2025 Royalty
Grand Marshal & Queen
Marshal Gary Tucker
Queen Lorraine Cagliero
Belle
Olivia Anderson - York Mountain Area
Past Royalty
Belle Attendants
Taylor Gignoux - Bradley Area
Emma Marquart - Templeton Area
Samantha Martinez - Union Area
Amelia Peterson - Paso Robles Area
Jaklyn Woodland - Estrella Area
Queens Attendants
Dena Cagliero Price
Samantha Cagliero
Grand Marshal Gary Tucker​
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This is a family history of Gary Davies Tucker.
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Gary was born in Atascadero Hospital September 25 1941,, the son of Eldon and Nathalie Tucker. His family history has been traced back to England and Scotland and includes relatives on both sides of the civil war. Gary’s parents were children of pioneers in the Cholame and Shandon area of California. He and his sister and all their children and grandchildren have remained in SLO county. Gary's grandfather and uncle were both pioneer day marshals. Gary's granddaughter Payton Tucker was a belle. Gary was a general contractor building hundreds of homes in the north county, and multiple commercial buildings, and banks. He has also built several housing developments in Templeton on property which was once the Templeton Livestock Market. Gary continues to reside in Paso Robles with his wife Kathy. Together they built and ran multiple residential care facilities, until their retirement two years ago. Garys sons, William Tucker and Ken Tucker live in Templeton, with their children Payton, Logan, Grant and Ben. Gary continues to raise cattle on a ranch in Shandon with his son Ken, and his son Will has followed in his footsteps as a builder and developer.
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DAVIES
Henry Holmes Davies came to the USA with his father Horatio Nelson Davies, after his mother insisted they leave India. She had sent most of her children to private school in England, when they reached "school age" One of her sons had not been sent to boarding school, so he must have been fairly young, was killed in a uprising in India.
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Major General Horatio Nelson Davies and his wife returned to England, then emigrated to America. They originally settled in Texas but then came to Cholame area. Horatio Nelson Davies was descended from Catherine, the sister of Lord Horatio Nelson, the famous English sea captain.
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Henry Holmes Davies' son (Kenneth Davies) was born in Santa Cruz. (the Monterey and Santa Cruz area was a starting point for many people moving here at that time. It was the nearest "big" city, and had the seaport, where supplies could be off loaded. It was probably also the nearest medical help. His wife may also have had some family still there.
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Caroline Mc Laren, emigrated to the Monterey area with her family from Canada. Family lore says the Mc Laren children were sent to Canada from Scotland, and shortly thereafter the parents were killed in Scotland.
Henry Holmes Davies died young. Two of the other Davies sons, Ian and Cecil, Gary remembers, as they worked the ranch in Cholame with Ken. The other son, Charlie was a welder in the war. His daughter Erina Davies Hackney was the youngest, and was responsible to researching Davis family history.
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WORD
Mary Cone Words' family came from the town of Cone, Texas. The Cone family were dairy farmers. Gary has a chair which belonged to Mary, and according to family lore, came around the horn in a ship. Mary was married to "Judge" George Word and in addition to being a circuit judge, he had a blacksmith shop and bar on what is now Highway 46 between Bitterwater road and Cholame.
Lilah Word Davies was raised on a ranch over the hill from the X-D ranch, run by Kenneth. Davies. She married Kenneth Davies when she was only 16 years old. It was her job to feed the men on the ranch, and that meant, growing some of the food, and cooking 3 meals a day without electricity. When they harvested they might have as many as 20 men there working. She probably had other women come in and help cook for that. After Gilbert was born, she sent Nathalie to live with her parents, (the Words) for a year or more. Because she had so much work on the ranch.
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TUCKER
Welsey Tucker (senior) lived in Kansas. He had two brothers who fought on opposite sides of the Civil War. Their names were Ephraim and Royal. He was put in jail as a young man because he would not fight in the civil war. He did not want to fight against either of his brothers. They let him out of jail when they found he was a good teamster (he could work a team of horses and haul freight in wagons for the army) He survived the war as a teamster.
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Welsey Tucker (senior) and his wife, Missouri Ann left Leavenworth Kansas on Christmas Eve in 1875. They had two wagons, 7 horses, and 6 children. They left Kansas because Welsey's mother had remarried a man who moved her to the "Watsonville" area or somewhere north of there, possibly to mine for gold. Her new husband's last name was Bitley.
