Friday, April 18, 2008

April 18, 1906 Earthquake and Fire Remembered

Mayor Gavin Newsom places a wreath on Lotta's Fountain at the daybreak 102nd anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire in San Francisco. About 350 people attended the commemoration.


Newsom stresses earthquake preparedness. The anniversary comes just days after new scientific data was released that suggests a major earthquake is a certainty in California in the next 30 years.


Fire Chief Joanne Hayes White offers welcoming remarks to the crowd at 20th and Church Streets, where the fireplug that saved Liberty Street and others is symbolically spray painted with a fresh coat of gold in honor of firefighters, survivors, victims, and others remembered on the occasion. Mister SF sprayed three dots to the hydrant's cap in honor of Herb Caen.


The faithful proceed from Lotta's Fountain to 20th and Church Streets following the 5:12 commemoration downtown.

Donna Huggins camps it up in character as fire fighter-loving Lotta Crabtree.

Herb Hamrol (with Hank in 2007) attended the festivities again in 2008, his second year as sole survivor. Says Hank, "At 105, Herb seemed even more vigorous than last year. He stressed having self confidence in addition to traditional kinds of earthquake preparedness. Later, at breakfast at Lefty O'Doul's, Herb tells me he briefly considered retiring from Andronico's earlier this year but decided to stick with it. Whenever I see Herb, we inevitably talk about the ways San Francisco has stayed the same while others dwell on just the opposite. "It hasn't changed that much," says Herb, "San Francisco is still the most beautiful City. It still has the best hotels and restaurants, and everything you need to enjoy life."