I love Oakland with much of my heart. I look forward to Oakland’s change, growth, virtue, and beauty in the years of the future, glorifying past and forgone years.

My dream is that people who read this book of our city will also strive for a more wonderful Oakland.

By: Jacqueline Taylor

Oakland, The Mellow City Week

By official proclamation of Mayor John Reading Sunday, October 12, 1969, was the first day of:

“Oakland, The Mellow City Week.”

The observation honored more than 200 eighth-grade authors and artists who produced a book about their home city.

“The Mellow City” was researched and illustrated in the spring of 1968 under the guidance of teachers from Hoover Junior High.

Students were asked to base their work on the response to one question:  

“If you were to develop a book to help other students learn about Oakland, what would you include”?

Oakland Tribune

After six weeks of intensive work, they had 76 pages of essays, poems, and more than 50 original watercolors and pen and ink illustrations.

Financing

Money for the project which required field trips, camera equipment, and teacher time was available through Elementary Secondary Education Act funding.

The Oakland Junior League voted to underwrite the expense of printing 2,500 copies.

The students also worked with printers in selecting the paper, typeface and cover design, including

• Jacqueline Taylor
• Wanda White
• Valerie Hickman
• Marvin Miles
• LaTanya Johnson
• Glenda Walker
• Coynell Smith

More Info:

The book is still available (July 2020) to purchase at:

• Oakland: The Mellow City – Amazon
• Oakland: The Mellow City – ebay
• Oakland: The Mellow City – biblio
• Oakland: The Mellow City – abebooks

• Pupils Capture Beauty of City – Oakland Tribune February 09, 1969
• Oakland Opens ‘Mellow City Week’ – Oakland Tribune October 12, 1969

The End