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While crossing a frozen river, the ice was too thin to hold the wagons and their contents. The family took everything out of the wagon, and had the horses take it across. They then tied belongings in a rocking chair, and drug the chair back and forth across the frozen river with a rope, to bring the belongings to the other side. Welsey got injured at one point, a broken leg. The family stayed in their wagons, and Fred often recounted a story where they could see the Indians watching them from a rise nearby. While Missouri Ann cooked and cared for the children and his leg healed. In the southwest, they met a regiment of negro soldiers who befriended them and accompanied them towards California.
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The family eventually went looking for Welsey's mother in an area called "Grizzly Flats". Edie Tucker Lewis recounted Freds story that when they went to Grizzly Flats, the road was so narrow and rutted they had trouble turning the wagons. Fred and Missouri Ann had more children after they arrived here, Welsey and Annabelle. They also lost a daughter, Susan Ann died in Watsonville, after getting sick in Creston, and they took her to Watsonville to get medical care, but she did not survive.
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Fred Tucker went to school only sporadically, as his family was moving around a lot. He lived in Creston area, near the Windfall Farms (Camp 8 and Creston Road). His mother made him help build the Creston School. When he finished building it, he enrolled and went through grades 1 to 6 at the age of 21. This is the same school that is now at the Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles.
According to written family history, the trip to California appears to have taken over a year. By the mid 1880s, Fred was starting businesses and buying land in the Shandon area. For some reason he lost several of the homesteads he started. He even went to Hawaii for a while and worked there to get enough money to return to California. (he would have had to travel by ship) He was running a general store in Shandon and started drilling wells at about the time he finally married. He drilled a municipal well in Paso Robles. His wife was 25 years younger than he was, and he was 45 at the time of his marriage.
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Edna Tiffin Tucker was born on the "Tiffin Place" in Shandon, the trees that were there, planted in the 1800s are still there. Her fathers name was Richard, he had come from England. Edna's brother Richard and his son Ira did not like farming, so they moved to SLO, and the son eventually moved to LA area, and that ranch was sold.
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After they married, came the great depression and Fred and Edna had a hard time raising all of their children. He had settled into the piece of property in Shandon where Elden lived, but he had owned a lot more property at times, most of which he probably lost during the depression.
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Fred and Edna's youngest was daughter Edie, whose daughter Patti Davis and her granddaughters Janalee and Lacey and great grandchildren still live in the north county. Patti and her daughters inherited Elden's love of horses and raise and compete on them.
Elden was Fred and Edna's oldest child. He loved horses and worked mostly as a cowboy. He was able to buy and train horses at an early age. He would go out to Camp Roberts and get army men who were on break, to come and work as day laborers for local ranches to help with haying and other farm work. His wife sometimes drove the men back and forth to the base.
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When Elden and Nathalie divorced, she kept their children Gary and Bobbie Kay for a while, but shortly she took them out to Ken and Lilas ranch where Gary lived most of his childhood. Bobbie occasionally left and stayed with her mom when her mom had room for her, but Gary tried that once and really missed living on the ranch, so he returned to the ranch until he graduated from high school.
Elden remairred and had a daughter, Ann Tucker. She graduated from Shandon High School but currently lives in Hemet California. Ann has a son, Ben Quick, who lives in Templeton with his wife Justine, and his children Rosemary and Anthony.
Gary became very useful on the ranch, helping drive tractors sometimes 12 hours a day, for planting and harvesting. He also drove the other kids on the ranch to school, in an area called Annette, which was behind the ranch. The Annette school was one room, and Gary recalls attending with only one child in each grade. He remembers the seats by the windows were freezing in winter and hot in the spring and summer.
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Gilbert Davies and his family lived on the ranch also. His daughter Peggy Davies Palm, lives in Parkfield. When Gary returned from the service, Kenneth and Gilbert felt the ranch would not sustain another family, so he did not stay there. Gary eventually moved back to Paso Robles, after being in the service in France, and working construction in Oxnard and Los Angeles.
