Dear Wheatley Wildcats and Other Interested Persons,

Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 150.

According to Substack, in the first 24 hours after publication, Newsletter # 149 was viewed 2,820 times, was “liked” 10 times, and received one comment. In all, 4,727 email addresses received Newsletter # 149. For all of April, the Newsletter had 4,733 subscribers (six fewer than March) and 14,100 views (771 more than March).

All underlined text is a link-to-a-link or a link-to-an-email-address. Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the text that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination or will address an email.

The Usual Words of Wisdom

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 149 Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at

The 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 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

The Class of 1964 60th-Year Reunion

Due to popular demand the 60th-Year Reunion of The Wheatley School Class of 1964 is happening!

Save the date! Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 5 PM

At 388, a restaurant located at 388 Willis Ave. Roslyn Heights, NY, 516-621-3888

Handicapped accessible and close to the LIE and Northern State Parkway.

Cost will be $65 per person for a private room with good Italian food.

No payment is due now. Just let Nancy know if you plan to attend. Partners are welcome.

Nancy Gittleson Hodson - nancyhodson64@yahoo.com

The Class of 1974 50th-Year Reunion

Writes Debra Copeland - “The Wheatley School Class of 1974 50th-Year Reunion will be held on October 19, 2024. We had an approximately 70-person positive response rate when testing the waters for attendance. Siblings and graduates from other years are welcome.

Northern California Wheatley Reunion

Writes Larry Rosenthal (1965) - “Hey, Art, Largely thanks to you and the Newsletter, confirmations continue to roll in!

Karen Schaller Hampton (’64), Alice Wilkins (‘66) and Bill Meyn (’74), will be joining Laura Herbst (’74), Mark Lauria (‘61), Larry Weiss (‘73), Lizzy Lynn (‘64), Peter Siegel (’66), Roy Nierenberg (’63), Barry Gordon (’65), Rich Weissman (‘72), and yours truly (’65), at The Third Annual (?) Unofficial San Francisco Bay Area Wheatley Reunion Potluck—TTA(?)USFBAWRP-- Sunday May 26, 2024, 12:30 - 4:00, in my Berkeley backyard. Interested Wildcats, please email me at larros99@gmail.com. All welcome! Best, Larry”

Southern California Wheatley Reunion Contemplated

Writes Sydell Howoritz Weiner (1964) - “I see that there are many Wheatley alums in and around San Francisco. I’ll bet that that’s true of Los Angeles, too. So I’m calling on SoCal Wheatley Alums to get our act together. I’m in Beverly Hills and I’d love to plan a reunion! sydellweiner@gmail.com

Wheatley Alumni Softball Game - Memorial Day Weekend

Contact Bernadette McCrave at 516 297-8147 or Coach David Burke at BURKED@EWSDMAIL.ORG.

SOCCER, TOO

Free Concert, Saturday, 5/18, In Greenwich Village

I’d like to share this piece with you that is being premiered on May 18th in the village.

“Backlash!” is a compendium of experiences that I (we ) have had growing up.

It moves between musical styles traversing the keys, to emotional moments of memories buried and resurrected.

It’s so contemporary and travels within the keys, within memories - hear New York in the music- the cacophony of the street, and the music travels within our moods and our love remembered for all we’ve loved and Love we love still- we are the baby boomer champions 💕💕

Wheatley Alma Mater

Faculty

Writes Annie O’Hara (1983) - “Lori Roux died this past Friday. She was one of a kind, as she authored many memorable moments of my childhood. I will miss her forever. Thanks to you, Art, I had a lovely conversation with her last year… one I’ll cherish.”

Graduates

1960 - Husband George “Dixie” Howell and Wife Lucy Mullman - Better Late Than Never

Writes Lucy - “Hi Art, Dixie and I had two weddings. The first, a mock one, was in San Diego. The top photo, of Dixie with his children, Diana, Patrick, and Julia, was taken there. The second, a legal or legitimate one, was at the New York City apartment of my brother, David Mullman (1969). The bottom photo, of Dixie and me, was taken there.”

George’s Senior Quote - “A little shyness is no discredit to any man.”

1965 - Malcolm Dobrow - “Hi Art, I saw the correspondence from classmate Roger Morris in the last newsletter. He and I roomed together freshmen year at SUNY Buffalo. We lived in freshmen apartments near the campus. Besides us there was a football player, farmer and a local. The football player, paraphrasing Jim Croce, was as big and dumb as a man can come. The farmer and the “townie” were decent guys. I think Roger and I had bunk beds.

He transferred to Binghamton after one year. I stayed to do pre-med then med school. I lost touch with him afterwards, UNTIL NOW!!

Another reason to enjoy the newsletter!

I am enjoying retirement with kids and grandkids. Still living in a suburb of Denver.

Writes Jill Simon (1967) - “Richard Goldfeder and his first wife, Sally, were good friends with Bob and I as our kids grew up. ‘Rig,’ as we called him, was even in a band with Bob for a while…..😊good times . I have known their girls since they were young, We were always at our house or theirs. My mother moved from our house on Stirrup Lane after my father died, when I was 12, and she remarried and moved right around the corner from Sally and Rig. Sadly, we had lost track of them over the years, but good memories persisted.”

Writes Cameron (1970) - “Art - It's unexpected fun to read Wheatley classmates' recollections of my brother, Phil Kane. Whether he was playing guitar in the NuTones (who I thought were pretty good) with classmates Bobby Jacobs, Kenny Lang, Howie Kirchick, and Don Lansky, or hitchhiking and being picked up by a Rolls Royce, Phil had good friends and grand experiences. He lived his life to the fullest dying of lung cancer in 2009 at the age of 60. (He should have quit smoking!)”

