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Shock Center Near Logan
By William C. Patrick
Tribune Science Editor
The epicenter of the Thursday morning earthquake that gave northern Utah and southern Idaho a violent shaking, was placed at a point approximately 10 miles northwest of Logan by the department of geophysics, University of Utah.
The area of the sub-surface slippage that sent shock waves through the earth in all directions for hundreds of miles was determined by calculations from seismograph records obtained in Salt Lake City, Price and Dugway Proving Ground.
Location of an epicenter cannot be made on the basis of what is shown by a single instrument. It requires a correlation of data obtained from at least three widely-spaced seismographs.
The initial shock at 6:36 a.m. was so violent it sent the needle off the record at the U. of U. seismograph for a minute and a half.
Calculation of the intensity was made from the record on the instrument in Price. All three are operated by the department of geophysics.
Their estimation of the magnitude of the shock is between 5.6 and 5.7 on the Richter Scale.
This is somewhat lower than the rating by scientists at the University of California and California Institute of Technology, who place it at between 6.0 and 6.l on the same scale.
Although Dr. Charles F. Richter of Caltech, who devised the scale, said he expected an aftershock "of a magnitude of about five," other scientists both in California and Utah were of the opinion he was "sticking his neck out."
They said while some aftershocks can be expected, there is absolutely no way of predicting their intensity.
In most earthquakes the first shock is more intense, although subsequent ones may be hard enough to topple buildings already in a weakened condition.
The Richter scale, devised by Dr. Richter about 30 years ago, is the only one that is "strictly instrumental," it was pointed out by Dr. Kenneth L. Cook and Dr. S. Theodore Algermissen, professor and associate professor, respectively, of the department of geophysics.
The so-called Mercalli Scale measures intensity of shock at given locations in terms of human reactions and types and degrees of damage.
But this is more subjective than objective. In other words, types of construction and the feelings of the people themselves, as well as other factors, enter into the estimation of the magnitude of the temblor.
In calculating the intensity of earthquakes before scientific measuring devices were available, it was necessary to apply the Mercalli Scale.
Dr. Algermissen explained that major earthquakes are the result of slippage along fault lines miles below the earth, followed by readjustments of deep lying rock strata. He said the Cache quake may have originated anywhere from 5 to 10 miles under the earth's surface.
Rearrangement of such deep rock layers, extending upward, is shown in the case of the Cache Valley quake by the fact the volume of water from the Logan municipal spring has increased, and farmers north of Logan have reported dry wells are starting to flow.
After the U. of U. seismograph needle was thrown off the record for a minute and a half by the violent first shock, it automatically came back to the record and noted ground motion for a period of about 20 minutes.
There was then a period of quiet, following which a series of small aftershocks at periods of 18, 27, 28, 32 and 47 minutes after first tremor was recorded.
The intensity of the Cache Valley quake of nearly six on the Richter scale was lower than that of the Hebgen Lake quake on August 17, 1959.
Until it is realized that the Richter Scale progresses logarithmically, it would appear to be almost as intense.
Apply this principle it means the Hebgen Lake earthquake had a magnitude approximately 11 times greater.
The Richter scale progresses from one upward. A magnitude of 9 to 10 means total destruction at the epicenter. But a magnitude of 9 would be 1,000 times greater than that of the Cache Valley quake, and of 10 it would be 10,000 times greater.
Since historic times, Cache Valley has not been considered as one of Utah's earthquake hot spots, although the entire Intermountain Area is laced with fault lines, most of them extending in a generally parallel position with respect to the mountain ranges.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
By Grant V. Messerly and George A. Sorensen
The ground under Utah's Cache Valley heaved in a sharp earthquake early Thursday, and shock waves surged outward to rattle windows and shake homes in six western states.
No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but heavy property damage was caused along the eastern half of Cache Valley. The quake touched off landslides, collapsed buildings and knocked out Logan's power system.
Timed at 6:35 a.m., the temblor registered between 5.6 and 5.7 on the Richter scale at the University of Utah seismograph.
