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Earthquakes by
Jerry McClish I
think it was yesterday that Frank Jameson wrote about the earthquakes. It
brought back a lot of memories.
We only felt one minor earthquake in LA the year there. We moved up to San Jose
where it was close to our new regional office. The second night there my wife
went to bed early so I stayed up to watch the 10:00 news. As I was going to bed,
I felt the house shaking and just watched as the bed moved some on the hard wood
floor. Judy woke up and asked me, "What was that?" I told her it was
only me getting into bed.
The next morning she opened the cabinet doors and out came dishes, glasses, etc.
We were lucky as not a lot was damaged. But during our stay there in our new
home, we had to replace stucco that had cracked on the house and paint it. In
those days, Melmac dinnerware was popular so we put it and plastic items in
front of the good dishes. We also had our drive way crack 4 or 5 times and we
had to replace at cost to us, the cement. They used to offer expensive insurance
for earthquakes but stopped it in the late 70s as far as I know.
One day I was in Utah giving a presentation to 30 store managers and a district
manager. The boss called and said they needed me in LA because there was a 6.5
earthquake that caused damage in our stores. I flew down there that night.
Five stores suffered damage. Being paint stores, you can image the potential
damage. The Reseda, CA store had men shoveling paint when I arrived that night.
We brought in extra manpower to help. We lost about 300 gallons or so. We had to
close the store for two weeks and send customers to another store. Because
that was an older store, we moved it a year later with all new fixtures and back
room shelving.
The next morning the district manager and I traveled to four other stores that
had minor damage. In two of the stores we had mostly contractor sales so we sold
product out the back door. None of these stores had the damage as Reseda except
for one.
I caught a flight home to get clean clothes and then decided to go back and
drive my company car. As I was traveling route 5, I came upon the area where an
overpass had fallen on a truck and killed the driver instantly. I was told the
truck was only about 18 to 24 inches high after they got the concrete off the
truck. This happened near Sylmar where 60 or more had died. The piece of
concrete was huge and looked like a 8 to 10 ft. piece.
Luckily we were not there when the quake came and rattled the Oakland stadium as
a game was getting ready to start and everyone ran for the doors. The last big
one that did so much in the early 1990s if I recall, would have damaged our
regional office but we had moved only three months before. I was amazed at the
people I saw that on TV that made it out. Part of that freeway also was only two
blocks away.
I loved CA and all of the mild temperatures, sites to visit, and all around a
good place to live. You have one big problem compared to the other states and
that is you have no warning for a quake like we do for storms, tornadoes,
floods, hurricanes, etc. But with all of that, I would still like to be living
there.
Jerry
McClish '56
North Ridgeville, OH
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Class
of '55 Reunion
Thursday
- Sunday
September
29 - October 2, 2005
The
Class of 1955 will celebrate its 50th reunion the weekend of September 29 -
October 2. The Double Nickel will
have complete details but here is a brief overview of the planned events.
Thursday,
September 29
Pizza
Party at the Pizza Shack in Tipton
Friday,
September 30
Picnic
at the Shelter in Callaway Park;
Homecoming
football game
Saturday,
October 1
Golf
outing; Breakfast at Jim Dandy; Class picture; Social
Hour; Alumni Banquet;
Party
at the Elks
Sunday,
October 2
Breakfast
at Lucky Strike Bowling Alley
If
you have had a change of address or status, let Barbara (Green) Courtney know
as soon as possible.
barbara.courtney@sbcglobal.net
Halo
and Wings of Foil
by
Cindy (Benedict) Odom
Halo
and wings of foil.
a dress of satin and lace.
She poses with pride
her arms stretching wide
a smile upon her face.
Her front teeth are missing
her eyes are not straight
her poor little knees cut and scraped.
Unaware of it all
she stands noble and tall
an angel for all to see.
It's with love and affection
I now recall . . .
My
halo and wings of foil.
by Cindy Benedict
Odom '69
For Mother and Dad
March 1995
Travel
The railroad
track is miles away,
And the day is
loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't
a train goes by all day
But I hear its
whistle shrieking.
All night there
isn't a train goes by,
Though the night
is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its
cinders red on the sky,
And hear its
engine steaming.
My heart is warm
with friends I make,
And better
friends I'll not be knowing;
Yet there isn't
a train I'd rather take,
No matter where
it's going.
Edna
St. Vincent Millay
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