Many of us are looking forward to the Clayton Oktoberfest on October 5-6. This event has become one of the premier events in the Bay Area. The downtown festival aims to recreate a real “Munich Style” Oktoberfest with an authentic German biergarten, Oompah band and lots of German food and beer. People arrive from all over the Bay Area costuming traditional German attire, including, men wearing ‘lederhosen.’
It is one of two outstanding events organized by the Clayton Business and Community Association (CBCA) that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to be awarded back into the community. And while many volunteers make this possible, there is one person who we must recognize was at the forefront of it all, Glora Utley.
If you do not know Gloria, long-time resident of Clayton, you have been living under a rock. Gloria has been an integral part of this community for more than 50 years and has been instrumental in keeping many of the events that we know and love today, continuing.
In 1972, after she and her husband settled in the area, she opened a craft shop in this sleepy village of just 1,400 people.
It was because of her knowledge of juried artists and craftspeople that led to the formation of what we now know of as the Clayton Art- & Wine Festival, which became the main fundraiser for the Clayton Business & Community Association (CBCA).
In 1984, Gloria, then a mother, wife and activist, threw herself into serving this community. She was a principal organizer of the Clayton Roundup, an annual BBQ Kansas-style event on the Easley Estate that by 1996 grew to more than 1200 people in attendance.
In 1997, it was replaced by the Clayton Art & Wine Festival. The Clayton Art & Wine Festival is now a two-day juried event with more than one hundred booths and attracting artists from all over California and attended by thousands of people from all over East Bay. Proceeds from this event fund scholarships and other support for the Clayton community. Gloria, as a founding member of the CBCA, is listed as the Vice Chairman on its constitution documents.
She was a juror at the Art & Wine Festival for several years and has helped double the CBCA professional membership.
In 1984, she became the chair of the 4th of July committee and chuckled recounting the beginnings of the parade committee.
“I was now the chair and proposed that we create and hang a huge banner across Main Street. The idea took off and we excitedly hoisted it up, congratulating ourselves on a job well done. It looked magnificent. But our joy was short lived. Just a short while afterwards, a huge truck lumbered down the street taking our banner with it!”
Also in 1984, she joined the Concord Soroptimists, which lead to launch the Pleasant Hill and Martinez Soroptimists. Eventually, three clubs merged to form Diablo Vista Soroptimists. For 39 years she has been an active Soroptimist.
Soroptimist International, founded in Oakland over 100 years ago, is focused on issues facing women and girls including education, human trafficking and scholarships.
The local Diablo Vista chapter were instrumental in supporting the newly opened Monument Crisis Center back in 2003 when it was just a storefront, as well as providing funding for the Shelter Inc. and the Pleasant Hill Community Center.
She was on the initial committee to start Clayton Valley Village which launched in 2017. Their Service allows seniors to stay in place in their home by offering volunteer support, much of it in transportation, so that they can complete their errands, appointments, or help with yard and housework. Clayton Valley Village now serves over 70 members.
Since joining the Clayton Garden Club, she has served as president multiple years, and currently as parliamentarian. Among the Clayton Garden Club activities is “Blossoms for Barbara,” a program distributing flowers each Valentine’s Day to seniors.
The club also teaches people how to propagate plants. Recently, they have arranged for their student volunteer to earn college credit in horticulture at DVC for their work with Clayton Valley Garden Club.
Gloria smiles in telling me about the history of how Clayton has grown and developed over the years, but that it has still managed to retain its small-town authenticity.
This is because of people like Gloria Utley, a spright senior citizen full of life, and still a highly active member of the community, busy as ever making certain that Clayton keeps its original charm that is loved by so many in our community. We are grateful for this dynamic lady, and she is your neighbor.
