Temescal Library
The Williams Dairy bottle I started with by emailing the library asking if they knew anything. They responded with some basic facts, and told me the Oakland Tribune had a run a feature on it back in 1974 when the dairy closed, and that I could look it up electronically from any branch for free. So armed with that info, I went to the Temescal branch (the Montclair branch is closed until July for mold abatement), and found the article in a few minutes.
The tool library at Temescal is an amazing resource. They've got a ton of tools (a mostly complete list is available on the website), and they're free to borrow for Oakland residents. There are hefty late fees, but you've got 3 days to use things, and free is a darn good price. I suggest calling ahead to make sure they've got the tool you need available, and you'll need 2 forms of ID (i.e., drivers license and utility bill) the first time you check something out.
After borrowing the belt sander and researching the milk bottle, I got some Peet's coffee beans, a Mythic paint swatch from Scout (and ogled over the decor), then headed over to the Ace Ellis hardware to get some sanding belts. Ellis hardware is a funky place, because 99% of what they stock is behind the counters. You ask for it, they go get it -- pretty much the exact opposite of Home Depot. Then it was on to Trader Joe's in Rockridge. I finished out my trip-linking frenzy with a quick stop at Safeway, the bank, and Petco at Broadway and Pleasant Valley. According to Becks over at Living in the O, that Safeway has big changes planned, and the Longs is closing. It is a handy place, so I hope it gets replaced with something useful.
I've been using the library for the past several months. While I live right around the corner from the Temescal branch I usually go to the one in Rockridge because it has parking and it stays open later. I've saved hundreds of dollars this year and I am now an avid promoter of the library. Sadly though, I've found a lot of people have checked out books and haven't returned them leaving me to buy the book I'm looking for. I'm going to donate these books back to the library though so the next time someone is looking for books 2 and 3 in a 14 part series, they'll be there.
ReplyDeleteGrrr... People not returning books is stealing, whether they meant to take them or just lost them and didn't say anything. And blessings on you for donating books to the library to replace the missing ones. With Oakland's budget the way it is, it doesn't seem likely the library will be flush with cash anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the different hours for Rockridge vs. Temescal, but even without that the Rockridge library is hecka nice since it's so new.