Dick Clark, an early leader and volunteer for the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society (now the Northern California Bluegrass Society), and a beloved Santa Claus for children, died today of congestive heart failure. He was 86 years old and had long retired from San Jose to California’s Gold Country.
Dick and his late wife Joyce Clark were fixtures at all SCBS concerts, campouts and festival campsites in the 1980s and 1990s. The couple were big fans of the pioneering all-women band Sidesaddle (later Sidesaddle & Co). “Dick & Joyce” were early ambassadors for the young South Bay & Santa Cruz bluegrass organization, staffing the SCBS Booth at all summer festivals and at Society concerts. Many current members were initially recruited to join the club by the enthusiastic couple.
The couple also volunteered to help run SCBS events like concerts, jams, and the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Fair, held each May to kick off the summer bluegrass season. They frequently helped with the important monthly task of hand collating, folding, stapling, and mailing the Society’s Bluegrass By The Bay magazine. They also helped organize board meetings and “Bowling For Bluegrass” fundraisers to support the fledgling organization.
The couple traveled nationally to support Sidesaddle, Northern California bluegrass and the SCBS. The Clarks also helped start the NCBS Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival in Tres Pinos.
At major festivals like the CBA Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley, Dick & Joyce joined with their friends Dick & Judy Dowell to host the SCBS camp that attracted local and touring musicians for nightly jams. The “Two Dicks Cafe” fed campers a fine breakfast each morning. In later years, the Clarks volunteered backstage at the CBA festival.
In 2010, NCBS honored the Clarks and the Dowells with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the NCBS Bluegrass On Broadway Festival in Redwood City.
Dick enjoyed his years in the US Navy and then had a long career building steam turbines at the local Westinghouse facility. In later years, Dick was famous for playing Santa Claus at many schools and children’s events. In 2015, a disastrous wildfire raced through Dick & Joyce’s beautiful retirement home in Mountain Ranch from which the couple eventually recovered.
Richard Clark was a native of Gilmanton, New Hampshire. He is survived by his son Richard A. Clark and wife Sophia, and daughter Laura Gonzales-Clark, plus grandchildren Josh and TC. His wife and his daughter Candice predeceased him. — Michael Hall