Severe damage was concentrated near Logan, Richmond and Lewiston where schools, homes, church structures and business buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged.
Minor damage was reported at other nearby southern Idaho and northern Utah communities, and the tremor was felt by residents as far away as southern Montana, central Wyoming, central Nevada and northwestern Colorado.
All Logan city schools and three Cache County schools were closed Thursday, but officials said all but the damaged ones would reopen Friday.
Thousands of Salt Lake City residents were awakened by the quake, and early risers reported watching tall buildings in the downtown area sway and tremble as the shock wave passed beneath them.
Calls jammed the switchboards at The Salt Lake Tribune and the city police department as citizens sought information on the tremor.
But aside from merchandise tumbled from a few store shelves and some minor plaster cracks, no damage was reported in the city.
In Lewiston, one exterior wall of the Lewiston Drug Co. fell onto and through the roof of the City Cafe, which had not opened for business. Other stores in the city were heavily damaged by cracked walls, broken plate glass windows and fallen merchandise.
K. E. Bailey, superintendent of the Amalgamated Sugar Co. plant at Lewiston, said the factory was heavily damaged by ornamental brick work falling through the roof on lower portions of the plant. He made a "wild guess" that damage would reach $25,000.
Pieces of concrete weighing as much as 500 pounds fell onto the building and plunged all the way to the first floor. Mr. Bailey said only one piece of machinery was damaged, and the quake would not slow production on the sugar beet run due to start soon.
Further north, on the S. B. LaMont farm west of Fairview, Idaho, two large pieces of pasture totaling some four acres were cut loose to a depth of five feet and slid 300 yards down a hill.
Mr. LaMont said the slippage opened up a number of new springs, and reduced the flow of other springs further down the Bear River Valley.
Also hard hit was the community of Richmond, where the 58-year-old Benson Stake Tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was so badly damaged it will have to be demolished.
Every wall was cracked, the chimney was cracked and threatening to fall, and the brick walls had moved away from the eaves as much as four inches.
At North Cache High School, capstone weighing 150 pounds per square foot rimming the top of the two-story structure was knocked loose.
Crews were removing the rest Thursday afternoon because of the danger that more would fall.
Principal Robert Dahle said the school would be closed at least until Tuesday. Workmen will work through the weekend, he said, to put the building in shape.
Several Richmond homes were so badly damaged they cannot be lived in before they are repaired, and some will be razed.
At the L. G. Bullen home, the east wall collapsed inward on the bed of Carliss Ann Bullen, 18. Half a ton of concrete blocks and debris fell on the bed.
Mr. Bullen said he was sitting in the living room when he heard the wall start to collapse and his daughter start to scream. "Then she came flying out of the bedroom," he said.
The girl who suffered only a bruised knee, said she did not remember how she got out of the bed.
At the home of Mrs. Florence Halverson, the chimney inside the house tumbled onto the bed of Robert Halverson, 19, who was scratched but otherwise unhurt. The building was so heavily damaged it will likely have to be razed, officers said.
Marvin Pullan's brick garage collapsed on his auto, but when workmen lifted the roof he drove the vehicle out. The old garage was demolished.
The front porch was torn off the home of Charles Burbank. The chimney also fell off, and walls were broken or cracked open.
In Cherry Creek Canyon east of Richmond a huge cloud of dust was observed immediately after the quake, and officers said a massive landslide had been touched off high in the canyon.
A 64-ton electric transformer of the Smithfield substation at Utah Power and Light Co. was shifted two inches by the quake, but there was no damage and service was not interrupted, company spokesmen reported.
At the mouth of Logan Canyon, the Utah Power and Light Co. flume cracked open, and the resulting flood sent a slide of shale four feet deep across the canyon and U.S. Highway 89. The highway was opened to traffic after a short delay.
Extensive damage was reported to many Utah State University buildings, and the steeple fell through the roof of the Logan 4th-16th LDS Ward chapel.
