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Monday, Apr. 13, 1998
Green grows the grass on these lawns
Rolling hills, plentiful vegetation make subdivision an anomaly in South Texas
By HEATHER HOWARD
Staff WriterWood River subdivision owes a lot to the Nueces River.
And much about this Calallen neighborhood pays homage to the deep, narrow strip of water that flows beyond its northern boundary and nurtures the area's decidedly un-South Texas-like landscape.
Deep, green grass and hundreds of willowy mesquite trees line streets with names such as East Riverview Drive, the area's western boundary, and River Hill Drive, which runs to the east of this 19-year-old planned community.
Like residents of hundreds of other neighborhoods, Wood River denizens say they chose their digs primarily because they like the nearby schools and felt their children could play safely in neighbors' yards.
They go to ``Kite Day'' at Wood River Elementary School, socialize at the neighborhood women's club meetings and play golf on the links at nearby River Hills Country Club.
But what makes Wood River special, residents say, are the hills -- rolling green slopes that push up from under acres of St. Augustine grass, cradle a neighborhood hiking trail and make it possible to coast on a bicycle.
Some spots -- the crest at Spring Creek and Red River Drive is one -- offer what in South Texas could pass as a vista.
``We have the only topography around,'' said Phil Berry, the private contractor who runs the subdivision, which is home to about 1,700 people in 470 houses.
In 1979, developers decided to capitalize on that and began carving a neighborhood out of the surrounding woods.
As originally planned, the subdivision was to have included apartments and commercial development. Then the recession of the 1980s hit.
In 1990, there were only 200 homes in the subdivision. Today, it holds 470 houses, which range from tidy $80,000 homes to sprawling half-million dollar jobs that some in the neighborhood call ``mansions,'' and it's still growing.
As far as Berry is concerned, it's OK that the neighborhood didn't become home to anything other than single-family houses.
``It's easier to police that way,'' said Berry, who likes to laugh about being the neighborhood's deed restriction cop. It's his job to make sure that people who build or buy in the neighborhood follow the rules -- deed restrictions cover almost everything, from the size of a house to the shingles on its roof to its upkeep.
To make it easier to be a rule enforcer, Berry doesn't live in the neighborhood, he said. The neighborhood is governed by a board elected by residents. An architectural control committee helps oversee construction.
But the fact is, Berry said, that most people who own Wood River houses don't have to be reminded.
``I like the restrictions,'' 12-year-old Cathy Mooney said.
The Calallen Middle School sixth-grader said she doesn't want to look at unkempt yards or live beside neighbors who throw junk in their driveways.
Sixth-grader Stephanie Dobbs, who moved to Guadalupe Street last summer from Virginia, said she mostly likes the rules, too.
That is, all but the restriction against riding go-karts.
Except for the hum of traffic on nearby Farm-to-Market Road 624, which runs south of the development, and the clanking of construction equipment at the numerous sites of future homes, there's not much noise or traffic here.
On the streets of Wood River, children rule.
``We go in the sprinklers and Rollerblade, and go to the corner store (on FM 624),'' Stephanie said.
A hike and bike trail winds through the heart of the neighborhood, providing a place for runners and in-line skaters and safe passage by bike from 6-year-old Haley Borland's house on Wood River Drive to a friend's place on another block.
In the summer, Haley and her brother Wray, 8, like most every kid in the neighborhood, take respite from the South Texas heat in the pool at the Wood River Sports Center.
During the off season, neighborhood kids play ``War,'' a pastime in which participants -- sometimes a handful, sometimes a horde -- spend most of the day chasing each other, with the object of hurling Nerf arrows at enemies.
Then there are sports teams -- from baseball to kickball -- pick-up basketball games, water balloon fights and Scouting.
``We don't get bored because there's always something to do,'' 10-year-old Matthew Martinez said.
Neither do the grown-ups.
Carlos Cruz is far from bored just sitting on his front porch and waving to passersby.
Cruz worked for many years as a teacher and principal in the Calallen Independent School District and now is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville's education department.
Cruz said the neighborhood is far enough from the city to feel like a haven, but close enough to the Five Points shopping center for a quick trip to Wal-Mart or a meal out.
Cruz and his wife, Theresa, once had a chair stolen from their porch, and thieves broke into a van in their driveway on Rapids Street and swiped some change a while back.
But that's about as bad as it gets in Wood River, residents say.
``You can't get away from that kind of thing,'' Cruz said.
Someone recently spray-painted gang graffiti on a sign in the neighborhood, but that was regarded mostly as a prank.
``That's wannabe stuff,'' Berry said. ``We really don't have a problem here.''
Families look out for each other, said Rosa Carrillo, a resident since 1985 who is raising two kids in the neighborhood with her husband, David Gonzalez.
``You're not anonymous,'' she said.
Scotty Anslinger agrees.
``We feel so safe here,'' Anslinger said.
Anslinger and her husband, Urban, sold their three-acre place on Leopard Street and moved to Guadalupe Street about two years ago.
``Everyone is so nice,'' she said.
Consider, she said, River Hills Women's Club, a part social club/part welcome wagon group that, among other things, puts ``Welcome New Neighbor'' signs in newcomers' yards.
Pair the hospitality with the hills, Anslinger said, and Wood River is pretty near perfect.
``We love the trees, and we love the plants,'' she said. ``This is where I should have moved 20 years ago.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web