Leona Heights Neighborhood News

by Gordon Laverty

Walking and dogwalking are on the upswing in the Leona Area, thanks to the January-February good weather. It is wonderful what camaraderie develops among folks who pass each other every day or so with a cheerful greeting, strengthening our social fabric for a better Oakland. These people may be neighbors or visiting from nearby neighborhoods. Why not join the crowd for the Saturday Walk with Marilyn King when the weather and your schedule permit? Renewed Home Alert activity grows in the Leona Area. If you are willing to head up your six or eight nearby neighbors for better protection, call Gordon Laverty at 531-4860. And a history note: At another meeting recently, we talked to a lady who was once a Leona resident who indicated that the "hotel fire" some of our local histories refer to was not started by Leona miners. What the miners inadvertently set on fire (about 1908) was more like a boarding house for the mine workers up at the end of McDonnell Avenue, not the Leona Hotel, which was on Leona Street near Mountain Boulevard. Any further comments?