Beyer's Byways: Have a drink with George the ghost at Captains Anchorage in Big Bear

On a recent Saturday, I asked Laureen if she had any specific plans for the day.

She knew what that meant.

“A road trip?” she responded.

Within 40 minutes we were on our way to Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains. It is one of our favorite haunts.

Haunts. I like that. Since it is October — that spooky time of year.

Big Bear includes Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake, for those who haven’t traveled Highway 18 to either locale. To drive this road is to witness tall glorious pine trees, a blue lake, hiking and off-road trails, eateries and shops in the Village, and so much more.

Yes, we love the Big Bear area.

“I love the Big Bear area,” I declared.

“I know,” Laureen said. “Where are we going for lunch?”

I knew the right spot. A place internationally known as haunted and goosebumpy: Captains Anchorage.

“We haven’t been there in a dozen years,” Laureen said.

“And the spirits are angry about that,” I said. “The tip you left last time was rather vacuous.”

Laureen ignored that.

Driving on Highway 18 south of Lucerne Valley, the Mitsubishi Cement plant always reminds me of a space colony. Huge round storage buildings with conveyor belts going this and that way gives off an out-of-this-world appearance.

“Doesn’t it look like space aliens captured humans and sent them to work in their factory?” I asked as we drove by the place.

Laureen shook her head. “Looks like a cement factory.”

“Human. We do not enjoy your remarks. To the mines with you,” I commanded.

Laureen ignored me again.

As we swung around Baldwin Lake, we had some time to kill before the restaurant opened and decided to take the scenic route through Holcomb Valley. Actually, I had intended on taking the drive to snap a photograph of the “hanging tree” in the area where the old mining town of Belleville once stood.

I wrote on Holcomb Valley back in June 2020, but I won’t go into any detail about that trip here. I don’t like repeating myself — unless it’s to our children; then I can go on and on and on about the same subject for weeks.

Like many mining camps, Belleville could be a violent place. After all, there had to be some place to punish those who thought killing one another was a perfectly fine way of dealing with personal disputes.

So the townsfolk found a nice tall Juniper tree to string up the really bad hombres. Is the tree haunted? I have no idea, but with its outstretched limbs and prominent location in the valley, it could be.

“Almost lunch time,” I said to Laureen.

As we headed out of the valley, we came across a tree that made the hanging tree look downright tame. There in the middle of a clearing, we stared at an apparition that Tim Burton might find alluring.

Gnarled, leafless branches tweaked in such a way that it appeared as if the tree were alive and trying to reach out to grab some unsuspecting person. Not a stich of green on the thing — only the tall, barren trunk hunkered down in the soil.

“That looks as if it’s haunted?” Laureen asked.

“I’ll come back and pick you up in the morning. Let me know about your research.”

We headed out for lunch at that time.

Captains Anchorage is in Big Bear Lake. It has been a landmark for the city since 1947, when the owner, Andy Devine, opened it. The famous actor turned restaurateur wanted something special to entertain his Hollywood friends, and so the restaurant and bar became the center point not only for the locals, but for many other celebrities of that time. Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart and many more made the trek from Los Angeles to partake in the extensive menu offerings.

The original name of the place was the Sportsman’s Tavern, which stuck until 1972, when it was changed to Captains Anchorage by Woodrow and Charlotte Meier, who purchased the spot from Devine in 1966.

It’s a beautiful building full of character and grace — and it’s haunted.

As we entered the establishment, I walked over to the dark wood bar, located in the Andy Devine Room, and snapped some photographs. That’s what I do: Don’t look at the menu first; just snap some shots. Perhaps an orb will be floating somewhere in the photo when I download it later.

“Have you come to see George?” Natalie asked from behind the bar. Natalie has worked at Captains Anchorage a long time, and so she knows a bit about its history.

“George is our local ghost,” she continued. “He likes to hang around the bar, causing some mischief now and then, but doesn’t hurt anyone.”

“You’re a believer then?” I asked.

“I don’t belong to a cult, if that’s what you’re asking?”

“No, not that kind of a believer,” I said. “Have you had any interaction with George?”

Natalie nodded: “Once in a while, a light will turn on when no one is here but me, or the glass washer will suddenly light up. Those kinds of things.”

Laureen was standing to the right of the bar, near the kitchen entrance, and I saw a peculiar look on her face.

“You feeling something?”

“Yes, there’s something here between the bar and the fireplace,” she said. “It’s like someone being anxious. As if they’re troubled by something.”

She really can feel these things sometimes. Laureen is so much more sensitive than me when it comes to practically anything — except those sad, mistreated dog commercials; they tear me up. A box of tissues, please.

“Did you feel anything?” she asked me.

I nodded. “Yes, I feel the bar is calling me over for a cold one.”

According to Patti Scriven, the current owner and daughter of the Meiers, George was Andy Devine’s bookkeeper. When Devine was owner, there were many rumors of illegal gambling at the Sportsman’s Tavern. In fact, upstairs, small booths original to the design of the restaurant look like the perfect size for a slot machine. Poker games, roulette, and possibly horse racing bets may have occurred in the establishment.

Was George just a bookkeeper or perhaps also a bookie?

“Rumor has it that George may have been embezzling profits from the illegal gambling,” Patti said. “He may have been afraid of getting caught and committed suicide at his house, not far from here."

“Then why would he haunt this place?” Laureen asked.

“We have had numerous of those paranormal investigators out here, and they all say the same thing: He was most happy here at the restaurant,” she said.

“It is a very nice place to haunt,” I offered.

My research showed that George may have also been killed by some angry gamblers, or by those who caught him skimming money off the top of the receipts.

Either way, suicide or murder makes for a possible haunting.

It seems as though George truly likes haunting the restaurant, its patrons and staff. He, according to Patti, has never caused any harm to anyone, though, which is good.

“There’ve been some liquor bottles shattering behind the bar when no one was present, some tromping of heavy footsteps up and down the stairs, blowing out some candles, and the like. Pretty harmless — more like pranks.”

Shattering an expensive bottle of alcohol is more than a prank. That should be a felony in any ghostly realm.

“Listen, Mr. Ghost Man, I don’t care if it was a prank, that was an expensive bottle of Dalmore 62 that you decided to shatter. Who is going to pay for it?”

Patti entertained us with more tales of the mischievous George, but she also said she’d never had a true other-worldly experience with the ghost of Captains Anchorage.

“I wish Rita were here,” Patti said. “She really has had some recent experiences with George.”

“Please, go on,” I said.

“Well, recently Rita was near the kitchen when she suddenly saw a dark shadow sweep right beside Hugo, our chef, who was busy cooking,” Patti said. “She was scared to death and screamed. When I asked Hugo if he saw or felt anything, he replied, just as Rita screamed, he had felt a presence swoosh by him, almost touching him. But there was nothing there when he glanced around.”

“Yes, Rita won’t even go upstairs to get a bottle of wine,” Patti said. “I tease her that a customer wants a certain vintage and ask if she will go up and get it. She just tells me no.”

“I don’t blame her,” Laureen said.

“Neither do I,” Patti said. “I just like to tease her that way.”

Is Captains Anchorage haunted? According to George, it is. All I know is they have great food and a greater tale for their customers.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Beyer's Byways: Have a drink with George the ghost at Captains Anchorage in Big Bear