The Gnomes of Oakland

by C.J. Hirschfield

This is a column that originally ran on January 30, 2013, when the mysterious “gnomes of Oakland” appeared on PG&E poles all around the city. Fairyland did make contact with the anonymous artist, who told us he used walking his dog late at night as “cover” for attaching the tiny wooden canvases.

At our recent Turn the Page! children’s book authors and illustrators event, we featured one of our favorite local authors, Kamaria Lofton, and the new book in her “Kids Love Oakland!” series, “The Gnomes of Oakland.” The book tells the story of what the gnomes do at night. “They hide in plain sight and can only be seen by those whose hearts are filled with Oakland things.”

Local author Kamaria Lofton at Fairyland’s Turn the Page! children’s book authors and illustrators event reading from her new book, "The Gnomes of Oakland." 

Original column:

About a week ago, I discovered that another Fairyland employee and I shared an obsession. With gnomes. In Oakland.

There are exactly 11 gnomes between my house and Fairyland. I’ve counted. I first discovered them when I observed a young neighbor giggling in delight as she ran from telephone pole to telephone pole, her dad tagging behind. She was squealing and pointing to the base of each pole. Her dad observed my questioning look, shrugged his shoulders and said with a big smile: “Gnomes.”

My co-worker Emily first noticed them in December as she was walking to work. “My first sighting was on Park View, across the street from Fairyland,” she recalls. “Then I noticed another. And another. That’s when I became really curious and started keeping my eye out for them.”

Gnome and toadstool on a telephone pole | photo by Gene via Oakland Wiki

I did some research. Here’s what I learned.

The gnomes seem to be multiplying daily, spreading all over the city of Oakland. They are painted on pieces of what appear to be recycled wood, about five inches square. The little plaques appear at the base of telephone poles but not trees. Some of the gnomes are wearing pants; some are dressed in kilts. Occasionally there will be a drawing of a mushroom next to the gnome. The artist, who so far has chosen to remain anonymous, paints in what could be described as a folk art style, colorful and childlike.

According to rumor, the artist may have begun the project near a pizza joint across the lake from Fairyland, since there seem to be so many gnomes there. But Emily, who now goes on expeditions to search for them, is convinced that they’re on the move. “I’m so into them,” she says. No kidding.

You shouldn’t be surprised that Fairyland workers are happy about the gnomes. We follow the park founders’ credo of “a surprise around every corner” as we look to enhance the experience of our guests, and the gnomes represent the continuation of this spirit outside our fairy gates. As a matter of fact, one of our art department employees, Shannon, recently came up with a prototype for small “fairy doors” that we will be placing at various locations around the park, encouraging kids (and their adults) to engage in some interactive and imaginative play. The doors could open into gnome homes, couldn’t they? Or as Emily puts it, “Gnomes obviously fit in at Fairyland. That’s just a given.”

Which I’m sure is why, just as I was preparing to write this column, a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle called me to say she was writing an article on the phenomenon. Who better to comment on the whimsical and wonderful side of Oakland than a Fairyland spokesperson?

Here’s what I told her, and what I’ll tell you now.

We celebrate the spirit of whoever went to so much effort to create happiness-producing art all over our urban neighborhoods. This isn’t just about kids: My white-collar husband got just as excited as our young neighbor when he discovered the little guys. Like me and Emily, he was tickled by the mystery, and by the gnomes’ effect on his imagination. Who painted them? One person, or a team? Do they work under cover of darkness? And the most basic mystery of all: Why gnomes?

We don’t mind if the artist or artists remain anonymous. But we do want to show them some Fairyland love by offering them one of our new gold-plated Magic Storybook Keys. There’s a great knothole in an old tree just outside Fairyland’s gates. We could arrange to leave it there.

If you’re reading this, Mr. or Ms. Gnome Painter, we hope you’ll decide to take us up on our offer. And we seriously hope you keep the gnomes coming. Because right about now, Oakland can use a little more art, a little more whimsy, and a little more community.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.

