Serving the neighborhoods from Fruitvale Avenue to Seminary Avenue and from Foothill Boulevard to Warren Freeway since 1989Volume 16 Number 9 November 2004

A Community Newspaper • P.O. Box 19046, Oakland, CA 94619 • (510) 287-2655

Susan Abplanalp, Maxine Kent, Wilbur C. McEachin, Ana Rauch & John Torpey, David Stein

You, too, can become a friend of the Metro. See page 2.

Your support helps keep the Metro alive! Become one of the Thousand Friends.

n an unusually foggy Oc-tober morning in the Lau-rel, I sat down in the back

of Jerry Mishkin’s eighth-gradeclassroom at the American In-dian Charter School. The school,just around the corner from 35thand MacArthur, will be sendinga group of students to Washing-ton, D.C., this year. The studentshave been studying politics andthe current presidential race.After attendance was taken andhomework checked, I walkedto the front and posed a simple

question: “Why is it important tovote?”

Thirty young faces lookedup at this stranger while myquestion hung in the air. Manyquickly, shyly looked awayagain. But with gentle nudgingfrom their teacher, slowly, candidand poignant thoughts cameforth.

Mark, a student in the backwho appears never to be too shyto voice his opinion, was the firstto speak up. “To get Bush out,”he simply stated with a grin. Sev-eral of his classmates chuckled atthe boldness of his response.

Jerry Mishkin and his eager-to-vote 8th-grade class.

www.macarthurmetro.org

Dorothy Okamoto asks, “Howmany Raiders and 49ers can you

put on a teeter-totter opposite amale elephant seal?”

Find out on page 5

B Y G R E G N O V A K

Laurel School Cleanup Day

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“The road moves and controls alldestiny.”—Hilaire Belloc

hether you agreewith the British authorand statesman or not,

roads certainly have left theirmark here in Oakland. AnInterstate Highway—I-580, “theMacArthur Freeway”—slicesthrough our own MacArthurMetro readership area. NowMills College’s Oakland LivingHistory Program is capturingthe memories of long-timeresidents living close to I-580,especially their recollectionson how this colossal road hasshaped their lives.

For Oakland native MargeLaverty, featured in one of theoral histories, construction ofthe MacArthur freeway foreverchanged the sounds of herLeona Heights neighborhood.Remembering stables nestledin a corner of the Mills College

aurel School was one of threeOakland schools served inthis year’s nationwide

Comcast Cares Cleanup Day.“It’s more important than everthat companies like Comcastpitch in and help ‘bridge thebudget gap’ in our schools,” saidLori Herington, the company’sEducation Program Coordinator.

On October 2, Laurel Schoolstudents, families, and neighborsjoined over 70 Comcast volun-teers in sprucing up the schoolcampus. The work day beganearly that morning and remainedhappy and productive as adultsand children picked up litter andswept, painted, and rebuilt a300-foot-long wood border alongthe Patterson Avenue sidewalk.

Teen-agers and young chil-dren repainted the US map andhopscotch lines on the play-

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B Y J O H N F R A N D O

Oral HistoryHits the Road

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B Y E L L E N G R I F F I N

It’s Cool To Vote

campus, Laverty, in an oralhistory transcript, recalls thesounds of equestrian lessons.“We could, from the house thatwe built, hear the lady callingorders to the girls, to the horses.Oh, and it was wonderful. Andwe could hear the frogs at LakeAliso at night. . . . And whenthey had graduation, the girlswould sing across the lake....But then they were digging allthis land [and] bringing moreland in. . . . We had a nice can-yon that went down, and theyfilled it in instead! Right thereso they could go over the topof Seminary. . . . That took awayall that. . . . Now we hear theroar of the traffic . . . but wepretend it’s the ocean.”

Funded by a three-yearIrvine Foundation grant, theeffort’s underlying goal is “toget us into the community. Wewant to get Mills and its stu-dents out into the community,”noted Nancy MacKay, archivistand oral history program

Soon Fawn followed with,“It’s cool to vote. If we don’tvote, they don’t get to hear fromus.” Many in the class noddedin agreement, with Kevin add-ing, “To express how you feel,how to change the world.”

With subtle encouragementfrom Mr. Mishkin, the students’answers became more personal.Many echoed that voting is thebest way to have your thoughtsand feelings heard. Rebecca elo-quently brought it all home. “Asan African American, it’s impor-tant because we went through a

Andy Workman, Mills history professor and oral history program founder and director,with Nancy MacKay, archivist and oral history program coordinator for Mills.

cont inued on page 4

Children join in on the painting at the Laurel School Cleanup.

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It’s Cool To Vote

Vote November 2nd!

process than building on it.From the outset of his

purchase, Mr. Hahn has beeninvited to meetings both withJean Quan alone and with repre-sentatives from Jean’s office andthe Planning, Commercial Revi-talization, and Building ServicesDepartments of CEDA, in whichstrict guidelines as to what thesite should look like, as well aswhat should go into the site,have been strongly suggested tohim. I say “suggested” becausein the United States we cannotstipulate any given tenant fora land development; however,we can suggest some of theconsequences of unwelcometenants, especially withoutneighborhood input. Most re-cently Jean and I met with hisreal estate agent, Greg LaBarthe,to reiterate the community’sinsistence that, as the Gatewayto the Laurel, this site must notonly be architecturally accept-able, but also that the tenantsmust be equally acceptable.

Our office will do every-thing we can to insure that Mr.Hahn’s development graces theLaurel, but we are dependingon Dennis Evanosky, the Laurelneighbors, the Laurel Mer-chants, and everyone else whovalues the Laurel also, to holdhis feet to the fire. Those of us—

2November 2004

HOT NUMBERSCITY OF OAKLAND AGENCIES

ABAT—the Alcoholic 777-8670Beverage Action Team

Graffiti hotline 238-4703

Abandoned cars 238-6030

O.P.D. Non-emergency 238-3333

Animal control 535-5602

Beat Health (drugs) 777-8630

Drug Hotline 238-DRUG

Noise Hotline: 238-6777(Oakland CEDA,property complaint line)

C.O.R.E. 238-6351(Citizens of OaklandRespond to Emergencies)

City Tree Unit 615-5850

Oaklanders Assistance 444-CITYCenter knows the answerto all problems with cityand other governmentalservices in Oakland.

