Paso People • Dale Hiner
‘Bringing the History Back’ Paso Robles Treasure Hunter Dale Hiner
By Camille DeVaul
D
ale Hiner was once one of the best shots in the Paso Robles Police Department. He was one of the first detectives there and even outsmarted and outshot an FBI agent. A friend of Dale’s suggested he write a book. But, Dale says, “That’s history. I don’t even care about it.” What he means is that he had no interest in retelling his history. Rather than roll on about his personal good times and stories, Dale would instead unearth artifacts tied to local history long before his time. So, about 24 years ago, Dale started a new hobby, treasure hunting. After meeting two like-minded men, Bob Ellis and Jimmy Wilkins, the three formed The Hiner Group (Dale insists he was outvoted two to one on the group name). Together the men have unearthed historical treasures throughout North County, including time capsules, various “[We’re] bringing the history back,” Dale coins, and more. Their goal is to bring artifacts explained. back to the people of North County that they As Dale goes through the Hiner Group’s knew about but have never seen. exhibit in the Paso Robles Area Historical Society (PRAHS) Museum, explaining their finds, he stops to say, “There’s a lot of history here (in Paso Robles).” Dale’s most recent find was a volcanic rock estimated to be a million years old. Twenty years ago, Dale unearthed the geode rock from the North County property only to lay it as yard art at his home. It wasn’t until a month ago that his wife decided to clean the rock to discover a variation of minerals and an almost perfect figure of a bird. “I asked her who painted it,” said Dale, who thought the bird was painted onto the rock. Now intrigued by the rock, Dale consulted with a friend at the Santa Lucia Rockhounds, a nonprofit club dedicated to promoting the study of rocks, minerals, gems, and fossils. It was explained to Dale that the rock was formed from a volcanic
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The volcanic rock features a naturally made picture of a bird and minerals unique to the Paso Robles region. The dark circle in the middle of the rock results from escaping gasses. Photos by Camille DeVaul
eruption deep in the Earth over 1 million years ago, forming the mountainous ridges of the Paso Robles region. The color minerals displayed in the rock are also said to be unique to the Paso Robles region, another indicator that the geode is a small remnant from the birth of our terrain as we know it. “In addition to being a million years old, the geode is one of a kind,” said Dale, still amazed by the perfect bird figure. Dale’s interest in history began early in life. Growing up in San Miguel, Dale was a former student of Robert Rader. Robert was a member of the Easy Company 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, better known as the Band of Brothers from the namesake HBO series. The Thirteenth Street bridge in Paso Robles is named after him. One could say that it was his interactions with Robert that led Dale to build his collection of military artifacts. Overall though, his favorite finds are connected to people or events that bring local history alive, “I want to find something with a history of the North County.” Many of The Hiner Group’s finds are displayed in local museums, including the Paso Robles Area Historical Society and Museum, Nacitone (Lockwood) Museum, Templeton Historical Museum, and more. However, his greatest collection remains at home as his personal treasure trove.
Paso Robles Magazine | May 2022