Citizens By Choice

By C.J. Hirschfield

Three years ago, Children’s Fairyland was approached by the federal government with an offer we just couldn’t refuse. Could we host a special citizenship ceremony, one solely for young children? Faster than you can say “happily ever after,“ we were in, agreeing to provide a day’s worth of fun for the families afterward too. Our Aesop’s Playhouse was packed with family members and well-wishers; there was music, speakers, an oath, as well as some tears, including my own. Twenty children, ages 3-9, from nine different countries were sworn in. We loved it. We repeated it the next year, and are so happy to say that we will be hosting the event once again, in July.

With Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf looking on, a new U.S. citizen, born in Nigeria, reads the Pledge of Allegiance at the 2017 children's naturalization ceremony held at Children's Fairyland.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ San Francisco Field Office explained that while adults and teens typically have ceremonies dedicated to them, it’s far less common for the younger kids to have a celebration of their own. Oakland’s Paramount Theatre holds two naturalization ceremonies for adults every month, swearing in approximately 1000 at each event. I’ve been to a couple, and they are both beautiful and inspiring.

The 2017 children's naturalization ceremony at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, California.

When I was asked last week if I would be interested in being a featured speaker at one of the adult ceremonies next week, I couldn’t say no. But I did request that a box of tissues be available at the podium, just in case.

My remarks should be less than five minutes, and should not be political. I will be speaking to immigrants representing 80 different nations. I intend to tell the story of my immigrant grandfather Morris Hirschfield, who came to America from what was then Austria-Hungary right around the turn of the last century when he was only 16. He sailed alone, came through Ellis Island, and settled in the Lower East Side of New York, which was both the center of the nation’s garment production, and a focus of its immigrant life.

Anna and Morris Hirschfield, 1923

If you’ve ever visited the Tenement Museum in New York and taken the Sweatshop Workers’ tour, you’ll see how my grandfather lived, working as a tailor. He later started his own garment district operation, and when automobiles became a thing, he made his living by selling used cars. He and my grandmother, who was from the same town in Europe, never attended college, but all of their kids—and grandkids—did. As it turns out, it was a good thing they left the old country, because in World War II they lost nearly every family member to the Nazis.

My other grandfather was born in England.
My in-laws were both born in the Czech Republic.
You get the idea.

I’m still working on my remarks, but I think I know what the ending will be like.

Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, with over 27% of our residents foreign-born.

Our diversity is our strength; what our mayor calls part of the “secret sauce” that makes our city great.

I work in a storybook theme park—I understand the power of stories. Each of you Americans by choice have a very special story; you’ve worked toward this day for years. Share your stories, your talents, and your dreams with us; we’ll be better for it. Now you can vote, serve on a jury, and even run for office—and I hope you’ll take full advantage of these and so many more opportunities that will be open to you.

We see you, we welcome you, we thank you, we love you.

(Pass that box of tissues) and congratulations!

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.

Stamp of approval: The World's Smallest Post Service meets the country's once-smallest post office

By C.J. Hirschfield

She runs "The World’s Smallest Post Service." I run a park that contains what used to be the country’s smallest post office. We’re both in Oakland. Clearly, our paths were destined to cross, and they did last week. What may come of our meeting might just get more kids writing letters — real, live letters that generate love and joy — and that would be a good thing on many levels, we both believe.

That penny proves that Lea's tiny mail really is quite small!

Artrepeneur Lea Redmond says she started the World's Smallest Post Service (WSPS) on a whim back in 2008, locating it out on the corner of Sweet Adeline’s Bakeshop in Oakland. Dressed in a postal uniform she made herself, she transcribed tiny letters for passers-by seated by her miniature wooden rolltop desk. People loved it. It eventually became so popular that she started a website offering a handful of tiny mail items to be shipped inside slightly-larger boxes so they don’t get lost. To date, her tiny mail has charmed tens of thousands of both senders and receivers. 