PRIVATE AGENCIES

A Safe Place 536-7233(domestic violence)

Conciliation 763-2117Services of Oakland(neighborhood disputes)

Sentinel Fair Housing 836-2687(free landlord-tenantcounseling anddiscrimination investigation)

Managing EditorToni Locke

Associate EditorSheila D’Amico

Copy EditorsAnne Fox, Roussel SargentFinances/BookkeepingReuben GoldbergAdvertising ManagerKrista GulbransenArt DirectorAndreas JonesWord ProcessingDavid RaichPhotographyJody Berke, Clifford StevensonDistributionPeter BondMailingVolunteer Needed—Call 287-2655!CalendarMarilyn GreenFriends and Money HoneysMary Seastrand

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Board of DirectorsBeverley BrownSheila D’AmicoDouglas FergusonReuben GoldbergBettie GrandisonMarcia HenryBrian HolmesRashaun Raymond

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A special thanks to allresidents, associations, andmerchants for their support.

Also, a special thanks to allvolunteer writers, artists,photographers, and distributors.

Printing by Wesco Graphics, Inc.,Tracy, California, (209) 832-1000.

Opinions expressed in the MacArthurMetro are those of the contributorsand do not necessarily reflect theviews held by the publication.©2004 by the MacArthur Metro,P.O. Box 19046, Oakland, CA 94619,www.macarthurmetro.org,(510) 287-2655.

We welcome yournews and ads;

deadline the 15th.

Publication in thefirst week of each

month exceptJanuary and July.

ISSN 1091-1111

How to Reachthe Metro

WRITE US A LETTER. Sendyour comments to Lettersto the Editor, MacArthurMetro, P.O. Box 19046,Oakland, CA 94619.

GIVE US A CALL. Our voice-mail number is: 287-2655.

Letters may be edited forlength or clarity. Please in-clude name, address andphone number. We do notprint anonymous letters.

continue to be a privilegedmember of the Laurel neigh-bors’ Yahoo group. It’s a

great way to keep up withwhat’s going on in the neigh-borhood. Messages rangefrom one neighbor lookingfor a plumber to another whofound a dog, to a third withplants to pass along.

This digital-age tool is alsokeeping us aware and informedof suspicious, sometimescriminal, activity in the

neighborhood. The news, forexample, of a gang of thugsbreaking into cars spread in amore timely way than wouldhave ever been possible beforethe group was started.

Recently, when one neighborexpressed concern about notknowing about a homicide onKansas Street, others were quickwith explanations. Nonequicker, however, than ClaudiaJimenez from Jean Quan’s office,who provided not only a clearaccount of what happened, butprovided the Oakland Tribunearticle that detailed the crime.

“Shots were fired on the3800 block of Kansas street,but the incident did not involveanyone from the neighborhood,”Jimenez assured the group.“This is an incident that basicallytook place all across town.”Anyone who wanted to knowmore could simply scroll down

DennisEvanosky

Shenaniganson the Boulevard

OPD “Ride-Along” Opens Eyes to Sad Realityand read the Tribune article.

“Our neighborhood, unfor-tunately, is not exempt fromgun violence or crime in gen-eral,” one member of the groupsaid. “But it doesn’t have tobe this way. If we all work to-gether, we can change it andlet the criminals know they arenot welcome here.”

This chain of e-mails startedwhen one member of the grouplogged on to let us all know

about an experience with anOakland Police Department“ride-along.”

“I participated in a policeride-along last Saturday night . .. a very eye-opening experienceand not for the faint of heart,”the member said.

The Oakland Police Depart-ment will allow citizens to getinto a patrol car and “ridealong” with a beat officer. All

cont inued on page 7

ennis Evanosky’s articleon the old Laurel Liquor-Roberts Tire property is

absolutely right. New ownerAlex Hahn’s record in theLakeshore-Grand Avenue neigh-borhood merits careful vigilanceon the part of everyone whohopes for a Laurel businessdistrict free of fast-food outlets.On the other hand, the Laurel isnot quite so devoid of assistancefrom elected officials and citybureaucrats as his article implies.

For example, when the sitewas cleared, there was muchmore city reaction than appar-ently was communicated toDennis. The Laurel Merchantsand several Laurel residentsinformed Jean Quan’s officeimmediately when the workbegan, and through the goodoffices of the Community andEconomic Development Agency(CEDA) of the city, not onlywas Mr. Hahn required to getthe correct permits to clear thesite, but it was made absolutelyclear to him that clearing thesite was an entirely different cont inued on page 4

Lettersto theEditor

Wanted for “The Metro Gets Around”Photos of you reading the MacArthur Metro in interesting places for aphoto display in the 12-page December-January issue.

Send print photos to MacArthur Metro, P.O. Box 19046,Oakland, CA 94619. If you want your photo returned, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Send digital photos in JPEG format (1280x960, or 4 x 6 inch at 200pixels/inch or higher resolution) to Andreas at agraphics@earthlink.net.Some lower-resolution photos will work, as well as other formats, so e-mailany questions to the same address.

Please include your name, phone number, a caption with who andwhere, and who took the shot.

THE METRO GETS AROUND

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Leslie Bialik and Gene Tucci,Leona Street residents and Money Honeys,

read their Metro on Easter Island,Chile, in April 2004.

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November 2004

3

Streetscape MeetingNovember 18

Input is needed from Dimondand Fruitvale residents andmerchants at the first FruitvaleAlive! community meeting,at Patten University, 2433Coolidge Ave., November18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This willbe the first of four very impor-tant Streetscape and Transpor-tation Planning meetings forthe Dimond and Fruitvaleneighborhoods, funded by theCaltrans Environmental Justice(EJ) Grant. CHS Consulting,which also worked on theChinatown EJ project, willconduct studies and othertasks while facilitating thesecommunity meetings over thecourse of a year. After commu-nity consensus is reached ona project list, we will applyfor capital funds to implementthe projects. For more informa-tion, visit the Streetscape sec-tion of the DIA message board(www.dimondnews.org/fo-rum), or contact Hoang Banhat hbanh@lmi.net.

It’s OfficialFarmer Joe’s will expand by

opening a second store, thistime in the Dimond. If thecity permitting process goessmoothly, it should open bynext summer. Farmer Joe’shas also applied for the city’sFaçade Improvement Pro-gram, so we should see im-provements to the exteriorof the old Albertsons/CrazyJohn’s building.

More Dimond HistoryDimond History Night was ahugely successful joint effortof the DIA and the Sons ofNorway in lovely BjornsonHall. Histories of both organi-zations were shared as neigh-bors nibbled on Norwegiancookies, local restaurantdelights, and neighbors’home-baked goodies. Localhistorian and Metro writerDennis Evanosky also shareda history of Dimond and Oak-land and introduced his newbook, East Bay Then and Now,expected out in December.

