Several months of planning, campaigning and preparation became a reality on May 31 when several households in northern Willow Glen chose to spend their Saturday displaying their unwanted items on their driveways and front lawns in a massive garage sale. The sale encompassed homes west of Willow Street, south of Fuller and east of Bird avenues and Prevost Street.

Leslie Ackerman, who lives on Delmas Avenue, began her sale at 7:30 a.m., but more than half of what she had displayed was gone by 10:30 a.m.

"The early birds are professionals," she said. "At 7 a.m. they're here cruising the streets in their vans."

Ackerman was grateful for an organized neighborhood garage sale, not just so she could sell some old children's books and videocassettes but for the opportunity to meet residents who also are parents of young children.

"I made some new neighborhood contacts today," she said, delighted that she exchanged numbers with babysitters and made arrangements for play dates for her children.

Denise Cranney and Joyce Fee, who have lived in their Bird Avenue home for a year, chose to participate after seeing the garage sale promoted on the association's website.

"I visit it about once a week," Cranney said, "just to keep tabs on what's going on."

Cranney and Fee were isolated from other sales that were clustered on neighboring streets. However, they didn't see their distance from other sales and other customers as a disadvantage.

"Actually it was good because now there's no competition," Cranney said.

"We made about $500 in three hours," Fee said.

Most of what they unloaded was bicycle parts, bedroom furniture and garden tools.

"We sold about 90 percent of what we had in the first hour," Fee said. "We had people waiting outside our house for us to get ready."

Meanwhile, over on Fuller Avenue, 18-year resident Barbara Norman sold half of what she had displayed before half the day was done.

"I think this is a great thing we're doing," said Norman, an active member of the association. "Even if no one buys anything, I enjoy interacting with people."

Fellow association members Debbie Palmer and Ken Eklund, also longtime Fuller Avenue residents, feel the same way.

"We wanted to get exposure for the neighborhood," Palmer said. "The association's only 2 years old, so we wanted to do something fun."

"And also to do something that an association should do," Eklund added, "which is to organize a group event."

Lila Kakuk and Kim Andrews, who live on Fisk Avenue, were trying to get rid of all kinds of stuff before they move.

Most items were knickknacks or novelties, like a glow-in-the-dark candle in the shape of a human skull, stuffed animals, and even a live frog and terrarium for $10. Some items of a mature nature were also for sale, with a stack of Playboy magazines strategically placed in the shade under a table.

Even those who hadn't planned on coming to North Willow Glen's garage sale found something worth stopping for.

A team of exterminators en route to a fumigation job stopped at Kakuk and Andrews' home and picked up a desk and a toolbox.

Nancy Coumou, a community leader and resident of the Niles District in Fremont made the drive to Willow Glen with a few friends.

She had become familiar with Willow Glen through articles in the San Jose Mercury News and found the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association through a Google search. She even joined the association's eList, an email bulletin service.

Coumou said that the Niles District is looking to redevelop its historic areas similarly to Willow Glen.

"I'm very interested in community building and redevelopment," Coumou said. "And this was a good place to start."

Her companions also found the visit worthwhile.

"We have a totally stuffed Ford Taurus station wagon," Coumou said. "We're starting to encroach upon our seating capacity."

To keep up the team spirit, some residents were plugging their neighbors' sales. Eklund recommended a sale on Hull Avenue for some good deals on antiques.

"Another women came by and said people should really check out a garage sale" another street over, Eklund said, "because she has some great vintage stuff."

"And over on Atlanta, somebody has some old windows that they salvaged from the house when it was remodeled," he said. "Another has a great front door."

Throughout the day, drivers would drive by slowly on the narrow roads looking for interesting items and bargains.

Gary Janson, who's lived 23 years on Spencer Avenue, said with a self-conscious laugh, "OK, maybe this one time we can forget the traffic problems, at least for today!"

The aroma of barbecue wafted through the neighborhood, attracting customers to the home at the corner of Fuller Avenue and Prevost Street.

"Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here!" announced south San Jose resident Marvin Taylor, who was grilling hot dogs and lime-accented beef shish kebobs and corncobs still wrapped in the ears. He was helping his friend, Jerry Hernandez, with his household's sale.

"I was barbecuing earlier so he just sort of took over," Hernandez said.

Before the garage sale, Hernandez said, he wasn't too familiar with the association, only that it met occasionally at the church at the corner of his street. But his curiosity about the organization was piqued because of the garage sale, especially after he heard that the association also plans to block off part of Delmas Avenue for a Fourth of July party.

But for Hernandez and Taylor, making money off old items wasn't as important as the irresistible opportunity to grill for hours. They did hope to make at least $100 to $150 at the event.

"Really, the monetary gain is not the important part for us," Taylor said, as much as "the social and community aspect and getting to know other people."

The event provided Hernandez with the opportunity to meet his next-door neighbors.

"They just came over, said hi. We got to know each other a little, and I gave them a hot dog," he said.

He and Taylor were selling the hot dogs for $1.50 and the kebabs for $2.50. Hernandez wanted to unload his collection of old paperback books and unwanted CDs, while Taylor was more focused on grilling hot dogs.

"Get your hot dogs here!" he announced to groups of sale browsers coming up the sidewalk.

At the other end of Fuller Avenue, Alison England, president of the neighborhood association, said she made only $100 from her sale but was glad to finally get rid of a large wicker trunk.

Business for her was "pretty steady" through the morning but she said she wasn't participating for the sales money, "I'm just glad to get rid of some of this stuff." And some were more than happy to take it. "We seem to have a lot of happy people here," she said.

The North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Word of Faith Church at the corner of Fuller and Delmas avenues. For more information, write to P.O. Box 28162, San Jose, 95159-8162, call 408.537.0393 or visit www.northwillow glen.org.