Lea grew up in Seal Beach, California, and spent much of her time as a kid at The Desk Drawer, a local stationery store where she was delighted by the stickers and paper. She was always into letter writing, which she says was normal to her as a kid, but now, with smartphones and emails, “tangible letters seem all the more meaningful to both the writer and the receiver.” She believes that people want to slow down, to reflect, and to appreciate each other. “Tiny mail offers one small way to do just that,” she says.

Lea also created a “Letters To My:” series of charming interactive books (Letters to my Future Self, Letters to my Grandchildren, Letters to my Baby) which was picked up by Oprah as one of her favorite things. The resulting financial success, Lea says, “is why as an artist I didn’t have to leave the Bay Area.”

With the Tiny Mail Stationery Kit, you can make your own tiny letters and packages. It's like the DIY home version of the World’s Smallest Post Service.

What kinds of tiny letters do people send? Love letters, birthday greetings, notes from the tooth fairy, wedding invites, letters from fairies, mice and Santa’s elves—even wedding proposals. And what do people write? “They are so heartfelt and creative,” Lea says. To send tiny mail, you type out the info for your custom tiny letters and packages through the company website, add real-world shipping addresses, review your order, and go through checkout. What then? You can either think of a magic wand turning it into a tiny version, or you could imagine a careful process involving a fancy laser printer, very steady hands, and excellent craft skills. Of course, your mail is sent with a magnifying glass so your recipient can actually read it…

Lea’s business, run by herself and three part-time helpers, also provides tiny letter kits, as well as tiny packages, that can include items like bouncy balls, compasses, and tiny flower arrangements.

Lea visiting the antique postal counter that she found on Craigslist.

And thanks to a recent -- and fully realized -- crowdfunding campaign, Lea will soon be opening a brick-and-mortar studio/workspace/storefront on 15th and Webster in Oakland where folks can buy and send tiny mail, even handcrafting their own. She has purchased a beautiful antique oak post office counter to add to the experience.

“We want to make a place, a magical coordinate on the globe where people can count on wonder and kindness,” is how she describes her vision. 

In 1954, young "Queen" Connie Quackenbush mailed the first letter from Children's Fairyland's on-site post office, the smallest one in the U.S. at the time.

When Lea learned that Children’s Fairyland boasts what used to be the smallest (“child-sized”) post office in the U.S., she knew we had to connect. Opened in 1954, the post office operated for 21 years with a hand-cranked cancel machine that printed “Fairyland Station, Oakland, California 94612,” and a real, live postal employee. Inside the fanciful domed building are whimsical paintings of letters addressed to animals, and other inhabitants of the park. There used to be both a model airplane and a mini train that circled the interior dome of the structure. Kids were encouraged to write and post letters that they created on little desks outside.

Decommissioned in 1976 by the federal government due to budget cuts, the building is now used on weekends for arts and crafts activities.

But, what if…?

Lea and I brainstormed about how we could bring back the post office on select weekends. Imagine how fun it will be for kids and their adults to work together to write (or draw) a letter with tools, rubber stamps, stickers and envelopes, and imagine how special it will be for friends or family members to receive!

Is this town big enough for two tiny post offices? We sure think so. Because you just can’t have enough whimsy, love, and joy in the world.

You can check out all of the offerings of Lea’s World’s Smallest Post Service here: https://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/tiny-mail

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.

Transgender kindergarten teacher to curious students: "I’m not a girl and I’m not a boy, but I’m both"

By C.J. Hirschfield

Berkeley kindergarten teacher Lourdes Rivas is used to answering all sorts of questions from their endlessly curious kids in the classroom. But early on in their five years of teaching, one question kept coming up: Are you a girl or a boy?

Lourdes reading to a class of second graders at Rosa Parks Elementary in Berkeley, where they were invited to do an author talk.

