‘Goodbye to a friend.’ SLO County residents share memories of falling bench
Since a crack first appeared in the earth next to a beloved bench at a Shell Beach park, San Luis Obispo County residents have been gathering to say goodbye.
The bench, located on a cliff in Margo Dodd Park in Shell Beach, is poised to fall into the ocean once the cliff’s edge collapses.
“It’s like saying goodbye to a friend,” Arroyo Grande resident Tom Gore told The Tribune on Tuesday.
He and his wife, Lorelei Gore, have sat at the bench countless times since they moved to the area about a decade ago.
“It’s calm and you can view the ocean and watch the sunset,” Lorelei Gore said.
The crack was first spotted by Arroyo Grande resident Dan O’Donnell, who reported the dangerous spot to the city of Pismo Beach.
The Pismo Beach Police Department taped off the cliff Saturday. On Wednesday, the city expanded the cordoned-off area all the way to the street.
The crack has widened day by day, with new chasms appearing around the bench, which was still standing as of noon Wednesday.
The bench was one of the best in Shell Beach, according for Krista Oliver.
She grew up in Shell Beach and lived there until 10 months ago, when she moved to Arroyo Grande.
“The chain was the perfect distance to put your feet up on it,” Oliver said Tuesday, adding that it was her daughter’s favorite spot.
Oliver fears that the walking path next to the bench may get shut down because of the coastal erosion that’s occurred there in recent years.
“It’s sad,” she said.
Effie McDermott, who has lived in Shell Beach since 1968, said she has walked past the bench countless times over the years, but she hasn’t sat in it.
She said the area still holds a special place in her heart. Her daughter was married at the gazebo just to the left of the bench.
Susan Geach moved to Shell Beach in 2010, she told The Tribune in a Facebook message.
At the time, she didn’t know anyone. She had just lost her brother, mother and father in the two years before.
“Every evening I sat in that bench and said goodbye to the people I loved most, prayed for forgiveness and found solace and peace in its existence and the continuity of the waves locking at the base echoing my breathing,” she said.
As the crack before the bench widens, Geach said, “I feel like I am watching yet another death of a family member unfold right in front of me.”
On Tuesday, Susan Jolly stood still as she gazed toward the bench and into the ocean.
She was listening to recorded songs by the Jam Fam, a group she’s a part of that regularly gathered at the bench to play music.
To her, the bench represents friendship, happiness, laughter and peace. The bench has been part of some amazing memories, she said.
Jolly said she’s inspired by how the bench has held on since the cracks first began — surviving one of the largest storms San Luis Obispo County has seen in recent history.
“It’s tough to see it go, but amazing to see how long she’s hanging on,” Jolly said.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
