Posted on 01/24/2014 5:03:13 PM PST by nickcarraway
San Francisco’s fire chief made a special visit to the North Bay on Friday to celebrate the birthday of one of the two known survivors of the 1906 earthquake.
Bill Del Monte turned 108 years old this week. He was just three months old when the earthquake devastated San Francisco.
He now lives in a retirement home in Greenbrae. That’s where San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White met him for lunch, catered by John’s Grill.
Over some steaks and a glass of scotch, Del Monte recalled his mother’s memory of the moments after the 1906 quake, when he was just a baby.
“My mother in the kitchen put the table cloth around me, wrapped it around me and put me on a cart and went down Broadway, and there was fire on both sides of the street.,” Del Monte said.
Del Monte is not planning to attend the upcoming ceremony to mark the 108th anniversary of the earthquake, so the chief and Del Monte recorded a video message to be shown at the ceremony at Lotta’s Fountain on Market Street this April.
The only other survivor of the quake, 112-year-old Ruth Newman, also said she would be unable to attend this year.
Del Monte’s advice to the young? "Live, and enjoy it while you're here."
The guy’s embellishing the truth or he has a photographic memory. I was born in 1972, and I sure as Hell don’t remember Watergate.
He’s 108?! Wow! He looks great!
He clearly states that he is recalling his MOTHER’S description of what happened.
There is a VERY old jeweler in Rockford, IL. On his wall he has papers relating to his grandfather, who was in the War of 1861. Obviously, the grandfather served young and (re)-married old, but as a youngster the jeweler may well have heard stories from those who lived through it.
Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think?
He was repeating his mother’s memories.
Over some steaks and a glass of scotch, Del Monte recalled his mother’s memory of the moments after the 1906 quake, when he was just a baby.
This is carrying survival too far.
You think he should be executed?
I dunno. Whadda you think?
ObamaCare has a pill for him.
Kinda strange in a way, that in the last 108 years, this guy can only claim to be a survivor of the 1906 Quake. You would think he would have survived a lot more incidents and close calls in all that time...
Boy I’ll say! He doesn’t look a day over eighty.
What do you want to know? The press overplayed the whole damn thing.
Now Watergate does not bother me.
Made me think of the guy on the show “I’ve Got A Secret” in 1956 who has seen Lincoln assassinated and he remembered it.
Good one.
> Bill Del Monte turned 108 years old this week.
108 years old? I’ll never ketchup.
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