Lourdes found themself telling and retelling their story of being transgender to their students every year, explaining why they use non-binary pronouns, why they say they’re not a girl and not a boy, but both -- or how is this even possible? So, Lourdes wrote it out one day and decided to pursue its fruition into a full-on children’s book.

“I needed books that represented who I was, and I wasn’t finding any,” says Lourdes. The path to creating their new bilingual (English and Spanish) book, “They Call Me Mix” was not an easy one. But, we’re happy to report that Lourdes and their book will be featured at Fairyland on May 18 as part of our annual Turn the Page! children’s book author and illustrator event. Geared towards five to seven year olds, the book explores what it means to be a transgender person of color. Lourdes notes that, while there are many young adult literature books that center on transgender and gender nonconforming characters, very few options exist for younger readers.

 

Author/educator Lourdes Rivas will be featured at Fairyland’s upcoming children’s authors and illustrators event, with their new book “They Call Me Mix.”

When Lourdes first decided they wanted to write the book, they reached out to the San Francisco-based Online School of Free Minds, which offers courses and programs that “offer a holistic approach to creating & publishing children's books as well as aid in expanding the mind and reclaiming our creative, intuitive, cooperative human nature.” But taking a course load while teaching full-time was daunting at best. And this was five years ago—Lourdes’ very first year as a teacher. It was too hard to keep up with the homework, so the book went on hiatus as Sylvia Mendez Elementary School remained their focus. Years later, Lourdes went back and completed their course online; the book was guided by the curriculum. The school’s founders, Maya Gonzalez and Matthew Smith became mentors as the book came together.

Even before identifying an illustrator, Lourdes knew they had to begin the process of fundraising; money that would be used for writing, editing, translating, illustrating, designing, obtaining an ISBN number, publishing, distributing, and shipping. “Kickstarter was exciting, but scary,” they recall. “I had to step out of my comfort zone to make an on-camera pitch—I was really nervous on the first thirty takes…” They say they then felt courage and love, and this evidently resonated with the many funders—so many that the financial goal of $10,500 was exceeded by $2,000.

Lourdes’ search for an illustrator ended on the dance floor, where they encountered Breena Nuñez, a working cartoonist, musician, and youth arts educator, whose work Lourdes had admired on Instagram. Breena was on board, but another pause occurred as the illustrator completed an MFA program.

Lourdes also learned how long it takes to do the layout. “The alignment of images and text was super meticulous,” they say. “It was a breeze from there.”

“They Call Me Mix” is a new children’s book that explores what it means to be a transgender person of color.

Finally, on January 19, a book launch party was held in the Fruitvale District, with about a hundred people present to celebrate. Visits to Seattle and Tacoma to do readings then followed.

And on May 18: Fairyland’s children’s book festival. Lourdes has attended the event for the last three years with their two nieces, but not as an author. A collector of children’s books, they see them as powerful tools. “When I read it to my kindergarten class kids and they say ‘That’s you in the book!,’ it’s the most engaging I’ve ever seen them,” Lourdes says.

They are “thrilled” to be a featured author this time around, where their own book will be available for sale and signing. “I’m excited to meet kids, parents and educators,” they say. “I’m such a fan of the event!”

And we’re sure that Lourdes will find their own fans this time around.

Turn the Page! will be held at Children’s Fairyland on Saturday, May 18 from 10-4; adults will need to be accompanied by a child to attend.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.

Dragon Slide Pioneer: How one boy got to test drive it first

by C.J. Hirschfield

A trip down Children’s Fairyland’s 32 feet high Dragon Slide has been an exciting rite of passage for millions of Bay Area kids for over half a century. You need to be at least four years old to go down, and it’s fast and fun.

Then-Oakland Park Commissioner Frank Ogawa is one of the first to go down Fairyland’s Dragon Slide when it opened in 1963. No adult is currently allowed to use the kids-only attraction.

I recently received an email from a man who claims to be the first kid to ever test drive the slide — even before it was installed at the park. It didn’t go well, but let’s start at the beginning. 