So in summary, the pioneer family goes back 6 generations on the Tucker side, and 7 on the Davies side. Gary’s sister passed away a couple years ago, but her sons and grandchildren, and Gary’s nephews from both his sister and stepsister still live nearby. Garys sons, Kenneth Davies Tucker, and William Tucker and grandchildren Payton, Logan, Grant and Ben Tucker all live in Templeton.
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Schools attended: Annette, Cholame, Shandon
Graduation Dates: 1960 grad Shandon
Area of Pioneer Representation: Cholame / Shandon
Spouse: Kathleen (Kathy) Tucker
Children: Kenneth Davies Tucker, William Barnwell Davies Tucker
Area of Pioneer Heritage: Cholame / Annette / Shandon
Parents Names: Eldon Tucker, Nathalie Davies Tucker
Grandparents Names: Kenneth Lidd Davies, Fred and Edna (Tiffin) Tucker Pioneer Family Name: Davies / Tucker
Related Pioneer Families: Long, Ward, Davies, Tucker
All Royalty Photos by Derek Luffs/Paso Robles Magazine
Queen Lorraine Jespersen Cagliero
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Lorraine Jespersen Cagliero was born April 22 1943 to Laurence and Ruby Luther Jespersen west of Templeton on the Kentucky Ranch (now Thatcher Winery). Lorraine has a rich Paso Robles pioneer family history. Most of her ancestors were homesteaders in the Paso Robles area in the late 1800's. Lorraine's great-grandfather Christen Iversen immigrated to Paso Robles in 1882 from Denmark. He was granted 160 acres to homestead in the Union District in Paso Robles. He married Anna Christensen in 1884. From their Union homestead, they moved to a ranch by the Estrella River on Shandon Highway. There they had a feed yard with as many as 200 horses boarded. From there they moved near San Miguel.
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Christen Iversen and Anna Christensen Iversen's daughter was Lorraine's grandmother, Jennie Iversen born in 1891. Jennie went to Ranchita School. In 1913 Jennie Iversen and Chris Jespersen were married. In 1965 Jennie Iversen Jespersen was the Pioneer Day Queen.
Chris Jespersen was a descendant from Christen Jespersen, an Immigrant from Denmark who also homesteaded in the Union District in 1863. Lorraine's grandfather, Chris Jespersen was elected as a state assemblyman representing San Luis Obispo County. Then in 1932 he was elected State Senator and was in office until his death in 1951. As a senator Lorraine's grandfather, Senator Chris Jespersen helped procure the property for Camp Roberts, Paso Robles Boys School, Atascadero State Hospital, Camp San Luis, and the Paso Robles Airport. The people of the county were happy because each of these projects meant jobs in the 1930's-40's when times were tough.
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After World War I the enrollment at California State Polytechnic began to decline and Governor Rolph attempted to convert it to a school for delinquent boys. Chris Jespersen went to work on legislation to save the school. Through progressive legislation, and improvements in scholastic standards, the school was able to grant degrees and the college is now a renowned University. The Jespersen Building at Cal Poly is named after Lorraine's grandfather. Senator Jespersen also secured an appropriation for a school in San Luis Obispo for children with cerebral palsy; The Chris Jespersen School in San Luis Obispo is named after him.
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Lorraine's father, Lawrence Jespersen was born in 1915 and was the oldest of Chris and Jennie Iversen Jespersen's five children. Lawrence graduated from Paso Robles High School and then Cal Poly with a degree in Poultry Science. In 1941 he married Lorraine's great-grandmother Ruby Lapp Luther.
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Ruby Luther was born in Templeton in Feb 18 1922. Ruby was also from a pioneer family and was the Belle for the Pioneer Day Parade in 1940. Ruby was a 4-H all-star, attended Oakdale School and graduated from Templeton High School.
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Laurence and Ruby along with other Jespersen family formed the Kentucky Ranch in Templeton in 1943, the same year Lorraine Jespersen Cagliero was born. Then in 1945 the family moved to Los Osos where they had a grade B dairy. Lorraine attended the Los Osos Valley School a one room schoolhouse with 16 students until she was in the 4th grade.