Mills College ProfessorAndrew Workman came totalk about the Oakland LivingHistory Program, created torecord the stories of Oaklandresidents who experiencedthe city’s transformation overthe last half-century, starting

Dimond Neighborhood News

B Y H O A N G L E B A N Hfirst with neighborhoodsaround Mills. If you havememories to share aboutMacArthur-corridor neigh-borhoods, especially before,during, and after construc-tion of freeway 580, pleasecontact Professor Workmanat 430-2347 oraworkman@mills.edu.

Betty Marvin from Oak-land Heritage Alliance andthe city’s Planning Depart-ment was also on hand to an-swer questions about historicfaçades in the Dimond. ErikaMailman, of the Montclarion,announced that she will be atDimond Library on Decem-ber 6, from 7 to 8 p.m., todiscuss and show slides fromThe Oakland Hills, her newhistoric photographic bookthat includes the Dimond.

If you have picturesto contribute to the neighbor-hood archive, please speakwith Dimond librarianCatherine Nichols. Yourpictures could also be dis-played at next year’s HistoryNight! —————————————Hoang can be reached athbanh@lmi.net, and moreupdates are available atwww.dimondnews.org.

aturday, October 9, wasa great day in the easternpart of the Leona Heights

area at the Leona Neighbor-hood Party. Marilyn Kingheaded up a sterling committeeto provide a 1-to-5-p.m. “Funwith your neighbors” get-to-gether. About 60 new and oldneighbors attended, taking timeto chat in the shade and eat ona lovely afternoon at the Kingresidence.

Pedro assembled his barbe-cue pit, supplied tri-tips orribs, and barbecued them onthe spot. Bob provided greatbaked beans, and many othersbrought side dishes, salads, anddesserts (all nonfat). Marilynwas helped by Monica, Christy,and Pedro’s wife, Auricelli.

Nametags celebrated thenumber of years differentpeople had lived in the area.And a table displayed informa-tion on earthquake safety,health, and neighborhoodwatch subjects. Home-watchsignup sheets were availableto help reinstitute our home-watch cell organization. Music,both live and recorded, madefor good humming and conver-sation background.

One attendee, Lucy SuchanSmith, whose family came to

B Y G O R D O N L A V E R T Y Leona in 1929, made an ecstaticassessment of the event. Latershe said, “Our neighborhoodget-together was wonderful.Everyone was so happy andjoyful! Old neighbors sharedstories and history with newneighbors in a marvelousexperience. I remember Leonawith horses, rabbits, and otheranimals ... and am so gladmost are still enhancing thenature of our area. Identityand belonging are a vital andmemorable part of our neigh-borhood. I do hope we can dothis again.”

So, thank you, Lucy,Marilyn and committee. It wasgreat!

And now for an updateon the Leona Quarry housingproject. Several significantlandslides have been observedas the grading for the roadsand building sites continues.One slide appears, at this writ-ing, to be serious enough toaffect street and building sitelocation as originally planned,especially if winter rains has-ten and aggravate soil stabilityfurther. Some of us “told youso” during planning argu-ments last year. Meanwhile,with construction of the en-larged runoff stabilization ba-sin moving along, we certainlyhope it can perform well.

Leona HeightsNeighborhood News

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Make a Tree Grow inMaxwell Park

If you always wanted a side-walk tree in front of yourhouse, and you’re willing totake care of it, Nommi Alouf,Maxwell Park NeighborhoodCouncil’s beautification chair,has made it easy. The city “prefers to group many applica-tions, so Nommi will providean application and submitthe completed forms to thecity. But hurry, because appli-cations are due to her byNovember 7.

Don’t be discouraged ifsomeone paved your streetto the sidewalk. Maxwell Parkneighbors are looking at cheapways to remove the concrete.

Contact Nommi atNommix@yahoo.com, or599-5533.

Walk to ElisabethSherman School

Early in October you could

have seen CouncilmemberDesley Brooks doubling asa school crossing guard nearElisabeth Sherman ElementarySchool. Sherman was selectedas the featured school in Dis-trict 6 for Walk Your Child toSchool Day. Sherman neighborJane Stallman reported thatthe children were interested incareers on public safety. Theywere also enthusiastic aboutthe attention their school wasgetting at the annual event,designed to make childrenconscious of safe practiceswalking to school.

From Art to Football atBrookdale Rec

I’m always delighted whenBrookdale Recreation Centermanager Danni Gamidge tellsme that someone checked outher programs after reading thiscolumn. In this case, the familychose the art class, whichmeets on Monday at 4 p.m. Itsfirst project produced a jungleof amazing paper animals. Fu-ture classes will include work-ing in clay and other media.

The Brookdale drill teamwas proud to march in theBlack Cowboy Parade on Octo-ber 2. There still is room onMondays and Tuesday for be-ginners (6 p.m.) and more ex-perienced youngsters (7 p.m.).

Boys and girls in the thirdthrough fifth grades are wel-come to join football practiceTuesday through Friday, from4 to 5 p.m. Games are on Satur-day. The Center is hoping not

B Y A D E L L E F O L E Y

High Street Neighborhood Newsto have to charge a fee. Dropin, or call 535-5632.

The Club Is Jumpin’When we drove by 3300 HighStreet the other evening, wecould tell that the joint wasjumping. Executive DirectorCal Stanley confirmed ourimpression that daily atten-dance is well over 100 youthparticipating in a broad vari-ety of programs. Volunteerswith a wide range of skills arewelcome. Since it’s UnitedWay time, Cal reminded methat payroll deductions can bedirected to the Boys and GirlsClub of Oakland, AgencyNumber 3306.

New Books and StoriesThanks to measure Q,Oakland’s library brancheswill experience a sudden in-flux of new books, CDs, andDVDs under the “splash”program. The Melrose Branchis especially pleased to beadding books in Spanish onparenting, health, and do-it-yourself projects such as autoand home repair.

If you have preschoolchildren in your home, theMelrose Branch invites youto attend storytime Tuesdays,at 10:30 a.m. The staff plans anoutreach program to let neigh-bors know of this free resourceat the branch, on Foothill Blvd.and 48th Ave. —————————————Adelle Foley can be reached atjasfoley@aol.com.

Openings at RedwoodHeights School Right Now!

That’s correct. For the first timeever, Redwood Heights School(RHS) has approximately 10openings for children in grades 3,4, or 5 for the current school year.RHS is accepting transfer stu-dents from private, charter, andother public schools. Priority isgiven to Redwood Heights’ resi-dents, and then will be open tothe public. If you would like tomake a change, don’t let thisopportunity pass. Contact Red-wood Heights School at 879-1480.