In 1962, then-five-year-old Sil Krevocheza loved to spend time with his dad at his workplace, Macri Iron Works on Eighth Street in West Oakland. Originally from Russia, Silvester Krevocheza was forcibly conscripted by the Germans in WWII, later escaping to fight for the British. After the war, he met his wife and worked in London as a blacksmith. Sponsored by a local couple, he and his family immigrated to Oakland in 1957, where he joined Macri as an ironworker. Macri may be better known for fabricating the “Mid-Century Monster” sculpture that is currently being refurbished on the beach at Lake Merritt, but in 1962, they were hired to work on the Happy Dragon Slide.

William Everritt’s 1962 designs for Children’s Fairyland’s 32 feet high Dragon Slide.

The slide was underwritten by the Shoong Foundation, both to honor Joe Shoong, creator of the National Dollar Stores, and to celebrate Chinese heritage and the beauty and grace of Chinese folklore. It was the last, and greatest, set designed by William Russell Everritt, who is responsible for most of the earliest park sets. The only way to access the tall slide is by way of a floating pathway past a fierce guardian dragon — in whose mouth kids go for a giant slide down. R.H. Cooley was chosen as structural engineer, and Macri for steel fabrication. Thirteen tons of cement and many tons of steel were used for this treetop-height marvel.

Young Sil got to see the steel frame come together, up-close. “I would jump out of our Hudson (automobile) and run into the shop to see what was going on,” he recalls. “It was one of the most exciting things in the world, watching this thing being built.”

Sil's vintage home photos of the Dragon Slide in progress.

His father would show him the drawings, and demonstrate how things were going to come together. At one point they decided to hoist up and test drive the slide at the shop, tacking it together on a flatbed truck, prior to the plaster being applied. Young Sil happily volunteered to be the first to slide down. Unfortunately, a rivet had not been removed, and Sil soon required 18 stitches.

Did this setback change Sil’s love of the slide and/or deter him from future rides? “Heck, no, I wasn’t scared,” he says. The stitches came out in a week, and were forgotten.

Once the slide had been moved to Fairyland and his dad was doing the installation, he and his siblings “were always there. Watching him weld in the park was the bees’ knees,” he says.

“Back then, things were so simple,” he recalls. “Everybody we knew went there.”

Sil also loved the puppet shows, and our Magic Keys. None of his four grandkids have ever visited the park (Sil was last here with his four kids in the eighties), but he intends to gather them all together here this summer, and he’ll be sure to tell the story about how their great-grandfather built an Oakland icon.

“My dad didn’t leave the best mark on this earth,” says Sil, referring to the tough life of his immigrant father. “The best things he left were his kids and the Dragon Slide.”

We can’t wait to welcome Sil and family back to “his” magnificent slide.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.

Act of God Strands Bunny

By C.J. Hirschfield

For the last decade, Twilight the purple bunny has charmed little ones at Children Fairyland’s Bunny Weekend with his one floppy ear, and big smile. But not this year.

“It took an act of God to keep me away,” says a deeply disappointed Jimmy Chin, the man who created, and wears, the costume. Because of horrible storms in the Southeast, Jimmy’s flight home from Florida was cancelled, along with 25 other flights out of Fort Lauderdale that day. He could not get a flight until late Easter Sunday, when all six of his fellow Critters By the Bay costumed characters will have already gone home after performing at the park all weekend.

Critters By the Bay at Fairyland's 2018 Bunny Weekend. image via

The Critters have been part of the Fairyland family since 2004, performing at our various themed holiday events, and always creating an air of excitement and whimsy. Kids love them, and photos taken with Critters create family memories that are cherished.

Formed in 1997, the Critters’ website describes them as “part hobby, part business, part true calling.” They’ve appeared at a wide variety of venues, including parades, ball games, corporate parties, zoos, theme parks, racetracks, grand openings, trade shows, children's hospitals, and even as background extras in a few TV shows (including a segment of Parenthood, filmed at Fairyland).

