Cars Old and New Come Together

MGA to the rendevous for their third time. Ken has owned his MGA for 52 years after purchasing it for $500. He took the car from a metallic blue back to its original red.

By CAMILLE DEVAUL

PASO ROBLES — On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the old and new car owners gathered at the Paso Robles City Park for the 15th Annual Vintage Sidecar Rendezvous, Recycled Treasures, Antique Motorcycles event. New this year were some electric cars on display.

“It was fabulous. We had people from all over [visit],” said Paso Robles Main Street Association Executive Director Norma Moye.

On Saturday, April 22, vintage sidecars and cars lined the park facing Pine Street with antique sellers facing 12th Street. Ken and Carol Eicher brought their 1957

“We met with him driving this car,” said Carol, who followed Ken around after seeing him drive the car for the first time — the rest is history.

Now, the two live near Lake Nacimiento and enjoy taking the car to local shows and gatherings.

“It’s my second love. She [Carol] is my first,” said Ken.

Moye told Paso Robles Press that visitors enjoyed touring the cars in the park, telling her they loved Downtown Paso Robles.

“People loved getting inside the electric cars and looking at them ... We had some old cars that were beautiful,” said Moye of the event.

Learn more about the Paso Robles Main Street Association and their upcoming events here pasoroblesdowntown.org/main-street/

By CAMILLE DEVAUL

NORTH COUNTY — Friends and family will come together to remember local poet and writer Chris Wygandt Alba on Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m.

A public reading of poems will be held at the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atascadero. Though Alba passed in 2018, her friends Elizabeth Sosaya and Dianne Gross-Giese curated Alba’s personal poems into a self-published book, which will be read at the tribute reading. Excerpts and poems of Alba’s will be read from “The Last Honesty.”

Sosaya met Alba at a monthly poetry reading at the St. Luke’s Church nearly 10 years ago.

“I noticed Chris right away,” said Sosaya of their meeting. “She had a huge personality. Listening to her reading, I could tell she was talented.”

For over 20 years, Alba was an editor and wrote for local and national magazines and newspaper publications — including Paso Robles Press and Paso Magazine, which often highlighted the history of Paso Robles. Working alongside the Paso Robles Main Street Association and competing in contests at the California Mid-State Fair, Alba found Paso Robles to be her home after college and became a valued member of the community.

Wine Country Alliance.

The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is the official trade and marketing organization that represents wineries, growers, and businesses in the Paso Robles American Viticultural Area. Centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California’s Central Coast, Paso Robles Wine Country encompasses more than 40,000 vineyard acres and 200 wineries. For more information, visit pasowine.com.

In her collection of poems, Alba explores the sorrowful, humorous, and mysterious aspects of her life. Sosaya describes Alba’s overarching themes were depth and renewal. The cover of the book features one of Alba’s favorite works of art, “Tea” by Henri Matisse.

“The Last Honesty” was put together using two manuscripts written by Alba that were found in her office. Reading through these personal works of Alba, Sosaya got to know her friend on a deeper level leaving her to appreciate more than ever their friendship and her friend’s talent.

Below you can read one of Alba’s poems about her mother:

Mom Says Goodbye

After Alzheimer’s destroyed you, You had one glowing day, clear as sunshine,

When your blue eyes twinkled at me.

Your face was beautiful in its ancient joy.

You reached up and cupped my face

In your hands, smiling as you studied me.

It’s wonderful, you said, and I knew What you meant.

“The Last Honesty” is available on Amazon and at local shops, including the General Store Paso Robles.