104-Year-Old Takes Time Off Work for SF Quake Anniversary

San Francisco celebrated one of its oldest traditions Wednesday morning with two small but poignant ceremonies to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the earthquake and fire that nearly destroyed the city in 1906.

As recently as last year, a dozen survivors were on hand at Lotta's Fountain at Market and Kearny streets for the early morning ceremony. This year there was only one -- Herbert Hamrol, who is 104-years-old. Hamrol said he took a day off work and got up at 2:30 a.m. to be on for the pre-dawn ceremony.

He sat in the back of a black 1930 Lincoln convertible, gave interviews to reporters, told stories and joked with Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Hamrol said he didn't remember much about the earthquake, which struck at 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906 and set off three days of fires that destroyed much of the city, including nearly all of its downtown area.

"I was very young then,'' he said, "but I remember my mother carrying me down the stairs."