Officials said damage to the chapel would total at least $40,000, and more if the weakened east wall has to be replaced.
Logan's power supply was knocked out at 6:35 a.m. and remained out until 10 a.m. City power superintendent F. Lyman Spillman said the trouble was caused when the quake swayed two lines together and shorted out a switch.
Several downtown buildings had cracked walls, fallen capstone or ornamental brick and extensive damage to interior plaster. A number of neon advertising signs on building walls were knocked down or tilted.
The Cache County Courthouse had a cracked west wall which forced closure of all offices except the sheriff's department, but officials said all departments would be open Friday.
One bright spot in the quake scene was at the spring which supplies Logan's culinary water. Alton P. Eames, city water superintendent, said the spring had increased its flow by three second feet.
For the first time in memory, water from the spring was muddy Thursday, but he said the city reservoir was settling silt out and there had been few complaints about the water.
In the Town House, once called the Eccles Hotel, a water line broke and caused damage to about 20 rooms.
Another water line feeding the joint reservoir of the communities of Newton and Clarkston was severed by the quake. Clarkston officials said it would be fixed by Thursday night.
J. Stewart Williams, chairman of the USU geology department, said a day-long survey of damage showed it concentrated mainly on the east side of the valley, with relatively little on the west side.
Damage reports from elsewhere were few, but in Pocatello the tremor collapsed an abandoned mine shaft at the east end of Terry Street, creating another dust cloud similar to the one observed high in Cherry Creek Canyon near Richmond.
Also north of the main quake center in the upper Cache Valley farmers reported a number of wells which had been dry for years were flowing good streams of water.
At Downey, Idaho, the chimney of the Oxford Hotel was knocked off and the roof was damaged.
At McCammon the tremor jarred open the locked door to Mom Lindy's Kitchen, a restaurant on U.S. 89-91.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
All Shook Up
By Associated Press
Logan, Aug. 30--It was a short business career for Mrs. Thelma Olsen, Logan, Thursday.
All ready for the grand opening of her new Stork Shop maternity store, Mrs. Olsen arrived at the building Thursday morning to find her "grand opening" signs behind a police department rope barricade.
The building in which the business had just been established developed cracks during the earthquake and was found unsafe by the police department and closed for repairs.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
"Where's the explosion?"
This was the question asked dozens of times Thursday morning by persons calling The Salt Lake Tribune switchboard for information following the earthquake.
Nearly everyone at first thought there had been an explosion rather than a quake.
First call the switchboard received was from Mrs. William Dahle, 2996 S. Redwood Rd. Her call came almost before the tremor had stopped.
At 6:40 a.m. the University of Utah called to report there had been an earthquake.
Throughout the day, calls continued to pour into the Tribune library and to the switchboards. Some callers were concerned over injuries and property damage in the Logan area because of relatives there.
Others, and this included the majority, simply wanted to confirm reports that what they felt in the way of shaking buildings had actually been an earthquake.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
LDS Report
The only earthquake damage to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple at Logan was listed as "superficial damage to plaster," according to Wendall B. Mendenhall, chairman of the LDS Church building committee.
And, he added, repair work on the plaster was already under way. He said there was apparently no major structural damage to the temple.
At Logan, the Utah State University Student Living Center had some plaster damaged, he said, but repairs there have also already started.
Other damage to church property included a Lewiston, Cache County, LDS ward that had superficial damage.
Major damage was to the Richmond, Cache County, LDS Tabernacle which, Mr. Mendenhall said, "is damaged beyond repair. It is closed, condemned and we will make no attempt to repair it."
He said the 4th-16th LDS Ward in Richmond has considerable damage, and that: "We are not allowing any meetings until a complete engineering study is completed, because we know there is severe structural damage."
He said that building's steeple had toppled and both the east and west walls were severely damaged.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
LOGAN, Aug. 30--Early discovery of extensive damage in some school buildings in Logan resulted in closing all the city's schools Thursday. Cache County School Supt. Oral L. Ballam ordered Richmond schools closed also.
