Earthquake October 17, 1989

Mom called, Dad is gone. It had only been a few days since I saw him in the hospital. I assured her I would be there as soon as I could get myself ready and find someone to take care of my advertising clients with the Shopper.
The day was a blur of activities, phone calls [...]

Read Full Post »

‘89 Earthquake

Just before the earthquake started I was sitting on the edge of our bed on the second floor of our house in Aptos and talking on the telephone to a person in Marin County. Suddenly the house started lurching from side to side and having been through several minor earthquakes since moving to the area [...]

Read Full Post »

Earthquake Story

On October 17, 1989, I was working at Heartwood Spa, the beautiful hot tub and garden retreat near Dominican Hospital that has since closed. I was working the desk in the front office, which had originally been a chicken coop in an old Live Oak farm.
Sitting at the small desk heading into the last hour [...]

Read Full Post »

My mother, sister, and myself had sat down to an early dinner not much before the earthquake hit. My father was away on business, as it happened, for a couple of days. If I recall correctly, dinner was mac and cheese, and being a quick eater I’d finished my dinner and my drink [...]

Read Full Post »

Earthquake Oct. 17, 1989

The Cabrillo College Men’s Water Polo Team played De Anza College in Cupertino at 3:30 pm on this date. The game was a disappointing loss but the following event provided an adrenalin rush-  hi!  ho!
We were returning home and approximately halfway between Saratoga and Los Gatos on Highway 9.  I was driving the lead college [...]

Read Full Post »

I was in the Teacup

Sultry was the best word to describe the few hot days before the earthquake. The air was like thick, warm Jell-O, making even the slightest task sticky and tiresome. I looked forward to finishing my last table at the Cooper House, punching out on the time clock, and heading up the [...]

Read Full Post »

Diary of a Catastrophic Earthquake

I wrote to Kirsten Anderberg, a writer in California who covers a wide variety of issues, including earthquakes, after seeing her page on Loma Prieta with the above title. You can read about her here. She’s one of the few who have lived through probably the four most prominent West Coast earthquakes of the past [...]

Read Full Post »

Behind the Lens

When the Loma Prieta quake happened, Chip Scheuer was in downtown Santa Cruz as a photographer for the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. He took pictures of the damage and rescue efforts in the hours following the quake (view some of them at his website and another galley he’s provided), and went on to spend the next 14 [...]

Read Full Post »

I decided October 17, 1989 was a good day to visit Santa Cruz!

I live in the east bay but on October 17, 1989 I decided it would be a great day to visit my sister in Santa Cruz. Her daughter was going to turn 7 on October 19th and I thought it would be fun to go shopping with my sister and get her a birthday gift. [...]

Read Full Post »

I remember it as if it was yesterday. I remember when the shaking began, grabbing my Tonka truck and running out of the house trying to find a place to hide. As I was running I fell down to the ground. With my head in the grass and my ear pressed hard against the ground, [...]

Read Full Post »