Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1964)
r HEPPNEH GAZETTE 'After it was over. . .it was so silent and dead sounding Letters Describe Terrors o 'Earthquaked Granddaughter1 Gives Report Letters to local persons from relatives in Alaska reveal ad ditional details of the damage and unusual quirks of the earth quakes suffered there on Good Friday and thereafter. Julie Ann Bedford, 10-year old granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Bedford of Heppner and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Bedford of Anchorage, wrote of the quake from a child's point of view and signed it "Your Earthquaked Granddaughter." "We had a terrible earthquake Friday," she wrote. "I was walk ing home from my friend's house and it became so bad that I sat down. My dad came in his car to get me after the 5-minute earthquake. He thought I would be scared lo death, but instead I was calmly walking to where the car was standing. He took me home to see the messy house. "As I entered the house I saw the living room. All our encyclo pedias were spilled on the floor and lamps, and coffee cups on the floor. The binoculars and a glass ceramic figure that were on the cedar chest didn't move an inch. All the other things on the cedar chest didn't move ex cept for a lady with fruit, and her head fell off. Then I came to the kitchen. Five bottles of colored water were on the floor. Store 20 Feet in Ground "My mom's mirror broke in lots of pieces and (he house was in a mess. But it is cleaned up now. There isn't a crack In our house, and we all are fine. Our next door neighbor's store is down in the ground about 20 feet. Three of the worst things that happened to Anchorage are that the Four Seasons building fell down and it is just a pile of trash. Penney s had to be dynamited! There are ditches all over Anchorage. There is a ditch down by the park strip that is 200 ft. wide and 50 ft. deep. Boy! What a mess Seward and Juneau are in. We have tap water that we use for washing our hands. And a five gallon pan full of melted snow with a teaspoon of C'lorox. We have elec tricity every so often. My dad made an outhouse, and it has a bunch of tarps around it. The reason he built it was in case we didn't have- plumbing. Bad Friday, Not Good Friday "We had dad's birthday on bad Friday not good Friday. I baked dad a cheese cake and wo had to eat it after we came home from the Falkner's house where we spent the night. Ho opened his presents and he got Sun Up after shave lotion from me. A Hershey bar from Jack that the rat or dog ate. A comb from Jill and a bottle of wine from mom and those were his presents. "Then Darl came and told us that there was a title wave. So we went over to the Faulkner's. We also stayed all night and had dinner there the night before. I will send you some pictures if I get some. Your Earthquaked Granddaughter, Julio Ann." Linda Hamilton Writes Word of Max and Harold Ham ilton, brothers of Mrs. Barney Malcom of Heppner, and the fam ily of Max came in greater de tail in a letter from Linda Ham ilton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Max Hamilton. "Marlene (her sister) and I are here in Seward," Linda wrote under date of March 31 from Seward. "We are O. K but Mom, Max and Butch are at Cooper Landing and we have no means of communication so 1 don't know how they are. How ever, I heard that Kenai Lake flooded and the bridge broke and had to be dynamited. I sure hope they are all right. Every bridge between here, Anchorage and Cooper Landing is down and the roads are impussable. "The main earthquake began at 5:30 Friday afternoon. Mar lene and I were staying in town at our house with a friend be cause the prom was supposed to he that night. We were cook ing dinner when it happened, and did it ever shake! Almost every dish outside of the cup board broke. When it had finish ed shaking we ran outside and the ground started cracking. Just then the tidal wave started coming, and then all the Stand ard Oil. tanks blew up. Since we live right next to the water, we couldn't do anything but run. Somebody picked us up and took us out of town. "We're staying with some friends until we can get home. There are about 20 people in one house. We have no electric ity or water or heat. We are melting snow for drinking water and cooking. The fire in Seward is still burning and tanks of oil are continuing to explode. Everyone has been evacuated from the city. Thankful To Be Alive "A few houses also burned. I think one of Harold's houses that he had rented burned. Right now everyone In Seward is out of danger as far as fire is concerned. The tidal wave has destroyed a numbir of houses and the streets are just filled with boats, houses and other debris. Help has been sent and emergency areas are being set up at the grade school and high school. So far only three have been found -TIMES, Thursday, April 9, 1964 dead in Seward and 20 are miss ing. Right now our only prob lem would be a food shortage and supplies will probably be sent in soon. But despite all this we are all O. K. at least as far as I know. I'm sure Max, Mom and Harold and Butch are fine. This has been quite an Easter but I guess we can be thankful for just being alive. Many were not that fortunate. Love, Linda. "P. S. The 30th small quake in the last 24 hours just occur red. I'm getting used to them now. Butch just walked in and everyone at Cooper Landing Is O. K." 