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What's In a Name?
Everything, according to folks who live in the place formerly known as 'Willow Glen'
By Jessica Lyons
Our aim was true.
We never intended to hurt any feelings, encourage yuppie terminology, cause widespread loss of identity or contribute to the deterioration of Willow Glen's history.
And yet we did. With two little words: "Glen" and "Glenites."
It's just that repeating "Willow Glen" a dozen times per story can get rather repetitive. So we took some editorial liberty and referred to Willow Glen as "The Glen" and to Willow Glen's inhabitants as "Glenites." A three-month letter-writing campaign followed shortly thereafter.
"Willow Glen should always be Willow Glen, and 'The Glen' accomplishes nothing except to destroy the history of this great area by calling it what it isn't," wrote Robert L. Smith, spurring floods of other Glenites--er, Willow Glen residents--into action.
"I have lived in Willow Glen ... for more 50 years and will never be a Glenite," wrote Maryben Frizzi Stover, who also scolded the Resident for calling Lincoln Avenue "The Avenue."
"So, whose idea was it to change the name?" wrote Barb Kyger Overholt. "Sounds like someone has way too much time on their hands."
Oops. Maybe we should stick to putting out a newspaper, instead of trying to create our own '90s vernacular. But in the spirit of Y2K, we're going to go out on a limb here and suggest some new monikers to help bring Willow Glen into the new millennium. Any takers?
Willownians--
We see stately houses, manicured lawns and a small--but purebred--dog named Fifi. Willownians enjoy the finer things in life: gourmet cooking, winetasting and boutique browsing. Willownians are well established. They grew up in Willow Glen and remember when the Garden Theater was in its prime, and when the Willow Glen Pharmacy was the neighborhood drug store. Willownians take pride in their encyclopedic knowledge of the village's history and can probably identify Willow Glen's former mayor, police chief and the fateful day the town was incorporated by San Jose.
Wigglies--
Small-town politics are big time in Willow Glen, and when it's time to get down and dirty, Wigglies are likely to be in the thick of the action. They frequent City Hall, Neighborhood Association, Business and Professional Association and Board of Education meetings with an ear to the ground for local grumblings and conspiracy theories. Sometimes seen as the loose cannons of the crowd, Wigglies prefer to think of themselves as watchdogs. They march to the beat of a different drum that only other Wigglies can hear.
WGs (pronounced wee-gees)--
WGs can generally be identified by their appearance. They're between the ages of 18 and 34, have multi-colored hair and body piercings, and are wearing at least one piece of clothing from Urban Outfitters. If you're looking to spot a WG, check out the hair salons along Lincoln Avenue, Park Place Antiques or maybe even the Thrift Box. WGs love to complain about the stripmall-ization and growing Yuppie culture in Willow Glen. They are too hip to be seen at Founders Day or Dancing on the Avenue, but not too cool for chains like Starbucks or Noah's.
WoGlos--
Drive down any one of Willow Glen's eucalyptus-lined streets and look for houses with tricycles, plastic wagons and a Barbie or two on the front porch. Those are the abodes of the WoGlos. Woglos are young, expanding families with one or two tots now, and quite possibly another one on the way. WoGlos worked hard to earn a home in one of San Jose's most desirable neighborhoods, and they have every intention of squeezing everything out of their property values. They don't build monster homes, they rebuild dingy, one-room bungalows to comfortably house a growing family of 12.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
