High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

Watch the Clubhouse Grow Last year Oakland Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Cal Stanley told me that the new clubhouse would look nothing like the old funeral parlor. After two months of construction, it's clear that he will keep his promise. Just about everything at 3300 High Street is in process. Walls have been opened, the roofing has been removed, and the shape of the building is changing. The project is especially complex because it involves both a major renovation and new construction. And the economy adds another challenge. But the demand for the Boys and Girls Club services are recession-proof. In fact, the need is greater than ever. The club looks forward to entering the community early in 2004 and inviting community support later this year. By year-end the club expects to be recruiting staff for the new site. In the interim, two staff members are working at the Allendale Recreation Center. The 47 Is Saved (at Least Until June 2004) Community members breathed a sigh of relief with the announcement that service on the 47 bus line (Mills/Maxwell Park/Fruitvale BART) will be continued until June 2004 while AC Transit explores ways to continue service. The 57 bus line (MacArthur Blvd.) will sidestep service reductions planned for December. Thanks to all those who wrote, called, e-mailed, and showed up at hearings to support continued service. Keep riding the bus! Homework and Halloween School is back in session, and along with it, the PASS after-school homework program. Children in the second through eighth grades can get homework help Tuesday through Thursday. Preschoolers are welcome at story time with Tamar Kirschner on Tuesday, October 7, at 10:30 a.m. Towards the end of the month the branch is planning a mask-making session to prepare for the Day of the Dead and a Halloween event. All supporters of the Melrose Branch are invited to attend the Friends of the Melrose Library meeting on October 6, at 6 p.m. Stop in or call the branch at 535-5623 for more information. Art in the Neighborhood On a hot afternoon, I wandered down to a print show at Coraz?n del Pueblo featuring etchings and aquatints by four local artists. Two of the artists are active in our community Melrose/High Hopes NCPC secretary Robin Rome, and Melrose Branch Library Assistant Pete Villasenor. As I arrived, Pete was holding the plates he used to produce his vibrant works and explaining the process (in Spanish and English). Across the room, a huge woman in a bathing suit decorated by a map was standing in the Pacific. It was Colossus, one of Robin's etchings that reflects another of her passions, swimming. Although this show has closed, the artists are worth catching, and Coraz?n del Pueblo is a worthwhile destination. Owner and retired OUSD teacher Josefina Lopez told me about a busy October full of preparations for El D?a de Las Muertos. If you are at least eight years old, you can learn to make papier m?ch? calaveras (skeletons) on Fridays, October 3 and 10, from 4 to 6 p.m.; sugar skulls on Saturday, October 4, noon to 2 p.m., and altars from 2 to 4 p.m.; arts and crafts on Saturday, October 11, from 1 to 2 p.m. For more information, call Josefina at 532-6733, or drop by the store at 4814 International Blvd. Book Party I've been including haiku from time to time in this column. Now I'm delighted to announce the publication of my book Along the Bloodline. I'll be reading from the book (and signing copies) at Laurel Bookstore on Friday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m. Adelle Foley can be reached at jasfoley\@aol.com.