May 14, 2006
SPIRITED GOINGS-ON IN SCOTTISH PUB
By ANN PARKER
Sentinel correspondent
When the owners of the White Cockade Pub in the mountains above Boulder Creek say they have some unusual spirits, they don't mean their Monty Python Holy Grail Ale or the Black Prince Porter.
They mean spirits.
Last summer, when Nancy Palajac and John Johnsen were renovating the 1930 brewpub with Johnsen's father, they began to notice odd things. Someone kept turning the stove burners on ? and flicking lights on and off. They heard footsteps and a glimpse of someone in the kitchen revealed an empty room.
Palajac said she felt sure someone was trying to communicate with them after the ivy garland she had tacked up in the back room was found strewn about the floor ? with the tacks neatly stacked on a chair.
After the pub reopened, Johnsen noticed that troublesome patrons often had unusual experiences, such as a barstool suddenly slipping from beneath an annoying customer. And a pale female image appeared twice in the ladies' bathroom.
"One woman screamed and ran out and hasn't come back," said John.
In January, Palajac and Johnsen decided they needed informed advice about their spirited pub and traveled to the famously haunted Moss Beach Distillery near Half Moon Bay. The restaurant owners directed them to two parapsychology experts, Lloyd Auerbach and Annette Martin, who visited the little mountain pub in March, accompanied by cameras and assistants.
Although many people find the concept of ghosts ridiculous or even offensive, even some skeptics might be impressed by these ghostbusters' credentials. Lloyd Auerbach, the author of several books including "Ghost Hunting: How to Investigate the Paranormal," serves on the faculty of JFK University and is director of the Office of Paranormal Investigation. Annette Martin is a licensed psychic detective; in nearly 30 years as a law enforcement crime detective, she has worked successfully with the FBI and other agencies on a number of investigations, including homicides and missing person cases.
When the specter-seeking team arrived at the White Cockade, they confirmed what the couple suspected: their pub was being shared by ghosts. According to Martin, two separate spispirits inhabited the building. One, named Barbara, was responsible for the occurrences in the back room such as the ivy-pulling and the women's bathroom.
Palajac and Johnsen recognized Martin's description of Barbara Stanford, a former owner of the pub ? after transforming what was then a grubby biker bar into the White Cockade in 1987, Barbara ran the pub with her husband Tom until her death in the late 1990s.
The other ghost, according to Martin, was a logger named Ben who came to the area from Oregon and died of pneumonia in the 1890s; his curiosity about the stove and electric lights inspired him to turn them on and off.
Ben, Martin reported, had a space between his teeth "and liked to spit." He also wanted the couple to get him a spittoon and a two-handed saw. Both spirits, advised the paranormal team, were friendly and even protective toward the White Cockade and its owners.
Pub with a past
The little pub has a rocky and romantic history. First opened in 1930 as a bootlegger's brothel, it changed hands many times and was briefly promoted as a Swiss chalet in the 1950s. From the 1960s through the 1980s, the business operated as a series of rough biker bars, until Barbara and Tom purchased it in order to realize their dream of owning a Scottish pub.
Johnsen took over in 2002, closing the place briefly and reopening in fall of 2005 following the renovations that seemingly sparked the recent spirit activity. The haunted pub has begun to attract attention, including coverage in a recent CBS "Eye On the Bay" television segment.
Palajac and Johnsen are quick to avow that they're just regular folks trying to run a little brewpub, with authentic British ales and homemade pub fare including shepherd's pie and Yorkshire pudding. As chef and bartender, Johnsen smokes his own prime rib and pulls ale with one of the few hand-powered taps in the county. He also makes cowboy boots and is a longtime DJ for KKUP Radio. The couple commutes to and from Livermore; they have three children from past marriages and say the kids don't mind the ghosts but avoid the back room.
"Am I skeptical? Yes, but I'm also open," says Palajac, who acknowledges that "the White Cockade was Barbara's life ? we're glad she's still here. She seems like a positive, loving spirit who cares about us."
She adds firmly, "And we told Ben we'd get him a spittoon if he'd quit fiddling with the stove."
Ann Parker is a freelance writer and public relations consultant. Contact her at atparker@pacbell.net.
Ghost bust 'er
If You Go
WHAT: The White Cockade Scottish Pub.
WHERE: 18025 Highway 9, Boulder Creek.
Hours: 3:30 p.m. to close, Wednesday through Sunday.
DETAILS: 338-1414 and
http://www.thewhitecockade.com.
A Scottish jig or two
The White Cockade has traditional Irish and Scottish music hosted by Greg Roe on the first and third Sundays of the month. Come up and listen to some great music.
You can find this story online at:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archiv ... 1style.htm
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