Holiday Fun & Fundraisingin Redwood Heights

WOW, What a Wreath!A new organization in

Redwood Heights, WOW, WhyOakland Wins, raises funds todonate to charities that serveunderprivileged women andchildren in Oakland. This holi-day, order an evergreen wreathfrom WOW and know your pur-chase goes to support the SophiaProject, a home in Oakland formothers and children at risk ofhomelessness.

An 18-inch wreath, completewith pinecones and a beautifulbow, is just $22. To order yourwreath, send a check or moneyorder to WOW at 2625 Alcatraz

Redwood HeightsNeighborhood News

B Y D E N I S E D A V I L AAve. #340, Berkeley, CA 94705.All orders must be received byNovember 8. Wreaths will beavailable for pickup in the Red-wood Heights neighborhoodon December 4, between 11 a.m.and 3 p.m.

Call Heidi, 336-9861, for pick-up information and other details.

RHS Harvest for Learning AuctionDon’t miss the annual Red-

wood Heights School Harvestfor Learning Auction, at MillsCollege on Saturday evening,November 13, 7 p.m. There willbe a no-host bar and deliciouscocktail fare. Bid on spectacularitems and gifts just in time forthe holidays. All proceeds benefitthe school. RHS welcomes thecommunity to attend and hopesto see you there. For more infor-mation about this event, contactCarrie Lederer, 531-2336.

cont inued on page 5

4November 2004

PauletteAvery,

R.N., M.S.N.,I.B.C.L.C.

To Your Health

or the second straight yearthere isn’t enough flu vac-cine to go around. So what

should you do? If you fall intoone of the high-risk groups, callyour health-care provider foradvice on whether you can get aflu shot this year and where toget it. High-risk groups includechildren ages 6 months to 23months, pregnant women (thevaccine is safe throughout preg-nancy), health-care workers,adults over 65, children andadults with chronic diseases(such as cancer, asthma, heartdisease), children from 6months to 18 years of age onchronic aspirin therapy, andhousehold contacts and out-of-home caregivers to children 6months and under. Thegovernment’s recommendationis for most healthy adults toskip the flu shot this year. Forhealthy children and adultsfrom age 5 to 49, FluMist vac-cine is an option. This is a livevirus vaccine given into thenose.

Whether you get the flu vac-cine this year or not, there aremany things you can all do toincrease the likelihood that youwill remain healthy this winter.Probably the most helpful thingto do to prevent illness is towash your hands frequently. Thechoice to use an antibacterialsoap or not is a matter of opin-ion. Personally, I believe it isbetter to use a cleanser withoutantibacterial components. Anti-bacterials kill not only poten-tially harmful bacteria, but alsothe protective bacteria, the nor-mal flora on our skin. Killing offthese beneficial bacteria cancompromise health. Addition-ally, most contagious illness isviral, not bacterial, and will notbe prevented through the use ofantibacterial preparations. Youmay also want to carry alcohol

towelettes with you for use whenyou can’t get to soap and water.

Avoid touching your face, espe-cially your nose, mouth, andeyes, after contact with poten-tially germ-laden surfaces orwith someone who is ill with acold or the flu. You can also wipedown surfaces in your home oroffice that may have been con-taminated with flu or coldgerms.

When possible, avoid people whoare ill with a cold or the flu. Alongwith this advice, consider stayinghome from work or school whenyou are ill. Besides making iteasier for you to recover, you areless likely to pass the cold or fluto others. I am well aware thatmany people believe they mustgo to work even when they areill, and too often the attitude ofemployers supports this belief. Ihope that more employers willbecome aware that it is better toallow employees to stay homethan expose their co-workers andclients to illness.

Boost your immunity. Dr. An-drew Weil recommends eatingtwo cloves of raw garlic at thefirst sign of illness and repeatingthis daily while you are ill. Tryadding the chopped garlic tosandwiches or soup. Dr. Weilalso suggests taking elderberryextract, astragalus (a Chineseherb that is an antiviral and im-munity enhancer), andechinacea.

Eat well, get plenty of sleep, anddecrease stress. All of these thingsmay seem obvious, but doingthem will help you fight off ill-ness when it comes your way.See last month’s column on su-per foods, and include lots ofthem in your diet.

May you all be well! —————————————Paulette Avery is a registerednurse and a freelance writerwho specializes in health issues.

B Y P E T E R B O N D

Dear readers: This writer doessearch for individuals andbusinesses worthy of inclusion inthis column, but he relies mostlyon input from others. So, pleasee-mail your ideas for Onions& Orchids to bpbond@aol.com.

Orchids to the parishio-ners at St. Lawrence O’Toole/St. Cyril Church on HighStreet, who continue to beau-tify and maintain this facilityto the enrichment of the neigh-borhood.

Orchids to the staff, stu-dents, and parents at SequoiaElementary School for makingthe Walk Your Child to SchoolDay so memorable. The kids, alldecked out with their signs andhats, definitely made an impres-sion on the hundreds of commut-ers driving up and down LincolnAvenue. Motorcycle officersfrom the Oakland Police Depart-ment were on hand to presentmemorable reminders to anyonespeeding. We hope all driversgot the message and will re-member the kids!

Orchids to Jean Quanand her staff for making them-selves available at easily acces-sible areas, including in frontof Albertsons on MacArthurBlvd. on October 16.

How To DealWith theFlu VaccineShortage

Orchids to Dal Sellmanfor his many years of diligentand friendly volunteer activi-ties for our community. TheMacArthur Metro and the Oak-land Library are just two ofthe lucky recipients of Dal’sgood will.

Onions to Waste Man-agement of Alameda Countywhose promised support ofthe Redwood Heights/Laurelcommunity picnic never ma-terialized. Despite repeatedcalls for the promised porta-potties, they never appeared.

Onions to the Depart-ment of Traffic and Engineer-ing for failure to protectresidents of Mountain ViewAvenue against the incursionsof a speculator/developerwhose vehicles hinder accessto residents from postal, am-bulance, and police services.Also, Planning and Zoningofficials have granted specialpermits to build where nohomes can be safely located.

Double Orchidsto Bobbie Bond, who receiveda Certificate of Special Con-gressional Recognition fromBarbara Lee for her work asa Commissioner on Agingfor the City of Oakland anda Community Builder awardfrom Satellite Housing, Inc.,for her “tireless dedicationto improving the lives ofOakland’s elderly residentsand steadfast support ofSatellite Housing and itsmission.”

Left to right: Ryan Chao, executive director of Satellite Housing; Bobbie Bond, recipient of awards.

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Oral HistoryC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

coordinator for Mills. “Theprogram offers training in oralhistory methods and interviewtechniques to Mills students andOakland residents. After train-ing, ‘graduates’ can enter ourinterviewer pool and conductoral histories for the program,”she added.

