State Senator Jim Kastama was in a meeting with fellow Democrats on the third floor of the Washington state Capitol building in Olympia when the quake struck.

BBC: Eyewitness: Seattle earthquake

And when he took the oath of office as governor of Washington, he did so in the state capitol building not one mile from the home where his grandfather worked as a servant all those years ago.

WHITEHOUSE: Swearing In Sebelius and Locke