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Published on 07/01/1996 All articles from this issue

Filip Road celebrates its 40th July 4th

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

As part of the Town Crier's occasional profile of a Los Altos neighborhood, today we look at Filip Road because tomorrow residents celebrate the 40th anniversary of their annual Fourth of July party.

The excitement has been building for weeks on Filip Road. It's a short street, an L-shaped lane that runs from Covington Road to Springer Road. Residents in the 19 ranch-style houses can barely wait for their 40th annual Fourth of July neighborhood celebration.

Red, white and blue wind socks and American flags hang from front porches. Betty Hart at 742 made dangling earrings with stars and stripes and colored paper clips for all the women. Sue Roche at 759 filled her wooden wagon with Teddy bears that she suited up in patriotic shirts. A party-favor sized decoration in - red, white and blue - trims each mailbox.

Actually, they aren't waiting for tomorrow. The warm-up party begins tonight with a 1950s theme at the Riche house, "because all the houses on Filip Road date from the '50s," Roche said.

But they didn't wait for tonight, either. "The warm-up warm-up party was last Friday with the women's birthday party group," Roche said.

And the birthday group is a spin-off from the wine tasting group which began in 1973.

"We've been meeting every month since then," said Rita Keefe of 737. One month they all went to Hawaii and took the wine to taste with them.

"We have a brick in the (Community) Plaza, 'The Filip Road Wine Tasting Group,'" said Marilyn Kellogg of 718.

The road is named for Filip Andrijasevich who came from Yugoslavia. His widow, Marinka, and their daughter Anna, still live in his original house which faces Springer Road.

Andrijasevich bought 5.5 acres in 1935 for $5,500.

"He paid an extra $2,500 for three large oak trees that were on the land," Andrijasevich said. In 1945 he built his house; in 1954 he sold the remaining property of 13 lots for $54,500. He and Marinka were married in 1962, and he died just a few years later.

Marinka's neighbors greet her with love and treat her like the matriarch of the Filip Road clan.

"You know you can trust your neighbors," she said, as she looked around Sue Roche's living room at her Filip Road friends. They had gathered to tell this reporter about their neighborhood.

"I live between good people," Andrijasevich said.

That's what the parties are all about - a celebration of the good people of Filip Road.

Houses on the street are seldom for sale because no one wants to leave.

"There really needs to be a compelling reason to leave - people don't just move off the street," Roche said.

The women said a sign never goes up because if a house will be available, it sells before it ever gets a "for sale" sign.

"I get calls every few months from people who want to live on the street," said Claudia Meyer of 746.

One house sold four years ago for $575,000, they said. "Whew!" one said. Another whistled.

No one can imagine moving away from Filip Road. They said they like the schools, the easy freeway access, the handy shopping at Rancho, the variety of ages on the street - 2 to 90.

"When my daughter got married three months ago, the whole neighborhood came," Kellogg said.

"Betty has made a quilt for each new baby," Meyer said. "She's always doing for others."

They have a tomato tasting party in September because one year Joe Zelko of 726 challenged Jerry Fitzgerald about who grew the best tomatoes. Now everybody grows tomatoes.

"Rancho Market won two years in a row," Roche laughed.

Tomorrow's bash starts at 9 a.m. at the Hart's for a treasure hunt. The party then moves from yard to yard, breakfast at 10 at the Zelko's, group picture at 12:30 at Kellogg's, lunch at 1, swimming at 2, white elephant exchange at 4, dinner at 6.

The residents have a permit to close off the street. By 7 p.m. on the 4th, they'll be in out there dancing, where "the fun has just begun," promises the invitation.