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Dana Adobe Heritage Days
By Jeanne Sparks/Contributor | The Adobe Press

The Dana Adobe was abuzz with activities as dozens of individuals and groups brought the 1850s back to life, May 19, to celebrate Dana Adobe Heritage Days. Actors portrayed members of the Dana family, ranch hands, prospectors and more. Visitors learned how to make adobe bricks, children learned to walk on homemade stilts and ladies demonstrated how to use a spinning wheel. Musicians sang, dancers danced and a cowboy and cowgirl had their horses dancing, too. Meanwhile, “Henry Tefft” received the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty from a mail dispatch rider and politicians gathered for lunch in the Captain’s Room.

“Heritage Day always has a magic moment — this year there were so many I lost count,” said Herb Kandel, president of the Dana Adobe Nipomo Amigos and an organizer of the event. He played the role of Henry Tefft. “One of my favorite moments was Naomi Nordwall’s galloping ride as a mail dispatch rider up to the stage delivering the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty to be read by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee and Supervisor Katcho Achadjian.

“Sam’s witty. When asked by re-enactor ‘Governor Alvarado’ his opinion on dueling as a means of solving political disputes, the assemblyman replied, ‘In complete agreement, if rock paper scissors counts.’ The students were phenomenal as historic characters in the wax museum. Of course the horseback dance with Pat Puckett and Seňora Helen Daurio was pure magic. Great turnout, smiles all around.”

Volunteers offered a wealth of knowledge about the historic roots of the Dana Adobe as they played their roles in period
outfits. Activities continued throughout the day, followed by an evening of musical entertainment, dinner and a warm campfire.


Jeanne Sparks is a freelance writer, photographer and graphic artist. Her “Toast of the Coast” column can be found online at jeannesparks.com, along with her online “Where’s Sparkie?” feature. She can be reached at jeanne@jeannesparks.com.