Museum News

A very warm hello to you wonderful sponsors, patrons, donors and visitors of YOUR Pioneer Museum. Since our last newsletter, things continue to be happening at warp speed. Following that verbal set-up, please don’t miss the Star Wars display at the front entrance. Loaned by an avid local collector, this display will surely put a smile on young and old alike.

Due to so many folks asking about Pioneer Pearls, our elegant dinner-dance fundraiser, I am pleased to say that we’re hosting it again. Friday, April 26, is the date and the Paso Robles Inn is the venue. Three tables of eight were spoken for even before the date was set! Again, the ticket price of $100 per person will include the meal, all the beverages, and live music. Our goal is 200 people and based on requests, we’ll sell out. Don’t wait to order your table. We plan to make it a fantastic party for you!

    For those who visit regularly, you’ve seen the tremendous progress on the Smith Sporting Goods display. By Feb.1st, it should be done. A Boy Scout, Alex Cushing doing his Eagle Project, has created a wonderful and historical look at the Paso Fire Department. Very well done with photos, and a clear timeline of the PFD. Check this out.

   Approaching the calendar year’s end, here are a few pieces of important information. #1: As always, we are fiscally responsible with your donated funds. We guard them like diamonds and stick to our budgeted line items. #2: The Paso Robles Museum Foundation is making progress. The needed documents are prepared and in the hands of the legal department to insure our filings are done correctly. April remains the deadline for the three entities to sign the papers and begin the path to our own destiny. #3: Space issues remain at the top of the list.

   Working closely with the City on some of their possible spaces, we might at long last, have a solution for some of our needs. Keep your fingers crossed!

   As you do holiday shopping, please remember us. We need a couple computers that are current. Perhaps the ones you are replacing at home or office might be perfect for us! You will soon be able to donate via our website or use your checkbook right now and send in the attached Friends form. We wish you an excellent holiday season that is full of promise, safety and unlimited love. Thank you from all of us and may God bless you.

~ Chuck Desmond ~

From Our Board President - August 2012

When I last wrote to you about YOUR PIONEER MUSEUM, I put out a call for candidates for committees, new Board Members and donations to buy a new table saw for the construction crew. Solid as granite, you came through. We ended up with about half-dozen good folks who will be joining various committees as we can fold them came in for the table saw and we purchased a brand new cabinet-style unit with mobile base. Just last week, it was fine-tuned and now is ready to go—with plenty of power, features and safety items.

In the past three years, we have taken on many projects to enhance displays, work areas and storage rooms. We are now about to embark on our grandest venture yet.

The Construction Crew and Display Committee have been working “behind the scenes” for the past few months to prepare for the first section of “Main St.—Paso Style.” In the upper hall next to the ramp is where the Smith Sporting Goods Display is being recreated. I won’t tell you the significance or history of that store because we want you to see it yourself first-hand. But, suffice it to say that Gary Smith, grandson of the founder, has been involved with every detail of the project from the gun collection to the bicycle repair shop, ammunition-making equipment, fishing, and a collection of taxidermy that is very impressive. Wall sections have been pre-built and set aside. Most of the artifacts are stored and the construction phase is beginning right now. New lighting, the walls, new flooring, new entry, new signage, new paint. Best of all, like the recently redone blacksmith shop, visitors will be able to enter the store and see the items “up close and personal.” Smith’s Sporting Goods was the place to be and now, proudly next to the bank, “downtown Paso” is taking shape architecturally. This project will last for the next couple months and then, the next one is already on the drawing board.

Thank you for your continued encouragement and suggestions. They keep us motivated. Thank you for bringing friends and out-of-town visitors to experience The Museum. Thank you for continuing to send financial donations to support these projects you have asked for! Every check we receive is huge for our mission. Lastly, God bless you and your families and keep you safe.

~ Chuck Desmond ~

CAP Grant

On June 4 and 5, the Museum Board spent two days with two professional assessors looking at the museum’s collection of artifacts and the historic schoolhouse. This was made possible through a grant from the Conservation Assessment Program (CAP). The museum was allocated $7,190 for salaries and expenses for these professionals.

