'Father of Modern Antioch' to be honored

In our "Neighbors" series, we give you a personal look at the people who are serving your community. If you would like to nominate someone for this column, contact Judy Prieve at 925-779-7178 or e-mail jprieve@bayareanewsgroup.com.

By Roni Gehlke

The California State University system will honor longtime Antioch businessman and philanthropist Leo Fontana with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree during commencement ceremonies on Saturday at the Concord Campus of Cal State East Bay.

"This award is a great surprise and I'm very humbled," Fontana, 85, said. "It is hard to accept when there are so many other people who did so much more."

Fontana, who is affectionately know as the "Father of Modern Antioch," is a Minnesota native who moved to Antioch one year before he was drafted into World War II. Like many others he came to California in the hope of finding work. His first job here was with Dow Chemical, but he was quickly drafted and had to leave. Luckily, he said, he received credit at his job with Dow for his time in the service and when he came home he had his job waiting for him.
By 1946 he was able to save enough money and opened Antioch Stationary Store in the downtown area. Later the name was changed to La Fontana Stationary Store.

"There wasn't a stationary store in Antioch; actually there wasn't much to Antioch at that time," he said. As a downtown business owner and resident of Antioch it was easy to see that the community needed a lot of improvements. Fontana explained that some things the city had before the war, such as a chamber of commerce, but afterward, it all needed to be rebuilt.

"Some things you do because you do it. You want to try to get things done for the community," he said. If asked about all the things he worked on over the years, Fontana wouldn't be able to tell.

"There were just so many things that came up and I did my best to help where needed," he explained.

Fontana was a member of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce and a charter member of the Antioch Downtown Merchants Association. He served on the Antioch City Council and held the position of vice mayor for a term. He also worked on Antioch's Planning Commission for several years. He worked for the Antioch Lions Club, Boy Scouts and the Rotary Club.

When Highway 4 was built two miles from the downtown area and its merchants, Fontana and a partner purchased some property adjacent to the highway and built what is now referred to as Somersville Town Center. Originally it was call Delta Fair Center and later the name changed to County East Mall.

"I worked to start a lot of organizations that Antioch didn't have. Think of Antioch back then, what Oakley is going through today — a small town without many services and trying to build from scratch," he said.

Of his greatest achievements, Fontana says that helping to build a recreation department for Antioch has to be high on his list. "Around 1946 we started working to have playgrounds built and then we started Little League and Babe Ruth programs. It grew over the years to what it is today. A lot of things just grew and grew," he said.

Fontana said just looking at the Antioch Sport Legends displays at the Riverview Historical Society will show how much sports has meant to this area.

"What I'm really, really proud of is the Antioch Senior Center. It has turned into one of the greatest programs in Northern California," he said.

Fontana was the chairman of the recreation commission when he contacted the Antioch Woman's Club and asked members to work on an evening program for seniors.

At first junior members of the group would host a weekly game night. Later, the former John Muir School, which had been vacant for many years, served as the first Antioch Senior Center. When that downtown center gave out and the building the senior center is housed in today became available, Fontana worked to set it up to house the senior program.
Today Fontana still works with the Antioch Senior Center where he emcees their programs and occasionally cooks to raise money.

"As a native of Antioch, I, among many others, would never have been able to attend college if not for the encouragement, employment and mentoring provided by Leo Fontana," said Bob Linscheid, a trustee of the California State University system who also is president/CEO of The Linscheid Co. Inc. of Chico.

"He was responsible for the creation of Antioch's modern-day chamber of commerce, the regional transit organization, regional mall and locally owned bank. His leadership has benefited boards of many charitable organizations and other group, and he has served on the Antioch City Council, Antioch Planning Commission, and the Antioch Parks and Recreation Commission.

"His involvement in economic development of eastern Contra Costa County is nothing short of legendary. Any youth sports organization that started in the last six decades has Leo to thank for its development and success. And he continues to this day to support the redevelopment of this region," Linscheid said.

Recently Fontana created the Leo Fontana Family Foundation to continue his philanthropic pursuits while also supporting other community organizations during his retirement.