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Then in 1954 the Jespersen Family returned to Paso Robles. They purchased the Ranch on North River Road to farm alfalfa hay and sugar beets. This is the same ranch where Lorraine's son Jon and his wife currently live and farm wine grapes and pistachios. Lorraine continued her elementary school education at San Miguel Grammar School and then graduated from Paso Robles High School in 1961. Lorraine was a student body officer for 3 years and was selected for the American In high school Lorraine was a student body officer for 3 years and was selected for the American Legion Auxiliary California leadership program, Girls State.
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In 1956 the Cagliero family purchased a ranch across the street from the Jespersen Ranch on River Road in Paso Robles. It was here that Pete met and fell in love with the neighbor girl Lorraine Jespersen. She and the neighbor boy Pete Cagliero had been dating while Lorraine was in high school and after Lorraine's graduation in 1961 Pete literally married the girl next door. Pete and Lorraine continued to farm the North River Road Ranch and eventually bought it from Pietro. As time went on the neighbors and in-laws, the Jespersen Family, wanted to move to Klamath Falls, Oregon so Pete and Lorraine increased their acreage and bought the Jespersen Ranch. In 1986 Pete and Lorraine purchased the Vineyard Wildlife Ranch North of San Miguel and moved there shortly after. Together they built a life around ranching and raising their three children Dena, Jon and Phillip. Lorraine was involved in her children’s school activities, PTA, 4-H and was the 4H sewing leader.
Pete and Lorraine were actively engaged in various community initiatives, including participation in the Mid-State Fair. In their professional lives, they managed operations in hay, grape, and cattle farming, restaurants as well and numerous real estate development projects. Their partnership spanned 43 years, during which they collaborated effectively until Pete's passing in 2004.
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Lorraine Cagliero has served on the boards of both the Cuesta College Foundation and French Hospital Medical Center Foundation. She has also been active with the El Paso de Robles Historical Society, Mission San Miguel projects, and Cattle Women, receiving the 2015 Cattle Woman of the Year award.
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Lorraine enjoys entertaining, participating on a variety of community boards, and traveling both internationally and within the United States. She valued the opportunity to embark on several memorable trips with Pete, and Lorraine continues to pursue travel experiences with wonderful friends. Above all Lorraine treasures her family and friendships. She holds a special place in her heart for her five beloved grandchildren and two cherished great-grandchildren.
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Community Involvement Over the Years:
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· CattleWomen member
· Cuesta College Foundation Board
· French Hospital Medical Center Foundation Board
· Actively involved in children’s school and 4-H projects
· Longtime supporter of the Mid-State Fair
Area of Pioneer Representation: Union / Willow Creek
Spouse’s Name: Pete Cagliero
Parents’ Names: Lawrence & Ruby Luther Jespersen
Grandparents’ Names: Chris & Jennie Iversen Jespersen; Fred & Catherine Luther
Pioneer Family Names: Jespersen
Related Pioneer Families: Luther, Iversen, Lapp
Belle - Olivia Anderson
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Olivia Anderson is representing the York Mountain District of Templeton. Almost every family member of mine who has participated in Pioneer Day has represented the El Pomar District, where my Great Grandparents bought land and raised multiple generations of my family; I wanted to go further into our past and represent where our local family history started, York Mountain.
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My Great Grandmother Dorelice Luzi, or as we call her, Big Nonna, was born to Vincenzo Luzi and Maria Volpi in Templeton California in 1918. She grew up in a small house in York Mountain, which is now a part of Epoch Winery where her father, Vincenzo worked in the Vineyards. Dorolice and her sisters attended the Asuncion School on York Mountain and Dorelice graduated from Templeton High School in 1935. She met my Great Grandfather, Emidio Venturini while he was visiting his Uncle Joe Venturini in Templeton, California. They married shortly after she graduated high school in September of 1935.
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Emidio Venturini, known to us as Nonno, was born in Giulianova, Italy in 1908, he came to the United States when he was three years old. He lived in Columbus, Ohio until the Great Depression when he came to California to find work. He stopped in Templeton, California to visit his Uncle when he met my Great Grandmother and many other Italian families who he became friends with including the Pesenti’s, Dusi’s, Martinelli’s and Nerelli’s. He decided to stay in Templeton and married Big Nonna. After they wed, they bought property on Almond Drive where they grew almonds, walnuts, and grain. They had 6 children, Diane, Dennis, David, Dean, the fifth being my grandma, Debra, or Nonna to the grandkids and Dana. Nonna grew up on the farm and attended St. Rose and Paso Robles High School, where she graduated in 1972. While in school she met my Grandfather Scott Lindberg.
