San Francisco Quake Survivor

on January 10, 1903 (103 years old), Herbertsmoke from the fires.
Hamrol is one of the oldest employees at theThe quake left more than 225,000 people
grocery store where he works arranging shelveshomeless. Many of them lived in tent cities set up
two days a week.throughout the area.
"I've been there going on 68 years. Two days aChaos and panic
week — and you wouldn't want to workThe oldest person who survived the quake is
for nicer people."109-year-old Chrissie Mortensen remembered the
But this year his celebrity status has increasedsmell of smoke from a city in flames.
ten-fold, because he is one of the Eyewitness"People gathered their possessions, taking carts,
survivors of the 1906 San Francisco quake (theor whatever they had, to move out to the park,
San Francisco earthquake and fire of April 18,or any place they could camp," recalled
1906 - 05:12 AM local time), which killed thousandsMortensen, who was in third grade at the time.
of people and nearly destroyed the city –Lyman’s family decided to leave the city.
More than 3000 Deaths, Injuries: ~225,000,Although the quake didn't destroy her home, food
Property Damage: $ 400,000,000 in 1906 $was so scarce that her mother had to wait in line
"As small as I was, I remember my motherevery day for rations distributed by the Navy
carrying me down the stairs with her left arm as(U.S. Navy Operations During the 1906 Earthquake
she held onto the banister," said Hamrol, trying toand Fire : U.S. Navy Firefighting Operations,
recall memories from 100 years ago this week,Operations of the U.S.F.S. Chicago During the San
memories from the day that transformed his life.Francisco Fire, Operations of the U.S.S. Boston,
Painful memoriesOperations of the U.S.S. Princeton, Establishment
Hamrol and his family lived downtown, where hisof Curtin Hospital, Praise for Lieutenant Freeman,
father worked as a grocer and his mother tookGov. Pardee's Belated Letter of Thanks to the
care of the children. He remembers the familyU.S. Navy).
having to pack up and leave for Chicago to stayOne day an officer noticed her mother wearing a
with relatives after the quake. After just a fewsailor cap and asked if anyone in the family was in
days in the Windy City, the family came back tothe Navy. Her mom answered
the Bay Area. His parents seldom spoke of the“yes,” and was told to pack up
tragic day. "I think it was just too painful forher things. The next day several officers moved
them," he explained. Hamrol has one enduringthe whole family up to Vallejo, where they
memory - the feeling of his mother’s arm.remained.
“She carried me in her left arm and usedCeleb status 100 years later
her right hand to grab the stair rail,” saidSan Francisco celebrated and mourned an
the 103-year-old Hamrol. “That’s allinfamous anniversary early this morning, 100
I remember.”years to the minute after the city shook and
Like Hamrol, Violet Lyman was just three whenburned in the great earthquake and fire of 1906.
the estimated 7.8 magnitude quake ((TheThis year Lyman will participate in a 1906 quake
"traditional" magnitude of 8.3 for this earthquakeanniversary event.
was based on work by Richter [1958]. More"It's taken me over 100 [years] to become
recent research indicates that estimates in thefamous!" she quips.
range from 7.7 to 7.9 are more reliable.)) shookAnd a century later, Hamrol says he and other
her house so hard it threw her uncle out of bed.survivors are proud to call themselves native sons
Her family survived and managed to relocate, butand daughters of San Francisco — a city
she remembers how many others were not sothat went through one of the worst natural
lucky.disasters in U.S. history.
"It was tough because people had no homes, no"I think it's a marvelous achievement that the city
food, no nothing," said Lyman. Violet Lyman, couldof San Francisco has done to come back from
still see a cow running along a street and smellsomething like that," he declared.