It is MacKay who makesthe calls looking for potentialsubjects for the interviews.“We’re looking for people whohave long memories, a livelyway of speaking, and who areknowledgeable about the topicof the interview, in this case,how the 580 freeway affectedneighborhoods and changedlife,” said MacKay. “All oralhistory projects benefit frommany voices and a range ofperspectives. Mostly, we’relooking for good stories.”

The oral histories are pre-served in digital, analog, andprint form, placed into theOakland Public Library and theMills archives, and cataloguedon an international database forworldwide access. The inter-views typically take place overone or two 90-minute sessions.Potential interviewers need tocommit to two full Saturdaytrainings, which will take placein early 2005. MacKay is lookingfor people with attention to de-tail who are good listeners andinterested enough to not onlyconduct interviews but also dothe needed follow-up. Typically,this involves reviewing the tran-script with the interview subjectand getting sign-off.

While the Irvine Foundationgrant is expected to end by May2005, Mills History ProfessorAndy Workman, programfounder and director, is seekingnew funds. “We’re interested inmaking a documentary studiesprogram out of this. We’d liketo be out in the communitymore, to be in touch with com-munity organizations. Mills hasa lot to offer. We’re stable; wehave a home and office space.We have a lot of technical exper-tise. We are blessed with intelli-gent and energetic students whoare excited about making a dif-ference in the surrounding com-munity. And then we have allthe archival capabilities. I’mdeveloping an interviewer’smanual. We have a lot of theinfrastructure that might helpsome of the smaller communityorganizations.”—————————————For further information on becomingan interviewer or the subject of anoral history as part of the OaklandLiving History Program at Mills,contact Nancy MacKay atmackay@mills.edu, telephone430-2028; Andy Workman ataworkman@mills.edu, telephone430-2347; or visit the program’s Website at www.mills.edu/OLHP.

PETE

R BO

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city, neighbors, and mer-chants—who have begun theprocess are hopeful that Mr.Evanosky’s additional vigilancewill proactively insure thatMr. Hahn’s development isa wonderful addition to ourcommunity and that the wholeprocess can be conductedwithout a repetition of theLakeshore neighborhood’sfast-food protest.

Sincerely,Richard Cowan, Chief of Staff,Councilmember Jean Quan

LettersC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 2

Past Issues of the Metrowith a searchable database

available online atwww.macarthurmetro.org

November 2004

5

METROCLASSIFIED ADS

INSTRUCTION

RENTALS

Bernice & Joe Playschool. Fornearly 25 years, play-based learn-ing in our earthquake retrofittedhome-like center near Mills Col-lege. The park-like quarter-acresetting has pine and fruit trees,vegetable garden, redwood play-house, 20-foot sailboat, two-storywooden rocket ship, outdoor artand block rooms. Curriculum in-cludes pre-reading, pre-math en-richment, field trips, F.I.T. gymnas-tics, music and Spanish lessons.Emphasis put on socialization, ver-balization. Sibling, discount. Lunch,snacks provided. Ages 2 to 5years. License #010214258. Bro-chure. (510) 638-3529.

Saxophone & Piano. Play musicfor the joy of it! Have fun learningjazz, blues, improvisation. Patient,supportive teacher. Ages 10 & up.Speciality: Adult beginners. Eva436-0504.

Piano lessons. Classically trainedpianist with 30 years’ teachingexperience in a variety of styles.Age 7 and up. Free interview, les-son. Andrea Simms, 336-1556.

Interior Painting. Jacob Hart,530-6247. Lic.#705262.

African-American manicurist,located in the Laurel District,specializing in manicures, pedi-cures w/paraffin wax treatments,sculptured nails, silk and fiberglasswraps. Over 15 years experienceand service in this area. Call (510)482-3229 for appointment.

Your local fiduciary. SuccessorTrustee, Executor, Conservator ofestate, SS or VA payee. Trustwor-thy, knowledgeable, I can do it allor provide crucial help. ElizabethCallaway Trust Services. 530-1720.

Affordable local licensed therapist.Individual, couple, family and childtherapy for the Metro/Oaklandcommunity. Everyone needs helpsometimes. Supportive; practical;sliding scale. Helen MontgomeryLockwood MFCC #27283, (510)874-4722.

Licensed marriage and child thera-pist. Life transitions should be anopportunity for new challenges andexciting changes. Counseling/Psy-chotherapy may help facilitate thattransition. Please call LawrenceFoster, M.S. (LMFT #29517), 261-7167 (Maxwell Park Area).

S.I. Computers. Repairs/Upgrades/Retail. Hablamos Español. 510-530-0204, 2710 MacArthur Blvd,Oakland, www.sicomputers.net

Psychotherapy. Individual, Family,Child, English, Spanish, SlidingScale, Free Initial ConsultationAvailable. Dora Grisetti MA. MFTI44065. (510) 869-2600.

Personal Assistant and Petsitting.Light sewing, errands, home andoffice organization, word process-ing. $15/hour. References. Call(510) 533-5235.

SERVICES

The Laurel Merchants’ Associationis planning a Holiday raffle duringthe month of November. Gettingthe stamp of 5 different merchantswill enter you to win prizes; 10 ormore different stamps gets you tothe Grand Prize level. No purchasenecessary to get a stamp, just comein to visit. The raffle ticket will beavailable at participating mer-chants beginning November 1st,look for posters in their window.The drawing will be held beforeThanksgiving, date to be sched-uled.

St. Lawrence O’Toole & St. Cyril’s11th Annual Holiday Boutique. Sat-urday, November 13, 9am to 4pm.Sunday November 14, 9am to3pm. 3725 High Street, Oakland(1 block above MacArthur Blvd).Over 35 vendors!

FOR SALE

Classified RatesThe rate for classified ads is $.50 per word.Discounted prices available for five- and ten-issue frequencies. Please type or write yourcopy clearly and mail it with your check toThe MacArthur Metro, P.O. Box 19406, Oak-land, 94619. Deadline is the 15th of themonth. For classified-ad frequency discountsand display-ad information, please contactKrista Gulbransen at 287-2655, fax: 291-2944.

orothy Okamoto’s mostrecent passion involveselephant seals, those ri-

diculous whiskered behemothsone can visit from December toMarch in Año Nuevo. She firstsaw them on a tour ten yearsago and decided she wouldlove to be a docent. “Animalsshowing up on land. Right here,they are doing their stuff!”

After completing the gruel-ing docent training 70 milesaway in Half Moon Bay, shenow volunteers two days amonth during breeding season,and one day off-season. Besidesprotecting the seals and thepeople from each other, shegives visitors the history of theseals and their environment.She points out that docents domore than give out facts—theyactually interpret the animals’behavior. To help visitors com-prehend how large a 5,000-pound creature really is, she

Elephant Seals on the central California coast.