'Good Lord Took Care' Another note was received from Max Hamilton from Cooper Landing to the family here, say ing, "All is well and the Good Lord took care of us this time. The most horrible thing I ever experienced. The bridge at Kenai Lake, a short distance from here, fell and broke all to pieces. Seward has been hit hard and Marlene and Linda are in there. We have not seen or heard of them but believe from whore they were staying are O. K." (Editor's Note: Since some of the family was in Cooper Land ing and some in Seward, neither knew for a time how the others made out, as the letters from each place state.). Ginger Brown Writes From Ginger Brown, daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. Hillard Brown, Heppner, teacher at Fort Richardson, near Ancho rage, came this graphic account: "Horrifying, shocking, fright ening, to say the least, for a lot of people. I had planned a quiet week-end in Homer with the Greenes and it did start out that way. I had a most relaxing flight down. At 5:J0 we walked over to the Kachemak Food Cache for groceries. We got inside. The lights blinked out and we notic ed some Drano cans doing a little jig on the shelf. Then it felt like we were on a little boat in an ocean storm. The building started rocking and with it the shelves. Someone yelled for us to get down and we tried. A man was able to grab Mike and get out of the store. Josio, Patty and I got down on the floor, Patty practically underneath us as we didn't want her to get hurt. The cans, jars, bags and everything else started falling, rolling and flying through the air. When it ended all the shelves were emp tied. We were surrounded by cans, 50 lb. bags of something and an odor of soup, pickle juice, Purcx and what have you. "We started home and met Bob en route who had been in the trailer. Here, lamps, toys, cosmetics, coffee and everything loose was on the floor. After a quick survey we drove to Anchor Point to check out Bob's school. We crossed many cracks in the road and fortunately no damage was done to his school. We stay ed with friends in Anchor Point who owned a gift shop and found most everything there on the floor. 'Glued to The Radio' "We returned to Homer and put the kids to bed but stayed up ourselves glued to the radio until too tired to hold our heads up. Needless to say, we had been really scared in the store. It took us awhile to realize that Homer wasn't the only place hit and what a surprise to hear the extensive damage done to the rest o the state." Back at Fort Richardson, Miss Brown wrote on March 2!), de scribing Anchorage and Ft. Rich ardson, "The airport is a mess. The control tower fell onto part of the airport building, killing one man. No traffic was allowed downtown, armed guards block ing the road. On the trip back to post we saw quite a bit of dam age, many places were part of the earth had slipped, including wide areas in the road. Buildings were cracked and split. The dam age to Anchorage is too extensive for me to even try to cover." House Was A 'Mess' As to her living quarters, Gin ger said, "Julie had warned me but hearing about it and looking at it were two different things. The large mirror, 3 ft. by 2 la ft., fell on the floor, as did some cosmetics, and, of course, broke into thousands of pieces. The television fell off the 'frig' onto the desk. The desk got dented and the TV, although in one piece, has lots of rattles. The re frig, door flew open and food fell every which way as did everything on my book case, desk and dresser. The floor was a mess of articles. I had to throw my slippers away as the glass wouldn't all come out. "Julie's furniture all moved to the center of the room. Nothing broke in her room but there are many wall cracks. She was in my room, trying to keep from being thrown when it all hap pened. "All these words. It can't and doesn't explain a fraction of it; the continual dull ache for the homeless, loss of lives, injuries, hard work, etc. It doesn't convey the constant fear with every new tremor and there have been many. It doesn't tell the help that everyone is giving, the iso lated feeling felt by all, the de sire to call home. I've tried many times but it is impossible. Tomorrow the teachers go to school in work clothes no stu dents, so I'll try to write more later on in the week. By for now and I love you both, Love, Ginger." 