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February 19, 2021
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Concord OKs Hampton hotel near downtown PETE CRUZ The Pioneer
Pete Cruz/The Pioneer
Proposed site for the new hotel in Concord—this view is looking northeast from Clayton Road just before the Highway 242 entrance ramp. The hotel entrace will be on Pine Street on the opposite side of this lot.
The City Council has approved plans for a new Hampton by Hilton just off the Highway 242 exit onto Clayton Road/Market Street. The hotel will be built on an empty lot bordered by Clayton Road, Market Street, Willow Pass Road and Pine Street. The council approved a zoning change for the site, previously zoned for a car dealership. Construction is expected to begin by the end of April on the four-story hotel, which will have 86 rooms in a 48,100 sq. ft. space. There will be 76 parking spaces, including four electric vehicle charging stations and four bicycle parking spots. The designers drew inspiration from the Salvio Pacheco
See Hotel, page 5
At 100, Clayton’s first mayor still likes what he sees in full swing and next door Concord was looking to expand. In a classic David and Goliath move in 1963, Concord announced its intention to annex Cardinet Oaks, the best part of Clayton.
TAMARA STEINER The Pioneer
Every morning around 11 o’clock, Bob Hoyer drives the short half mile from his house to the Clayton Post Office. Three things are extraordinary about this. First, he drives a 1999 white Cadillac half the size of the QE II. Second, he pulls his mail out of Post Office Box #1. Third, Bob Hoyer will be 100 years old on Mar. 11, a fact that surprises even him. “I just got my driver’s license renewed for five years,” he chuckled. When Bob and Eldora Hoyer moved to their hillside acre above downtown, Clayton was mostly open land. Lot sizes and trees were big and
HOYERS LEAD PUSH FOR CITYHOOD Not so fast said the Hoyers, who stepped up to lead the push for independence. On Mar. 18, 1964, the tiny rural town became a general law city and Bob Hoyer was rewarded Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer with a seat on the first City Council and was the first At age 100, a robust Bob Hoyer is optimistic about mayor. He remained on the the future. Hoyer shepherded Clayton through its incorporation in 1964 and was the town’s first mayor. council until 1980. On the eve of his 100th horses were still a regular sight tion was less than 1000. birthday, an introspective on Main Street. The populaThe post WWII boom was Hoyer looks back on the past
57 years and, overall, is pretty pleased with what he sees. “It’s not that we were against growth,” Hoyer told the Pioneer. “We could see it coming and we just wanted to do it our way.” “Our way” included requiring developers to dedicate land for open space along Clayton’s creeks to create an award-winning trail system. After his retirement from the council, Hoyer went on to work on his dream for a downtown park. The Grove opening on Jan. 12, 2008, is on the short list of his proudest moments. It’s difficult to believe that Hoyer will hit the 100-year mark next month. He recalls dates, names, events and places with acuity
impressive in someone half his age. “People love to pick his brain on history,” says longtime friend JoAnn Caspar. “If he can’t remember something, he’ll just say it’s in the black hole and if he could ever find the black hole, he’d find all kinds of stuff.’” Quarantine has been hard on him. Since his wife died in 2011, he has relied on his friends for emotional sustenance. He’s very social and adventuresome,” Caspar said. “He never missed a Wine Down Wednesday, even when we had to bring our own wine and meet in the museum garden.” And he plays bocce downtown.
See Hoyer, page 9
49ers great, Hall of Famer Charlie Krueger dies at 84 JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Charlie Krueger was one of the longest serving members of the San Francisco 49ers, playing for the local National Football League team from 1959-73, but his wife of 48 years Kristin was the couple’s biggest football fan. Krueger, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for his career at Texas A&M playing for immortal coach Bear Bryant, passed Feb. 5 eight days after his 84th birthday at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek following a long illness. Kris and Charlie Krueger moved to a new Regency Woods home in Clayton in 1975 after they opened Krueger Liquors
Next issue, Mar. 19, Deadline, Mar. 10
They were vocal in sparring with the Seeno Company when the builder unveiled plans for development in and around Regency Woods that they felt were not good for the area. Long-time councilwoman Julie Pierce says the couple were “constructively vocal and had a positive way of addressing their concerns to the planning commission and city council.” Pierce recounted a story from former Planning Commissioner George Webb. Charlie Krueger was very concerned about the plan to develop Clayton Community Park across the street from their subdivision. Years later the two men encountered one another walking and Krueger told Webb how wonderful the playfields turned out for the community and his original concerns about traffic and noise impacting the quality of life proved wrong.” Pierce added that the Krueger’s “helpful comments often led us towards improving projects.” Regency Woods neighbor Dee Jakel said, “We will always LOCAL INVOLVEMENT remember Charlie as a good In Clayton, the Kruegers friend and neighbor. We met 45 were staunch supporters and years ago and shared so many guardians of their community. good times and made memories on Clayton Rd. in Concord that year. They operated the business until 1989. The retired NFL star was a regular presence in the store unless “he was birding or on the backroads” when his wife ran things. The couple met under less than romantic circumstances. They were each with friends at a Redwood City Hofbrau when Charlie, then a star defensive lineman for the 49ers, made a snide comment about Kurt Herbert Adler, the head of the San Francisco Opera. One of his friends informed the football player that Adler’s daughter Kris was sitting at the adjoining table. He tried to apologize by saying he was in the process of removing his rather large foot from his mouth. They eventually married in 1972 and, as Kris says, “I had four years of football and 44 years without.” After he retired Charlie Krueger rarely attended or even watched games on TV. Many times, fan Kris would relay game scores to her husband, who was a voracious reader.
that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We bid you farewell ‘old 70.’ Hold that line.” Until his football injuries took a final toll on his legs, Charlie Krueger was a regular walking on local trails and went to the YMCA in Pleasant Hill, where his wife said he would park his truck so he could keep an eye on the four dogs he brought along with him. Kris Krueger says she never knew when he would come home from walking with a stray he had found, including the dog Charlie rescued from living under the construction trailer when Diamond Terrace retirement community was being built. Not surprisingly, one of the charities suggested for donations in his name is the Animal Rescue Foundation of Walnut Creek.
TEXAS NATIVE LOVED CALIFORNIA Krueger was born Jan 28, 1937, the second of eight children in Caldwell, Texas. His family was poor and after high school he went to Texas A&M, where he was a two-time allAmerican playing 1955-57 for Bryant with teammates including Heisman Trophy winner
Photo courtesy the Krueger family
Kris and Charlie Krueger established a New Year’s Eve tradition having dinner with friends each Dec. 31 at Moresi’s Chophouse in Clayton, their hometown since 1975. Charlie Krueger passed Feb. 5 at age 84.
John David Crow (who later played with Krueger on the 49ers), future NFL All-Pro linebacker and coach Jack Pardee and future Aggies coach Gene Stallings. The 49ers made him the ninth pick of the 1958 draft and Krueger played his entire pro career for the 49ers, earning two Pro Bowls berths. He missed the 1958 season due to injury. “Charlie would say the best thing that happened to him in pro football was moving to Califor-
nia,” his wife said. An ironman defensive tackle, he played 198 regular season games and five more in the playoffs following the 1970-71-72 seasons, all ending in losses to the Dallas Cowboys. Krueger was so highly regarded by the team that his jersey number 70 was retired a year after his 1973 retirement. From 1960-67 a defensive line teammate was Mt. Diablo High grad
See Krueger, page 12
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