Getting to know Pioneer Day royalty Howie and Bev Steinbeck
Marshal Howie Steinbeck and Queen Beverly Jespersen Steinbeck.
Couple will represent Paso Robles pioneers in parade Oct. 8
– High School sweethearts and life-long partners Marshal Howie Steinbeck and Queen Beverly Jespersen Steinbeck say they are thrilled to represent Paso Robles pioneers in the 2022 Pioneer Day Parade on Oct. 8. They say they are proud to carry on a seven-generation legacy of pioneers.
Howie’s family includes Marshal Gene Ernst, (1998) and, riding in the very first Pioneer Day parade as a Belle attendant, Howie’s mom, Hazel Ernst Steinbeck. Hazel also rode in the 75th-anniversary parade, representing Paso Robles’ history.
Queen Bev was Pioneer Belle in 1957 and Grandmother, Jennie Iversen Jespersen, was Queen in 1965. Bev says she is honored to walk in her Grandmother’s footsteps as Queen 57 years later. Howie and Bev’s daughter Denise was Belle attendant in 1981.
Howie’s great-grandparents William Ernst and Barbara Amelia Matthis settled the Geneseo District of the Paso Robles area in 1884, where they planted wine grapes and built a wine brand. They built the Geneseo School house now located at the Paso Robles Pioneer Museum on Riverside. Howie’s grandparents Frank Ernst and Rosetta Paulus Ernst built the ranch house (1921) in which the Steinbecks’ daughter Cindy and husband Steve reside.
Bev’s Grandfather, Christian Jespersen, was elected multiple times to the California State Assembly (1926-1930) and died in office as a California State senator in 1951 (1930-1951). He founded the Chris Jespersen school for special needs children, located in San Luis Obispo, and a wing at Cal Poly is named in his honor. Bev has vivid childhood memories of visiting her Grandpa in California’s State Capitol. Senator Jespersen is honored in the annals of Cal Poly’s history for stepping into action to secure state funding for the University upon threat of closure. He received Cal Poly’s first honorary degree in 1948. Bev also recalls the sad childhood story of her Grandmother’s victorian home being claimed by eminent domain as Hwy 101 at Morro Road was being expanded.
The stories flow from Howie as he recalls farming grain with the Ernst Brothers as a boy, black tail deer and squirrel hunting in Paso, and annual trips to Colorado to bag the Mule Deer. The Ernst Brothers owned the granary, now home to Cool Hand Luke’s, and they were the first to distribute bulk grain by train to market. Stories of music filling the old ranch houses on Sunday afternoons and the Creston Band being started in 1895 are at the tip of Howie’s tongue too, as he bumps around in the family’s 1958 Willys Jeep guiding tours of Steinbeck Vineyards.
The Ernst family’s farming legacy includes grape growing and making wine from 1884 – 1950. Howie and Bev began planting grapes in the modern era in 1982, partnering with Gary Eberle. Today the legacy continues as daughter Cindy, and grandsons Ryan and Bryan work together to continue the family farming and winemaking heritage. The Ernst and Iversen families grew grain and raised cattle. The Jespersen families ran dairy cattle and grew hay until the early 1960’s when they moved north to Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Howie’s father, George Steinbeck, hailed from Oakland California where his family owned a wholesale meat business, the Steinbeck-Theiss Meat Company. George’s brothers continued in the family business while he, after considering a major league baseball contract, chose to become a minister in the Lutheran Church. While serving Trinity Lutheran Church in Paso Robles as a vicar, George met Hazel Ernst, Howie’s mom. He served in the US Army on the front lines in WWII as a chaplain.
Howie and Bev’s volunteer work in this community reached far and wide, feeding thousands of people delicious BBQ tri-tip, potato salad, and all the fixings. For over 25 years they hosted the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance BBQ. The Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce Ag Tour Committee benefited from their dedicated service for nearly 30 years as, year after year, they fed hundreds that attended the annual Ag-Tour, benefitting Ag in the Classroom. The couple has been recognized by the chamber as citizens of the month and by the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance as industry persons of the year (2006).
Their impact reaches into the Christian community in Paso Robles. Trinity Lutheran Church was home for the Jespersen, Iversen, Ernst, and Steinbeck families. George and Hazel were married at Trinity in 1934, Howie and Bev in 1959. They helped establish Trinity Lutheran School (1962). Creston Community Church is their church home today.
The family’s rich history can be viewed in detail in the Steinbecks’ historic, museum-like tasting room on Union Road or on their website www.steinbeckwines.com.
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