Supt. Sherman D. Eyre of Logan schools said all the schools except Logan Junior High will reopen Friday, barring further earthquakes.
The architect began study early on structural damage at the junior high, an old building which the board intended to replace in about two years. Principal damage is broken firewalls that will have to be replaced, Mr. Eyre said.
At the senior high school, where parts of the buildings are the oldest in the system--some were built for Brigham Young Academy prior to 1910--broken plaster repairs probably will range between $5,000 and $6,000, Mr. Eyre said.
Whittier Grade School, built in 1907-08, withstood the quake as well as any of the new buildings and reported no damage. Several grade schools had minor damage, mostly cracked glass and cracked plaster, the superintendent reported.
"I don't know when we can reopen the junior high," he added.
Supt. Ballam said North Cache High School at Richmond will remain closed at least until Monday to permit removal of loose marble decorative blocks and some loose bricks.
The smokestack was damaged, he said, and may have to be removed also.
All other schools reporting damage were found to be structurally sound, Supt. Ballam said.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
Food Rolls
PRESTON, IDAHO--Many southern Idaho communities were awakened Thursday morning with a tremble, felt as a result of the Cache Valley earthquake which caused damage in nearby Utah points.
Some students in the Preston School District were a little disappointed with the announcement that buildings would likely all be in shape for the scheduled start of school on Tuesday.
Schools in nearby Logan were closed Thursday, giving pupils an unscheduled holiday. But in Preston and vicinity classes had not opened. There will be no vacation.
One of the major problems for Preston merchants was the matter that plagued grocery store operators. In most of the stores, all of the round canned goods, oranges, apples and other items were rolled into the aisles of the stores by the tremors.
Store employees were busy restacking the merchandise most of the day.
In Burley, residents were awakened and police officers said the department was swamped with inquiries as to what caused the shaking of their homes.
Pocatello, still further from the quake center, reported no damage, but hundreds of calls.
A police sergeant on duty at the Pocatello department said he knew of at least some damage. That, he said, was his arm, tired and sore from the constant answering of the telephone.
In the Magic Valley area of southcentral Idaho, no damage was reported and few persons, other than in the Burley area, even felt the shock.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
A survey of the Salt Lake City watershed dams, reservoirs and water lines Thursday indicated there was no earthquake damage to the system.
This was reported late Thursday afternoon by Water Commissioner Conrad B. Harrison, and his superintendent, Charles W. Wilson.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
OGDEN (AP)--"That's quite a celebration for my birthday," commented Mrs. Addie Newcomer of Ogden who observed her 73rd birthday anniversary Thursday.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
Earthquake tremors which rocked Cache Valley shimmied through much of the rest of Utah and southern Idaho, causing freak situations and puzzling many residents.
While many said they were shaken from their beds by the quake, others slept through and were completely unaware anything had happened.
Others were blaming the quake, legitimately or otherwise, for their being late for work or for other problems. Alarm clocks that usually functioned failed to sound Thursday morning, while others not supposed to awaken anyone put on unscheduled performances.
In Salt Lake City, several unusual incidents occurred and residents reported they thought someone was "shaking the bed" or that "the children were running through the house" at an unusually early hour.
Frank G. Pollard, operator of a coin operated laundry at 262 E. 33rd South, said the quake knocked two four-foot long fluorescent tubes from the laundry ceiling sockets. Four or five bottles also tumbled from a shelf in the laundry. Of 16 tubes lighting the building, two were shattered, Mr. Pollard said.
One of the most frequent questions asked at The Salt Lake Tribune information service was "When will the next one occur?"
One young school girl said her teacher told her to hurry home because there would be another earthquake at five o'clock. Others asked if the "noon quake" would be on schedule.
As for this, University of Utah experts said all quakes are different but usually there are several aftershocks. As many as four to five were recorded during the day, most of them not severe enough to be felt in Salt Lake City.
