Willow Glen Resident
News
Paula Street property once home to family of ranchers
By Eli Segall
A piece of Willow Glen Italian history has been pushed deeper into the archives, in order to accommodate the needs of a high-density housing development.
Three single-family homes at 1088 Paula St. will be demolished and replaced by 15 townhouses and condominiums. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved the project Aug. 29.
The almost 1-acre property is just west of Race Street, close to Interstate 280.
"It was Little Italy there before, all Italian ranchers," said Rocci Enfantino, 79, whose family cultivated apricots and prunes on the lot. "Now it's completely changed."
Developer Michael Abdollahi of Rockwell Homes said he hopes to start construction in December or January. Each 1,200-square-foot home will have two bedrooms and 21/2 bathrooms and, depending on the housing market, will be priced in the $500,000 range.
Abdollahi purchased the property last November from Enfantino, his brother Tony, and various Enfantino family members, all co-owners.
Enfantino's parents moved to Willow Glen in the early 1920s from the small agricultural village of Tricarico, Italy, on the southern tip of the country's "boot." They were part of a larger wave of Tricarico immigrants who settled in the valley and established farms and ranches.
Deborah Dore, Enfantino's niece, is the lone clan member who still lives on the lot, occupying one of the three homes scheduled for demolition. The family once had a fruit-drying shed where Dore's house now stands.
"I don't really plan on staying," she said. "It's kind of heartbreaking to me."
Although this chapter has closed, the local Italian community--including the Enfantinos and countless others from southern Italy--still thrives.
"There's a very large Italian community in San Jose that continues to promote Italian culture," said Nina Boyd, a former board member of the San Jose-based Italian-American Heritage Foundation.
Italian organizations in Willow Glen include the Tricarico Men's Social Club, the Maria di Fonti Ladies' Club, the Sons of Sicily and the Italian Catholic Federation.
Each organization works to keep family and friends in constant contact with each other.
"All the clubs have huge picnics where the entire family is involved," said Nancy DeVincenzi-Melander, director of outreach for St. Christopher's church in Willow Glen. The church is widely attended by local Italian families.
"We're a very family-oriented culture," said DeVincenzi-Melander. When the children finish college, they return to live in Willow Glen, De Vincenzi-Melander said.
Each club will participate in the 26th annual Italian Family Festa, which takes place Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Santana Row.
The heritage foundation is sponsoring the three-day fair, which will offer a wide variety of Italian food, dancing and music.
Rocci Enfantino, who plans to serve homemade polenta at the festa, recalls with nostalgia living on Paula Street.
"All my family lived on that street," he said. "It was just like the old neighborhood in Tricarico."
The family's ranching days ended with the construction of I-280 in the late 1960s. With the freeway coming through, the ranch was torn down and houses put in its stead.
Abdollahi said it should take three to four months to obtain the permits needed for construction. He aims to have units ready by September 2007.
