April 18, 1906 - 5:13am

Bill DelMonte / 105-year-old survivor

Where were you this morning? We were at the 105th commemoration of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street, the central meeting place after the earthquake to find survivors. (I'll talk more about Lotta's Fountain in another post.) One of three living survivors was there - Bill DelMonte, 105 years old, three months at the time of the earthquake. He was interviewed and very sharp; he was an 'investor' who gained and lost a couple of fortunes. The other two survivors are 108-year-old women but they didn't get there this morning; the MC said they "wanted to sleep in!" In addition to speeches by city officials, a wreath was hung, there was a moment of silence at 5:13am after a minute of sirens, as heard in the video below, and we all sung "San Francisco Open Up Your Golden Gate".

Wreath Hanging at Lotta's Fountain