Jimmy first performed at Fairyland fifteen years ago at the opening of our Old West Junction, playing Yippee Coyote, the most popular of the 18 costume suits that he has created. The strangest? “That would probably be Blip, who I describe as a little lost alien, or a short-tailed space mouse,” he explains.  His Walden the reindeer is always a hit during our holiday festivities.

As a youngster, Jimmy says he was a shy kid who loved cartoons. “Creating and wearing costume characters seemed like a fun way to express myself,” he recalls. “Anonymity gives you courage.”

Costumer/mascot Jimmy Chin has performed at Children’s Fairyland for 15 years.

Jimmy’s day job is as a computer consultant in Silicon Valley, but he has also been Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote at Six Flags, Rikter the Cyberdog, the husky mascot of the San Jose Earthquakes, and the mascot performer for the now-defunct Cyber Rays professional women’s soccer team.

Jimmy built Twilight the purple bunny for an Easter party, and the color and name were inspired by that special time of day when colors and stars inspire. Twilight’s head is made of upholstery foam (“Clean, not used,” Jimmy points out). Plastic struts were used for the ears, and patterned fur is laid over the foam. Trimming, sewing, gluing—all are part of the creative process.

Jimmy Chin, in his popular Twilight the bunny costume, at Fairyland.

But the costume isn’t everything. I’ve observed Jimmy and other Critters as they use techniques to put nervous kids at ease; lowering themselves to kid level, and earning their trust. “Kids have a safety bubble,” Jimmy says. “When you get their trust, the bubble shrinks.”

Jimmy says that his heart sank when he realized he couldn’t be with us this year. “Fairyland is such a magical place, and it’s an amazing feeling for me to perform there,” he says.

This would have been Jimmy’s eleventh Bunny Weekend, and was proud of the fact that he’s never skipped one.

“I’m gonna miss you,” he told me on a phone call from Florida.

We’re gonna miss you, too, Jimmy, but we look forward to seeing one of your many faces at the park real soon.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.

Rx: Print Books

This month, a study entitled “Differences in Parent-Toddler Interactions With Electronic Versus Print Books” was published in the journal Pediatrics. Its conclusion? “Parents and toddlers verbalized less with electronic books, and collaboration was lower, and that pediatricians may wish to continue promoting shared reading of print books, particularly for toddlers and younger children.”

At Toddler Storytime, held every Friday at Fairyland, librarian-trained storytellers read aloud and lead families in song and movement.

Also this month, my city of Oakland -- thanks to the passage of a recent bond measure -- announced that it will extend its operating hours for all public library branches. I am overjoyed—we can now visit libraries six days a week, and on two evenings.

I connect these two events in my mind, especially as someone whose job has me observing toddlers every day. The academic study reinforces what many of us have intuitively believed, that for very young kids, real books have advantages over electronic books or tablets.

Foremost in my mind is the fact that toddlers can access books without help, or electric power-- and the library is a great place for them to explore books that look, feel and are illustrated differently. They can have the autonomy to browse, and pick out books that interest them, that can then be read to them.

At home, whether it’s library books or others, kids can have access to a pile of books whenever they wish to engage, or re-engage. They can show you want they want to read. Toddlers are typically locked out of tablets, so can’t get to books without help.

At Fairyland, Alice’s Reading Room is a cozy space to discover new books and old favorites.

And once toddlers learn the words or plotline of a favorite book you’ve read them, they’ll sit and “read” it to themselves (and you must not laugh). Can’t do this with a tablet. They can skip ahead; go back—what a powerful feeling! A love of reading often flows from here.

There are many other reasons why reading real books to toddlers is a good thing. But the tactility of real books and the opportunity they provide for toddlers to make their own choices about what—and when-- they want to explore, really resonate with me. And the look of toddlers when they see a row of books at the library that they can choose from? Priceless.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.