January 4, 2005

The year in review

Looking back at 2004 from a Willow Glen perspective

By Carol Rosen
Editor

The dawn of a year new is full of hopes and dreams for the future of the coming 12 months. It’s a time when people make resolutions to change, and await the changes they hope will improve their lives.

In June, the Willow Glen Relay For Life is again successful with 20 teams and 46 survivors marching in the 24-hour relay.

But it’s also a good time to reflect on the year just ended, and, if necessary, learn lessons from the mistakes we made and the impact of decisions made by ourselves and those governing our communities. Here are some of the local highlights covered by the Willow Glen Times during 2004.

January
—Josephine Perrucci celebrates her 100th birthday. She’s lived in Willow Glen for 63 years.

—Actress Annette Bening visits Presentation High School and talks about life on the stage and screen. She also tells students to “follow their dreams.”

—Santa delivers 1,700 teddy bears to Sacred Heart Community Services.

February
—Mayor Ron Gonzales highlights San Jose’s strength despite the poor economy, but suffers a mild stroke—with no ill effects—20 minutes into his sixth State of the City address. He’s back working hard before the end of the month.

—Parents meet with San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) prior to school closings to voice their feelings and complaints about the closure of three elementary schools.

—Samuel Pena Jr., a 15-year-old Willow Glen High student, is stabbed to death on his way to school. Twenty-year-old Bennie Espinoza is arrested and charged with the killing.

Kaitlyn Langstaff’s family and friends hold a celebration of her life. Although she fought hard for two years, the 9-year-old died from an allergic reaction to Children’s Advil.

—Kaitlyn Langstaff’s family and friends hold a celebration of her life. Although she fought hard for two years, the 9-year-old died from an allergic reaction to Children’s Advil.

—District 6 City Councilmember Ken Yeager and opposing candidate Daniel Beasworrick offer differing opinions on city matters pertaining to Willow Glen.

March
—District 6 City Councilmember Yeager joins neighborhood associates in opening the Gregory Street Bridge over Los Gatos Creek. The bridge extends the Los Gatos Creek trail.

—Yeager wins the primary election for the District 6 seat, and will run unopposed in the Nov. 2 General Election.

—Innovative businesses open on Lincoln Avenue. One is an exciting art studio for children called ArtHouse Kids. The other is a unique boutique strictly for dogs complete with the regular paraphernalia plus a “dog barkery” with fancy bakery-type treats.

—Nearly 400 women attend a tea party to raise money for the Assyrian Church’s new building.

April
—Lincoln Glen Little League names a field for longtime volunteer Joe Walter. He also receives the Wes Houseweart Volunteer of the Year award.

—Eight neighborhood groups work with the Tamien Station developer and architect to reach amiable solutions for the project.

Kaitlyn Langstaff’s family and friends hold a celebration of her life. Although she fought hard for two years, the 9-year-old died from an allergic reaction to Children’s Advil.

—Margaret Hobbs becomes the first woman in 136 years to serve as president and CEO of the San Jose Lodge #522 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

—Melissa Minato receives the 2004 Seagate/Sharks Foundation eighth grade leadership award. She’s a student at Willow Glen Middle School.

—The Willow Glen/Cambrian Park real estate market is a hot sellers’ market. Houses going up for sale, sell quickly and typically at more than 10 percent over asking prices.

—Local voice teacher and former opera singer Ina Krause joins some of her students in raising money to combat a disease called Dystonia.

—St. Stephens School students help pick up trash on Earth Day.

May
—Canoas Elementary School is named a California Distinguished School.

—Volunteers spend two weekends upgrading two Willow Glen homes through the Rebuilding Together project.

—Willow Glen’s downtown parking expands with 75 new spaces in the Bank of American parking lot, thanks to the bank, the city of San Jose and the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association.

—The California Dictionary Project hands out dictionaries to all third graders in the SJUSD.

—Willow Glen artists Lucy Liew and Kayomi Harae exhibit their work at Stanford University.

June
—The Willow Glen Relay For Life is again successful with 20 teams and 46 survivors marching in the 24-hour relay.

—Twelve-year-old Cameron Stanley marches with other survivors at the Willow Glen Relay For Life. The seventh grade student at Holy Spirit School has been cancer free for five years. She suffered from Wilm’s Tumor.

—Bellarmine student Eric Lynch qualifies for the Senior National Swim Meet.

—Possible legislation for secondary dwelling units throughout San Jose sparks controversy and divisiveness at Willow Glen Neighborhood Association meeting.