Aftershocks, the university expert said, are usually less severe than the main shock, but they added, "earthquakes don't follow a set pattern."
A. W. Nickel, a Hunter farmer, said his family thought another blast had occurred in the Bacchus plant.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
By Bonnie Baird
Earthquake history in Utah and surrounding areas over the past 112 years indicates the Thursday morning temblors were among the most severe ever recorded here.
Intensity of the quake was reported at 6.1 on the Richter Scale at seismographs at Caltech Seismological Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. This is above the intensity reports on a 1934 quake. It was well below the intensity of the 1959 quake in the West Yellowstone area of Wyoming and Montana.
The first earthquake record made in Utah was in 1850. From that time, tremors from mild to major intensity have been recorded almost annually.
In 1934, a temblor on March 12 at approximately 8:05 a.m. included a total of five shocks which drove some Salt Lake City residents from their homes and caused evacuation of office buildings. Schools in Salt Lake City were closed for two days while buildings were inspected for damage.
Geologists set the center of the 1934 quake in the vicinity of Kelton, Box Elder County, but it was felt as far south as Richfield; west to Ely, Nev., east to Rock Springs, Wyo., and north to Boise, Idaho.
There was no extensive damage to buildings or other property. The death of one Ogden woman, who was critically ill, died from overexertion because of the quake.
Most recent and most serious quake in the Intermountain Region was on Aug. 17, 1959, when heavy damage and the loss of at least 28 lives occurred in the Hebgen Lake region of Montana near Yellowstone National Park.
Recorded at an intensity of 7.1, or 11 times greater than the Thursday shake-up, the quake caused a dirt slide which covered a section of a resort area, trapping campers in their beds and trailers.
Shock waves from this were felt as far as Utah and caused damage in several surrounding communities. Heavy damage to highways and dams in the region also resulted.
A record of Intermountain Area quakes as maintained by The Salt Lake Tribune information department shows:
1850--First recorded earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley.
1893, Aug. 30--Light earth shock felt at Snowville at 4:30 p.m.
1896, Oct. 2--Light quake felt at Promontory.
1897 and 1898--Prolonged light earth disturbances.
1897, Feb. 8--Heavy shocks during the afternoon in Corinne, Box Elder County.
1897, Feb. 13, 14, 20 and 21--Shocks felt. On the 21st, a report of gas escaping a mile or two out in Great Salt Lake from the mouth of Bear River.
1897, Aug. 3 and Sept. 15--Fairly heavy quakes.
1898, Feb. 20--Tremors of less intensity than in previous year, around the north end of Great Salt Lake.
1900, April 9--Light quakes at Promontory point.
1905, Nov. 11--Light quakes felt at Snowville.
1909, Oct. 5--Disturbances extending in a line from Preston, Idaho, south through Utah as far south as Midvale. Damage at Malad, Idaho.
1906, April 18--San Francisco quake felt distinctly in Utah.
1915, Oct. 2--Quakes of moderate intensity felt at Kelton.
1919, Nov. 19--Quakes of moderate intensity at Kelton.
1932, Feb. 26--Two distinct shocks felt at Naba, south of Milford at 8:40 p.m.
1932, Nov. 12--Tremor felt at 2:44 a.m., epicenter on Wasatch Fault.
1932, Dec. 20--Pronounced tremor at 11:13 p.m. Epicenter in Nevada, felt throughout the West.
1934, Jan. 30--Light tremor at 1:20 p.m., epicenter in Nevada.
1934, March 12--Five distinct tremors described as the most severe shocks ever felt in Salt Lake City. Schools were closed for a day and a half to avoid danger of damaged buildings. Epicenter was apparently at Kelton.
1934, March 13--Slight tremor at 3:15 a.m. in Salt Lake City.
1934, March 15--Thirty temblors felt in northern Utah. Three were felt in Salt Lake City. More than 100 temblors felt at Locomotive Springs, a few miles from the epicenter, between March 12 and 16.
