Summer concerts back, median work good to go

Summertime events are being planned and scheduled.  This year’s Saturday Concerts in The Grove. starts the season on May 7 and boasts the best lineup of bands ever. Our Classic Car Shows and mid-week concerts are now on Wednesday nights with seven car shows and four concerts scheduled. CBCA’s popular Art and Wine festival is scheduled for April 30-May 1. Details of these events and others can be found at ci.clayton.ca.us.

The City Council approved concept designs to enhance the appearance of seven subdivision entry medians. Our maintenance department now begins the arduous task of preparing detailed competitive-bid packages to include options for power and light features. Unless the drought’s water restrictions are lifted, expect hardscape renovations only at this point within the limited approved budget of $300,000. Future funds under this pay-as-you-go improvement plan depend heavily on voter continuation of the Citywide Landscape Maintenance District parcel tax on the June 2016 local ballot.

Walking the Cardinet Trail the other day with my wife Debbie, we could really appreciate the seven new bridge tops recently installed and funded by our Trails and Landscape tax.  We encountered people walking their pets, in groups, on bicycles and jogging.  What an awesome way to get exercise, greet fellow Claytonians and enjoy the early spring weather.

The City Council reviewed the city’s mid-year budget and accepted it without modifications.  An analysis of our mid-year budget General Fund status reveals actual revenues are exceeding revenue projections by $251,000. This one-time infusion of revenue by the county and state gives us the possibility of an operation surplus for fiscal year 2015-‘16.

Clayton History, continued…

1864, fire destroyed most of downtown Clayton’s wooden buildings, which were heated by coal and wood stoves and lit by kerosene lamps.  Only well water was available to put out the fires that rapidly spread.  The town was quickly rebuilt.

Joel Clayton died in 1872 from pneumonia he caught trying to save a calf in the cold spring rains.  His wife passed in 1908 and only four of their nine children survived their parents.  The Claytons are buried in the Live Oak Cemetery in Concord.

Mail was delivered by horseback to the “Coal Mine” area.  In 1898, George and Jack Atkinson built horse-drawn wagons with large wooden wheels to navigate the rugged roads in the rainy season.  These roads linked Martinez, Pacheco, Concord, Clayton and Antioch.  They carried passengers, money and freight, as well as the regular mail.  As required by U.S. Mail contract regulations, drivers were armed with 45-caliber Colt revolvers.

Coal production in the area (“black diamonds”) declined when cheaper and better coal became available.  Cattle and dairy ranching, hay and grain production, orchards, vineyards and farms became the valley’s mainstay.

The highest student enrollment ever recorded in the two-room Mt. Diablo School was 111 in 1890 when coal mining and agriculture both flourished. The town population was 900.

Clayton vineyards produced wines that won state, national and international awards until the vineyards became infected and alcoholic beverages were prohibited in 1919.  Almond and walnut orchards soon replaced the vineyards.

Next month, I’ll talk about Clayton’s residential building boom of the 1960s.

E-mail questions or comments to hgeller@ci.clayton.ca.us.