Willow Glen Resident
Community
Stone Work: A meandering dry creek and native California plants are the hallmark of the Rowell Garden in Los Gatos, one of seven that will be open to the public on Oct. 14 during the Garden Conservancy's open days program.
Willow Glen Homes Tour plays big in day nursery's renovation
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
The Willow Glen Homes Tour has helped San Jose Day Nursery realize a long-awaited dream--a modern facility.
San Jose Day Nursery celebrated the renovation of its historic 70-year-old, two-story home in downtown San Jose on Oct. 6.
"The increased space in the new building allows for more children," says board of directors president Pat Calfee, who lives in Willow Glen.
Thirty-seven children will be the beneficiaries of these facilities that include a first floor with three classes. The classrooms, once open, are now enclosed to offer a better teaching environment. The remodel revamped the laundry facilities and renovated the kitchens.
Nonprofit organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank donated all the appliances.
The nursery offers nutritious hot meals, and with new appliances the process has been streamlined, Calfee says.
"The Willow Glen community has given an amazing gift to the nursery," Calfee says.
The tour, in its 25th year, opens the doors to a selection of homes that residents offer for public viewing. Often historic but sometimes brand new, the homes offer a glimpse of Willow Glen style and architecture. The home tour provides a way for the Willow Glen community to become involved with the nursery.
"Moving out of your home for the weekend, having your favorite rug walked on by 2,400 feet are tremendous gifts," says John Carson, the nursery's executive director.
The home tour is one of the ways people discover the nursery.
"People get to know us and either find themselves participating in the tour, putting their home on the tour or becoming board members themselves," Carson says. "Many of those people have given more to the nursery besides putting their homes on the tour or donating their time. They give other gifts like helping us reach other people."
Carson and Calfee say it's hard to characterize what the tour has done for the nursery.
"It could be looked at as the cost of one teacher's salary, or a way to maintain the nursery's food program," Carson says. "Or it could be seen as a supplement that allows more low-income families to have child care."
Either way, the gift of the tour's proceeds has had a significant impact on the school and the children it serves.
"Each gift is important, each is part of a puzzle," she says. "Without the home tour, changes would have to be made and things would be lost."
San Jose Day Nursery is at 33 N. Eighth St. For information, call 408.288.9667 or visit www.sjdn.org.
