The Orinda Association turns 80 – and is still going strong

    It’s likely, according to those who should know, that more than 200 Orindans will find themselves turning 80 within the coming year. We can probably expect a whole host of sounds and celebrations resounding throughout the city as Orinda’s octogenarians party on.
    But plans are also afoot for another citywide 80th birthday celebration, as The Orinda Association (OA) marks an amazing eight decades of dedicated service to the community. At present, no definitive date has been set – largely because The OA is always involved with so many other events, it’s hard to find an empty slot.
    In July, there’s the 4th of July Parade, easily drawing crowds of up to 5,000, which former mayor Victoria Smith called “the best hometown parade around” that “simply wouldn’t happen without The OA!”
    And then in September, after months of lively behind-the-scenes activity, The OA presents the Classic Car Show – one of those rare occasions when it’s definitely not rude to stare – and visitors stroll through downtown Orinda, salivating over a couple of hundred spectacular vehicles sparkling in the sun.
    By October, The OA is working with the League of Women Voters, organizing a public forum where citizens engage with candidates hoping for election onto various local boards.
    As the city’s oldest volunteer organization, The OA has been going strong since 1946, when the population stood at around 3,500 and William Penn Mott, Jr., became The OA’s first president.
    Tucked away on the library’s lower level plaza, The OA’s unassuming office is a veritable powerhouse where four permanent, part-time employees, keep a whole host of plates spinning. Everything else is run, cheerfully and efficiently, by volunteers.
    “The greatest pleasure I know,” declared 18th century English poet, Charles Lamb, “is to do good by stealth …” – a conviction that just about sums up The OA, although perhaps stealth was less in evidence in the 1980s, when Orindans, tired of kowtowing to the Contra Costa County supervisors in distant Martinez, vociferously campaigned for incorporation.
    Former OA Board president Carlos Baltodano recalled going door-to-door “telling people ‘we gotta take care of our destiny’.” Which is exactly what most everyone did. On July 1, 1985, four months after 58% of Orinda’s registered voters had made their feelings known at the polls, Orinda was officially declared its own city.
    But The OA definitely didn’t stop there. Its programs not only support the community, they support each other. The Classic Car show serves a double purpose: not only does it give unalloyed pleasure to car enthusiasts, but also funds The OA’s “Seniors Around Town” (SAT) program. Since its initiation in 2005 by Kate Wiley, SAT has – literally – become a lifesaver for hundreds of older Orindans.
    Armed with a $30,000 transportation grant from the City of Orinda, Wiley set up a system that enables any senior who no longer feels confident behind the wheel to be driven to local appointments by friendly OA volunteers.
    But it’s about more than just getting from A to B. For elderly, possibly lonely, seniors, OA’s largesse provides the opportunity to touch base with a supportive neighbor.
    Which is why it was the worst of all worlds when the pandemic took hold in 2020 and everyone was ordered to shelter in place. But as Baltodano, who was OA Board president during that difficult time, said “The most wonderful thing about The OA is that, because it’s close to the community, they understand the ethos, the vitality, the energy and the needs.
    “And so The OA tapped into those resources beautifully, because it’s always been able to pivot, and be creative. We immediately adapted by delivering services that centered around people needing help and we replaced transportation with grocery shopping and reassurance calls.”
    Possibly one of The OA’s most beloved OA personalities is Bobbie Landers – whose 100th birthday everyone hopes to be celebrating in three years’ time.
    When Landers got her first Orinda horse in 1973, the only fly in the ointment was her husband, Carl’s constant carping about how he had to go to work every day to pay for it.
    “He said this about 5,000 times,” Landers remembered, “and on the day he said it for the 5001st time, I spotted an advertisement in The Orinda Sun for the new position of Executive Administrator at The OA.”
    She was close to being offered the job, but first they had to ask if she knew how to type. And of course Landers said yes. So they sat her down at an electric typewriter, which she looked at for a long while before eventually turning to her interviewers with the words “Anyone know how to turn this thing on?
    “And they still hired me,” she said.
    Having located the electric switch, Landers remained The OA’s administrator from 1976 to 1986, during which time she worked tirelessly to achieve incorporation, later serving on the City Council from 1986 to 1996 and becoming the city’s first female mayor in 1988, followed by a second term in 1992 and 1993.
    “The OA is as important today as when it started 80 years ago,” said two-time mayor (2008 and 2011) Victoria Smith, “from publishing The Orinda News, a vital source of information for our residents, to hosting election forums.”
    Currently serving as president of the Orinda Senior Village Board, Smith went on to say how much she appreciates the way the SAT program “helps our residents get to important medical appointments, shop and visit with friends.”
    So many Orindans owe a huge debt of gratitude to The OA.
    In some ways, its contribution to achieving city status can be seen as a watershed in the organization’s history. While its first 40 years were dedicated to improving the quality of life in the emerging community, the next 40 saw it broaden into consolidating its position as a community leader.
    According to longtime resident John Fazel, once Orinda had loosened Contra Costa County’s apron strings, many people were left wondering just what role The OA was going to play.
    “But at that point,” he said, “The OA became not so much the spokesman of the community as its voice. In other words, The Orinda Association tells the story of who we are, who we were and who we want to be.”