2013 October PASO Magazine

PIONEER DAY 2013
Pioneer Day Activities
at Pioneer Museum
By Chuck Desmond
“Mom, what are we going to do
when the parade is finished?” This
is a question voiced every year by
some Paso families and those who
have come to visit the area and be
a part of the Pioneer Day celebration.
All too often, the answer
is something like, “Well I guess
we’ll just go back home.”
BUT WAIT JUST A SEC-
OND! There is plenty more to do
for the rest of the day. Some folks
don’t even realize that the parade
is merely a part of the day-long
event...so, read on!
For starters, there are the Beans
in the Park – Paso’s most famous
recipe served up hot and fresh.
It’s been the tradition since 1931.
After standing or sitting along
Spring Street for a few hours, the
chance to relax on the grass under
the shade of the park’s trees feels
really good.
After that, it’s time to head to
Pioneer Museum at 2010 Riverside
- adjacent to the Event Center
on one side and Pioneer Park
on the other. With plenty of parking
at the Event Center’s parking
lot, it’s only a 50 yard walk to the
campus that holds Jeanesville
Pump, Pioneer Museum and the
Ag equipment of the Pioneer Day
Committee that you just saw in
the parade. Today everything is
out and open to see - up close and
personal!
The Museum, clearly one of the
Best in the West, is the site for
music, a small engine show, cars,
demonstrations and tours.
Pioneer Park, right next door,
is the venue for a tremendous
collection of small engines. Putting
and clanking away, these
small engines are pure delight for
young and old alike. It is so interesting
to see how they work, the
different sounds they make and
the history behind them.
Enter through the front doors
of the Museum and be greeted
by a super display of one of Paso’s
oldest families – the Klintworths.
A scale model of their home from
the 1890s complete with replica
miniature furniture will be on display.
Strolling the two main aisles
and you’ll get a feel for Paderewski,
fossils, rooms from homes that
date back to the ‘40s and early
Paso medical conditions. Plus the
general store and the refurbished
post office. Stop off and have a
slice of fresh home-made bread
and butter churned on the spot in
a washing machine!
Interested in historic families
from the area? The library area has
been redone and the photo panels of
those families will keep you looking
for a very long time! In the second
hall, the newly refurbished Smith
Sporting Goods Store display is
now finished after a year’s worth of
updating. Check out the vast collection
of weapons, taxidermied animals
and sporting goods that date
back 100 years. The dairy exhibit is
a better-than-perfect way to show
the kids how milk and cheese were
processed and so important to settlers.
Catch sight of a 1902 restored
flying machine originally built by
Elmer Biollinger!
In Transportation Hall are some
of the old buggies and wagons
plus antique bikes, a gas station
and the world’s second largest
collection of barbed wire. Original
local Neon signs from Paso’s
early days are on the walls. Our
first traffic light hangs above
the aisle way. There’s even a
shoe repair shop and of course,
the Blacksmith Shop with “Big
John, the Blacksmith” tending
the forge.
Geneseo School is a real 100
year-old one-room local schoolhouse.
It was repainted this year
and period lighting from the
30s was just added as well. Behind
it is a 100 year-old outhouse.
If you yourself are old enough
to remember, explain to the youngsters
how much fun it was to use
that! “Youngsters” could mean
anyone under the age of 65!
By the front gate of the Museum
is the replica of Paso’s first
jail with Festus Culpepper locked
up inside. His story is a hoot!
In the parking lot will be the
local Model A Club with their
vehicles on display. Yep, they
are all working and are driven
regularly.
Music inside the Museum is
provided by Sarah Matthews and
Paso High musical groups and
a group from Mission Prep
and the choir from Bauer
Speck. Interlaced with them
will be spinners making
yarn and the Central Coast
Wood Carvers will be whittling
away.
Yes, there will be food
and beverages to enjoy and
tables and chairs set up to let
the ol’ legs rest a bit.
Admission to the entire
Museum campus is free but
donations for the cause are
certainly appreciated. Come
on down and enjoy YOUR
Pioneer Museum on the
day when we all celebrate our
heritage!
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34 Paso Robles Magazine, October 2013