Honoring Clayton’s Dick Ellis

CLAYTON, CA—Some years ago you might have come across a gaggle of elementary school students trailing Dick Ellis as he led them through downtown Clayton telling them about its history and holding up giant photographs of buildings as they appeared in the past. He has always been an ardent believer in the role of photography as an educational tool and as a way to bridge the past with the present.

Dick was born in San Francisco, attended St. Mary’s College on a full football scholarship, was a Marine from 1951-1954, and earned Master’s degrees in Industrial Technology and Secondary School Administration at San Francisco State.  He and wife, Mary Lou, and their 5 children moved to Clayton in 1961 when a friend asked Dick to join him as a teacher at newly-built Clayton Valley High School. He planned the curriculum for graphic arts, photography and mechanical drawing classes and taught mechanical drawing for almost 30 years.  During that period he also found time to work for the county and the State of California coordinating new educational frameworks.

The booklet, “Clayton, Small but Proud,” was the product of a CVHS summer project spearheaded by Dick that involved 100 students and 5 teachers from different departments within the high school.  This document was a written history illustrated with photographs that was used as a device to garner support for Clayton’s 1964 incorporation:  its bid to be its own city and not just another part of Concord.

Four dollars from each booklet sold was put into a fund to establish an entity dedicated to preserving the city’s history, and in the 1970’s, Dick and other city residents drew up a constitution to create the Clayton Historical Society.   He served for over 20 years on the board and several terms as president, at the same time assembling numerous binders with historical pictures and information.

International connections

In 1980 Dick was asked by a friend to represent the California State Department of Education as the photographer for an educational delegation to China as guests of the Chinese Ministry of Education.  It was this trip that inspired him and Mary Lou to travel extensively in subsequent years.  They were the Clayton residents who went to Buxworth,England and fostered friendships that led to our city’s twinning with the little town where Joel Clayton was born. They visited Buxworth several times over the years to collect information about the Clayton family, and this research, along with Dick’s photos, fills the numerous binders that are available for anyone to peruse today.

Thank you, Dick, for being an inspiring educator and enthusiastic supporter of the town of Clayton!

For information about the Clayton Historical Society, click here.