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Speak Out
Remembering a longtime friend of Willow Glen
I was surprised not to find an article in the Willow Glen Resident about the sad closure of Dr. John W. Allen's life.
His 40-year dental practice in Willow Glen started in 1951. This practice was forced to close due to a stroke he suffered in September 1991. He spent several years at The Plumtree, near Good Samaritan Hospital, then became a resident of the Idylwood Convalescent Hospital in Sunnyvale, until his death on June 23, 1999.
There was one small article in the San Jose Mercury News on July 24 stating that his brother, Robert Allen, entered the facility and fatally shot Dr. Allen, then turned the gun on himself. This was considered a homicide and suicide by the police department. When asked, I was told that Dr. Allen did not suffer pain in his final hours.
Dr. Allen left many people behind who were not only faithful and loyal patients, but friends. He never had the chance after his stroke to say a proper good-bye to these wonderful people. I hope this letter will help them to know how much they meant to him. His visits with his patients meant a lot to him. His practice was his life.
For that matter, I didn't have the chance to personally say good-bye to many of the patients, either. I started working for Dr. Allen in 1985, and when I say his patients were "wonderful" I truly mean that! They were a big part of my daily life too, and I still think of them with fond memories and lots of laughter.
Roberta L. Jaques
Willow Creek Court
Weighing pros and cons of moving the Founders Day parade
After reading the various opinions regarding Founders Day in the last week or two, I started looking at the pros and cons.
Against moving the parade to Halloween the reasoning seems to be that: 1) It is tradition and basically it would be a pain to move at this time; 2) It kicks off the Founders Day weekend nicely; 3) The main backers prefer it the way it is, and would like some media attention.
And the reasons for moving it seem to be: 1) Safety for the trick-or-treat goblins and ghosts as they collect their loot; 2) More colorful parade, larger and sure to attract more media; 3) The booths could go up sooner on Founders Day; 4) Would be fun to see.
Either way, it would be nice to have some activities to raise money for "Garlands over the Glen," with perhaps a dunking tank and various booths thinking up ways to raise funds to do it. Christmas lights would be nice, again. Perhaps we could use at least one of these neighborhood events to that end.
Anyone?
Sodah Sparks
Lincoln Avenue
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
