Special Project: Senior Housing
As the city’s older population swells, seniors who can no longer live at home face high costs, limited choices
EDITOR'S NOTE: Full profiles of the seniors interviewed will be published each day after today's introductory story. Publishing dates are noted in the...
Life in the Later Lane
Stephanie Ernst-Scott runs the last tackle shop in San Francisco. It’s been in her family for 60 years.
Walk through the doors of Gus’ Discount Fishing Tackle, and you’ll likely be greeted before you even...
City College café owner customizes and caters to make students, staff and professors feel at home
Thanks to Alberto Campos, students at City College of San Francisco’s Mission Campus can get an affordable...
One bold step opened up education and a career charting demographics in low-income countries
Sara Seims, an 18-year-old British girl, walked into the admissions office at New York University and knocked...
K.D. Sullivan: From Park Bench to Publishing House
At 15, K.D. Sullivan was homeless, hungry, and sleeping on park benches in Honolulu’s Aina Haina neighborhood....
Retired conference consultant embraces San Francisco and its history with tour of her own neighborhood
As she strolls toward the smallest park in San Francisco, Bonnie Wallsh calls back to the group...
Farm life couldn’t compete with the excitement of big cities and the challenge of the executive life
In college, Bob Britt worked as a night auditor at a roadside Holiday Inn in Southern Illinois....
Successful sous chef finds equilibrium and support after career sidetracked by health and hard times
Jon Insco has been a go-getter most of his life — always hustling for his next adventure....
Being an ‘old soul’ isn’t just about age but an attitude – best nurtured by intergenerational contact
SF SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – There’s a corner of Gen Z internet culture that has popularized the...
How a dedicated teacher of young children became a dedicated civic volunteer.
Sharon Yow’s father drove a truck and tried his hand at farming. Her mother worked a switchboard...
Famed boogie-woogie pianist embroiders her performances with her own hand-crafted art
Caroline Dahl has never forgotten the glamorous, red-haired woman in a sequined dress she saw at a...
The biggest, best walk – and bath of a lifetime.
Tina Martin SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – I love San Francisco, and I love to walk. So when...
‘So hard, all the losses and pain:’ Personal and world tragedies led daughter of Holocaust survivors to life of helping others help others
Juliet Rothman was living in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1992 when her 21-year-old son Daniel attempted a double...
Rock ‘n’ roll and diamonds shaped the life of Arthur Indenbaum
WRITER'S NOTE: Arthur Indenbaum died on November 28, 2025, with his wife and daughter by his side....
All Posts
Chinatown native and tour guide is a history whiz who helps local filmmakers
Despite growing up in the neglected ghetto of San Francisco’s Chinatown, where most Chinese lived until the 1940s, Dorothy Quock extols its vibrant history and culture in her work today. For the past 28 years, Quock, now 85, has been working for Wok Wiz Chinatown Tours, leading small groups of tourists through its mysterious alleys ...
Maintaining that ‘je ne c’est qua’ into age 60 and beyond
SENIOR FASHIONISTA – Mark Allan Davis, 57, is a musical theater specialist born in Rochester, N.Y. He says his work in dance and theatre took him to Europe, where he learned that “being fashionable and being stylish aren’t mutually inclusive. I collect clothes, then get rid of them, then look for new bargains. Successfully, I ...
Obstacles prove plenty for active woman when a wheelchair enters her life
Peggy Coster’s life at 69 is full and busy. But hers requires a lot more planning – and patience than most people’s. At the age of 39, after having lived a relatively healthy existence, she was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome. Since then, she has had to rely on a wheelchair to get around. And sometimes ...
Pop-Up pairs ‘perennials’ and millennials for conversation– and possible friendships
CREATING COMMUNITY – Manny’s cafe on the corner of 16th and Valencia streets was noisy and crowded. Scattered among the predominant millennials were a handful of perennials – a new term for seniors, as in enduring or existing for a long time – who nervously waited for the announced event to begin. Most of us ...
Matching outfits for him and his sister inspired lifelong interest in fashion
Jerry W. Brown describes his style as “I don’t like paying full price.” So he always picks his clothes from items on sale. SENIOR FASHIONISTA – Actually, his interest in clothing all came from his mother,” he said. “Me and my sister always had matching outfits for church. She hated it but I loved it.” ...
On the road again: Singer on search for last traditional piano bars for documentary
From the time she was a little girl, Kathy Holly’s mother would take her to piano bars to join in the singing in its convivial atmosphere. As a child and performer still going in her 7th decade, she has lived through the piano bar’s heyday as well as its decline. Her career has taken her ...