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The Eyes Have It: A Meeting withDorothy Okamoto (Part Two)

Gift & Craft FaireSt. Lawrence O’Toole and St.

Cyril’s parish will host the 11thAnnual Gift and Craft Faire onSaturday and Sunday, Novem-ber 13 and 14. Vendors andcraftspersons from all over theBay Area participate each year,featuring festive gifts and treatsfor the holidays. All are welcometo attend. Doors open at 9 a.m.;

admission is free. The churchgymnasium is on High Street,two blocks above MacArthurBlvd. Call 531-6310 for more in-formation.

Redwood Heights’ 58th AnnualHoliday Tree & Wreath Sale

If you want to be assured afresh and beautiful tree, and toknow your money goes to helpRedwood Heights School, don’ttrek to a commercial lot—orderfrom the RHS Dads’ Club thisyear! Since the 1940s, Dads’

Club members have hand-picked only the best trees froma grower who has supportedthe school for over 50 years.You can order your tree andyour evergreen wreath in avariety of sizes, and even havethem delivered straight to yourhome. Delivery and neighbor-hood pickup dates are Decem-ber 4, 11, or 18. Tree sizes rangefrom 5 to 10 ft., and custom or-ders are welcome. To receive anorder form, contact RedwoodHeights School, 879-1480.

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Over 20 years in the Laurel District

explains, “How many Raidersand 49ers can you put on oppo-site sides of a teeter-totter?The offense and defense of bothteams plus a couple of skinnyreferees would equal theweight of one of the maleelephant seals! That makes itreal.” She has been fortunateto see live births and has neverfelt in any danger. “We stay25 feet away from them.”

Like me, you may be won-dering what happened to thosefun, gigantic glasses that usedto grace her storefront. Theyhad to be removed during arecent historically sound reno-vation of her building, but mayreappear inside the clinic. Ifyou would like to contact her,please call at 530-2330. Heroffice is at 3714 MacArthur.—————————————Editor’s note: Northern elephantseals were hunted almost to thebrink of extinction until, in 1892,only 50 to 100 were left off thecoast of Baja on Guadalupe Island.

In 1922 the Mexican governmentmoved to protect them, and theU.S. followed suit. Now, about150,000 of these pinnipeds comeashore at several spots along theBaja and Alta California coast andassociated islands. Metro readerscan see the “juvenile haul” untilNovember 30 at Año Nuevo StateReserve and Point Reyes NationalSeashore. Females return forbreeding in early December, withthe males not far behind. Januarywill bring the largest number ofnorthern elephant seals and themost activity. The Año NuevoWeb site notes, “People who hopeto see the seals during the winterbreeding season are urged to gettheir reservations early.” Call(800) 444-4445. If you go to PointReyes, stop at the visitor center fordirections. Meanwhile, check outwww.sealexperience.com—click“rookery locations” for more infor-mation on where to see the seals.During daylight hours, click “livevideo cam” to view an Año Nuevoelephant seal rookery.

Redwood Heights NewsC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3

6November 2004

Calendar of Community Events

B Y M A R I L Y N G R E E N , C O O R D I N A T O R

The MacArthur Metro calendar welcomes a range of listings. Weemphasize community meetings and actions that address neighborhoodconcerns as well as cultural events that enrich our surroundings.

To have your event listed, please contact Marylin Green no later thanthe 12th of the preceding month at 534-5330 or marilynmetro@aol.com.

November 2004Holiday Raffle Begins: November 1. Laurel Merchants’ Association is holdinga Holiday Raffle during the month of November. No purchase necessary.For more information, simply shop the Boulevard!

St. Jarlath Senior Center: Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Fruitvale andPleasant. Quilt class, crafts, line dancing, exercise, book club, and more.Volunteer opportunities available.

Writers’ Group: Tuesdays, November 2 and 16, 6 to 8 p.m., Laurel BookStore, 4100 MacArthur Blvd. Marnie Webb hosts a writers’ group for theserious writer.

Bret Harte/Joaquin Miller NCPC (beat 22Y): Thursday, November 4, 7 p.m.,Imani Church, 3300 MacArthur Blvd. Last meeting of the year. Call ReneeSykes, 777-8718, for more information.

Mills College Art Museum Family Day: Every Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,5000 MacArthur Blvd. Free art-making activities. Museum information at430-2164.

Tea Time: Sunday, November 7, 4 p.m., Laurel Book Store, 4100 MacArthurBlvd. Sample tea, tea customs, and tea books. By reservation only, spacelimited. Call 531-2073.

Brahms Festival: Sunday, November 7, 7 p.m., Valley Center for the Perform-ing Arts, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd. MasterGuild Series.The complete Brahms violin sonatas, performed by Axel Strauss, violin, andRoy Bogas, piano. Admission $20, seniors $15, students $5. Call 559-8535

Sequoia Prospective Parents’ Night: Tuesday, November 9, 7 p.m., SequoiaElementary School Library, 3730 Lincoln Ave. Come find out if this is theschool for you. Childcare available.

Home Buying & Selling: Thursday, November 11 and 18, 7:30 p.m., LaurelBook Store, 4100 MacArthur Blvd. First night: buying a home in Oakland;second night: selling your home in Oakland. Join local real-estate agentHeidi Kearsley and her guest to explore possibilities. Please reserve a space:call 531-2073.

Maxwell Park Neighborhood Council: Wednesday, November 12, 7 to 8:30p.m., Mills College, 5000 MacArthur at Pierson. Check in at main gate formeeting location. Call Jan Hetherington, 534-4978, for information.

Redwood Heights Elementary Fundraiser: Saturday, November 13, 7 to 11p.m., Mills College, 5000 MacArthur. Harvest for Learning silent auction.For more information, contact Tracey Packer, 531-5878, or Molly Revon,531-3718.

Brahms Festival: Sunday, November 14 at 7. p.m. Complete cello/pianosonatas with Sharon Bogas and Ray Bogas. Regents' Theater, Holy NamesUniversity, 3500 Mountain Blvd. Admission: $20, seniors $15, students$5 at the door. Free parking

Fruitvale Alive! Community Meeting: Thursday, November 18, 6:30 to 8:30p.m., Patten University, 2433 Coolidge Ave. Streetscape and TransportationPlanning meeting for the Dimond and Fruitvale neighborhoods. For moreinformation, please read the Dimond news column.

Laurel/Redwood Heights NCPC (beat 25X): Thursday, November 18, 7 p.m.,District 4 Council office, 4173 MacArthur Blvd. Last meeting of the year.Call Renee Sykes, 777-8718, for more information.