—Hicklebees Children’s Books wins one of two 2004 Lucile Micheels Pannell Awards in the children’s specialty category.
The award is given based on creativity, responsiveness to community needs, passion and understanding of children’s books and young readers.

—City budget woes could force scaled back park services.

July
—More than 35,000 attend 2004 Dancin’ on the Avenue for food, fun, frolic and lots of dancing.

—New LED crosswalk signs are installed on Lincoln Avenue. City officials plan a 90-day test to find out the signs’ effectiveness.

—Shallenberger Elementary School celebrates its annual American Heritage Festival.

—After 25 years in cramped quarters, Martha’s Kitchen is remodeled with room to cook and to store food.

—Herman Sanitarium celebrates its 60th birthday.

August
—The third Music in the Glen ends a five-week run. The successful season featured a number of bands entertaining between 800 and 1,000 people on Thursday nights on the grounds of Willow Glen Elementary School. The family party also is a Willow Glen and Sunriser Kiwanis fundraiser with half of the proceeds going to the Willow Glen Parent Teacher Student Association and the rest divided into gifts for eight different children’s charitable organizations.

—San Jose Transportation Agency surveys Willow Glen to see if the LED pedestrian signs are doing their job.

—San Jose Unified considers a parcel tax on the November ballot.

—The Zapien family seeks clues to mysterious volunteer fruits and vegetables growing in the parking strip in front of their home. Grapes and squash have grown in the area, but manage to keep within the parking strip boundaries and not stray onto the sidewalk.

September
—Mayor Rom Gonzales, City Councilmember Ken Yeager and Fire Chief Jeff Clett reopen Fire Station 4 with speeches tours and food.

—San Jose Medical Center announces it will close in 30 days, on Dec. 9, three years before it previously said it would close.

In July, Herman Sanitarium celebrated its 60th birthday.

—Doug Artman helps a Willow Glen family after a bike accident, driving three of the Edwards family members home with all four bikes. Andrew, meanwhile is taken to the hospital with three broken ribs. He recovers well.

—Little League volunteer and coach Joe Walter, who earlier this year had a field named after him, receives a special commendation from the city for his “outstanding commitment to the children and families of the Willow Glen community over the past 33 years.”

—Palm Haven, a subdivision in Willow Glen, celebrates part of its restoration by relighting a completed pillar at the park at Clintonia and Palm Haven Avenues.

—STAR, API results are disappointing, student performance is slowing.

October
—SJUSD Trustee Area 3’s race for the school board heats up with incumbent Carol Myers vying against Pam Foley. Foley aims to improve the district for all its students while Myers wants to return to neighborhood schools, eliminate elementary busing and work for equal funding and programs for all San Jose Unified Schools.

—Palm Haven holds its third annual neighborhood home tour to large crowd.

—Presentation faculty trades in-service meetings for community service.

—Books for Treats prepares to hand out age appropriate books instead of candy to children.

—Willow Glen and other Bay Area children spend Friday, Oct. 29 trick or treating on Lincoln Avenue receiving candy from merchants and books at the Books for Treats booth.

November
—The vote count is too close to determine if Carol Myers or Pam Foley won the SJUSD’s Trustee Area 3 vote. Ninety-five votes separate the two candidates.

—Spa R & R treats less fortunate citizens at the San Jose Family Shelter to massages, mini-facials, hair styling and manicures.

—Castillero Middle School considered for closure by SJUSD drawing ire from Willow Glen parents who send their kids to the performing arts magnet.

—San Jose Parents Participating Nursery School exhibits children’s artwork at the Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company.

—San Jose Auxiliary puts on annual boutique to raise funds for Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. The large crowd nearly clears all the shelves by closing time.

December
—Police evacuate homes on the 500 block of Minnesota for about one hour while they remove a bazooka shelf from the home of Jamie, Jena and Ryan Eidschun.

—The Willow Glen Foundation raises more than $8,000 during its third annual fundraiser at the Grapevine.

—Willow Glen Elementary’s tree lighting ceremony opens the holiday season on Lincoln Avenue with horse-drawn carriage rides, longer store hours and Santa Clause’s house.

—Presentation High School celebrates new soccer and softball field openings. Among the guests are Olympians and former students Aly Wagner and Danielle Slaton.

—The teacher-tutor program at Willow Glen Elementary School is unique with school-wide emphasis and a support network within the teacher/tutor group.