THE BIG EARTHQUAKE IN TEHACHAPI (DAy 2)
I
I was almost 15 when the big earthquake struck Tehachapi on July 1952. It registered 7.7 on the Richter scale. Eleven people were killed, many injured. All the buildings on the main street were damaged. All railroad operations were halted and the state highway closed because of damage to the roads. I remember watching some of the TV coverage of the devastation.
A large women's prison was also destroyed. Amazingly, no one escaped, but they could have easily as the gate and fences came down along with the buildings.
Ah ha! This fact gave me an idea for part of the plot for Spirit Wind. What if someone had escaped the big earthquake? Where would she go, what would she do?
Much of the old part of Tehachapi was restored, some of the small homes look much like they did back then. I described the home of one of the older characters in the story, and on a later visit found one exactly like my fictional description.
To see how the earthquake plays out in Spirit Wind, pick up a .99 cent copy on Kindle between April 2 and 9.
Marilyn
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