ARTHUR ENGORON
March 11, 2024
Dear Wheatley Wildcats and Other Interested Persons
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 140.
According to Substack, in the first 24 hours after publication, Newsletter # 139 was viewed 3,600 times, was “liked” 19 times, and received four comments. In all, 4,747 email addresses received Newsletter # 139.
All underlined text is a link-to-a-link (or, occasionally, an email address). Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the link that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination (or address an email).
Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 139 Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at
Wheatley School Alumni Association Website
Also, thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material. I use it frequently; it works usually!
I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a fact-checking department.
We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967
Writes Robert Brandt (faculty) - “I am so proud and humbled to have been a part of this wonderful community for almost four decades.”
Writes Renee Gershen Nadel (1960) - “Larry Nagler did not win the US Open doubles in Forest Hills, but Alan Fox did play in that tournament. He actually stayed at my house during the tournament and requested that my Mom make him breakfast steaks each morning before a match. I'm pretty sure he did not win, but I hope that the steaks helped!!! If I remember correctly, he went on to become Davis Cup Captain.”
Writes Paul Cantor (1969) - “In tennis, although Larry Nagler (1958) and Allen Fox (non-Wheatley) didn’t win the Doubles at Forest Hills in 1960, they did win the NCAA Doubles Championship. Larry got to the third round in the Singles at Forest Hills that year, beating Clark Graebner in the second round. Larry won the NCAA Singles Championship in 1960, and Allen won it in 1961. In 1962 Larry was ranked 11th in the U.S. in Singles. Graebner, a top US player, was immortalized in John McPhee’s outstanding book about him and Arthur Ashe, Levels of the Game.”
Multi-Class, Multi-School Gathering Way Back When
|
First Row - L-R - Charlie Shapiro (with open collar) (1958), Ronald Forman (wearing white pants) (1958), Betsy Shapiro Sasso (1965), Sue Seigel (non-Wheatley), Helen Kritzler (1960), Jeff Philipson’s first wife (non-Wheatley); Jeff Philipson (1958)
Second Row - L-R - Brian Sirota (1958), Julien Hennefeld (1958), Steve Perlin (1958), Rus Karaviotis (non-Wheatley), Alan Gordan (non-Wheatley), Eddie Kritzler (1958), Kenny Harris (non-Wheatley), Judy Schatzow (non-Wheatley)
Pure Left to Right - Charlie Shapiro (1958), Brian Sirota (1958), Ronald Forman (1958), Julien Hennefeld (1958), Betsy Shapiro Sasso (1965), Sue Seigel (non-Wheatley), Steve Perlin (1958), Rus Karaviotis (non-Wheatley), Helen Kritzler (1960), Alan Gordan (non-Wheatley), Eddie Kritzler (1958), Kenny Harris (non-Wheatley), Jeff Philipson’s first wife (non-Wheatley), Jeff Philipson (1958), Judy Shatzow (non-Wheatley)
1961 - Leonard Jacobs - Through the years.
|
Len in 1973
|
Len “Today”
|
Len on February 9, 2024 - The Great Neck Diner - With a shady character
1964 - Brian and Ellen Stone - A Day or Two After his Birthday
|
1965 - Jeffrey Orling - “Art. If I recall correctly (“IIRC”), Judy Lutrin (1965) lived East of Glen Cove Road and was the girlfriend of Kenny Yagoda (1965). Kenny lived in East Williston. There were 2 elementary schools, The North Side School and the Willets Road School..…but only one junior and senior high school, The Wheatley School.
I used to get my hair cut at one of two barber shops... One in Albertson on Willis Ave and the other in a small strip mall off the Long Island Expressway (“LIE”) Service Road, west of Glen Cove Road. There were two small strips of stores... one west of Glen Cove Road and the other on the north side of the LIE Service Road. I road my bicycle to get a haircut. I vaguely remember a ‘Super Drug,’ which was joined to an A&P by the Albertson Long Island Railroad Stop... there was no station per se. There was a ‘five & dime’ across the tracks at the train stop and a dry cleaner next to it . The Phipps Estate? was on I.U. WIllets Road, bordering the LIRR tracks and the ‘S’ Section.
I am sure that there are historical photos of all of this.
I have pretty much lost track of everyone from back then. Andrea Levine (1965) (deceased) attended Carnegie Mellon University (“CMU”), so I was in touch with her.
