VH community memoir

How We Got Here

We moved to Davis in 1972 and bought a Stanley Davis house near Chestnut Park.

One day in January 1977 we were on our front lawn when neighbors drove by and paused to tell us about this amazing new neighborhood they had just visited where you could tell the developer how many bedrooms you wanted and how much money you had, and he’d build you any kind of house you wanted within those parameters! I really liked the idea of having input into what our house should be like.

Right after that, we saw an ad in The Davis Enterprise showing a “model home” for this new neighborhood, Village Homes. It was a photo of a living room with a lava rock fireplace in the center. How classy! I wanted to see that house and the neighborhood. I contacted the realtor who had sold us our East Davis house and he took me there in early February.

We liked what we heard about “community” and sharing, in large part because we’d been in the Peace Corps in Chile and observed how neighbors coordinated social activities and all the kids of mixed ages played together as a group. This development sounded as though it would promote friendships and “community.” Also, there was a strong emphasis on gardening and sustainability which appealed to us. So we looked around and chose a lot. Then we got cold feet. What if the concept failed? What if not enough people bought houses there and the pool, the playfield, and the community center couldn’t be built?

In March 1977, Sunset magazine had an article about Village Homes and suddenly it was the place to be! It looked as though it would be successful! So we told our realtor to watch for a lot for us. One day in April he called and asked if we had an “angel.” “What’s an angel,” I asked. Answer: Someone who could loan you cash to buy a lot. Corbett needed cash to buy the next section of the development. Yes, we could get some money from Chris’s mother for a few months until we sold the old house. So we were offered a choice of 4 lots, and we chose the largest of the 4, on the south side of Rivendell Lane. Then we discussed design. I wanted the living room, dining area, and kitchen to all be on the south side of the house facing the common area and bike path. Mike said he didn’t have a design for that arrangement, so we’d have to design our own layout. So we did! John Hofacre was a designer working with Mike, and he took our rough idea and made it into a plan.

The best idea that came out of that was to pitch the roof more steeply than normal, add a staircase, and put sub-flooring studs and windows in the attic, which we could then finish later when we could afford it.

One unusual thing that Mike liked to do was to have a special ceremony when we broke ground. Something about a little tree (branch?) and some wine. That was probably in May of 1977, and we moved in the week before Thanksgiving!

Before we could move in, Mike had to do a “final walk-through” with us, going through the house and making sure that all the items on the checklist of unfinished details had been completed. We were chattering away but Mike seemed restless and distracted. Finally, he spoke up and said “It’s raining, after 3 years, and I just have to go out and see if my drainage system is working as I planned! Can we do this inspection later?” He had planned the unique drainage system for Village Homes in the midst of a severe three-year drought, so he had no evidence that it would work! After all that time, the rain was pouring down and he had to go check it out! And it did work, very well.

Chris and Joe Cech worked in the same Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology Department on campus, and one day they were eating lunch together and discovered that they were both interested in living in Village Homes, so when we were offered one of 4 lots, Chris told Joe and he and Mary bought the lot beside ours. They moved in about 4-6 months after us. Together with the designer, we were able to adjust the house positions on the lots and share the design of the entry passage between our two houses.

Original Entry to Village Homes

When we would drive over from East Davis for meetings to design our house, the curve off of Russell Blvd onto Arlington did not exist yet. We’d have to keep up with traffic on Russell and then carefully indicate ‘right turn” and slow down enough to make the abrupt turn onto what is now the bike path entering Village Homes from Russell. Portage Bay at that time started there and led over to Stonegate. I can’t remember how we got to the Bucklebury entrance from there, but I assume that Portage Bay connected to the newly constructed Arlington Blvd, but that Arlington had not yet been connected to Russell yet. Emerson Junior High School was being constructed at that time. Morgan was in the first class there starting in the fall, 1977.

The awkwardness of the connection between Russell Blvd and Arlington was due to the historical value of the Black Walnut trees that line(d) Russell Blvd, which was a leg of the original Highway 40 between the Bay Area and Sacramento.

Eventually, the connection was made, and we have the safer-than-before but awkward arrangement that hopefully will soon be changed to a roundabout.

When I was on the VH Board, in 1986, developers John Whitcombe and Bill Streng came to a meeting. Whitcombe wanted to develop the Le Tournesol Apartments across the street from the south end of Village Homes, on the other side of Portage Bay. He suspected that we would object to the increased traffic on our part of Portage Bay, and he proposed that he could cut our part of Portage Bay off and give us a cul de sac, and they would have Portage Bay curve south to connect with Russell Blvd at the end of our new cul de sac. It was a win for our neighborhood, we thought, so the VH Board said yes, and Village Homes residents had a naming contest to arrive at Evenstar Lane for our new road.

Rosalyn Carter’s Visit

During Jimmy Carter’s term as president, there was an oil embargo and increased awareness of pollution and the need to save energy, etc. Jimmy sent Rosalyn out to places in the US that were notable for saving energy and doing creative innovative things to solve energy problems. Thus she showed up in Davis, was put on a double-decker red bus, and brought to Village Homes for a bike tour of our neighborhood with Mike Corbett.

Neighbors gathered on Apple Hill (now Peach Hill) to watch for her arrival on Elendil. She was to go into a house upon arrival (whose? deLapps? But their house was on Portage Bay…) where the local Bike shop personnel would adjust a bicycle for her to ride.

I really wanted our son Benjie to see the President’s wife, so I hung onto him and insisted he stand by me, waiting and watching, but it took a very long time for the event to get underway, and he and Gregor Cech disappeared. Eventually, Rosalyn came along the bike path slowly, being mindful of all the residents lining the path and reaching out to her, followed by Mike Corbett on his bike.

We got a phone call the next morning from a friend across town asking if we realized Benjie was on the first page of the LA Times! (And/or The Sacramento Bee). We got a copy and there they were, little Gregor on his bike and Benjie sitting behind him on the same bike, waving to Mrs. Carter! So he did see her!

Not too long ago I sent away to get 2 copies of that photo, for us and Ben, but I can’t find ours. I still have the newspaper copy, though.

Postscript: When Rosalyn Carter died recently, the Sacramento Bee had a special article about her with photos of her and local people from the time(s) she visited the Sacramento area. The photo of Benjie waving to her was included. Mike Corbett was in the photo, biking behind Rosalyn, and there was another photo in the Bee article of Rosalyn sitting with Judy Corbett on a couch in the living room, with culverts standing vertically behind them, holding water mass for temperature control.

Homeowners’ Meetings

We had Homeowners’ meetings on the Apple/Peach Hill knoll, and at one of the early ones, the subject of Homeowners’ Dues came up. Somehow it was decided that it was time to start contributing to the community, and dues would be $12 per month. That rather quickly was adjusted to $16 per month, and it has risen gradually or rapidly ever since.

At one early meeting, we discussed the construction of a community pool. Esther Polito, then a resident, was leading the meeting. She asked for a discussion about what sort of pool we wanted. Some people wanted a diving pool. Others wanted a wading pool. Others wanted a lap pool, and of course, we wanted a regular pool.

Esther calmed the chatter and said “Look, let’s get real! There will be only one pool!” So there was to be a shallow end, lap lanes lined off, and a diving board at the deep end. After the pool was built and people experienced the quite constant noise of the diving board being used, it was removed. There may have been other reasons for its removal, but this was my memory.

There was a conscious decision to make the pool NOT the length required for swim meets so that we would not be asked to host local competitions. The pool was for residents only.

There were several work parties to set the tiles around the top edge of the pool to mark the water level, and many people helped build the trellises and benches. Other residents may remember other work party contributions.