The owners of the Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm on Marsh Creek Rd. in Clayton announced their retirement today after 40-years in business.
The following message was posted on their website, CVpumpkinfarm.com:
To all our wonderful customers and community,
Over 40 years ago, in 1980, we grew a few pumpkins and sold them on our driveway. We wanted to share our farm and celebrate the fall season with the community. Each year we added something more. We grew our farm into a multi-season venue with rides, activities, play areas, food and concessions, gift shop, school field trips, pumpkins and Christmas trees for families to pick out and take home with them. While our farm continued to grow and change over the years, the one constant was the opportunity to share our farm magic with families: the magic of spending time together, creating memories, and celebrating the holiday seasons.
It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to retire the farm in its present form. Now that we are in our mid 70’s, we have found that the physical toll of the day-to-day operations has become overwhelming. However, we intend to keep the memories and magic of the farm alive. Going forward, we will operate our online store with a focus on spreading seasonal magic selling unique items. We will continue to post on our Instagram and Facebook accounts with nature and gardening activities for kids and products featured in our online store.
We will never forget our many employees and customers who have faithfully worked and visited us over the years. We will be forever grateful having had the privilege to share so many wonderful family memories on our farm with so many of you over the past four decades.
David and Sharon Osteen, Deborah Osteen-Munch
I remember this place back when I had my horse boarded on Morgan territory! What a beautiful place thank you for 40 yrs.of tradition happy retirement and God bless you all!
Happy Retirement! What a wonderful place, providing memories for families, for decades.
Sad day for Clayton and the surrounding community.
We really liked that place.
Wishing the best to the owners and a kind Thank you for all the joy you brought to so many folks.
Thank you for over 20 years of great memories for my family, friends and me! We always enjoyed the annual visits to the pumpkin farm. Good Luck !
Oh! I would bring my students from Diablo Valley Montessori School, in Lafayette, to your fabulous Farm every October! Probably at least 25 years!
I always loved shopping in your gift shop as well!
You all were so kind, informative, helpful and sweet to us. Best memories ever!
Thank you for taking such good care of us! Sharon… I would drive up and we would say, “Hi, Sharon!” to one another!
Relax, enjoy.. and know you’ve touched so many lives!
Hugzzzz!
Sharon Tye
Thanks for the wonderful memories! I will always cherish the photos of my grandsons when they were small! Bless you in your retirement. You earned it!
Happy retirement Sharen and Dave though it is sad to see it go. Gail enjoyed
her 27 years with. Please feel free to come visit anytime.
Have enjoyed getting our pumpkins and Christmas trees from you for years. Best of luck in your retirement!
First of all, thank you for creating many memories for my sons and friends grandaughter. I been there only two times yet will remember for many years to come. Sorry to see it go.
So many wonderful memories here! I hope they enjoy retirement, but they will be sorely missed.
Worked here for a few years like 20 years ago. Such nice things to say about David and Sharon, very very nice people. It was always a joy to be working there in my high school days. So sad to see it shut down but definitely have so many great memories here on field trips in elementary school and also many more later in life as an employee and customer. Loved the train rides and always the hay maze was awesome!!!
Cheers to your retirement!!!!!
Thank you Sharon for all the wonderful memories for Higher Heights Christian Preschool and Sonshine Home Christian Preschool and my family. Such a fantastic job well done. You will be missed. Enjoy that well deserved retirement. Much love, Jeannette Malcolm, Antioch, Ca.
Damn. Well good for them. But we will always miss the maze and the annual roll in the pumpkin seeds. Thanks for the memories.
Good Pumpkins start fires anyways in front of people’s houses who cares
There’s always one…
Our family sure had lots of fun at the farm, we do and we will treasure the memories. For a number of years now the home screen on my phone has been a photo of my two grandboys looking at me while sitting partially submerged in a giant blue tub of beans. Thank you for everything, and I do hope you have a wonderful retirement!!
Although I am happy for your retirement, I’m a little sad I won’t get to bring my grandkids again. Such a very family friendly place. Best wishes to you.
Thank you David and Sharon. I am sad to hear this for the community because your farm was a fun, safe place to pick out a pumpkin or two for our family. I used to take my boys who are now 19 and 26 there when they were young. They loved riding on the train, going through the maze, sizing themselves to the big measuring stand each year to see how they have grown, and of course the pumpkins. In the last few years my youngest still enjoyed picking out our pumpkins there.
Thank you so much for your hard work and commitment to setting this up each year for all of us. Best wishes to you!
We were blessed to have kids and grandkids choose our Christmas tree and ornaments! Our family will miss this tradition you made so special. Best wishes to you in retirement,
How many kids growing up in Claycord DIDN’T go to the Pumpkin Farm on a school field Trip at least once? It is/was a real institution. Good Luck as you ease into retirement.
The Osteen’s provided so many happy memories for people. They have worked so hard all of these years. Congratulations on your retirement! You have more than earned it. I hope the coming years bring you the pure happiness that you have brought others.
I was a grown woman when we moved out here in 1997 and I loved visiting here for years. It meant Fall to me. Thanks for the memories. Selfishly sad.
Hi, Sharon. Congratulations on your retirement! Relax and enjoy. I wanted to thank you for the decades of wonderment and family fun you provided to so many people. I used to bring my young SpEd classes to your patch in the Fall. I’d bring my daughter, Leticia, as well, in October and, sometimes , in December to cut down a tree for Christmas. We don’t live in the area anymore, but have many warm memories of those outings. Thanks!
As a kid who was fortunate to grow up in Clayton and be in the same grade as David and Jennifer, I want to say thank you. You provided countless families an opportunity to create memories throughout the year. Over the years I have recommended your place for those with growing families need to the bay area. Each time those families said they had a great experience. Thank you for the countless memories you provided me and my family and so many more. Enjoy retirement, as it is very well earned.
What a wonderful legacy you cultivated with your little family farm. Excellent memories with my own family and friends there from before the little ones could walk, but glad to hear you’re smart enough to get out while you can still enjoy yourselves. Happy trails ahead for all of you I’m sure!