I think for many years I was forward looking... thinking about work and where my next project would come from. I was living in NYC and was kinda ‘anti-suburbs’. I did go back as long as my mother lived on Shelter Lane.….but the house was too big and she sold it and moved to an apartment in Queens. Jerry Mintz (1961) reached out to me several times over the years. I did attend some music performances of Roddy Nierenberg (1965).
I've even moved on from my friends from college-CMU... my two roommates have both died, but I was seeing one of them a lot as he lived close to me in Bronxville.
It is special to have a friend for decades... ain't it? Thanks again...Jef”
1965 - Ira Kent - “ To Jeff Orling, what great memories of the ‘S’ Section, where I also lived?! I’m sure if we went back for a visit, very few homes would look the same!”
1967 - Howard Kirchick and Art Engoron
|
L-R - Art Engoron, Mary Kirchick, Howard Kirchick - NYC, 3/8/2024
Writes Howard - “After graduating from Wheatley, I was off to the University of Michigan, along with Alane Spielberger and Dick Olney. Jack Wolf was already there, having been admitted during our Junior year. I would see Dick at the Undergraduate Library (UGLI) now and then, but otherwise, I hardly saw any of them at all. I was a pretty lousy student my first couple of years, but then I buckled down and did fairly well the rest of the way. I graduated with a B.S. in Zoology (no, I didn’t become a zookeeper). In my Senior year, I met Mary, my wife of 50 years as of May 28th, 2023.
After graduating from U of M, I delivered pizzas for Little Caesar’s for a short time, eventually getting a job in a clinical research lab at the Medical School. I decided I liked research, so I applied and was accepted into the Zoology graduate program at Michigan. I did my research as part of the Reproductive Endocrinology program and received a Ph.D. in 1978 for my thesis, entitled, “Etiology of anovulation in the immature alloxan-diabetic rat treated with pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin: decreased response of the pituitary to gonadotropin-releasing hormone.”
From there I did approximately five years of postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, TX. After my postdoctoral work I went to work in the medical diagnostics industry as an R&D scientist, where I spent the next 31 years of my life at five different companies. I was at the first of these companies for 10 years, in Miami (we lived one county north, in Cooper City). The next three companies I was at for 2.5 years, 10 months, and 18 months respectively. The short durations were due to mergers, acquisitions, or reorganizations. I was laid off once and left two of the jobs because I didn’t like the positions I was offered post-reorganization. My last stop was in San Diego, at a company name Biosite. I went to work as Director of Infectious Diseases R&D. I was there for a total of 16 years, after which I retired from full-time work. During those 16 years I transitioned out of R&D into a sales, marketing, and customer support role as Director of Scientific Affairs. Much of that job was meeting face to face with pathologists, cardiologists, and emergency physicians to explain the clinical benefits of our products. Biosite was the first company in the US to market the cardiac biomarker BNP, which is used for the diagnosis and assessment of heart failure. My last few years, at Alere, I spent in Georgetown, TX, in Sun City Texas, because my wife thought it would be nice living in an age restricted community, and as I could live pretty much anywhere, because a good part of my job was spent on the road visiting customers across the country. However, after five years there my wife couldn’t take the heat…..not that I could blame her. One summer we had 90 straight days with temperatures over 100 degrees. Mary’s mother was getting on in years, so we moved to Northville, MI to be near my 93-year-old mother-in-law, who lived in neighboring Plymouth. We expected to be in Northville for five years tops. Well, she died this past summer at 104 years, 257 days of age. Now we’re trying to decide whether to stay put or to find somewhere else to live. During my career as a scientist, I coauthored a number of book chapters and peer reviewed journal articles. I’m also a coinventor on several patents. Since retiring, I’ve been doing consulting work for a couple of my former companies.
You may ask, “What did your wife Mary think about living in Texas twice, San Diego twice, South Florida twice, Massachusetts once, and now Michigan twice. She was in the School of Education at Michigan and for most of her career did technical training for various software companies, so she could work remotely, as most of her time was spent on the road at client companies.
Many of you might remember I worked for Peak Ski Tours while at Wheatley. Mary and I used to take ski vacations, but as we’ve aged, those decreased in frequency, until finally we stopped skiing. Instead, we’ve been avid cruisers, having completed our 51st cruise in March 2024. We already have one more planned so far this year.
