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October 5, 2009

Undergraduates capture memories of 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

By Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@ucsc.edu

A year after the Loma Prieta earthquake tore through the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, residents were stunned by the sight of wildflowers emerging in the vacant lots that lined Pacific Avenue.

In one of the most poignant memories captured by an undergraduate radio-production class this summer, a woman described the hope she felt at the sight of tender new plants popping up behind chain-link fences.

"It was like the river was trying to break through," recalled producer Sarah Yahm, who taught the intensive, five-week class. "In the midst of construction, a garden was growing, and it was really beautiful."

Twenty years after the quake destroyed much of downtown Santa Cruz, undergraduates in Yahm's class have captured the memories of about 20 residents, including then-Mayor Mardi Wormhoudt, City Councilman and UCSC lecturer Mark Rotkin, journalist Bruce Bratton, and Bookshop Santa Cruz founder Neal Coonerty.

Yahm, a recent graduate of UCSC's Social Documentation Master's Program, focused the summer-session class on memories of downtown Santa Cruz, where three people lost their lives that day.

"Everybody has an earthquake story, and everybody wants to tell their story, but we wanted to push people to be more introspective, to go beyond their pat story," said Yahm.

Many participants described the terror they felt, the sound of the quake ("like a freight train," according to Yahm), and the hot, still weather on October 17, 1989 ("earthquake weather"). Others shared tales of animals behaving strangely before the earthquake struck, and the fraying of nerves as strong aftershocks rattled the region for days. Calls to domestic-violence hotlines went up, and "people who were marginal before the quake got a lot more marginal," said Yahm.

But other stories were lighthearted. One man delighted in the destruction of a set of "incredibly ugly" dishes he and his wife had inherited from relatives.

"It was terrifying, but it was also really fun, because the ordinary roles were suspended," said Yahm. "There was no work or school, people were barbequing on their lawns, and a lot of romances were started."

Yahm was intrigued by the affection many residents felt for the pre-quake downtown neighborhood, especially the Pacific Garden Mall. A lushly planted, tree-lined avenue, the "mall" invited strolling and hanging out and drew an arty, bohemian crowd. Pacific Avenue's 100-year-old brick buildings housed restaurants, cafes, and shops, including the venerable Bookshop Santa Cruz. The courtyard of the beloved Cooper House was "like a little bit of Paris," recalled one man.

The loss of landmark buildings pained residents, and the removal of the quake-damaged Cooper House in the immediate wake of the temblor provoked outrage among some Santa Cruzans, who grieved the loss of what had become an informal town center.

"People talked about downtown before the earthquake like 'before the revolution,' or 'before the fall,'" said Yahm.

For eight lucky undergraduates, the class offered seminar-style instruction in radio production.

"The class was three-and-a-half hours long, and it never felt like it," said psychology major Kim Camacho of Salinas, who had never done audio journalism but enrolled because she wanted to learn about this aspect of the city's history.

"It was cool to be part of the community here, to make a contribution that will mean something to the community," she said.

And what did Yahm conclude about the changes wrought by the quake?

"I think definitely the town really changed after the earthquake," she said. "But I think people blame the earthquake for changes that the 1990s would've brought anyway."

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Yahm has produced an audio walking tour of downtown to coincide with the October 17, 2009, 20th anniversary of the temblor. To download the audio file, visit walking tour.

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