'We Shake For Hours' To Mrs. Maurice Groves came this report from her daughter, Mrs. Mark Musgrave, from Anch orage, written April 2: "Don't think that we will ever be the same. Any little noise or shake of the ground and our hearts jump to our throats and we shake for hours. I ate for the first time last night and finally have gotten some sleep. What a horrible nightmare this has been. We are quite thankful just to have a bad case of nerves. This town is really a complete sham bles, but I am not about to go anywhere and see it. "Our house and belongings came through with little dam age. The broken dishes, which everyone has, but very little else. One crack in the floor, and I really don't know what else. We haven't lived there since be cause we have no heat. No stove. No hot water. Beginning to think they will never get the gas on. "I thought of you often and got a letter off as soon as possi ble but with no phones there wasn't much we could do. You probably know that the bank was open at the time (Mrs. Mus- graves was employed in the bank), and we didn't get out. We stayed in there and rode it out. Every single plate glass window crashed down along with everything else except for the walls and ceiling, which were separating. But even at that not a person in the bank was hurt not even cut with the glass. I have a heart attack evcrytime I think of it. Business As Usual "The bank is open for busi ness as usual which 1 don't ap prove of at all. Must not think about that any more, have to go to work in ten minutes. This is a rumor, that all military per sonnel with 90 days or less will be sent home immediately (Mr. Musgrave is in service). Doubt that it means Mark. The reason they are talking about sending people off is because of the lack of housing. "We are quite all right. If it would just quit snowing! Much love to all, Barb and Mark." Ankers Send Letters Mr. and Mrs. John Anker of Spenard have sent two letters to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rees Morgan, of Irrigon. The first, written March 27, from Mrs. Anker (Jo), said, "We are sitting here by candlelight and thanking God that we are safe and sound. When I first felt the tremor starting, I took the China cups out of the win dow; then it started getting worse, and I laid down with my self covering the kids and we sweat it out. "Jack was in his office x (He is credit manager for the five Sears stores in Alaska). There the girls crawled under their desks. The big lights fell and papers and letters went every place. We were surely glad to see him come home, after about an hour. "Things were falling over and dishes fell out of the cupboard, and the hanging light fixture was swinging so hard that it hit the ceiling. The only damage to the house so far is the chimney CLIP OUT FOR REFERENCE YOU ARE ASSURED SERVICE AND SATIS FACTION ON ALL YOUR HEATING AND FLOOR COVERING NEEDS. We Sell And Install Williams Oil Furnaces Floor Coverings Carpeting Linoleum Wall Tile Furniture Fuller Paints - $2.98 to $6.89 per gallon Plus Complete Repair Service Refrigeration - Domestic and Commercial Oil Burner Service Heating Repairs Appliance Repairs General Repairs Free Estimates All Work Guaranteed Floor Polisher Floor Sanders Hand Sanders R Floor MATT HUGHES f Alaska Quake fell over. We aren't cold; we have our camp stove and camp light, and we filled every utensil with snow. We have food in the store room and plenty of snow to melt, and plenty clothes for a while. No one is hurt. Keep Night Vigil "This is a nightmarish night; Jack Is trying to get some sleep and I am keeping vigil. We are still getting tremors now and then. I think the big rumble is over; it was really a rumble too, and we are surprised this old house held together, but we are told the older frame houses held together better than the new ce ment and steel structurs. Not much sleeping here; our little boys are still pretty scared little guys. Please don't worry, Love, Jo Jack and boys." The second letter, dated April 2, said, "Things are getting back to normal around here now, but everyone is real busy cleaning up the rubble and ruin in the downtown area. Our friends, Mc Lains, lost their camera store; it was in the section that sunk 30 feet. Sears didn't lose much in the quake, but stand to lose a lot of credit in accounts that can't be paid, and in helping people that need to buy and can't pay. "Fancy Mansions' Tumble "We are about two miles from the downtown business section and IV2 miles from the Turn again area that was destroyed. The Fourth Avenue section was on a bluff, overlooking Cook In let. The soil there is soft and made up of silt. This is also true of the Turnagain section. It gave way and crumbled toward the inlet. All of the fancy mansions were in Turnagain ($100 to $200 thousand homes). Several lives were lost there and several downtown. There is still danger because the inlet is covered with a layer of gasoline, but extra precautions are being taken. "After it was over we went out side; it was so silent and dead sounding. I walked to the alley and saw some neighbors who asked if we were all right. Every one was so stunned, and no one realized what a big area of de struction this was. We started getting radio messages on the car radio. We were ordered to stay home and keep listening to the radio, unless we had civil defense duties or important rea sons for going out. We were obedient and only went out on Sunday afternoon to get our typhoid shots and to take an Easter basket of candy eggs and two packages of caribou saus ages to the American Legion. They are still housing and feed ing some homeless and provid ing meals to the people working in rescue work. Some of the churches had services Sunday and said, 'Come as you are,' but attendance was very small. Min isters expressed disappointment, but I'm sure that many many thanks to God were given. Many prayers were given and the spirit of helping others prevailed." TYPING PAPER. Mimeograph paper and other office sup plies for sale at the Gazette Times. RENTALS Covering and Heating