TEMBLOR HIT HOME COUPLE LOST HOUSE OF 15 YEARS AFTER THE 1994 DISASTER.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Darvish Staff Writer VALENCIA - A decade has passed since the earth flexed its muscles and split their home in half, but for Linda and Jimmy Smith, the financial uncertainty and emotional upheaval is never far from their thoughts. The grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl preface pref·ace n. 1. a. A preliminary statement or essay introducing a book that explains its scope, intention, or background and is usually written by the author. b. An introductory section, as of a speech. 2. their recollections of that January morning in 1994 with appreciation for their good health, but the rumblings from the 6.7-magnitude temblor continued to take their toll on the couple long after the shaking stopped. ``We feel very safe in our home now, but the money it took to rebuild this house, well, we were at a point in our lives where we thought we'd be traveling,'' Linda Smith Linda Smith is the name of:
With two young children in tow, Smith and her husband, who retired as chief of detectives at the Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. Police Department six years ago, moved into their Via Onda home in 1979. The small cul-de-sac became the area's unofficial ground zero after the Northridge earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. struck - nearly all of the 20 homes on the tree-lined street sustained significant damage while three, the Smith home included, had to be demolished de·mol·ish tr.v. de·mol·ished, de·mol·ish·ing, de·mol·ish·es 1. To tear down completely; raze. 2. To do away with completely; put an end to. 3. . Via Onda was a regular stop for news vans in search of the destruction-laden footage that dominated media coverage in the weeks and months following the quake Quake - A string-oriented language designed to support the construction of Modula-3 programs from modules, interfaces and libraries. Written by Stephen Harrison of DEC SRC, 1993. . But the Smiths said the true nightmare began after the bulldozers tore down the broken structure that had been their home. Months into the process of pouring a new foundation designed to withstand major quakes, the Smiths fired their contractor. ``I'd say we put in about $150,000 of our own money,'' Jimmy Smith said. ``We spent $90,000 underground alone - the foundation, footing for the block walls. ... We had to use credit cards to get the house finished. ``Financially, definitely, we're still feeling the effects of the earthquake,'' he said. Smith's retirement bonus from his 31-year career at the Beverly Hills Police Department had been earmarked for travel and other luxuries the couple had worked a lifetime to enjoy. Instead, the money was eaten up by post-quake construction. ``When you're young and you get married, it's fun to make a home, to decorate it and get all the things you need,'' Linda Smith said. ``But when your kids are grown and you've got grandkids, you don't want to be putting all your money into a home again.'' Twenty-one months and two rental homes later, the Smiths moved back into their home - one of two consecutive houses that vary from the rest on the tract. Sunlight and framed pictures of smiling loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl fill the house. The couple, married 38 years, have had years to settle into the comfortable rooms, but they admit there are many boxes in the garage that they have yet to unpack See pack. . They said they rarely think about how the house was before the quake split the foundation and cracked floors, walls and ceilings. But when asked about memories of the original house, Jimmy Smith took a moment before sharing an emotional recollection. ``I can still picture the kids when they were little, coming down the stairs Adv. 1. down the stairs - on a floor below; "the tenants live downstairs" downstairs, on a lower floor, below Christmas morning. Remember that?'' he said, turning to his wife. ``We'd make them wait at the top of the stairs and then they'd come down. That was a special time.'' While some Via Onda residents walked away from their damaged homes after the temblor, the Smiths chose to stay and rebuild. There were times, however, when they wondered if it made more sense financially to move on. ``Yes, there were a few times during those 21 months that we had to ask ourselves, are we going to be able to keep this house?'' Linda said. ``It was tough and it gives me chills just thinking about those times, but the reason we stayed is we really liked the neighborhood, the view, our neighbors.'' Amy Raisin Darvish, (661) 257-5254 amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Jimmy and Linda Smith pose in the home they moved into two years after the earthquake slammed their street, Via Onda. (2 -- color) The Smiths stand outside their house, built on the site of their destroyed home. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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