1934, April 2--Temblor of moderate intensity felt in Salt Lake City. Epicenter apparently same as earlier quakes.
1934, April 14--Major shock felt in Salt Lake, distinctly felt at 2:25 p.m.
1934, April 15--Light shock felt in Salt Lake between 9 and 10 a.m. believed to have originated in Hansel Valley where shocks had been reported almost daily.
1934, April 17--Light shock felt in Salt Lake at 7:47 p.m.
1935, June 4--A slight tremor was felt in Salt Lake City, apparently originated in Hansel Valley, western Box Elder County.
1936, Jan. 15--Minor quake at Cutler Dam, 20 miles west of Logan.
1937, Nov. 18--Minor quake felt in Salt Lake City.
1938, Jan. 26--Minor quake felt in Cedar City.
1938, March 18--University of Utah recorded shock 150 miles northwest and southwest of Salt Lake City.
1938, May 4--Slight quake in Logan area.
1938, May 15--Slight quake in Elsinore and Monroe.
1938, May 30--Fair quake in Salt Lake City. No damage.
1938, June 1--Slight quake in Salt Lake City. No damage.
1940, Jan. 26--Minor quake felt at Logan.
1940, March 28--Minor quake jarred southeastern Idaho and northern Utah at 1 p.m., with strong tremors recorded at Logan from 12:55 p.m. to 1:01 p.m.
1949, March 6--Slight quake of minor intensity.
1954, Aug. 23--10:50 p.m. Fairly severe shock felt in Salt Lake City.
1955 Feb. 6--Shocks felt throughout the area, but no damage.
1958, Feb. 13--at 3:52 p.m. Shocks felt in Provo. No damage.
1959, Aug. 18--Severe quake in southwestern Montana, Hebgen Lake area. Extensive damage, 28 killed and 60 or more injured. Felt in parts of Utah.
1959, July--Slight quake in Kanab area.
1961--Temblors felt in the Sanpete Region, Manti and Ephraim. Windows rattled, no damage.
1962, Aug. 30--Shocks recorded in Salt Lake City at 6:36 a.m. Center in the Cache Valley area. Some damage to buildings and communications. Little damage in Salt Lake City.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
By Robert Rampton
RICHMOND, Cache County--Northern Utah's rolling earth shock early Tuesday shattered more than 30 years of working, saving and remodeling of an old home by a Richmond couple.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Burbank, 149 E. 1st North, who only last year finished a major refurbishing job on what was once an old school house, had to move from their home following Tuesday's earthquake.
Said Mr. Burbank, "The old home just isn't safe anymore. Even if another tremor doesn't follow, the inside of the structure is shattered and it just isn't safe."
His family's experience with the earthquake Tuesday was a hair-raiser.
Mrs. Burbank was already up when the shock hit. She was fixing breakfast for her husband and 15-year old daughter, Judy Lynn. Mr. Burbank was still in bed.
"When the quake hit, I jumped out of bed. I could see my wife on the floor in the other room--the shock had knocked her down.
"Because she is in poor health, I tried to get to her, but the floor seemed like I was walking on a roller coaster. I fell down twice trying to reach her.
"Sometime a large piece of plaster fell from the ceiling and hit me on the head. I grabbed mother and started for the door just as Judy Lynn came screaming down the stairs.
"We didn't know which way to go, we were so scared and confused. Finally we got outside. We found the front porch had fallen off and the chimney had crumbled.
"I don't know where we'll go now. I have a daughter living next door," but the inside of her home isn't much better than ours. Maybe we'll stay with my son-in-law in Logan. I don't know whether my insurance covers earthquake damage," Mr. Burbank said.
Judy Lynn told The Tribune she knew immediately it was an earthquake.
"I started to run down the stairs and went by the window just in time to see the front porch falling off. I don't remember just how we got out, I was too scared," she said.
[Salt Lake Tribune; August 31, 1962]
.
