In those early years there were fewer homes on Pine Avenue and Willow Glen Way, and Louise and Ellis avenues didn't yet exist. In their place were beautiful apricot and cherry orchards, Rosalie says.

Although all the other original owners of Juanita Avenue homes have passed away or moved, the Turturicis have remained. They moved in 12 years after their house was built and are now the avenue's oldest residents. But the turnover in the area hasn't affected the residents' desire to get to know their neighbors.

Every year Juanita Avenue holds a block party in the small "park" in the middle of their street—a grassy area with a few trees. The neighborhood also holds birthday parties and Christmas open houses.

"It was great raising kids on this street because I knew Sal and Rosalie or other neighbors could watch them informally while I ran to the grocery store," says Kathy Harwood, 58, who moved to the street in 1972.

Her neighbor Greg Yoder, 44, says the neighborhood is very secure. But he mentions one negative aspect of living on Willow Glen Way and Pine and Juanita avenues—the home remodeling.

Residents complain that the construction is noisy and that the resulting "monster houses" are invading their privacy and changing the feel of the area, with people in the larger houses able to see into neighbors' yards more easily.

But construction in the neighborhood is being done not only to make houses larger. The area's status as a wetland also requires residents to fix their house foundations.

Because the Guadalupe River has flooded the area in the past and water is just beneath the surface of the ground, house foundations are sinking, says Dennis Connally, 50, who has lived on Willow Glen Way for 27 years.

Connally points out that the chimney of his house, which was built in 1937, is crooked due to the sinking.

"We had our house [worked on] last year, but it's just something we continuously accept," says Willow Glen Way resident Debbie Malone, who has problem with house sinkage as well. "The positives of the area outweigh that, like having three redwoods in the backyard and sycamores in the front and living near the park."

Many of the homes on Willow Glen Way sit on lots 50 feet wide and 160 feet long. The lots are narrow but deep, Connally says.

The area's swampy wetland wasn't a problem for very early Willow Glen residents because the first settlers in Willow Glen were the California Indians of the Costanoan tribes. For them the land held an abundance of fish, geese and wild berries in the creeks and marshy area, according to The Willow Glen Neighborhood: Then and Now, by April Hope Halberstadt.

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Around Town: A mini park that sits in the middle of Juanita Avenue is used by local residents for block parties and various get togethers.

Residents say it was River Glen Park and the abundance of greenery that drew them to the neighborhood. Located on Parkside and Pine avenues, the park has a baseball diamond, basketball courts and playground structures.

Bob Labeau moved into his house on Pine Avenue 22 years ago, which was built in 1946, because he wanted to live near a park to walk his dogs, he says.

For his neighbor Steve Abney, the attraction was the variety of architecture in the area.

"I like the proximity to the downtown area and that it feels like a town rather than a big city," says Abney, who has young children. "The homes aren't tract­type; they have personality."

Labeau says Pine Avenue residents don't have block parties but some attend the party that's held in late fall on Juanita Avenue.

Like many of his neighbors on Pine Avenue, he has added onto his house, he says.

"Everyone here really cares about their home and keeps the yards nice," says Abney.

The demographic on Pine Avenue varies from young families like the Abneys to longtime residents like Trinidad Valadez, 77, who has lived on the street for more than 40 years.

"I raised my children here, and they loved going to the park," Valadez says.

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Nothing but Net: River Glen Park is a major reason families look for homes around Willow Glen Way and Juanita and Pine avenues. The basketball courts and the playing fields are enjoyed by residents and nearby schools.

Many homes in Willow Glen were built in the 1920s, when there was a population increase. This is when most of the homes on Juanita Avenue were built. Although the city of San Jose had a public sewer system in place by 1880, some Willow Glen homes, like the Turturicis', had a septic system.

This came as a surprise to the Turturicis. Shortly after moving into their English Tudor­style house in 1941, they called a plumber to have a pipe fixed and discovered they had a septic tank in their backyard.

The need to get hooked up to San Jose's sewer system was one of the primary reasons Willow Glen chose to unincorporate as a city and voted for annexation into San Jose in 1936. Willow Glen became an incorporated city in 1927 but it only lasted for nine years—largely because of the sewers. With the population growing in the 1920s, a sewer system was needed, according to Halberstadt's book on Willow Glen.