I remember turning 40 nearly 35 years ago and thinking, hey, this isn’t so bad! Then I turned 41 and learned I’m a type 2 diabetic, and I have arthritic shoulders. Since then, I have had cartilage repairs on both knees, three cervical vertebrae fused, and radiation therapy (apparently successful) for prostate cancer. On the plus side, I’m able to go to the gym five days a week and take brisk (around 4 mph) walks between two and five miles the other two days of the week. But the diabetes puts me at higher risk for cardiac issues, and as my older brother, Calvin (Class of 1964) died due to complications from sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 62, and my mother died of heart failure, I figured, ‘you never know.’ Thus, my bio before my obituary.”
Howard & Mary, formal night on a 2016 cruise.
|
1968 - Writes John Mok - “Hi Art, Nice to know that my '68 classmates are populating both the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast and that they are healthy and cheerful. Cheers, John Mok '68”
1968 - Eva Resnicow - “Hanging Out With an East Williston Friend.”
|
1969 - Woodstock, NY Rendezvous - Julie White Miller, Andrea Kline Donnelly, Sookey Rosenberg Aldag, and Jack Donnelly.
|
|
L-R - Julie White Miller, Andrea Kline Donnelly, Sookey Rosenberg Aldag, Jack Donnelly
Writes Sookey - “It just so happened that we were all together at a mutual friend’s house in Woodstock. We tried for the standard group shot (top photo) but quickly devolved to our normal (bottom photo)!”
1970 - Mitchel Shapiro - “Hello fellow Wheatley alumni! This is Mitch Shapiro. I am down in Lake Worth, Florida until April. On March 29 I will be doing 7 to 10 minutes of stand-up comedy in the Sick Puppies Comedy Club at the Dog House Theater in Delray Beach. If you are in the area, please consider coming out in support of the show. You can purchase tickets at www.sickpuppiescomedy.com The theater is small, holding only approximately 50 people, so get your tickets now. All the comedians that will be performing that night will greatly appreciate you being there.”
1971 - Samir Touhamy - Remembered by Charlie Nash (1973) - “I was so sad to learn of the passing of Samir Touhamy. He and I were good friend in high school, which continued after graduation. We kept in touch over the years. Samir loved his family and was a very hard worker, as well as being a very intelligent and insightful human being. My heart breaks to learn of his death. Prayers and condolences to Samir’s family. Best regards, Charlie Nash, Class of 1973…..or is it 1972?”
1974 - Bill “Buzz” Bosshart - “I was on the road heading to the exciting cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Annapolis. Always a blast and great fun seeing Brian Stone (Class of 1964) and Scot Feld (Class of 1974). Scot just had his birthday. Celebrated in Philly. And as Brian would tell you, I often tell the staff it's Brian's birthday whenever we dine together. One day, I will actually learn his true birthday. Met up with Brian and his always-charming wife, Ellen, in Annapolis Great town. I encourage my fellow Wheatleyites to reach out to your former classmates when heading to their hometowns. Best Wishes and Regards to all!”
1974 - Scot Feld
|
1977 - Steven Camp - Pastor
|
|
1984 - 40th-Year Reunion Time!
Writes Gina Potenza - “I graduated from Wheatley in 1984, and I’m interested in starting the process of planning a 40th-year reunion. However, I do not know if anyone else has started the process, and I do not know how to begin. I would like to work with an event-planning organization, and I tried reaching out to Reunions Unlimited. However, I kept being connected to a towing company!!!??? I believe the event-planning company must have closed down. I would appreciate it if someone would contact me either at my email address of gr8newyorker@aol.com, or call me on my cell number, 631-678-8080, and give me some direction of how to proceed. Thank you for your time and attention to this. I know that there are many ‘84 Wildcats looking to have a memorable night reconnecting. Looking forward to hearing from someone. Thanks in advance, Gina”
Faculty (Robert Brandt) - “Always a great read and a joy to get. Thank you both for this labor of love.”
1961 (Camille Napoli Cannizzo) - ❤️
1962 (Karen Strumpfler Tucker) - “The Newsletter is always an interesting read. Thank you, Art.”
1965 (Ira Kent) - “I love these stories of teachers and fellow classmates.”
1965 (Jeffrey Orling) - “I love to read the Newsletters. Going down Memory Lane is always a hoot. Keep ‘em coming. Thanks! Jeffrey”.
1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “Thanks, Arthur, for another good walk down Memory Lane, with some names that I remember. ❤️”
1968 (John Mok) - “Thanks for the great work that you do keeping Wheatley alumni informed.”
1973 (Charlie Nash) - “Thank you for all that you do to keep the alumni of Wheatley in touch with one another.”
1992 (David A. Day) - “I much appreciate your efforts toward preserving the history of our school and student body through these thoughtful and informative newsletters!”
That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 140. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