Residents Inspect Ceilings, Walls In Cleanup On Debris
By George A. Sorensen
LOGAN--Cleanup operations began in Cache County Friday with residents gingerly inspecting building walls and ceilings--still fearing a sharp after-jolt from Thursday's earthquake.
Centered about eight miles northwest of Logan, the quake caused the greatest damage in Logan, Richmond and Lewiston.
Geologists attention Friday was called to a series of small cracks and miniature pots which bubbled a blue, very fine sand to the top of the ground. These cracks, approximately two to three inches wide and up to several feet in length, were evident along the Bear River for about five miles south from Trenton.
The water was not flowing Friday, but miniature volcanic-shaped mounds up to six inches high were noted.
Walter Wood, Trenton, said water was bubbling out of them Thursday evening.
"They looked like the hot pots in Yellowstone and a bluish vapor hung over them," Mr. Wood said.
No Cache County official would put an exact amount on damage, but most estimates placed it near $500,000.
Friday it seemed possible that the 909 Logan Junior High School pupils might get an extended vacation for up to three weeks.
Logan School Supt. Sherman Eyre said it is possible that school may not be held for three weeks if reconstruction work shows that the school's walls are damaged. He said tentative estimate of damage to the school Friday was set at $19,000.
However, the pupils could take little cheer from the superintendent's next statement.
"If we have to close down the school, we will try to make up the lost time either by having students attend classes on Saturdays or extend the calendar into June," he said.
Only one other school remained closed Friday. That was the North Cache High School at Richmond where workers finished removing the capping stones on outside walls. Students will return Tuesday.
Supt. Oral L. Ballam, Cache County School District, said engineers checked all schools Thursday and Friday that reported damage.
All others will be checked by engineers over the weekend and it appears that the district schools, including the high school, will open Tuesday, he said.
The other schools suffering more than minor damage were the Richmond Park Elementary and Lewiston Junior High School.
The boiler chimney at the elementary school will have to be removed and the cap stone at the junior high will have to be taken down, Supt. Ballam said.
Meanwhile, Friday the American Red Cross set up disaster headquarters in the Richmond City Hall and flew in an official from San Francisco to assist.
Richmond apparently was struck the hardest by the earthquake.
Mayor Ross Plant said nine homes will have to be rebuilt. This does not include very old homes which were in poor shape before the quake struck, he said.
Also condemned at Richmond was the tall, red brick Benson Stake Chapel, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This building has stood for many years as a landmark.
Mayor Plant said he received word Friday that this building will be torn down because damage left by the quake has made it a hazard.
Officials--both civic and business--blamed much of the damage on the "Gay 90s architecture and ornamental work."
They point out that a good portion of the damage, other than fallen plaster and cracks in the walls, came from falling parapets on walls above the roof levels.
At the Lewiston factory, Amalgamated Sugar Co., K. E. Bailey, manager, said damage would not have been too great if the parapets had not fallen.
Falling concrete and brick from the parapets punctured several holes in the roofs. Some machinery was damaged and some steel roof support beams bent.
Damage to the building was estimated by Mr. Bailey at $25,000.
A crew of 30 men moved in Friday to get the building back into shape. More will be added Tuesday in a rush to get the factory in condition for the fall sugar beet harvest.
Mr. Bailey said the building must be ready by Oct. 1 to start receiving beets on Oct. 10.
"We want that 10-day grace period in case we find that boilers or steam lines have been damaged," Mr. Bailey said.
Scaffolds were erected in front of the Logan Hotel Friday afternoon after it was decided to remove some of the front wall.
All pedestrian traffic was diverted to the other side of the street as one corner of the front wall continued to pull away from the rest of the building.
Although several buildings at Utah State University suffered minor damage, university officials would not make an estimate until after further investigation.
Miss Mildred Schilling, disaster representative, American Red Cross Pacific Area office, San Francisco, arrived in Richmond Friday about noon to assist residents who need help in restoring their homes.
"I will work with the people to determine their needs over and beyond their own resources and to determine if the Red Cross can help them," she said.
