Here is Where We Meet is a sonic celebration of Lake Merritt, a long-form documentary radio project broadcast the first Wednesday of the month on KGPC 96.9FM in Oakland. Each episode weaves together field recordings and interviews conducted around the Lake. HWWM explores the unique diversity and biodiversity found around Lake Merrit, the myriad ways that everyday Oaklanders engage with it and with each other, and ultimately affirms that even in this time of rapid gentrification and change, Lake Merritt and Oakland are a place for everyone. HWWM is recorded in stereo sound so listening with a pair of headphones or on a good pair of speakers is highly encouraged.
HWWM 10 / An experiment in keeping Oakland Oakland /
Our final episode of 2019 is filled with quiet spaces as activity around the Lake drops along with the Fall temperatures. We speak with Oakland resident and affordable housing advocate Rafael Yaquian who was volunteering to clear debris from the Lake. We also chat with members of The Others Bike Club from San Jose who were riding around the Lake on their custom made stretch cruisers and collecting canned food for charity. Finally, we stumble upon Oakland resident Ken Lee watching after two feral cats living inside of Lake Merritt Gardens.
HWWM 09 / How can we see each other at the Lake? /
We do a soundwalk through the big crowds at the Dragon Boat races held annually at the Lake, we chat with musician and recent Bay Area transplant from Sweden Johan Ericson who was singing and strumming his guitar lakeside one afternoon, and Oaklander and East Bay bicycle advocate Ginger Jui - who was sketching a Black-crowned Night Heron one evening - gives thoughts about how Oakland can develop without leaving people behind.
HWWM 08 / Tranquality: A Piece of Peace /
Episode eight brings us the thoughts and ideas from musician and life philosopoher Roy Meegan who was playing his unique dub stylings around Lake Merritt one sunny afternoon, Oakland residents Desire J. Forte and Calvin Joseph Forte who were celebrating their second anniversary with a photo session at the Lake, and local composer and educator James Mahone who regular practices his saxophone near the Oakland Lawn Bowling fields. We are ushered out by the symphonic vibrations of some crickets at dusk which were recorded along the estuary that connects Lake Merritt to the Bay.
HWWM 07 / Pelicans, Lake Merritt in the 80s, and Dahlias /
In this episode we hear from Katie Noonan with the Friends of the Rotary Nature Center who works amongst much of the avian life around the Lake. We also stumble upon a group of Naval veterans who were stationed in Alameda on the USS Carl Vinson in the 1980s. They were at the Lake celebrating their 30th reunion. Finally we speak with Kristi Whitfield of the San Leandro Dahlia Society who manages a group of colorful dahlia flowers in the Lake Merritt Gardens.
HWWM 06 / Respecting the space /
Wildlife photographer Rick Lewis talks to us about coming to Lake Merritt a few times a year to look for hard-to-find birds that stop in Oakland while on their migratory paths. We also hear form longtime Oakland resident Wayne Sherwin who volunteers with the Lake Merritt Institute to regularly clear plastic and other debris from the lake. And, we stumble upon two groups of dancers at the bandstand behind Fairyland: local artist Amanda Bean and musician Astu who are practicing their hustle dance moves; and tango master Jean-Pierre Sighe working together with his dance partner Oshalla Diana Marcus.
HWWM 05 / The Lake is how people come to know each other in Oakland /
Educator and musician Guy de Chalus gives us the title of this episode. We interrupt his marimba practice for a robust conversation about music, Oakland, and lessons the Lake provides. Additionally, we hear from juggler Charles Blue, and animator and artist JP Lee. Also making a cameo are the bells from Our Lady of Lourdes church which is adjacent to the Pergola at Lake Merritt. If you've spent any time at the Lake, you've undoubtedly heard the hourly chimes. Finally, we take a kayak ride out onto the Lake which gives a very different sonic perspective to things.
HWWM 04 / Healers, Musicians, and Gardeners /
We start and end the show this month with sounds from the drum circles that gather every week at the Lake Merritt pergola. We also hear from massage therapist Brian Lindsay who serves the public by setting up his table at Lake Merritt most weekends, groups of loud seagulls fighting for food and attention, Oakland resident Ben Constanza who enjoys practicing his clarinet amongst the birds in Lake Merritt Gardens, and members of the Alameda County Master Gardeners who tend to the many vegetable, herb, and flower gardens at Lake Merritt Gardens.
HWWM 03 / Sunday life at the Lake /
Lake Merritt is Oakland's central social space. It is where you see the beautiful, singular diversity of the city interacting and commingling. On Sundays, this is on full display: bbqs, salsa dancing, drumming, and endless people strolling around.
In this episode we soundwalk around the Lake on a busy, warm Sunday, taking in the variety of sounds. We also talk to aspiring rapper and producer Mac Che and aikido practitioners Greco and Stephon.
HWWM 02 / Living homeless at Lake Merritt /
It has been a rainy month and that features prominently in this episode. The homeless crisis in Oakland seems to be at an extremely dire level. There have been many encampments stationed in and around the Lake lately. We talk with Casey Cummings and Maurice Boyce, two Oakland residents that are currently living homeless around Lake Merritt. We also hear the teardown and removal of dozens of encampments behind Fairyland, in the park's northwest side.
HWWM 01 / What did Lake Merritt sound like before it was a lake? /
Lake Merritt, the "crown jewel" that Oakland, California is built around, is not actually a lake but a tidal slough that once ebbed and flowed freely. The wetlands surrounding what is now Lake Merritt were once teeming with wildlife, diverse tree and plant life, and many fish species. One hundred and sixty years of urbanization has changed that drastically, however.
This first episode attempts to imagine the impossible: what did Lake Merrit sound like before any humans arrived? We visited Coyote Hills Regional Park, a restored marshland nestled at the easternmost span of the Dumbarton Bridge. Wandering through the nearly 1,300 acres of wetlands helped us imagine what the ecology might have looked and sounded like around Lake Merritt.
We also read from a variety of historical texts that help paint a picture of the ecosystem around the lake prior to human intervention. Sources cited:
The Early Development of Lake Merritt, Oakland, California: 1852-1907 by John Heinitz
A Historical and Environmental Geographic Analysis of Lake Merritt by Mary Travis
The Costanoan/Ohlone Indians of the San Francisco and Monterrey Bay Area: A Research Guide by Lauren S. Teixeira
Identifying, Evaluating, and Managing a Historic Landscape: A Case Study of Lake Merritt Park by Cheryl Miller
Out West Magazine, April 1919 by Robin Lampson