Celebrating Paso Robles heritage and family legacy
By Maylia Baird
Contributing Writer
This year, there are seven Paso Robles Pioneer Day Parade Belle nominees representing the different regions that make up the Paso Robles area — all of whom have a rich family history. Being a part of this event, they’ve had the opportunity to research more about their families and learn more about their relatives. The nice thing about the parade is that, even though only one can be named the Belle, the others still get to join her and take part in the many events leading up to Pioneer Day and get to ride in the parade.
All of these young women come from a hardworking family that has dedicated many years to serving our community through many things, such as farming, volunteering as a firefighter, or serving as a forest ranger. Each family has played a significant role and made an impact on the Paso Robles community. You can catch these seven girls and their families at the Pioneer Day Parade downtown this October on Saturday the 12th! Bring your family to experience the fun of running antique tractors, horse-drawn wagons, marching bands, mounted equestrian groups, dancers, floats, fire engines, vintage cars, and more.
Belle Reese Jaureguy
The 2024 Pioneer Parade Belle is Reese Jaureguy. She is a senior at Paso Robles High School and loves showing livestock competitively, which she does all over the state. She represents the Shandon area and her related pioneer families are Grove, Pemberton, Moss, and Guilford.
Reese’s great-great-grandmother Dora Issak was born in Templeton in 1880. Dora and Jesse Grove were married in Shandon in 1906. There they had a son named Earl Grove, who was born in 1916. Earl and his wife, Mary, are Reese’s great-grandparents. Her great-great-grandmother, La Violette Lynn, moved to the area from Nebraska in 1914 and graduated from Templeton High School in 1920. Her great-great grandfather A.D Moss moved from Kansas to Paso Robles in 1918.
A.D and La Violette Moss had a daughter named Margaret, who was Reese’s great-grandmother. Margaret Moss married Lynn Methena and together they raised two children, Allan and Sharon. Sharon Methena is Reese’s grandmother. Margaret married Bill Pemberton
and they had a son, Billy Pemberton. Bill’s grandparents Charles and Mary Guilford moved to Creston in 1903 and there had a daughter named Clara who was born in 1915.
Her maternal grandfather, Donald Grove, was born and raised in Shandon, and her grandmother, Sharon Grove, is a lifelong resident of Paso Robles. Her paternal grandparents are JB and Virginia Jaureguy, who married in late 1971. JB was born in France but in 1962 immigrated to the U.S. Virginia was born in Bakersfield and moved to Paso in 1970. Together they had three children, one of which is Reese’s father, Robert. Both of Reese’s parents were born and raised in Paso.
Khylah McKee
Khylah McKee represents the Hog Canyon area and is one of the Belle’s attendants this year. Khylah is a sixth-generation Paso Robles native with family heritage in the Von Dollen and Henning families. The Von Dollen family began homesteading in the Hog Canyon and Indian Valley areas in 1865 when Fred Henning and Cathrina arrived in North County. The family motto was “When a job is once begun, don’t leave until it’s done.”
Khylah’s parents, Angela and Robert McKee are both Paso natives born at the War Memorial Hospital. In 2013, Khylah’s father Robert inherited the family homestead with the adjacent parcels. Then after a relative’s passing in 2020, he inherited more land. The family was then able to re-register the old family brand and begin to brand their own cattle with the Von Dollen family brand in 2022. Khylah’s related families are: Martinsen, Brunson, Braffet, Hodel, Davis, Atkins, Patterson, Gustafson, Jones, and Coppoletti.
Ava Friedling
Belle attendant Ava Friedling is representing the Estrella area. Ava’s great-great-great grandfather Jacob Tuley not only helped with Pioneer Day as General Committeeman but was also Marshal in 1940, and his wife, Jessie, was Queen in 1951. Ava’s great-great grandfather, Ray Tuley, was head of the Paso Streets Department, worked for Pacific Bell for 33 years, and was a volunteer fireman in Paso for over 38 years. Bruce Tuley, Ava’s great-grandfather, was a very skilled athlete at Paso High. He set the record for the mile in SLO County and was the first player in Paso to be a part of the Helm’s California State Basketball Team. Bruce was the Pioneer Day Marshal in 2012. He and his wife Marjorie, had four children, including Gail Tuley Wolff, who is Ava’s maternal grandmother. Ava’s parents are Joe Friedling and Corinne Wolff Friedling. Her mother was also a Pioneer Day Belle attendant in 1992.