Jesse V. Haws, field representative in Northern Utah and Eastern Nevada, said approximately 24 people sought some assistance Friday.
Mayor Plant said relatives, friends and the LDS church are helping those of Richmond who have been forced out of their homes.
An air of watchful waiting filled the valley Friday as residents discussed the reports out of California which said it is possible for after-shocks to cause additional damage.
LDS church officials indicated the Logan Fourth Ward Chapel also might be abandoned. The church building committee has inspected the buildings and still has to make a decision.
They estimated damage to this structure Thursday at $40,000.
Workers in the Cache County Courthouse returned to work Friday. They were sent home after several cracks appeared in the walls Thursday morning.
The Logan-Cache Fire Department continued to keep all its equipment in a yard because of cracks in the building housing the fire trucks and ambulances.
Dr. Kenneth L. Cook, professor and head of the department of geophysics, and Dr. S. Theodore Algermissen, associate professor at the University of Utah, visited the earthquake area in Cache County Friday.
After a study of damage, they said it was "about what we would expect from a tremor of this intensity."
Dr. Algermissen said no aftershocks were felt during Thursday or Friday, but the seismograph at the university will be studied to see if new shocks were recorded, but not felt.
[Salt Lake Tribune; September 1, 1962]
Quake Relief
Earthquake damaged Cache County has been declared a disaster area to make it eligible for rehabilitation loans under the disaster loan program of the Federal Small Business Administration, according to word received Friday from Washington, D.C. by Ross S. Tyson, SBA branch manager in Salt Lake City.
Those qualifying will be able to obtain loans at an interest rate of three percent with the period for repayment of the principal extending up to 20 years. They will be required to pledge whatever collateral they can, Mr. Tyson said.
A representative of the branch office will be at the Logan Chamber of Commerce Tuesday to accept applications.
A committee of Cache County citizens will be appointed by the SBA Washington office to investigate loan requests and make recommendations to the branch office, which has authority to approve loans up to $50,000 each.
Those eligible for borrowing are individuals, business concerns and non-profit organizations, such as churches and charitable institutions, provided they have suffered tangible property loss as a result of the earthquake.
In the case of individuals, loans may be used to repair or replace damaged furniture and other household belongings, as well as homes and appurtenant structures.
Loans will not be made to repair or replace summer or winter cottages, camps or lodges used purely for recreational purposes, Mr. Tyson explained.
Business loans may be used to repair or replace buildings, fixtures, machinery equipment and merchandise, but not for debt repayment except in cases where it has been necessary to borrow for temporary repairs of quake damage.
Mr. Tyson explained the purpose of the federal loan program is to restore homes and businesses as nearly as possible to pre-disaster condition.
[Salt Lake Tribune; September 1, 1962]
By Associated Press
LOGAN--Workmen and equipment Saturday moved ahead with the gigantic task of cleaning up and repairing damage inflicted on Cache Valley by Thursday's earthquake.
Estimates on damage are now running between a half million dollars and a million dollars although an official estimate has not yet been released.
The Logan Junior High School, Model Billiards and several buildings along Logan's main street all had repair crews on the job early Saturday morning.
Tension began to relax as fears of a second tremor lessened and the Logan-Cache fire department felt safe enough that all emergency equipment was put back into the building.
The Small Business Administration announcement that local firms may apply for loans to repair damage brought encouragement to many small businesses.
Although a few slight tremors have been reported since the big shaking last Thursday, the tempo of life in Cache Valley is gradually returning to normal.
[Salt Lake Tribune; September 2, 1962]
Click here for Deseret News Newspaper Articles for the 1962 Cache Valley, UT earthquake.
Click here for Herald Journal (Logan, UT) Newspaper Articles for the 1962 Cache Valley, UT earthquake.
Click here for Ogden Standard Examiner Newspaper Articles for the 1962 Cache Valley, UT earthquake.
Return to Cache Valley Earthquake Summary.
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