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Point San Luis played host to a very special reunion in April 2023 when many of those with close connections to the light station during the “Coast Guard Era” came back for a collective walk down memory lane.
For some, it was not their first time back. Sherm Acord (1962-63) and George Homenko (1969-70) were here a few years ago to shoot a video about the Coast Guard years at Point San Luis (www.pointsanluislighthouse.org/blog/coastguard-video). Jay Conlin (1971) had visited several times; he brought his son Jeff out to see his old stomping grounds as recently as August 2022. Denise Myres, who was born in San Luis Obispo in April 1961 while her father Allan Karp was stationed here, had returned to her childhood home in June 2022. George Piasecki (1967-69) and his late wife Linda had visited in 2017.
But for others, it was their first time back. And for Charlotte Garber, who was not yet born when her father Charles Albert Garber (1946-48) was officer-in-charge, it was the first time she had seen the light station where her father once held command.
John Howery came with his son Matthew. John lived at the lighthouse as a child while his stepfather Richard Teeter (1948-49) was officer-in-charge. Teeter replaced Garber. When John was six, Teeter was killed when his vehicle went over a cliff while he was driving to check on the light station’s water source at nearby Pecho Creek.
The “Dewey Girls,” Lorrie Freeman and Karin Casper, came from Missouri to see where they lived as young children while their father Rodger Dewey (1960-64) was officer-in-charge, bringing copies of their late father’s book, Lighthouses, Cutters, and Lifeboat Stations, to share with us. Dan Vezinaw returned to where he’d spent summers as a child, staying with his brother Rich (1966-68).
Candice and Larry Fraker drove from Tennessee to visit the “little paradise” where they lived for four years (1970-73) as a young married couple. Jim Hamblin came from Washington to see where he, his late wife Billie, and their two young children had lived for a time. The Hamblins (1971-73) overlapped with the Frakers, as did Jay Conlin. Bev Rackler Adams, who traveled from Utah, lived at Point San Luis with her ex-husband Mike Rackler during 1971 and 1972. Bev worked with Candice at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, which was just then being built, commuting from the lighthouse to the construction site each workday.
Reunion Day began with a tour of the nuclear power plant, courtesy of Pacific Gas and Electric Company which operates the plant. After lunch in Avila, buses brought these VIPs up to the lighthouse for touring, reminiscing, and a wine and cheese reception. The San Luis Yacht Club in Avila gave us the use of their clubhouse for the evening, where we dined on pizza and salad and listened as everyone stood up, shared memories, and told tales. Six men from the Morro Bay Coast Guard Station made a surprise visit, arriving at the yacht club by boat to pay tribute to Coasties from another generation.
It was a day we will long remember at the light station; a day when all the stars aligned. Perhaps those who came will long remember it too, if this note from Matthew Howery is any indication:
“I wanted to reach out personally and send a message of thanks for organizing and putting together this trip. It really meant a lot to my father, and to me as well. He’s been talking about it ever since…”
This story appeared in the
Jul/Aug 2024 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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