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My grandfather Scott’s side of the family came from Norway in 1910. His mother Selah Arends and her sister Sharon Arends participated in Pioneer Day in 1948, they were one of only two sets of twin Pioneer Day Belles. While Selah was in high school she met Ellis Lindberg who she married before he left for the Korean War in 1951. They went on to have four children, my Grandfather ( Papa ) Scott, my Great Uncles Barry and Kent, and my Great Aunt Kathy. After High School, Papa married my Nonna, Debra Venturini in 1975. They had 3 children, My mother April, my Aunt Amy, and my Uncle Ryan. Scott and Debra separated and Scott had a third daughter, my Aunt Alisa. He went on to marry Marcy Hall Lindberg who had a daughter, Erin Robins. Debra married Dave Sequiera. My mom and her siblings attended St. Rose Catholic School before going to Paso High where she met my dad Jey Anderson, and graduated in 1997. During her Senior year, she also participated as a Belle Attendant in the Parade. My mom had my sister Kendall Dunlap, in 1999 and raised her as a single mother until she got together with my dad in 2004. My sister participated in Pioneer Day as a Belle Attendant in 2017.
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I was born in 2008 and I am fifth generation of the Venturini family and 6th of the Lindberg family locals. I am a Senior at Templeton High school, in my free time I like to cook, using our old family recipes especially my great-great Nonna’s homemade pasta and I like to spend time with my Nonna as she teaches me to sew. I hope to go to a Fashion School where I learn to be a Personal Stylist/Shopper. I’m looking forward to being the 4th generation to represent my family in Pioneer Day.
Belle Attendant - Taylor Gignoux
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Taylor Gignoux is a 17-year-old senior at PRHS where she is a proud 4 sport athlete including sideline cheer, comp cheer, stunt and soccer. When Taylor isn’t on the soccer pitch or away at competitions, you can find her doing some of her favorite leisure activities that include going to the beach, hiking, camping at the lake, skiing in Lake Tahoe, or surfing in Hawaii…just to name a few. She is extremely active and loves the outdoors. She also loves spending time with her youth group friends at North County Christian Fellowship where she was recently baptized. Taylor has an immense love for both the ocean and animals and plans to combine the two by following her passion of becoming a marine biologist after high school.
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Taylor’s last name, pronounced Jean-You, is a French descent with her father, Alex Gignoux, born in Grenoble, France and raised in Lake Tahoe. Her mother, Leslie Flynn, is from Paso Robles and grew up at Lake Nacimiento in Heritage Ranch. Her father still lives in the Lake Tahoe area where he is a successful builder and contractor, and her mother lives in Paso Robles and owns the local music venue and tavern, The Pour House. Leslie’s maiden name is Pauls, and if you’ve been in the area long enough, there’s a good chance you know at least one of her cousins or perhaps are one! So here comes the family history…
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Taylor is the great-great granddaughter of John Leslie Allred and Martha Ledbetter Allred, who moved to the area during the great depression to be closer to Martha’s sister, Peggy Hern, who lived in Atascadero. John Leslie worked as a ranch hand around multiple ranches in Bradley while Martha worked for the Rist family who owned the local grocery store. Martha also served as a midwife, delivering many babies in SLO County. She and her husband had ten children: Mary, Helen, John, Charles, Betty, Geneva, Jolene, Nellie, Jay, and Patty. Many of the Allred children stayed in the county and created large families of their own, including Mary (Taylor’s great grandmother), who had 6 children and over 80 offspring from those children! To our knowledge, we have over 500 descendants of John Leslie and Martha who still live in SLO county today, many of whom are local business owners with companies such as Jayde Boutique in downtown Paso, G Squared Performance Horses, Mid State Drillers, Inc. and Pro Document Solutions, a company responsible for producing many government security documents including the ballots we vote on today! Taylor’s family are also proud supporters of our local law enforcement with two of her cousins serving on the SLO county Sheriff's department.