Melrose/High Hopes NCPC (beat 27X): Thursday, November 18, 7 p.m.,Horace Mann School, Congress and Ygnacio. For information, call AdelleFoley, 891-4760.

Readings for Kids!: Saturday, November 20, 11 a.m., Laurel Book Store,4100 MacArthur Blvd. Courtesy of Maxwell Park Parents Group.

Campaign to Grow Justice: Saturday, November 20, 1 to 5 p.m., CésarChávez Library, 3301 East 12th. Learn to use campaigns to build socialjustice, peace, and ecological wisdom, with Oakland community organiza-tions and Green Party activists. Bring lunch and something to share. ContactChris, 444-2298, or worthyoakland2006@yahoo.com.

The Shape of ThingsIn the past few months, I’veprobably moved several hun-dred bricks from one end ofmy garden to the other. An un-even ankle-twisting brick patiowas about to be covered withdecking, and I couldn’t let allthose wonderful old bricks getburied. So I started movingbricks here, there, and every-where, making curved brickpathways, forming circles andsquares out of broken bricksto make platforms for pottery,statuary, and places to stepinside larger beds.

In bending and wendingbricks anyplace that looked

TheImperfectGardener

AdinaSara

brick-worthy, I saw all kindsof new shapes open up. Asloped bed that never seemedto allow plants to live morethan a season had been a con-stant challenge. I had tried thehardiest of perennials; I triedferns; I tried sage, for heaven’ssake. Nothing survived. Aftermany frustrating years, theslanted disappointment of aflower bed has finally becomewhat it was always meant tobe—a brick walkway. Amaz-ing it took so many years torethink the space. Bricks arewonderfully imperfect—thespaces they create appearweathered, walked upon, andgive gardens a sense of history,timelessness, and familiarity.

A garden is more than aplace to plant in—it’s a placeto walk through, sit down inthe midst of, fall asleep in. Set alittle bench inside a flower bedso you can smell the blooms,not just look at them. Insteadof breaking your back trying toaerate a root-bound area, coverit with a stepping stone to ac-cent surrounding plants. Agarden that is landscaped toevery inch of its earth, leavingno place to walk and wander,is missing an important piece.

Mystery PlantsI passed a neighbor’s houserecently and saw the most

remarkable-looking melon,crawling gracefully up a three-legged trellis and looking likea Sunset magazine centerfold.I asked him what kind ofmelon it was, and he an-swered, “I have no idea. Itwas a volunteer.”

It is fall planting time, andso easy to rush out to the nurs-ery and fill up with anythingand everything in the displayaisles. Still, it’s a good idea tolook around and see what mayhave sprouted on its own—bulbs washed up from anotherbed, an unidentified sproutthat does not resemble crab-grass, or it could be a fabulousvolunteer waiting to surpriseyou. This is the best time ofyear to exchange cuttings andbulbs with other gardeners.Before you plant, leave a littlespace for what may alreadybe growing, without yourknowing it.

Metro Garden ClubThe next meeting of theMetro Garden Club will beheld on October 23, to learnabout transplanting. Formore information, e-mailzorah@comcast.net. To join,e-mail TheMetroGardenClub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com,including your name, address,and specific gardeninginterest.

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ground pavement as well as theblue whale mural on the retain-ing wall on the north side of thecampus, and the teachers’ loungewhere Comcast installed a newfaculty microwave.. By the endof the day, the volunteers couldtake pride for a job well done.

Volunteers lunched onbarbeque in the auditoriumbuilding as company and publicofficials gave congratulatoryspeeches. State Senator DonPerata thanked Comcast forits commitment, andCouncilmember Jean Quandropped in to speak with neigh-borhood volunteers whom shehad earlier encouraged to help“green the schoolyard.”

Lauri Twitchell, a Universityof California Botanical GardenSchool garden specialist, is work-ing with Laurel School teachersJane Tat and Margaret Wright ina special East Bay schools learn-ing program, which integratesmath and school gardens.

Lauri developed the conceptof raised garden beds based ona tangram, a Chinese puzzle con-sisting of a square cut into fivetriangles, a square, and a rhom-boid, which can be reassembledinto different figures. Jane’s stu-dents will lay out the shapes inpaper, and then will help build,plant, and maintain raised gar-den beds based on their design.In addition, the school gardenwill provide a means of engag-ing student families, who speakseven different languages.

Margaret and her kindergar-ten students recently suffered the

loss of their sole shade-givingtree. Neighborhood skateboard-ers ground their skateboardson the planter edges and vandal-ized the tree, first by snappingoff the branches, and then bybreaking the trunk. A tangledmass of 18-inch-high suckersremains, growing from theroots of the once robust tree.“It would be great to end myteaching unit on trees this yearby helping the children plantanother tree in that spot,” Mar-garet said.

The Laurel neighborhood as-sociation and the Metro Garden

Club want to work with the Lau-rel School PTA Association tohelp students enjoy gardeningand plants. Lauri Twitchell willspeak at the next Laurel Neigh-bors meeting about the mathand school garden program.In the meantime, we invite do-nations of money and materialsto help supplement funds thatCouncilmember Quan haspledged for school gardenprojects in her district. We areworking with Sue Piper of Jean’sstaff to set up an account to re-ceive donations on a nonprofit

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Laurel CleanupC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

cont inued on page 7

Volunteers at the Laurel School Cleanup.

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November 2004

7

Leslie Bialik & Gene TucciMike Ferro

Jacob & Linda HartSteven LaVoieKate Phillips

Dr. Elizabeth PrestonBen Visnick

Carolyn VallergaGuy & Shirley Moore

Renata MaynardVic & Nancy MiloslavichJanet & John Broughton

Victoria WakeRichard & Nancy BankerChristine & Andrew Cohn

Hung Liu & Jeff KelleyLucky Donuts

Phillip W. WongMarcia Henry &Gary DelgadoCeleste BurtonLisa Ruhland &Michael Cowan

Karen Marie SchroederDolphin WaletzkyWilliam A. Ince &Nancy Scott-InceKeiko Shimada

Eugene CrenshawHamachi

Sharon TothRichard L. WeinsteinBarbara A. Ginsberg

Roussel SargentJacob & Linda Hart

Knud DanildJoan Dark

Deborah CooperElaine Lyford-Nojima &

Dana NojimaRochelle Wald & Sara WynneRussell Bruno & Susanne LeaLydia Palmin & Tom Daley

Richard CowanWilliam & Susan Bagnell

John & Claude ElkMichael FerroJohn Coffey

Diane Earl McCanDavid Vahlstrom/Laurel

Hardware

The Metro acknowledges contri-butions of $50 or more by listingyour name or business as a MoneyHoney for 10 issues. You keepour paper alive and well.

