| On
March 27, 1964 at 5:36 PM the Earth shook and buildings collapsed
as a 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck Prince William Sound, south
of Anchorage, Alaska. Buildings collapsed and the ground split open.
The earth seemed to liquefy. My family, spread throughout Anchorage,
shared the same terror. The following weeks brought a state of disaster.
Damage control was in full swing as fires were put out, electricity
was restored, and families tried to contact each other. My great
aunt and uncle, Ede and Dewey Erickson, in the heart of the turmoil,
followed the stories of many other families in the newspapers. Over
40 years passed before my great aunt Ede passed along many of the
memories to me. These newspapers not only depict the tragedy of
the massive earthquake that struck that Good Friday, but are a personal
account of what my family endured, preserved in the notes and observations
that further explain the events. |

Life magazine
captures the collapse of a road in downtown Anchorage. |