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Our family has a very large and unique presence in the area, one that expands all areas and towns from Bradley to San Luis Obispo and beyond. It isn’t rare to meet a new face in a local social setting, strike up a conversation, only to find out we are distant family members. There is a running joke in the Allred-Pauls family: be careful whom you date from this area, because you might be related!
Belle Attendant - Emma Marquart
Emma’s great-great-grandparents, Jack and Edith (Tankersley) Akers, settled in Lockwood in the early 1930s with their two daughters, Winola (Akers) Hazard and Lodene (Akers) Gracia. At the time, Jack Akers was working for the Hearst Ranch and lived on the Angel Ranch. They lived in an adobe house that is now at the bottom of Lake San Antonio. In 1936, they relocated to Pozo, where Jack and Edith took over the management of the Goodwin Ranch. It was there that my great-grandma, Winola (Winnie), met her future husband, my great-grandpa, John Hazard. His family owned the Goodwin Ranch, and even though he lived in LA, he would come to Pozo every summer to work on the ranch. The family still owns and operates the Goodwin Ranch today.
In later years, my great-great-grandparents welcomed two more children, Jack Akers and Geraldine Akers Stinchfield (Belle Court of 1960).
On my dad's side, my great-great-great-grandparents, Nicholas and Bena (Lyons) Marquart, settled in Cholame in the late 1860s. After enduring too many years of failed crops, they moved to the backside of York Mountain (also known as the Josephine area) in the early 1870s. It was there that they homesteaded the family ranch, which my family still owns today. ​
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My great-grandpa, Nick Marquart Sr. (Pioneer Day Marshall, 2000), was born on the ranch and lived there his entire life. He was also a member of the first graduating class of Cal Poly in SLO. He and my great-grandma, Irene (Smith) Marquart (Pioneer Day Queen, 2021/2022), were married in 1939. She was originally from the El Pomar area, but after their marriage, she also moved to the ranch. It was there that they raised their three children. My grandpa, Nick Marquart Jr., and his two sisters, Lucille Marquart Milani and Nancy Marquart Otto (Belle Court of 1957). Once my grandpa graduated from the police academy in N. California, he and my grandma, Kathy Marquart, moved to the ranch to continue in the long legacy Nicholas and Bena began close to 100 years earlier. My dad, Nate Marquart, and his brothers are the 5th generation of Marquarts to be born and raised on the family ranch.
The Marquarts have had a long history in Templeton; it is not just their home, but they have always been deeply rooted in their community. Both my great-grandparents and grandparents were the leaders of the Templeton 4-H Club for many years. They have also been decades-long members of Farm Bureau. Going through my history, I've learned that my grandpa, Nick, had 27 first cousins, and I now believe I'm somehow related to almost everybody who's lived here for over a hundred years.
Belle Attendant - Samantha Martinez
My name is Samantha Martinez and I am a 5th generation descendant of two
pioneer families. My parents are Daniel Martinez & Alisa Root-Martinez and my great
grandparents are Eldon & Elizabeth Root and Don & Peggy Wolf. Both the Root and
Wolf families came to this area in the 1880’s.
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George and Sid Root first came to Paso Robles in 1880 by taking the rail to Salinas and then walking to Paso Robles due to no other ways of transportation. George Root homesteaded 160 acres west of the old Adobe Church on the Estrella Plains. George married Florence Edgar and the two of them had seven children. All of their children remained in Paso Robles and were known for farming, teaching, and real estate. Glen Root, son of George and Florence, married Margaret Fischer and had four children…Lydia ( Root) Melvin, Carol (Root)Smeltzer, Marilyn(Root)Moe and their only son being my great grandfather Eldon Root. At that time he was the only Root that would carry out the family name. Eldon Root went on to marry Elizabeth (Byby) Wicks and they had five children…Casey Root, Nancy (Root) Ryan, Jon Root, Sallie (Root)Molina, and my grandfather Russell (Rusty) Root. Eldon and Elizabethsettled into the Hog Canyon area and focused on a career in farming. They would move to the Penman Springs area and start their careers in real estate. He started working with Archie Hansen at Hanson Enterprises in the early 1970’s before opening their own real estate business, Paso Robles Land Company.
