San Francisco in 1906 and 1915

Our ancestors living in San Francisco between 1906 and 1915 were undoubtedly impacted by the 1906 earthquake and the 1915 World's Fair. These are interesting topics to ask people about, as family stories may have been passed down.

While no stories have surfaced about any Cerfs being forced to live in tents in Golden Gate Park after the earthquake, they did share housing with relatives after being temporarily forced out of unsafe areas.

One story came up in an interview with  Leo Rosenberg Alexander, a son of Louis Rosenberg and Clarisse Cerf who took his wife's surname of Alexander. Aaron Cerf's two daughters were married to two Rosenberg brothers, Louis and Ben. These brothers had a men's store in Ukiah with another brother, Harry. They had plans to have a chain of stores. According to Leo, something happened in Mendocino County and Ukiah, and people who had lived there a long time and were in business there left the area. "It was sort of a panic up there. And the Rosenbergs and the Cerfs and everybody else, they left Ukiah. And the Cerfs went into Oakland, and the grandfather [Aaron Cerf] opened a wood and coal store in Oakland [moving to San Francisco before 1906].... And then my father, Harry and Ben opened a store on Kearney Street [in San Francisco]. The fire and earthquake wiped them out. The whole thing was wiped out. They had insurance with a German insurance company. They never paid it, any of it."

A few years after San Francisco was partially destroyed by the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco beat out New Orleans for the honor of hosting the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, providing much-needed revitalization. This world's fair, running from February 20 to December 4, celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and commemorated the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by the explorer Balboa. The fair covered 635 acres of what is now the Marina area. It was considered a huge success. There is an interesting website on the Panama Pacific International Exposition that gives a lot of historical information about the fair. Read about its history, identify family heirlooms on the souvenirs page, and take a look at photos and postcards of the fair.

Here is a photo of a son and grandson of Aaron Cerf visiting the fair. The son is Arthur Cerf and the grandson is Leo Rosenberg Alexander.

Two of these well-dressed gentlemen were Arthur Cerf seated on left
 and Leo Rosenberg Alexander standing on left
 at the Panama Pacific International Exposition.

References:

Interview with Leo Alexander on December 22, 1991, in Watsonville, California.

The Panama Pacific International Exposition website at http://www.sanfranciscomemories.com/ppie/.