John Griswold of the Griswold Conservation Associate gave us advice on care of the wide variety of artifacts at the museum. He evaluated the current collection care policies and appropriate improvements that could be made. He gave us valuable in-formation on how to take care of what we have. John also looked at how we can improve the metal buildings that house the museum. The museum will receive a written report that can be used for long and short planning.

Peyton Hall of the Historic Resources Group spent two days doing the assessment on the Geneseo schoolhouse. He gave us recommendations on how to preserve the building, which was built in the 1880s.

The Pioneer Museum continues to grow and expand. Our goal is to make sure the artifacts are properly cared for so that in 50 years they will still be in good condition. With an all-volunteer staff being able to have two museum professionals work with us was a valuable asset.

~ Bonnie Nelson, Vice-president ~

We're Now On Facebook

The Pioneer Museum has progressed into the current era of social media, and is proud to announce that we now have a Facebook page! Facebook serves as a way to promote the museum through this popular source of online communication. On our Facebook page you can see pictures of the inside of the museum and museum grounds, as well as find out about current and upcoming Pioneer Museum events.

You can easily go to the museum's Facebook page by logging on to your Facebook page and do a search for Paso Robles Pioneer Museum. If you don't have a Facebook page, you can "Google" the Paso Robles Pioneer Museum and find our Facebook link there. Once you are on our page, be sure to "like it," so we will know you visited our page.

~ Cheryl Carnevali ~

The Museum's Roof

As you can most likely surmise, the Museum was built in stages over the last 40 years. Things wear out in life and this time, it is the museum’s roof. At approximately 12,000 sq. ft. of roof, it is old, the skylights are beginning to fail and we have had many leaks that have been patched. But that is not a cure-all solution—unfortunately. Paso’s unique temperatures and winds have caused us to absolutely need to replace the entire roof. This project is way at the top of the infrastructure list.

Multiple contractors with multiple proposals and ideas have been brought in for consultation, brainstorming and proposals. It is not an easy fix and therefore it is not an in-expensive one either. However, we are now confident in knowing what needs to be done. To do the project the right way, the tasks are: remove and replace all the metal with new sheeting, replace all the skylights and eliminate a few, remove the cupolas, cut off all the protruding poles and cap them, re-flash everything to sustain against the winds and rain, and add more insulation in selected areas.

We Need Your Help! The City of Paso is requiring stringent requirements and to meet them, we need $115,000. Yes, a huge gulp but together with everyone’s help, we can get there. Please do what you can to dig deep and know that your donations are going directly to protect the history of your community. Please send a check now, as it would be magnificent to do this in November! Thank you and of course, acknowledgments of your donations and mountains of thanks will be administered promptly for you and your tax records.

The Geneseo Schoolhouse Dedication
October 8, 2005

After the 2005 Pioneer Day parade,
the Paso Robles Pioneer Museum hosted its annual
Open House. This tradition was started in 1975
when the first building was constructed on the
Museum grounds. A large number of activities took
place, including lots of hands-on things for kids to
enjoy, like Buckaroo branding, roping and an archeological
dig.

At 2 p.m. the restored Geneseo Schoolhouse
was dedicated. Please click on the picture to see
some photos and commentary of this wonderful event.

Spotlight on Keith Tarwater

The jerk-line team (above), a pencil drawing, by Keith Tarwater appears in the museum’s 1998 publication,
The Pioneer Pages. Keith, a native of San Luis Obispo County, has always been interested in drawing and
painting. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Keith worked
for the City of Paso Robles, beginning in the street department and ending up in the police department.
He retired after 30+ years with the City. He volunteers
as a docent at the museum, served on the board of
directors and helps when and where needed.

The Pioneer Museum has copies of the 32-page
booklets, The Pioneer Pages, which were published from
1998 through 2002. They are available for $5 each (plus postage and handling). Each issue contains a variety
of articles about Paso Robles area history, including agriculture, blacksmiths, bridges, churches, charcoal industry, outlaws, roads, telephones.

For more information on The Pioneer Pages click on
Gift Shop link.