The Root family was a big contribution to the growth of the area, teaching and serving on several school boards, promoting real estate development, helping several associations to improve agricultural growth, and was very involved in the Pioneer Players and the Pioneer Museum. Adalbert Wolf and his wife Maria (Filipe) Wolf came to San Francisco in 1874 and established the Union File Works and became very successful. They had six children. In 1884, Adalbert and his son Gus rode the train to Soledad and walked the remaining eighty plus miles to look at land in the Dry Creek Union District. The two of them homesteaded 160 acres and turned the land into fertile soil, sunk wells, erected windmills, built corrals, built barns, fenced the land, and built a family home before moving the rest of the family down. One of Adalbert’s other sons was Louis Wolf and he graduated from Paso Robles High School in 1895 and followed in his father’s footsteps of farming. At the age of 21 he possessed 160 acres and started ranching for himself including grain and livestock, raising and renting adjoining land. Louis created the harvester re-cleaning screens that John Deere later used in their combines. Louis married Anna Kase and the two of them had six children…Dr. Harry Wolf, Alois Wolf, Edward Wolf, Herman Wolf, Dorothy (Wolf) Kleck, and my great grandfather Don Wolf. Don Wolf married Peggy Dorward in 1951 and settled in San Miguel where they would begin their life of ranching cattle and farming barley. Together they had four children, Dennis Wolf, Judy (Wolf) Honerkamp, my grandmother Mary(Wolf) Scantlin, and Jenny (Wolf) Russo. The Wolf’s were very involved in Pioneer Day, Cattlemen’s Association, and the San Miguel Lions Club. Lillian Larson school named their gym the Don Wolf Recreation Center after my great grandfather.
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My grandfather Russell Root married Mary Wolf-Scantlin in 1976 and together had four children…Rosalie (Root)Smith, Jenny(Root)Franks, my mother Alisa(Root) Martinez and Kyle Root. Russell passed away in 2004 and Mary married Terry Scantlinin 1993.
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My mother Alisa Root-Martinez married Daniel Martinez in 2006 and we live
outside of Paso Robles off Creston Rd. I have one younger sister Makayla who is 15
years old. I play on the varsity volleyball and basketball team at PRHS and am involved
in the Bearkitten Preschool Program. Upon graduating high school I plan to pursue a
career as an elementary school teacher. It is an honor and privilege to represent my
family and to learn about my family in the Union Area.
Belle Attendant - Amelia Peterson
Growing up, my full name of Amelia Virginia Peterson left people wondering why I had been named after a school. But Virginia wasn’t just a school, she was a face in the history of Paso Robles. The recognizable name meant little to me when I was young, but soon I began to be told stories of my great-grandmother by people everywhere. A substitute teacher in school, a
neighbor in the driveway, everyone seemed to have known this incredible spirit who touched the lives of so many. As I got older, hearing these stories fostered a sense of family pride in me for this woman that I had never met. That feeling has led me through life and inspires me everyday to create a positive impact on my surroundings. Virginia Peterson left a legacy in the town of Paso Robles that continues to honor her dedication to helping others.​
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Born in 1912, Virginia Adeline Fahr grew up in Grafton, North Dakota and eventually moved to Minneapolis at 16 with her family. Her passion for teaching began in 1930, where she attended a teacher’s school and secured a first grade teaching position right after completion. After marrying Allen Peterson in 1939, he was recruited to work as a banker in California and set out to Paso Robles alone. Virginia later joined him in 1941 and they settled in a home on the corner of 16th and Vine, where their son Barry was born two years later. She began working as a librarian at Camp Roberts until returning to her true calling as a teacher in 1950 at Glen Speck/Marie Bauer Elementary School. Virginia became principal in 1965 and retired in 1977, but was then called back to fill in for an emergency principal position at Georgia Brown, residing there until 1979. She stated that the happiest part of her life was teaching and having to do withchildren. Everyone who met her spoke of her dedication and her confidence that inspired teachers and students alike into being the best they can be. This sense of purpose eventually prompted the community to name an elementary school after her in 1989, which is still serving children today 35 years later. She stated, “This is a miracle”, at the opening ceremony in front of all 460 students and members of the community, all coming to recognize her impact. Although Virginia’s teaching career is unforgettable, she was also heavily involved in the preservation of Paso Robles and many associations. She wrote her master’s thesis about the early history of Paso Robles in 1965 and was one of the founding presidents of the El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society in 1985, which aims to preserve and protect our resources about local history. Virginia also helped start a Friends of the Adobe branch, was involved in the CA Retired Teacher’s Association, Camp Fire Girls, Eastern Star, Quota Club, and many more local groups. She received the honors of Teacher of the Year in 1977, Roblan of the Year in 1978, and even a Redwood tree named after her in 1981. These countless achievements are amazing, but none can truly capture the loving and caring spirit that Virginia brought to every aspect of her life in Paso Robles. Although she was not a native, she created such a large presence in our lovely city due to all of the time and energy she devoted to appreciating it.