Cassidy Heer
Belle attendant Cassidy Heer is also representing the Estrella area this year. She is a sixth-generation Heer. Cassidy’s great-great grandfather, Christian Heer’s, youngest child Martha loved to garden and would do it regularly after school. As her garden grew she began selling gourds, pumpkins, and other produce. This afterschool hobby soon turned into a business which was established in 1955 and was known as The Heer Pumpkin Farm. Martha’s brother, Walter later married his high school sweetheart, Donna Alexander, in 1967. Together they had a son, Tobias, who is Cassidy’s father. He grew up on the land and helped a lot on the pumpkin farm. Tobias married Shannon Dowd, and they had two children, Lane and Cassidy. Cassidy and her family currently live on the original Estrella homestead, handed down for five generations.
Cassidy says, “My family has provided me with a rich history of the land, faith, and love. I can only hope that generations from now, more Heers can say the same.”
Kiana Martinez
Belle attendant Kiana Martinez is representing the LaPanza area. She is a senior at Paso High and her related Pioneer families are: Arebalo, Moraga, and Martinez. Kiana’s great-great-great grandfather Dario Martinez was a well-known cowboy in the Pozo area. He assisted many cattle ranches with moving cattle and competed in rodeos as a bronc rider. Dario was chosen as one of the first forest rangers of the Santa Lucia Forest and Fire Warden for the town of Pozo. Martinez Canyon, located in the Pozo area, is named after him.
Her other great-great-great grandparents Felipe and Jesusa Moraga immigrated to California from Mexico. They settled in Pozo, farming and helping the local ranchers. Kiana’s great-great grandfather William J. Martinez spent his life working with cattle and later in construction. He was a founding member and Viejo of the Atascadero Trail Riders as well as one of the founding members of the local labor union #1464. William and Mary Martinez were Atascadero Colony Days Marshal and Queen in 1984.
Lindsay Moffatt
Belle attendant Lindsay Moffatt is representing the Adelaide area. Her related pioneer families are Wyss, Dodd, Van Horn, Witcosky, Sonntagg, Smalling, and Silva. Lindsay’s great-great-great grandfather, Otto Wyss, traveled all the way from Switzerland to America in the 1870s. After discovering Adelaida in 1873, he homesteaded and lived there for the rest of his life.
Lindsay’s great-great-grandmother, Pauline Wyss Dodd, was Pioneer Day Queen in 1961, and in 1956, her great-great-grandpa Ed Dodd served as Marshal. Later, in 1994, her great-grandfather Raymond Dodd was also chosen as Marshal. Lindsay’s grandmother, Vicki Silva, was Pioneer Day chairman in 1994 and 1995.
While Lindsay was researching her family history, she learned a story about her great-great-great grandfather. Otto Wyss and his two friends were heading back late from Paso Robles with a wagon. While they were trying to find the road, the ground gave way and they slid into a creek. That part of the road is now known as “The Dutchman’s Slide.”
Adelaida “Addie” Coelho
Belle attendant Adelaida “Addie” Coelho is also representing the Adelaida area this year. She is second cousin to Belle attendant Lindsay Moffat so they share some family history. Her related Pioneer families are Wyss, Dodd, White, Van Horn, Witcosky, Sonntagg, Smalling, and Coelho. Addie has family that still lives on the original Wyss-Dodd Ranch in Adelaida where they currently dry farm grapes and raise cattle. However, her father, Christopher Coelho, was born in Hanford, and his family didn’t move to Paso until January 1983. Her maternal great-great-grandfather, John Edward Dodd, was Pioneer Day Marshall in 1956, and his wife, Pauline Dodd, was Queen in 1960. Then in 1994, her great-grandfather, Raymond “Bunch” Edward Dodd Sr., followed in his father’s footsteps and was also chosen as Pioneer Day Marshal. Her sister, Riley Coelho, was chosen as Belle in 2017. Her great aunt, Sheila Dodd, mother Gelene Coelho, aunt Pauline Dodd, aunt Audrey Dodd, and sister Chassey Coelho were all Belle attendants for past Pioneer Days as well.
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