Pioneer Day in Paso Robles, California

Pioneer Day is probably the biggest event sponsored by the City of Paso Robles and its various organizations. Until this year, I had never been. I confess to not being enthralled with old farm machinery, or with being in a crowd. I was going because I thought it was about time to go, just to cover it for Squidoo, since I try to cover all the major local events I can. But after witnessing the parade first hand, I know why it's so important. It's important for three major reasons.

First, it connects the community to each other and its roots. It puts the entire city on display -- its organizations, schools, government, and departments. The fire department has a major role, as well as the police department. One thing you can't help but notice as you approach the parade is the huge American flag that hangs over the grandstand, where the announcers describe what's going on and who's who. This flag hangs from an extension ladder of a fire truck. At the end of this lens I will show you how the engine gets ready to roll again when the parade is over.

Second, the parade is educational. I don't know how many people in Paso Robles take their children to the historical museum every year, and even if more go than I suspect, the demonstrations probably don't occur the rest of the year. But hundreds turn out for the parade, and the parade brings many aspects of the history museum to the people. It's almost like a marching historical museum with musical accompaniment, as you will see. From covered wagons , stagecoaches, horse-drawn tanks, and fire trucks, to antique tractors and cars, children will have plenty to ask their parents and grandparents about. And there are some very young children at the parade. They probably go year after year until they are school age and able to be part of the parade. Every year, they will get more familiar with their history -- if they leave their cell phones, as well as their pocketbooks at home. They will also see their city departments and volunteer organizations at work and learn more about what they do for the community. They will learn that Pioneer Day does not happen without the dedicated efforts of the many service clubs and other volunteers.

Thus, thirdly, they see the example of service these volunteers provide. Many begin to volunteer themselves as they get old enough to be of use. Maybe it's helping to decorate the float for their school or 4-H club. Maybe it's as simple as marching in the parade or riding a float. But if they belong to anything in Paso Robles and even in some other nearby cities, they probably have an opportunity to participate in the parade. And no one can miss the dedicated work of the Lions who are up at dawn on the job, cooking the huge vats of beans to feed the crowd at noon.

Almost all the schools and organizations in Paso Robles participate in the parade, either on foot, on horseback, in or on a vehicle,or on a float. The city departments and vehicles are in it. The farmers and historical societies, and the owners of antique or classic farm vehicle or cars are participating. Some of the participants come from as far away as Watsonville and King City to the north Atascadero to the south.

The entire parade was about two hours, and that's probably longer than you want to watch it. The citizens of Paso Robles turn out in droves because their child, their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or friends are in the parade. Besides that, it's a Paso Robles tradition -- an important, that I now understand much better.

I have ten videos of different parts of the parade on video at YouTube. I will make them available to you here, and let you know what to expect to see in each one so that you can decide which ones will interest you the most. I like the marching bands and the floats. I'm not as fond of the farm machinery -- meaning, that although it's interesting to see, I could have lived, I think without seeing quite so many tractors go by, spread between various segments. In some instances, you will see that sometimes participation triumphs over the time and effort put into an organization's parade presentation. But this was mostly true of some of the schools and children's organizations. It appears that many parents don't have as much time as they used to for making costumes, etc., and the teachers probably don't have too much classroom time that they can devote to it. I may ask around and see if they at least have time to discuss some of the history that will be seen at the parade.

The picture for this module is of the National Guard Army Band.