Not many people still remember the Big Shake of 1935, but the stories live on through historical documentation and stories shared with children and grandchildren. Here are a few of those stories that viewers shared with MTN.

LaVere “Sis” Southwick was a firebrand of a woman, according to those who knew her, like Barbara Wardell. Southwick was in high school during the fall of 1935. She recalled how impressed she was with the new high school and her disappointment when it was destroyed by the quake. She also recalled how brutally cold the winter was in the railcars the high school temporarily moved into while the school was rebuilt.

Curt Synness’s family owned “The Shanty”, a dance hall located in the Helena Valley. People in the building were prepared to catch the large gas lamps that sw

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