Pamela San Francisco — 1906 Tent City

“April 18th, 5:00 am. All but one of the customers have departed.

“Suddenly, the house shakes, like an unwrapped present in the hands of a curious child. It shudders for over seven minutes. Girls run half-naked into the streets, falling to their knees, pleading with God to forgive their many sins and to have mercy on their wretched souls.

“Perhaps, Teresa thinks, the end has finally come. Perhaps, she thinks, I will be with Joseph at last.

“But it is not the end. It is the great quake of 1906 which ignites the city like a tinder box. Just as Teresa had lost her Edward to fire, she now loses her house. Out of the 410,000 people who call San Francisco home, 300,000 are now homeless. Half flee across the Bay to Oakland and Berkeley. Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, the Panhandle and North Beach become covered overnight with make-shift tents, which rise like pointed dragon’s teeth from burnt soil.