The original part of Lakewood is an Oak-Hickory forest.
Cows used to graze among the trees.
As homes were built, people burned their leaves.
Driving down Lake Avenue in the fall, visibility could be less than 200 feet.
And don’t even think about what happened to people with lung problems.
When Julie Richardson was Village President, she managed to pass an ordinance eliminating leaf burning.
And way before that when Governor Richard B. Ogilvie got a bill passed banning all open burning, Lakewood figured out that its refuse company could vacuum them from streetside.
No more such convenience.
Is it because the newer parts of Lakewood, where most Village Trustees live, don’t have enough trees to have a problem?
Or is it because people able to afford such homes just hire people to rake and remove them?
in any event, Village rules now say leaves have to be bagged.
I’ve filled as many as fifty–quite a chore.
Now comes the newsletter from Richmond announcing that it will be vacuuming leaves later this month.
