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Tuni Gravink (House) (1964)
I honestly can remember as a very young kid the A&W having roller skating people bring the trays that hooked onto the car windows/doors. I do not know how long they lasted (the skating hops). I know it was the turning around point for cruising yes. Then back down to Foster Freeze, but then some crossed the T (College Street) so many called it. i remember all those resturants, and the food was always good. The family Fong house was over on Gibson near our house.
Seeing the story about Craig, and the lady with the earthquake of 89, made me reflect of it. I was living in Newark, Calfiornia at the time (East Bay area). I was in the shower, when the earthquake happened. I thought since we had recently just purchased this house , and it was a bit older, the pipes were going (which many times that happens in older houses)., and i said : "Oh great just what we need." But the shower door kept opening and shutting, and then my siamese cat came in the shower with me, and started loudly meowing. I said something is wrong here, as this cat we could not even get near water. As i got my robe i looked out the bathroom door to see our bed heading for the sliding glass door, and all the things in the closet falling down on the floor. I new then as the walls were rolling, what it was. This one wasn't a rock and roller as we called shakers in the bay area (4-5 pointers). I ran into the living room in time too see our camaro (73) Metal body not fiberglass, lifting up off the driveway a good two feet. I said Holy **** and then some.I knew what was happening. Heard my nieghbors little girl scream, a kid riding his bike on our sidewalk screaming and my cats (had three) and my 3/4 coyote howling. I knew this was a big one, where was the epidcenter at? We had tv, for a short few seconds, and then and emergency repsonder came on. I worked at the state hospital in San Jose, and was already signed on with Fema, and had worked some emergencies already. I was bused along with another girl from our area (Newark) into the Presido, and we were briefed, and dispatched to our DEC (Disaster Emergency Centers). While getting briefed, we watched the helicopters flying in huge steel beams, that would help to hold up buildings and houses in San Francsico that had leaned, or started to fall. There was more than one helicopter working, the old army barracks had become housing for people displaced,whose houses had major damage. The school close by became a food and supply area, and served meals three times a day to the people in the Divisidero district who had safety issues with their houses.The army was there running the mail for the area, and a make shift post office had been set up since the main one had suffered some real structural damage. I thought to myself wow, this base is busy again, as it was usually pretty dead when i would cut through it coming off Hwy 1 going into the city. I went on locational, in the area, and what i remember seeing was : flats held up by these steel beams that went through sideways, and served a hold up purpose for several houses. One house had completely come down, and the car that was near it a firebird, was only two feet tall.Yet the flat next door to it was still upright and had only mnor damage. Flats leaning to the right , and some having really major damage. Yet some no damage at all.Then we had to red cirlce were a death had occured, or condem out the houses that could not be repaired. Some of us were in the first wave, and then relocated to another area. I was relocated to Richmond after a month of working in the city, and there i was put up in hotel by the freeway. We had a real good after shakeeven after a month of the main quake,and i remember looking out the window, seeing the parking lights rock back and forth and said not again, but then it stopped. My husband was on the Bay Bridge, five minutes before that section collasped. One of the people that came through our center in Richmond was the brother of the mother that they had do some cutting on to get her out, and her two children, on the Cpyrpess sturcture (880) she she unfortaunately did not make it, andthe sad part (not that her not making it wasn't sad it was) was seeing the two children with their uncle at the center trying to get help and get them situated, and the brother broke down in tears, as he had not had time to grieve, he had been trying to hold up for the family. I worked that disaster for several months relocating after one month at each site. I continued to work many disasters afterwards. I was sent to Andrew, Oakland Hills fire, Northridge, where there; i not only felt 2500 after shocks , i witnessed a murder and to this day , if a car back fires i still hit the deck. I am still with Fema for dispatch, and i am also CERT certified for AZ. I declined going to Ground Zero for the 9-11 as; i felt it was not a natural disaster it was man made, and i did not know if i could hold my personal thoughts and feelings inside. Mny of the disasters i worked left me very grateful. On the 89 earthquake, my husband who was in ulitilites at the time was called out to work that disaster, and i went out too. The Oakland Hills fire, we were being escorted out and in by CHP while there was fire going, and coming out of the ground also. I remember us both saying as we saw rows of burn, and chimmenys OMG. Just made us realize that we were so fortunate to still have our home, and even though the only damage we had from the 89 earthquake was: our chimmey had shifted and cracked, and that was to the tune of $10K, your deductible for earthquake insurance which we had.Ouch.
Did anyone else back in the late 50's ever ride their bikes on the canal roads along Gibson Rd. that the barley fields were in? The area, where Dan Bests family home was built on eventually. I knew each and every field around that area , and play in the watering holes (my parents would have had a hissy fit had they known ). Did anyone else play and ride their bikes in these areas?
Did any of you go to summer camp out at the farigrounds? Tuni
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