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Guide to the Anonymous Letter [Ida to Laura]
MS 3620
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Title: Anonymous Letter [Ida to Laura]
Collection number: MS 3620
Extent: 1 item
Repository:
California Historical Society, North Baker Library
San Francisco, California 94105-4014
Language:
English.
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[Identification of item], Anonymous Letter [Ida to Laura]. MS 3620, California Historical
Society, North Baker Research Library.
This four-page typed copy of a letter written to "Laura" by "Ida" from San Francisco was
begun on April 24, 1906 and continued on May 2, 1906. It gives an eyewitness account of the
earthquake and its aftermath.
April 24, 1906. Ida opens by saying that she has been trying to write for several days but
has been too emotionally drained to do so. She assumes some news of San Francisco's
earthquake has reached Laura already.
The earthquake hit at 5:13 a.m. on Wednesday morning, April 18, and woke Ida abruptly with
its jerky, then rolling motion. All the items on shelves, piano, etc. fell to the floor,
including dishes in the pantry, yet very few were broken. Ida and "Annie" and "Arthur" went
back to bed after assessing the damage, but got up and dressed fifteen minutes later and
went out to Van Ness Avenue, some 200 to 300 feet from their house, to see what was
happening. Van Ness was thronged with people from hotels and houses, some wrapped in
blankets and carrying their clothes, which they donned in the street. Most brick buildings
were damaged. The chimneys of the Baltimore Hotel had fallen through the roof of a house
killing a young man. Many other chimneys were down, causing gaping holes in roofs. Telegraph
poles were flattened. Bricks and debris covered the sidewalks.
Ida says they soon noticed the fires coming from downtown, so headed in that direction.
From Market Street at Sixth Street, they could see that everything from the Bay to Sixth
Street was in flames south of Mission Street. North of Market, the flames were moving west
from the Bay. Ida and her companions decided to go check on "the office on Sansome Street".
They found the office building within one block of the fire on both sides. Arthur and Ida
went up to the office through the mangled building, broke the window in the office door, and
Ida entered through it to remove books and cash from the safe. These items they put into the
larger "Safe Deposit Vaults" at California and Montgomery Streets, at the invitation of a
"Mr.Dean". They watched the flames licking at their office building, then moved on to watch
the Call, the Emporium, and Hale's buildings all go up in flames. As they moved towards
their home, Ida and her companions saw people thronging the streets. The homeless were
already filling plazas and parks, ready to move on as the fire spread. The Mechanic's
Pavilion had been made into a temporary hospital, but as the flames approached, patients
were moved elsewhere. Ida reports the rumor that some patients were simply chloroformed
there and abandoned to the fire.
The fire reached Golden Gate Avenue and Laguna Street, just five blocks south of Ida,
Annie, and Arthur's flat. As they saw the flames nearing, they packed up what they could,
using a sofa with wheels as a cart. They moved a block at a time as the flames spread. They
headed down Octavia Street to Jefferson Park, but found it already overcrowded. The next
day, Arthur returned to the house for more items, and they hired a wagon for $6 which took
them and their chattels to the Panhandle. Fire lines prevented Arthur from making another
visit to their house to remove goods, so instead he visited "Josie" and helped "carry Jack
up the hills". Back in the Panhandle, the three watched a stream of wagons hauling household
belongings westward. The heat and the light of the fire made them think they'd have to move
to the beach next. They slept under umbrellas to protect them from the ash that fell
constantly. Ambulances took injured people to Park Emergency Hospital. It was not until
midnight Thursday that sentries called out the news that the fire had been contained.
On Friday Ida and the others learned that the fire had been contained at 20th and Mission
Streets so that Josie's house had been spared, and at Van Ness Avenue so that their house
was safe also. They loaded the wagon and headed home.
Once there, the trio found themselves virtual prisoners in the house from dusk to dawn.
Soldiers acting as sentries shot anyone venturing forth or showing a light. Building a fire
indoors was also grounds for being shot. Ida reports they had six stoves in their street,
and got to know their neighbors very well, as they exchanged earthquake tales. Alameda,
Oakland and Berkeley were offering haven to homeless people. Food was distributed by Relief
Stations which provided daily rations for each person showing a special slip which was then
stamped to prevent multiple visits to the stations.
May 2, 1906. Ida continues her post-earthquake account. By this time, she is at work again
for Sierra Lumber Company whose offices have temporarily relocated to 476 13th Street in
Oakland. She is living quite close by with George Chappel's family at 766 14th Street. She
reports on improved conditions since her April 24 writing. Homeless are housed in tents;
lights are allowed until 11 p.m.; and the Relief Stations are still providing food. She
wonders how people will cope once the stations shut down. Cash will be required, and that is
in short supply. Her company was unable to meet its complete payroll, though she herself did
get her salary. She says Sierra Lumber Company will move back to San Francisco as soon as
possible. The large vault in which she stashed the company's cash and books had not yet been
opened because it "is still very warm".
Ida reports that "Jim" and "Norah" were burned out and are living with Josie. She remarks
that "Horace" will have have to "do some rough work" and stop relying on her and Annie. She
says Sierra Lumber Company is paying $200 for the five rooms they are renting in Oakland,
but they are subleasing two of the rooms for $90. She reports that "Mr. Stadtfeld", "Mr.
Dean" and "Mr. Van Bokkelen" all lost their homes and are living in Berkeley. Oakland and
Alameda are booming. A few chimneys fell in Alameda, but there was no serious damage
there.
Ida closes by saying that she is beginning to recover from the trauma of the earthquake and
fire. May 1 was the first day she had felt like eating.