White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1933-03-16
Letters From Earthquake
Zone Reassure Relatives

Letters FROM Earthquake
Zone Reassure Relatives
When news of the California earth
quake began coming in over the radio
Friday night, there were several highly
interested listeners-in in White Bluffs,
one Of whom was q. II. Hammer,
whose wife and family reside in Holly
wood Mr.. Hammers fears were en-
tirely allayed, however, on the receipt
Of letter from Mrs. Hammer the fol-
lowing Monday, telling Of their exper-
fence during the quake and Of their
safety. She said:
"Will write a bit to let you know
we are still all well and saved from
the earthquake. You probably heard
about 1t over the radio. The first and
second shocks were terrible, tipping
over the table lamp, swaying the pic.
lures and everything that could be
swayed. We felt 1t much worse, think,
than those on the first floor.
"Most every one was up all night.
We went over to the house of a friend
who lived on the ground floor, but
were busy running out and in at every
shock. There were about twenty ma
jor shocks and many, many more
minor tremors. George ran over and
got Nellie and Marion, SO we would
all be together. We went to bed about
two, but Marion had to go to work
about five The market where he works
was wrecked quite a bit and lots o,
things tumbled at Georges store
broke bottles of olives and relish and
such things.
Everybody was in the streets. We
felt the last tremor at am, real
heavy one. At six we all hoped up,
even George. We are going down town
to see some of the wrecked buildings.
mo other news and don't worry, for
we are OK. Long Beach is practically
destroyed"
Philip Heath, who as a member of a
naval detachment being sent from San
Diego to Pensacola, Florida, was pass
ing through Los Angeles, had just
stepped into the Central station to
send telegram to his mother, Mrs.
M. M. Heath, at White Bluffs, when
suddenly "the lights went out and
things began to rattle" he wrote her
later, continuing:
''The Western Union booth is right
in 0f l.; "a.
ton, so I thought it was as good a
place to take it as any. The telegraph
women ran and so did everyone else in
the station but myself and one old
man away down at the other end, and
before things really got going good
the place was clear except for him
and me.
when it was at it's best, the whole
building was swaying, and each heavy
beam and pillar vibrating and sway
ing separately, like bunch of fiddle
strings. The big chandeliers overhead
were swinging in about six-foot arcs.
About then I wished that I had run
with the rest but thought it better
to watch and be ready to jump if
things began falling. Lots of bricks
fell from ordinary buildings, but the
depot seemed especially rugged and
elastically built"
Mrs. F. A. English, whose brother,
F. A. Hauser, with his family resides
in Los Angeles, after listening long
enough to radio reports Friday night
to ascertain that their address seemed
to be entirely outside the danger zone,
went calmly to rest, only to find on
receipt of word from Mr.. Hauser the
first of the week that the family l1ao /,
just moved, ten days before, into the
Huntington Park district and had ex-
perienced the worst of the disturbance.
Both the Hauser girls were students in
the Huntington Park high school,
which was totally destroyed during
Friday night.