New Year’s Eve 2014: An Ode to the Past, Present and Future of Paso Robles

Well, this is it, folks. The Grand Finale of Paso Robles’ 125th anniversary year happens on New Year’s Eve. The very last day (or rather, night) of 2014 will be spent the way Paso loves best – throwing a party, enjoying each other’s company and perhaps pushing the envelope just a teensy bit with a fun event.

We kicked off the year with fireworks on New Year’s Eve 2013; followed that up with a huge birthday party in March; threw a huge, traditional 4th of July celebration; brought a little extra old-fashioned flavor to Pioneer Day and now we are about to bid adieu to our Quasquicentennial year in a most interesting fashion.

But it’s kind of a secret. So you’ll have to show up to see how we launch 125 years of Paso Robles traditions into the future at the stroke of midnight.

Here’s what we can share with you:

2014 New Year’s Eve Finale
“Glow in the Park”
8PM to Midnight
Downtown City Park

Join us for a family-friendly event and a park full of free activities, all glow in the dark, followed by fun surprises, to celebrate the end of our Quasquicentennial year!

Glow-in-the-Dark Activities include:

• Croquet
• Horseshoes
• Bocce Ball
• Hula Hoop
• Bubble Tunnel
• Four Square
• Paddle Ball
• Corn Hole
• Badminton
• Football Toss
• Giant Rolling Balls

Other Fun Additions:

• Food Trucks
• Glow in the Dark Face Painting
• Live DJ
• Party Tent
• And a choreographed LIGHT SHOW! (Okay, the secret is out. But that’s all we’re saying about it.)

See you on New Year’s Eve in downtown Paso Robles!

Highway 101 Bypass, Turkeys and Wood Thieves

Most folks whizzing around Paso Robles on the 101 Highway probably do not think of all the folks and land taken to build the freeway. In our town it was a considerable amount of folks.

From the north the railroad and highway overpass consumed the Schauf farm. This dairy and alfalfa farm was once owned by Arnold Carminiti. He had come to our area about 1900 and at first had a job of cutting oak trees and blasting  stumps out of the ground with dynamite.  His son Waldo said that his father then bought the small dairy that lay along the Salinas River bank. The dairy barn lay right against the river bank with its springs issuing out sulfur water. He had a still behind the barn that was never found by the officials with the strong sulfur smell. The boys herded the cattle along the river bank as they didn’t have enough grass along with some alfalfa, too.

The barn was dismantled in 2013 and a new barn built for the Sewer Farm and settling ponds. The house and other buildings had been dismantled years before. Arnold sold the place before 1920 and bought the farm on the east side of the river and the mouth of the Huer Huero River. The Shaufs bought the land and lived there until the freeway was begun about 1953.

     Hugh Black had the rest of the land from the farm to the railroad tracks and down to 24th street. It took out a good bit of his hatchery and poultry pens. In the 1930’s during the Depression Hugh Black would take several dozen big turkeys the first part of November up to the second story of the hotel above the store on the corner of 12th and Pine Streets. A crowd would gather on 12th Street below and turkeys would be tossed out the window and soar down to the ground. Whoever got a turkey could keep it.