PH. 676 S418 " - . . '', ' if . " : f . H v .. . i i l : :. MR. AND MRS. Joan Brubacher Weds Gary K. Bertsch In Church Candlelight Ceremony in Idaho The marriage of Miss Joan Elizabeth Brubacher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne A. Bru bacher, Heppner, and Gary Ken neth Bertsch, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Bertsch of Meridian, Idaho, was solemnized at a double ring ceremony on Satur day, February 29. Vows were exchanged in the sanctuary of the First Baptist church in Ustick, Idaho, with the Rev. Richard Birdsall officiating. Decorating the altar were two large baskets of pink roses, white chrysanthe mums, and gladioli, banked by two large candelabra with pink ribbon bows in the background. Given in marriage by her father, the bride chose to wear a floor length gown of white cotton brocade, fashioned with an empire waistline accented with a belt and bow and long fitted sleeves, pointed at the wrist. The cabrini neckline was trimmed with tiny seed pearls. Her bouffant elbow length veil of white nylon net was held by a headdress of tiny lilies of the valley. She carried a bridal bou quet of pink and white rose buds. Attending as maid of honor was Miss Margaret Brubacher, sister of the bride. Two other sisters, Misses Barbara and Linda Sue Brubacher, attended 'as bridesmaids. Each wore floor length empire styled gowns of pink cotton brocade, with match ing shoes, pink rose hats and white gloves. Each carried a bou Lawn Roller and Aerator 32 Ft. Ext. Ladder Appliance Truck RAY AYERS GARY K. BERTSCH (Creason Photo) quet of pink and white roses. Gary Pitkin of Meridian, Ida., was best man for the bridegroom and Ron Arnold and Jim Ihli also of Meridian, served as ush ers. Kevin and Jeff Taylor, neph ews of the groom, were ring bearers. Organist was Mrs. Car olyn Pierce, who also accompan ied Miss Cheryl Cone, soloist. For her daughter's wedding, Mrs. Brubacher chose a gold and white brocade sheath dress with short jacket, white and gold hat, matching accessories and a yel low orchid corsage. Mrs. Bertsch, mother of the groom, wore a pink crepe afternoon dress with matching accessories and a pink orchid corsage. The couple now reside at 430 North 7th Street, Pocatello, Ida. Mr. Bertsch is a sophomore at Idaho State University, majoring in political science, is a mem ber of Sigma Nu fraternity, and plays the position of end on T HEPPNER FORD 1962 Galaxie 2-door $1899.00 390 V-8, Cruisomatic, light blue. 1961 Falcon 2-door $1299.00 170 Engine, standard trans., radio, white. 1960 Volkswagen $1199.00 Beige, radio. 1960 Thunderbird $2299.00 3-speed, overdrive, Sahara Rose, radio, P. S. 1959 Ford 2-door $1099.00 2-door, brown, radio, 6 cylinder, standard trans. 1959 Ford 2-door Custom $1199.00 Radio, V-8, Fordomatic, white. 1959 Ford4-door $1199.00 Radio, V-8, Fordomatic, blue and white. TRUCKS 1948 International KB6 $1199.00 Extra sharp, big engine, 5-speed trans., 2-speed axle, 15Va ft. grain bed. 1950 Chevrolet Pickup $499.00 Extra sharp. 1952 Ford Pickup $599.00 V-8, 3-speed, clean. 1952 Chevrolet Pickup $599.00 Very good condition. 1957 Ford Pickup, styleside $899.00 Automatic trans., red and white. Ask For Dave or Wayne at Heppner Ford 124 N. Mean Four to Attend State FBLA Meet Four business students from Heppner high school will par ticipate April 10 and 11 at Ore gon State University in the 16th annual meeting of Oregon Fu ture Business Leaders of Amer ica. Planning to attend are Bill Sherman, Bruce Thomson, Jean Stockard and Barbara Blake. Highlights of the session will include discussions on new de velopments and career opportun ities in business along with an nouncement of win n e r s of awards for this year. These will include selection of the state's outstanding business boy and girl, announcement of the win ner of the college FBLA scholar ship for next year, and compe tition in spelling, public speak ing, and parliamentary proced ure. Gail Hoskins is president of the Heppner high school FBLA chpater. Faculty advisor is Mrs. Bernice Struckmeier. Royal Arch Plans Dinner, Degree Heppner chapter No. 26, Royal Arch Masons, will entertain the Pendleton chapter of Royal Arch as guests Saturday at 6:30 in the Heppner Masonic hall. The Roy al Arch "widow's degree" will be given on the fun night. The Heppner chapter lost an attendance competition, with the Pendleton chapter and is ob ligated to entertain them at this meeting. All members and wives are in vited. Additional Help Offered Taxpayers A. G. Erickson, director Inter nal Revenue Service for Oregon, announced today that additional assistance will be provided in Pendleton for taxpayers needing help in completing their 1963 Federal income tax returns. The office at 611 S. E. Emi grant in Pendleton will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on April 14 and 15, 1964. The tele phone number to call is 276-3825. the school's varsity football team. After graduating from Wallace, Ida., high school, where the family lived before coming to Heppner, the bride attended Idaho State University. A contingent of Sigma Nu fra ternity brothers entertained with a selection of fraternity songs during the reception hour. Money receipt books in dupli cate and triplicate are on sale at the Gazette-Times. Ph. 676-9152
