-Letters looking for answers

Dear Beryl,

I have no personal knowledge of any children that died in the
quake.  With your permission, I could post your letter on
my site, and perhaps someone else would know something.

Sincerely,
pamelajoy
http://pamelajoy.com

--- Another  Original Message -----

You wrote:

<I was hoping to learn the names of any missing
<children or children presumed died.

There were no missing children in Anchorage, but I believe there was a
10-year-old who died in Turnagain.

If your friend was born in Anchorage, the only hospital there at the
time was Providence Hospital, or if he is Native American the BIA has a
hospital there, too. Has he checked Vital Statistics in Juneau for a
birth certificate? Is his adopted mother forthcoming enough so that if
his name was changed, she would tell him his birth name? When does he
believe he was born - what birthday has he grown up with?

What he remembers does sound like the Turnagain Area. There were no
fires, but in very large earthquakes, a gas is released from the ground
that makes the air "sparkle" - I remember the sparkle being
bluish-white, not yellow or orange like sparks from a fire would be, and
very tiny.

There was no snow on the ground that evening. However, it snowed early
the next morning - just a light dusting. The ground was very wet at the
time because it was during the Spring thaw - called "breakup." The quake
happened during daylight hours and it was very clear with a blue sky. It
was cold, but not freezing. The wet earth could have smelled like rotten
leaves because the area turned into mud, with water bubbling out of the
ground in some places.

People didn't scream, believe it or not. However, as the houses broke
apart, there was a high-pitched sound of tearing wood and pipes being
pulled apart and bent. A child might think this was screaming.

There were a lot of crevasses in the roads all over Anchorage because of
ground collapse.

There are a few things that bother me in his memories - not that I am
doubting them, but it might help if he can sort them out time-wise
perhaps. The shaking during the big quake was much too violent for a
child to have climbed out of a crib and gone downstairs. The shaking was
so violent that a person couldn't stand outside without holding onto
something, and inside would have been even worse. There were several
aftershocks that evening, though, and he could have climbed out of bed and
gone downstairs during one of those.



Kendra

Hello Kendra ,

This is me, the guy in question. my name is Joe . Beryl has been writing to you on my behalf now it's my turn. This is not your average experience  memory. Now what I am about to tell you  will probably seem off the wall for you . However, I am now deciding to tell my story to you so maybe I could find or clarify facts for myself and or about myself . Here it goes. At the age of three or four I had told my mother that I experienced what seemed to be something that really happened . I had told her about climbing out of bed .I was in my pyjamas. I was in a two story house, upstairs . What made me get out of bed is that everything was shaking and falling and breaking  everywhere. I  ran down the stairs and went into the living room , when I looked towards the kitchen all the dishes and everything was falling out of the cupboard and breaking . there was crap everywhere. At this time I did not see my mother or father or anybody, I knew I was alone. I went out side the front door which enters directly into the living room. We had a overhang porch followed by two or three steps  to the front door . I don't remember it  being a clear day , I remember it being  a kind of cloudy  gloomy  day . It was , I would assume,  after dinner time ,in those days.  I remember  turning  to my right  and going down the street  I remember  further down  telephone poles coming down  and these are the sparks I am talking about. I remember it got dark quickly , I remember  other people yelling , and seeing the actual cracking of the road and the area , that was very loud. It was a kind of a  very high pitched noise . I saw trees and roots being pushed up. we lived on the right hand side of the road and on that same side  down the street on the corner there was a house and yard that was all flooded with water . It got twisted up, actually everything was being churned up like a routertiller  anyway the last thing I remember is hanging onto the edge of the road where the pavement split right down the middle . I was calling for my mom and that's it , no memories after that .

The problem with this memory is that my mother  told me  that such a thing had occurred in Anchorage Alaska. I  had described this quake to her and she was surprised  to be told this in detail at the time when I was  three or four years old  with out having any way to know this in detail . Now , the problem is  the earth quake happened  in 1964  . I was told I was born  in August  Friday 13, 1965. I'm not one who  believes  in any superstition  although  these memories  still are in my mind  as clear  as when the day I told my mother  years ago. I see them as if it was yesterday , What I ,m looking for is some sort of peace of mind  that I can prove  to myself  not to anyone else   that somehow  I have witnessed  this event . I have not spoken to anyone  other than you and Tay Thomas  . She knows  and I will tell you  just like I told Tay .I do not want to upset anybody . Its just that you and Tay could have a lot of  evidence  that you are not aware of  that could  help me  sort  this out.  My friend  Beryl and I  will sort this out  together , but I do need  critical information  that only  you and who ever was there at that time  could provide .

This  may not  be a project  that interests you but thank you for  writing back.

Please , I'm not ready to broadcast this .  A child's memories may not be that perfect.

Sincerely Joe 

joebram@hotmail.com