Anna Amelia Holshouser

Anna Amelia Holshouser was a pretty woman of middle age who woke up on the morning of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and got ready to face the day ahead. Devastation surrounded her, but she and a friend, Mr. Paulson, set out for Golden Gate Park to see how they might be of help. On her third day in the park, Ms. Holshouser sewed together blankets, carpets, and sheets to shelter twenty-two people including thirteen children (14). Still determined to do more, Ms. Holshouser started a feeding program with just one tin can and one pie plate. Next, she collected enough funds to buy utensils over in Oakland and ramped up her production. Soon she was feeding hundreds at what became known as the Mizpah Café. Her makeshift restaurant became a symbol of the utopia that can be found in disasters. Ms. Holshauser went on to...