Brad Lewis' story

Brad Lewis’ father was a farmer who had driven to Anchorage that Friday with a load of potatoes. The Lewises lived on Corenelius Lake. That evening, his mom drove Lewis, along with his three sisters to grandparents, Max and Dorothy Sherrod’s, house for dinner. “We all sat down to dinner with a first course of soup. I had just lifted my spoon when the quake hit hard and fast,” reports Lewis. “My grandpa always wore these bib overalls and carried a notebook and pen or pencil. When we went outside, Grandpa calmly took out his notebook and began to write. At the other end of the spectrum my grandma began to cry hysterically. She dropped down on her knees and prayed for God to please make it stop.” Because of his grandfather’s demeanor, Lewis thought, “This is ok.”

Lewis claims the cars bounced clear of the ground like a ball and he saw daylight beneath the tires. “The trees whipped back and forth. There was a tremendous noise, so loud, we didn’t talk. There was a roar coming from everywhere. It was unbearable.” Lewis, just 10 years old, watched the ground come “like waves in water. I made quite a game of it and jumped up each time” a crest rolled by. Later he would learn that the quake was about four and one half minutes long, but admitted that it seemed a lot longer.

“We live on a wonderful gravel base and can ride out the biggest quake they can throw at us,” proclaimed Lewis. “I feel pretty good about living in Palmer.” After his dad got back from Anchorage, the family drove home. Looking out at nearby Cornelius Lake Lewis noted that the once smooth surface was now a mass two foot pyramids of stacked ice. The next day those peaks would settle, but it unnerved Lewis to think about the lake they often fished, skated, and played upon, looking so distorted by the quake. He imagined what trouble he would have been in if on the lake during its transformation. He recalled not feeling safe on the lake for some time to follow.

Their home was a mess with kitchen cupboards and shelves, predominantly on one side of the house, emptied. Aftershocks continued in the days to follow. Lewis was bothered by them as well, moreso he said than the original quake.