MONEYHONEYS

Caltrans’ bareearth dredging operationon the Warren Freewayaims to make the highwaysafe for drivers by install-ing a monolithic 3 1/2-foot-high cement median di-vider. City leaders andneighbors are up in arms.Safety is important; but,with a little imagination,engineers could havedevised a solution thatwould maintain the beautyand serenity of one pieceof highway Oaklandershave been traveling withpleasure. Jean Quan’soffice is working on theissue.

The Sons of Norwayand the Dimond Improve-ment Association, whojoined to mount a well-at-tended gathering aboutDimond History October 14at Bjornson Hall, serve asfine examples of the impor-tance of community organi-zation with a long andstable history. They mayadjust to changing times,but they bring the strengthof tradition to today’s workto solve community prob-lems.

Take a moment tolook up at the oversize bill-board at the triangular cor-

By Toni Locke and Sheila D’Amico

ner of Foothill, 55th, andTrask. Put up by the Oak-land Youth Commission,it’s called “Stop Youth Vio-lence in Oakland.” It’s a re-minder that if we really dowant to end violence, it hasto start within each of us,not by pointing the fingeragainst “the other.”

At deadline, PoliceChief Richard Word an-nounced his resignation.By now Metro readers knowof his move to Vacaville,but we wanted to sendhim our best wishes on hismove and thank him forhis work in our city.

Why wait for the new yearto start a new you?

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that is required is a backgroundcheck. As you can imagine, thereis no better way to learn first-hand what Oakland police offic-ers experience during a “day atthe office,” as one of my OPDfriends expresses it.

The participant, who rodealong for the “dog watch” was“appalled at what goes on after2 a.m.”

And there was somethingelse: “You would be appalledat how grossly understaffed theOPD is,” the participant said.

“[The ride-along] highlightedthe importance of doing whatwe can to [vote for] adequateemergency services. I assure you,they are not adequate!”

All of us should regard thepoints made in this post-ride-along e-mail as ways to get saferneighborhoods. I’ve followedeach comment with some ofmy own in parentheses.

1. We must work togetheras a community by being a Com-munity Watch neighborhood.If you see suspicious activity,report it to OPD nonemergencyline (777-3333), or if you feel it isa threat to our safety, call 911.

(When you do, remember to

write down the dispatcher’snumber and incident number.)

2. Let’s post signs and watcheach other’s backs.

(Get involved with HomeAlert; call 238-3068 to find outhow. Once you do, hold regularmeetings, and invite your beatofficers to stop by. They’ll bedelighted to meet some new“eyes and ears.” They will alsopay particular attention toproblems you point out to themwhile they’re at your meeting.)

3. The neighborhoods thatreport the most problems getthe most attention.

(People on our street call allthe time for anything we see.Do not feel you are botheringOPD. You will find the officerswill respond on a priority basis.When they do, thank them andget to know them.)

4. Most important, work to-gether to help the children andteenagers in our neighborhoodby hiring them for odd jobs suchas gardening, cleaning a garage,or moving furniture.

(We have a whole group ofkids on our block. I’ve lived heresince 1986. I’ve watched themgrow from ankle-biters to teens.None gets in trouble, because theparents and the neighbors care.They hold a monthly carwashfor $5. I always pay them $10—it’s worth it.)

“Most of the kids getting introuble have little or no adultsupervision or jobs,” the membersaid. “Providing them with struc-ture and responsibility is a steptoward making them feel valued,and responsible for their neigh-borhood”.

This member has kids helpwith plants, move rocks, boxes,etc. “I paid one $10 to help memove some rocks to build a wa-terfall. He now reminds me whenhe sees me in the yard that I needhelp with the small weeds grow-ing in my front yard, and for $5or $10 he would take care of theproblem for me. Ya gotta love it.”

“It takes a village,” the epistleended.

Indeed it does. Get involvedwith us.

lot to get the right to vote. Mysister’s husband was sent over toIraq. She’s very unhappy aboutit, but last time she didn’t vote.”

Before I left, I asked one finalquestion. “Who here is goingto register to vote when theyturn 18?” As hands and smilesquickly rose, this vote wasunanimous.

ShenanigansC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 2

It’s Cool to VoteC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

basis. With your help, the Laurelneighborhood will hold its ownNeighbors Care Work Day atthe Laurel School.

Laurel CleanupC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 6 0

been on a personal footing witha number of famous musicians,Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson,and Stan Kenton among them.A picture of a local televisionnewswoman also has a placeamong the famous in Arnie’sphoto gallery.

The Lincoln Square BarberSalon offers a great place tospend an afternoon catchingup on current events, getting ahaircut or just hanging out.

Barber SalonC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 8

8November 2004

t the Lincoln Square BarberSalon, the familiar barberpole sits just under the

eaves outside of Arnie Fields’establishment in the upper levelof Lincoln Square. Arnie has wel-comed one and all to his estab-lishment since November 1963.He remembers the exact date,November 2, as twenty daysbefore JFK’s assassination, oneof the few days he shut his doors.

Walk in, and you meet a spe-cial smell—soft Aqua Velva bar-ber-shop scent. You see four largepotted plants that hang as silentsentries over the personalizedbarber stations on both sides ofthe center aisle.

You may also come upon asports event playing on the largeTV in the lounge area. At the veryrear of the shop, Vern, a Vietnamvet who in the past shined shoes

Lincoln Square Barber Salon

at Civic Center Plaza, mans anold-fashioned shoeshine stand.He is glad to be operating undera permanent roof and shows hisappreciation by giving the finestshines in town.

Bob, Ron, Greg, and Arnie,who range in age from 64 to 76,preside over the four leather bar-ber chairs. These barbers havebeen with Lincoln Square BarberSalon since its inception. In thebeginning there were two more,

but, as they retired, Arnie madethe decision not to replace them.This is not just a barber shopwhere you get a straight-up hair-cut, finished off with a clipper.Here, hair is styled, taking intoconsideration the texture andamount of hair and how itcomplements the face of the cus-tomer. Arnie and his barbers alsogive maintenance instructionsto men who appear to need it.

Three generations of familieshave gone to Arnie’s forbarbering. Most are male, butwomen are welcome here aswell. Although drop-ins areaccepted, appointments arerecommended. Rates range from$8 to $20 for the works, modestcompared to current inflationarytrends among stylists.

Arnie Fields fills his leisurehours with a mean golf game. Heis also a jazz aficionado who has

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In typical barbershop atmosphere, Arnie chats with regular Jack,while Ron cuts his hair.

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Greg finishes George’s haircut.

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