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Don't throw in the towel before you get a throw
By Deborah Taylor-Hollis
When staunch PTA volunteer and day-care provider Susie Little announced that she was moving up to Paradise, everyone within the Willow Glen Elementary sphere was devastated. Susie not only picks up all the kids from the school every day and gives them art projects, snacks, playtime and even takes them to the library for story readings and involvement with the tile project, but also has been the PTA historian for years. So the PTA moms decided to get her a going-away present: a Willow Glen afghan.
Many of you have probably never even seen these loomed throws and don't know about them. They are specially made for the Willow Glen community and depict scenes from our town during its heyday. In shades of red and green on a cream background, the afghans have eight local scenes depicted around the central logo "Willow Glen on and Around the Avenue."
Some of the images shown on these blankets are no more--the basket factory, the 1921 Caporalli cherry-packing plant, the Willow Glen electric street car that ran from 1920 to 1930. Others are still standing in truncated forms. The huge, sturdy three-story brick Victorian building that was Willow Glen School (built in 1897) was flattened by the wrecking ball in 1970. The Garden Theater, a local landmark from 1949, withstood the changes until the recession of the mid-'80s pulled out her guts and renovated her into the mall she is today (and where IS that old ticket kiosk that the developers all promised would be put back out front as either a flower stand or a newspaper stall?). Both the northwest corner of Lincoln and Minnesota and the 1946 depiction of Lincoln Avenue are also reminders of times long past.
I had never seen one of these throws until we started school last year; one proudly hangs on the wall opposite the nurse's office. I had no idea they were still for sale until someone told me they wanted to buy Susie one as a present. That's where the tale gets interesting.
You see, these one-of-a-kind Willow Glen souvenirs are sold by the Kiwanis Sunrisers club. Only I didn't know where they were or how to get hold of them. One of our parents told me that our principal, Anita Sunseri, was a member, and they were going to check with her. A few days passed.
Then I heard we still didn't have an afghan, but someone else was hot on the trail and had heard that the Kiwanis secretary, Dot Cohen, was selling them--but they didn't have time to contact her before the New Year. So, we all put this on hold until January, something we would later regret.
We had planned Susie's big going-away party for the night of the seventh, so when we all got back to school on the third, time was getting pretty thin for getting the gift. Claire Owens had been trying to get hold of Dot Cohen, but that sweet lady was out of town, and no one knew whom else to call. So, on the afternoon of the sixth, I decided to hunt down two afghans: one for Susie, and one for me. After two years of lusting after them, I decided that I should get one while I could--who knew when another one would be available?
My first stop was probably the best decision I ever made. I went right to Washington Mutual Bank Manager Dave Machado, Willow Glen booster extraordinaire and Kiwanis Sunrisers member. When I told Dave our dilemma, he immediately told me to head next door and see Micky Muir, another Kiwanis member, local bookkeeper and all-around helper to all. Unfortunately, I had just missed her at the office and wasn't even sure she would be able to lay hands on any throws for me. I left my cell phone number and hoped for the best.
Eventually, Mickey did get my message and called me--only I missed her call and had to play phone tag. She kept valiantly returning my messages until 6 p.m., when we spoke and she told me she had gotten both throws for us and would even bring them by my house after work.
I spent the rest of the night trying to get a message through to Claire before she bought one from somebody else, but she was in a PTA meeting that evening (with Susie). Eventually, long after everyone else would have quit for the day, I got through to her and delivered the gift. But I have never seen so many people involved in one simple purchase on such short notice.
To contact the Kiwanis Sunrisers and purchase a Willow Glen Commemorative Afghan ($60 each), call 408.265.4120. Keep trying until you get one--they are wonderful!
Readers can contact Deborah at DTHollis@metronews.com.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
