17-year Foothills residents 'bought a view'

Name, age and occupation: Mary Weinstein, 63. Weinstein is an active volunteer, giving her time to the Angel Charity for Children and to University Medical Center Friends, an outreach organization that presents medical-related lectures to the public.

Name of neighborhood: Cobblestone gated community.

How long living in Tucson: Weinstein and her husband, Ronald, have lived in Tucson for almost 17 years.

How long in this neighborhood: The Weinsteins moved into the Cobblestone community in December 1990.

How old is this neighborhood: The first houses were built in the early 1980s. Weinstein's house was built in 1985.

Why she chose to live here: "We drew a circle on a map because my husband did not want to be more than 20 minutes from University Medical Center," she said. Weinstein was captivated by the view from her home, which sits at the edge of Coronado National Forest and overlooks Tucson. "I always tell people we bought a view that had a home around it," she said.

Her involvement in the neighborhood: Weinstein served on the television committee of the Cobblestone board of directors for about two years in the early 1990s. The community had its own cable television company until last year, she said.

"We would take surveys and vote for the channels we wanted," she said. "It was very amusing to see what people voted for."

An engineer who lives in the neighborhood installed and maintained the system, while other companies were hired to do the repairs and installations, she said.

What sets the neighborhood apart: Unlike most gated communities, Cobblestone does not have a country club, she said.

"Cobblestone is just a group of houses, but we take very good care of our area," she said. "We feel really blessed to be living in this area."

What you've done for the neighborhood: Weinstein and some of her neighbors keep track of the many wild animals seen in the area, including bobcats, deer and skunks, she said.

"We call each other when we see an animal," she said. "We're like the animal patrol."

Most outstanding landmark, or what it is most known for:

"We don't really have a landmark, but the most interesting feature is the open space at the top (of the hill)," she said. "I think what makes it attractive is the elevation, the fact that we're on the side of a mountain."

Notable people who grew up here or who live here now: Anyone famous? Several people who have made contributions to Tucson reside in the Cobblestone community.

Some of the more notable names are the An family, owners of the Sakura Japanese restaurants, and Peter and Paula Fasseas, donors and namesakes of the Peter and Paula Fasseas Cancer Clinic at University Medical Center North, she said.

Best story or memory about this area: Weinstein's best memories include her numerous encounters with animals.

"At one time we had a very large kingsnake living under our steps. It was 8 feet long," she said. "It would stick its head out and kind of wave it around and go back inside."

While Weinstein talked with a friend in her driveway one day, the snake came out of its hole and slithered across the driveway.

"I just kept her talking," Weinstein said. She never saw it. She probably would have fainted."

Weinstein didn't mind the creature that lived under her steps, she said. "We considered it our family snake."

Best aspect of this community for families: The Cobblestone community is very diverse and features families and residents of all ages. "The age range is from young families to people in their 70s," she said.

"It's a small community and people know each other," she said. "We have a lot more children than one would think."

Best aspect for senior citizens: Senior citizens and other residents feel safe when they stroll through the neighborhood, she said.

"We love the feeling that we could walk anywhere. We really feel like we're getting good exercise and feel very safe doing it."

Best aspect for the very young: The community's proximity to La Encantada shopping center and other area attractionsbenefits children as well. "A child does not have to be in the car for very long to get somewhere," she said.

Every year, mothers in the community organize a Halloween party for neighborhood children. "Some years we have a lot of kids at Halloween and some years not so many."

One improvement that could be made: Weinstein does not see any glaring problems in her neighborhood or the surrounding areas, she said.

She has had concerns in the past about the high volume of construction that has taken place in the area.

"People like us get criticized for not wanting construction, but I think the construction has been well done and positive."

Something that has changed since she came here that she really misses nowadays: "When we moved here, a lot of lots did not have houses on them. You could walk across Cobblestone," she said. "The connection between the two sides has disappeared."

Favorite neighborhood tradition: Weinstein enjoys seeing the children dress up and participate in the Halloween party each year, she said.

Two things that bring people together in the neighborhood:

The yearly association meeting is a special event that allows neighbors to catch up on each other's lives, she said. "Everybody feels bad that they don't see each other more."

The community has a group that plays buncos, a game played in teams using dice, she said.

BLOCK TALK: cobblestone gated community

Neighborhood statistics

Name of neighborhood: Cobblestone gated community.

Founded: Early 1980s.

Space it encompasses: Less than 1 square mile.

Number of homes: 110.

Boundaries: Ina Road on the south, Catalina Ridge Drive west, Cobblestone Road east, Coronado National Forest north.

Municipality: Pima County.