"Most people hooked up to the city of San Jose's main sewer line after Willow Glen was annexed into San Jose, but someone was renting our house at the time and didn't want to pay the money for the sewer, which was about $1,000 at the time," says Sal Turturici, 82, who was born in Willow Glen.

Hooking the plumbing up to the city's sewer system was the couple's first big expense on the house, Sal says. They haven't remodeled anything on the outside of the house except to install a new roof, which cost more than the price of the house in 1941.


The early years

In 1853 the city of San Jose was divided into four quarters, with Willow Glen known as the Fourth Ward. Sal Turturici was born in the "Goosetown area" around Willow Street, where many Italian immigrants settled in the 1800s.

There weren't many high schools in San Jose when the Turturicis went to school in the 1930s. Willow Glen High School was built in 1950. So Sal attended San Jose Technical High School, where he learned automotive skills, and Rosalie went to San Jose High School. The couple was married when they were 21 years old.

"When we married my high school principal lived in the corner house on Juanita Avenue, and he was amazed one of his students was buying a home because Willow Glen was a really classy area," Sal says.

But Rosalie says at the time "they simple fell in love with their house and were determined to make it work." The couple took out two loans and committed to paying two mortgages as they struggled to make ends meet because Sal was only bringing in $30 a week.

Neighborhood homes during that era sold for well under $10,000, but in today's market many of the houses sell for close to $1 million.

When they moved into their house, every house on Juanita Avenue had a "beautiful" fish pond in the backyard with bridges. But many people took them out in the 1940s when they started to deteriorate and when the frogs jumping in the streets became a nuisance.

As the oldest residents in the neighborhood, the Turturicis are godparents, adopted grandparents and babysitters for various neighbors. They also hold parties for which they cook authentic Italian food.

"Everyone respects each other, and it's a very close neighborhood," Rosalie says. "We attend lots of neighbors' baptisms, baby showers and graduation parties."

Harwood recently put a sign on a neighbor's front lawn that read, "It's a boy" as they welcomed a new grandson's birth.

"It's the kind of neighborhood where we all know each other's schedule and can tell if someone is home without even knocking on the front door," Harwood says.

While the Turturicis' daughters were growing up in Willow Glen, Rosalie says, they shopped at Bergmann's Department store and watched movies at the Garden Theatre. Both closed more than a decade ago and are now occupied by other businesses.

They also shopped at other old stores on Lincoln Avenue. Rosalie bought china from Robert Sawyer China and Gifts and Sal shopped at George and Inman Clothiers—both opened in the 1940s.

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Mowing Along: One of the main reasons families buy homes on Juanita and Pine avenues and Willow Glen Way is the area's proximity to River Glen Park. Volunteer Sec DeCecco grooms Sam Jones Field for one of the park's many Little League games.

There are about five families who have lived on Juanita Avenue for more than 30 years. Christine Burgess' two sons were raised with Harwood's two daughters. Both families moved to Juanita Avenue more than 30 years ago and don't plan on leaving.

Wyn and Claudia Arasato moved to Juanita Avenue in 1995 because they wanted an older home. Like many of their neighbors, they own a Tudor-style house.

Burgess, who lives in a Spanish Revival house, says there are many reasons people stay in the neighborhood.

"The major reason to stay in the neighborhood is that the houses are big enough for the kids," she says. "We moved away once, but I had no doubt I wanted to move back. Once people move in they don't leave very often."

That's the case for Lonnie Swarringim, 56. Just up the street from Juanita Avenue, she has lived on Willow Glen Way since she was 13 years old.

"The street has drastically changed over the years," says Swarringim. "It used to be small-town, folksy feeling, and now people are busy doing their own things. It used to be like having extended family because young people respected the elderly and would sit and talk with them."

But Debbie Malone says she likes the diversity on the street and says that everyone gets along. There are all ages, from infants to a 90-year-old man, she says. And a camaraderie exists among stay­at­home mothers on Willow Glen Way, says Querta Miller, 40, who has an 11-month-old daughter.

But what really made Willow Glen Way what it is today is when the roads and sidewalks were paved five years ago, Connally says. The only problem is people speeding on Willow Glen Way from Lincoln to Bird avenues, he says.

"There're a lot of things that make this neighborhood attractive to people, though," Connally says. "The lots are large, so people can build. It's close to the airport, near downtown, has unique houses and is peaceful."