Dan Michaels' story

I'm amazed at how long ago it has been and by the same token how it seems as though it happened just recently. We had lived in Alaska for just shy of two years and resided in Sutton, about a mile up Jonesville Road.

Yes it was dinnertime for my family as it was for many. I'm not sure what all we were going to eat, but I do remember there were boiled eggs on a plate. We had only experienced a couple of minor earthquakes in our short time of living here so we weren't too concerned at first. As the duration continued and the severity increased, things started getting intense. The house began shaking violently with whatever was in the kitchen cabinets falling out. As the time and strength got worse my parents ushered us to the door. It wasn't long after that when it seemed like the intensity peaked but there was no sign of it stopping. As we stood in the doorway we could see the trees and power poles drastically swaying as if they were a limp switch. The ground was rolling like waves on a lake. The noise was unlike anything that I had ever heard before and so very loud for such a long period of time. In all of the excitement my Dad managed to go out to the log garage and get the car out. He was afraid the garage might collapse, but it didn't. He came back to the doorway where we all stood and watched the car bounce up and down. The longer the ground shook, the scarier that it got. I know I was beginning to seriously wonder if the ground would ever stop shaking. Yes I was getting scared. When the ground stopped shaking, there was relief but I'm quite sure we were all shaking. We turned around to see our kitchen/ dining room in total chaos. Our dinner was on the floor, as were most of the items that were once in the cabinets. We were about as settled down as a person could expect after going through an ordeal like that, but then came the aftershocks. With each one we would head for the doorway and after each one my Mother went outside to vomit. I never knew a person could throw up that much and not be sick. I can't really remember if I could hear birds chirping, but there was a certain quiet. As damage and fatality reports trickled in throughout time, we realized just how lucky we were.

Reprinted from the March 2014 issue of the Palmer Historical Society Newsletter.