July 28, 2005

STREET SCENECarla Drive

Almaden Valley has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several decades. Just ask Ken and Harriet Holmes, who have lived on Carla Drive for 37 years.

“We’ve seen lots of changes,” said Ken, a retired educator. “We were the first family to move in on the street and had two girls who went to Simonds, Castillero and Leland. Of the original owners, there are only four left. Now we’re seeing the second generation of young couples move in with their children.”

When the Holmes moved into their Woodbridge of Almaden home, they were able to drive onto Almaden Road, then a two-lane street. Soon that access was blocked off to make way for the four-lane expressway that provided entry to many additional tracts of homes built in the growing suburb. El Paseo, now their access street, didn’t go through to Camden. There were fields in the quiet suburb instead of parks and houses. And they were two miles away from the nearest restaurant.

“The best thing about living on the street is the friendships of the families,” said Harriet who was preparing for a meeting of her garden club. “I love the sound of children playing. I wouldn’t want to move from here.”

Harriet, a retired special education teacher, remembers the block parties on the Fourth of July complete with fireworks “when they were legal.” They would partition off the street and have music along with a good time. As the years passed, many families moved away. Now the four original owners have progressive dinner parties at Christmas.

The Holmes enjoy traveling, but the pride they take in their home is evident. Harriet’s green thumb provides an abundance of flowers surrounding her manicured landscape. She has comfortably decorated the light and airy home with carefully placed memories. Ken writes and paints acrylic still lifes. His poetry book “Quicksilver Reflections,” is sold at the Mining Museum in New Almaden and now is writing a children’s book. That is when the couple isn’t babysitting their first grandchild, 6-year-old Eric.

Don and Carol Morrison are also original owners. They owned a two-story house across the street, but decided they wanted a single level and bought the residence on Carla Drive over three decades ago. Don is known as the neighborhood handyman and his garage is full of tools and gadgets. He’s not claustrophobic and will even crawl under a neighbor’s house if need be. He is known to make a gizmo that will fit any problem, probably a skill learned from his career as a mechanical engineer. And he’s the practical joker of the street.

“One time I put a clapper in someone’s house in the neighborhood,” said Don laughing. “It went off when they were sleeping and they thought someone was in the house.”

His wife Carol was a Castillero School campus assistant for 16 years, a title the kids nicknamed “narc.” But they also affectionately called her grandma. She and Don raised three children in their Carla Drive home who are grown with families of their own. She is also known for her apricot and peach canning from the couple’s five fruit trees. That is when the couple aren’t traveling or visiting their five grand kids.

“The best thing about this street is the great neighbors,” said Don. “I remember Bob, Ken and I would see men sitting outside telling stories when we first lived here. Now we’re retired and doing the same thing.”

The homes were built by L.W. Philips. They are spacious featuring wood floors and large lots. The last sale in the tract sold for $756,000 in February 2005. The house featured three bedrooms and two and a half baths within the 1739 square feet.

Carla Drive in Almaden Valley. A street where the homes are well cared for and the residents know what being a good neighbors means.

—By Jeanne Carbone Lewis