But few have seen as many changes as Clara and Albert Mancuso, ages 85 and 89, respectively, who were both born in Almaden Valley.

With both of their families from Italy, the couple was excited to watch the Olympics this year. Clara still has family in Torino and Albert's cousin Julie Mancuso was competing for gold on the slopes.

Julia Mancuso took the gold medal in the giant slalom event.

That is just one more story for the Mancusos to add to their repertoire. As members of pioneer families that created Almaden Valley, they have many.

The Mancusos' families immigrated to the United States because of the farming opportunities and eventually moved to California because of the gold mines. They settled in the Almaden Valley to grow and harvest fruit, as did many of the pioneer families in Almaden and Campbell.

Clara Mancuso's father owned property off McKean Road; Albert Mancuso's family owned property on the corner of Redmond Avenue and what is now Almaden Expressway. At the time, the expressway was a small dirt road that the county sprinkled with water during the summertime so there wasn't so much dust in the air.

As children, the two admit, there wasn't much to do, and they didn't go to town, which now is downtown San Jose, very often. With the creek and the hills nearby, however, they kept busy.

Clara said she and her friends would go to Los Alamitos Creek and "mine" mercury by scooping it out of the creek.

"We'd put it in a bottle and bring it home and play with it," Clara says. "Of course, our parents had a fit and told us to throw it out."

The two met when they were working at a cannery near Harry and McKean roads. Clara was 16; it was common for the youth in the community to be working.

"Our folks are the ones who sweated out here, and we did, too," Albert says. "We were making a living at 18 because there was no way they would let you stay at home. That was during a tough time."

Being so young, Clara wasn't allowed to go on dates, so the two were friends for a while and got married in 1941.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Albert went into the army and returned in 1944. During that time Clara lived with her father on their farm off McKean Road and helped harvest the fruit while also working in Santa Clara.

When Albert returned, the couple stayed in Almaden because of their neighbors.

"People help each other here when they need it," Albert says, adding he had trouble adjusting to life after the war.

"We all knew each other and things were rough when they came back [from the war] and a lot of them help helped him out and helped him adjust," Clara says.

The couple said they never seriously considered moving away from Almaden, and the main reason was this kind of neighborly care and friendliness.

The couple built their first and only home in 1954 near Almaden Road on Albert's family's property on Redmond Avenue, where the Chevron station now sits. It cost the Mancusos $8,500.

Albert made a living by farming for 16 years, and Clara worked for the San Jose Unified School District as a school secretary.

Soon they raised their own family. They have two grown children and four grandchildren: Linda Mancuso lives in Los Gatos, and Bruce Mancuso and his teenage son live with his parents.

In the late '60s, Albert decided to stop farming and opened a gas station on his property. He borrowed $5,000 to open the station, which he eventually sold to Chevron in the early '80s. They moved their house to a different site on their property when they opened the gas station.

Since retirement, the two have traveled to Australia, Japan and Egypt, and still spend a lot of time with their family.

"They never leave. They live close and visit us a lot," Clara says. "They are always there if we need anything. Our son is going to help us and make sure we never have to move."

In December, the Mancusos will celebrate a 65-year marriage, but they both agree that it doesn't seem like they've been married for that long. They've kept busy.

"We've always been active, and it's hard to suddenly realize our age," Clara says.

Despite the transformation that Almaden Valley has seen, the Mancusos can't imagine living elsewhere.

"At first we didn't like all the building that was going on," Clara says. "But then we got used to it, and it's very beautiful now."