NewsFlash - Iowa librarian preserves historic documents harmed by Katrina

Nola.com: NewsFlash - Iowa librarian preserves historic documents harmed by Katrina:

"written on blue hotel stationery by Jefferson Davis to then-U.S. President James K. Polk, had been among the rare manuscripts on display at Beauvoir, Davis' home, now a museum and library, in Biloxi, Miss.

Like so much of the Gulf Coast, the 52-acre estate was no match for Katrina's fierce winds and tidal surge. The storm tore part of the mansion's roof, leveled buildings, obliterated the library pavilion and washed the letter and a dozen other artifacts on display in the library's first floor more than 700 feet away.

Frost, a preservationist with the University of Iowa Library, volunteered his energy and expertise in the cleanup, and in doing so earned first crack at reclaiming Davis' damaged letter."