Spirits, Ghosts, and Memories

I'm going to say the quiet part out loud: there are spirits at the Pier. Yes, I mean ghosts. And that's a very good thing, because whether you see them or not, whether you hear them, feel them, smell them, or just somehow sense them, they're here. Of course, they're known by a more universally accepted name: memories.

And oh, how the Pier hosts an abundance of memories!

For my own part, I can name many Pier friends and family members.

Chris Volaski, owner and operator of Oatman Rock Shop since 1965, was certainly a Pier mother to me. So was Colleen Creedon, the wonderful activist and social guru who lived above the Merry-Go-Round for decades; Diana Cherman, who helped save the Pier from demolition in the early 1970s; and the incredible paddleboard legend Dottie Hawkins.

My Pier fathers include the "lunch club" of George Nojima, Bob de la Peña, and Jesse Coria, who took me under their collective wing when I was just a kid tending bar at The Boathouse. And how could I not mention the great retired lifeguard, educator, and local history adviser Harold Dunnigan, whom we lost just this past April?

Or my dear Pier siblings Harry, Philly Billy, Terry, Larry, Joe Ben, Craig, Scott, Adela, and Elaine “Mac”, to name just a few (all gone too soon).

Each of these souls was, and is, amazing, and my Pier life would be lesser for not having known them. Oh, if only I had the space to list all my beloved Pier ghosts, spirits, and memories…

The people we befriend in life leave a huge impact: their souls, and the memories they leave us. And those memories swirl around the Pier forever.

The Pier has a soul, too, made up of the memories of everyone who has enjoyed it before us and the memories still being made today. Those spirits, those ghosts. We welcome them all, whatever name we give them and whether or not we're truly aware of them. They're always here for us to welcome and enjoy.

Happy Halloween, and Feliz Día de los Muertos!