As her great-granddaughter, I have felt her presence in my life through memories and stories passed down in the community. My father, Joel Peterson, grew up visiting her in Paso Robles during the summer as a child and eventually ended up moving into her same house with my mother in 2002. My family lived in that house for the first six years of my life, until it was destroyed by a house fire, but we rebuilt on the same foundation and are still there to this day. My grandfather, Barry, lives next door to his childhood home and has managed to serve as a reminder to everything his mother achieved through his actions as a native Roblan. My fatherworks in the local wine industry and is also part of the Paso Robles School board, helping to maintain the same values Virginia pushed for at our schools today. I attended Georgia Brown Elementary school and felt her influence all around and still carry that pride with me today as an active member in my community. I serve as Vice Chairperson on the Paso Robles Youth Commission, which operates to give teen input on issues in our community and volunteer with non-profits in the area, just as Virginia did. I aspire to attend a four-year university and work hard to inspire future generations to make change for the better. Although she passed in 2003 at age 90 before meeting any of her great-granddaughters, I hope that she is proud of the work that our family has continued on with in her stead. Just as she was a Pioneer Queen Attendant in 1987, I follow in her footsteps this year, and while the Peterson name might not last forever, I will ensure that Virginia's actions are never forgotten and will remain in the history of Paso Robles, continuing to inspire others of her Legacy.
Belle Attendant - Jaklyn Woodland
Pioneer Families – Woodland, Viborg, Stemper, Sturgis, Orton
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Hello! My name is Jaklyn Woodland and I am a fifth generation Roblan, many of you probably
know my grandpa, Richard Woodland Sr., who served as Pioneer Day Marshal last year. I am a senior at Paso Robles High School and something fun about me is that I love to dance!
Here’s a little bit about my family history in Paso Robles. My Great, Great, Grandmother, Jennie
Vieve (Littlejohn) Orton, and Great Grandmother, Imogene, moved to Paso Robles in 1922 from
Muskogee, Oklahoma, when my great grandmother was just five years old. She grew up here in
Paso and graduated from Paso high. My great grandfather Frederick Woodland was born in Bath, England in 1905 and grew up in Connecticut. During the depression in 1936-37 he needed work and heard of mechanic jobs in on fishing fleets, so he set off on a journey to Alaska. As you can imagine, he didn’t get there, ran out of money between here and Bakersfield. He was working in Buttonwillow and heard of a job opportunity at the Buick dealership here in Paso. He was staying at a hotel at 13th and Pine when he met a beautiful waitress at the restaurant downstairs, that was my Great Grandma Gene. They settled down here in Paso where they had two sons, Fred in 1948 and my grandpa, Richard in 1943. They opened a small service station at the corner of 9th and Spring. His cousins included Sandy (Woodland) Viborg and Mary Lou (Woodland) Stemper who moved to the area from the East Coast. Sandy married Ole Viborg and Mary Lou married Gary Stemper. Fred went Cal Poly
and my grandpa set off for Fresno state, so he could keep racing cars, and that’s where he met my grandma Patrica Diane Beckman. When my grandpa was drafted and sent to Germany, my grandma followed him there and they got married! After his time in the service, they chased ducks and race cars to the LA area where they helped grow businesses in duck farming and processing, trucking and cold storage. Knowing LA was not where they wanted to raise their kids, they returned to Templeton in 1982. My dad, Richard Jr, also caught the racing bug and it took him all the way to North Carolina where he and my mom met. While I was born outside Charlotte, North Carolina, we have called Paso Robles home for the past five years and I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to grow up in a place with so much history for my family.
All Royalty Photos by Derek Luffs/Paso Robles Magazine