Writes Ken - “Hi Art.….Now that ski season is over (although there’s still plenty of snow here), I'm reading the Newsletters as they come in; much easier this way!

While reading Ken Martin's (1960) fond and heart-felt remembrance of his pal Dixie Howell (1960) in Newsletter # 147, I made note of Ken's rhetorical question therein, "…..how many Wheatley graduates ended up as cowboys?" Well, I submit the following images as proof that there are others. And I don't believe I'm alone, although I grant Ken's assertion that it is certainly not a particularly common pursuit. Back when I was a kid, I would spend summers up in New Hampshire, tending farm animals. So it's not a particular stretch considering my background. However, in light of my other long-term pursuits in life, my close Wheatley pal, the late Steve Cohen (1968), used to say to me that I was probably the world's only ‘rock 'n' roll, vegetarian, cowboy.’ He might be right about that one.

As Art Engoron’s (1967) recent post noted, not all hitchhiking was a glorious and benign adventure. Howard Kirchick (1967) and Phil Kane's (1967) receiving a ride from a Rolls Royce is certainly a rarity. Art’s spending the night in the Centerville, MD jail for hitchhiking and being assaulted by a fellow inmate definitely tempers your appetite for additional hitchhiking encounters. Back in the mid-'70s, while hitching from California back to New Mexico, I received a ride from a guy in northern Arizona who was running from the police. We were in a "hot" car--which was basically the racket he was in--stealing cars and stripping them for parts. As we pulled into a gas station, he wanted me to assist him in robbing the station and the attendant (I was to distract the attendant while my driver hit the cash register). As we pulled to a stop, I grabbed my backpack and ran like my pants were on fire into the fields and brush that were behind the station. I DO NOT miss hitching AT ALL these days.

I also enjoyed Bobby Jacobs’s (1967) detailing of his life. I assume this is the same Bobby Jacobs who was trying to make a sci-fi/horror movie back when we were kids. I think the title he was using for the film was "The Krell." If that title is a combination of Krispy Kreme and Prell shampoo, THAT would be horrifying!!

Writes Bobby Jacobs (1967) - “I thank Kenny Gallard for the memory. Here’s how this all started.

I was in The Wheatley School Band as a drummer with Barry Gordon (1965). Stanley Krell was a drum teacher with whom many of the members of the band studied. Alan Shapiro, Barry Gordon and Peter Solow formed SGS Productions to make 8 mm or 16 mm movies. The first one (and maybe be the only one) that they made was called “The Krell,” which was a papier-mâché blob over a motorized base that ostensibly went around destroying things. I do recall that I was selling stock for, I believe, $.25 a share, but I don’t much recall where the money went. And all of this was before social media that could capture and recall every movement. So far my memory is still pretty good! Regards, Bob”

Writes John Poulos (1969) - “Richie Frankfort was larger than life to me as I entered seventh grade. I was REALLY honored to have played on the Junior Varsity Football team with him. I think Mr Okey Ryan bent the rules by allowing me, a mere seventh grader, to play on the Junior Varsity team, but I was almost 200 pounds and pretty feisty, so he let me

I have been cleaning up (out) a LOT of VERY old ‘stuff’ and came across one of Richie’s business cards from when he was involved with motorcycles (as was I, but that’s an entire movie in itself). I was interested to know that he earned a flight certificate in 1978, as did I.”

Writes Howard Davidson (1972) - “I would like to say a last ‘Thank You’ from my seventh-grade self to Richard Frankfort. I am not surprised to hear of his kindness and good works during his sobriety. That person was there many years ago. RIP Richard. Thank You!”

Peter Siegelman

Funeral Service: May 13, 2024 10:00 AM
Funeral Home: Gutterman’s Rockville Centre Chapel
175 N. Long Beach Road, Rockville Centre, NY 11570

Writes John Poulos (1969) - “Hi Art, I recently received a telephone call from Linda Siegelman (1973), informing me that her brother, my good friend Peter, had passed away. There will be a Funeral Service for Peter this coming Monday May 13^th at Gutterman’s Funeral Home In Rockville Centre. Funeral service will begin at 10am, visitation with the family begins at 9am. Shiva will be 1 to 4pm and again at 5pm. Peter was a sweetheart, always with a joke and a laugh.

Writes Paul - “Dear Art, I was surprised 😮 to read that Wheatley even had a fight song, because during my years on Bacon Road I don't recall ever hearing of one. Then again, it was the '70's, and that explains many things…..LOL. And three different versions, no less!

Peter Siegel (1966), brought up an interesting point about our 1965 football team. He is absolutely correct about our gridiron 🏈 greats only scoring one touchdown in 8 games, which got me to thinking, which one of our intrepid Wildcats scored that touchdown? 🤔. Since I was only a 7-year old "little Wildcat" at the time, I did a little bit of research and soon uncovered the answer. And it also solved a mystery for me about a salesperson at a well-known men's shop in Mineola who was helping me pick out a tuxedo for the 1976 Senior Prom. He and I started talking about sports and I told him that I played football for Wheatley. He nodded his head, but never told me his name or if he had played himself.

Well, as it turned out, that same salesperson was the Wildcat who scored that lone touchdown in 1965. His name was Dominick Foresto, and that shop is still there, on Willis Avenue in Mineola.

Dom's epic 3-yard run against the Floral Park Knights at Wheatley on Saturday, October 30th, 1965 was a bright spot in a disappointing season. And the PAT (point after touchdown), Ronald Rapaport (1966) pass from Timothy Saletan (1966) made it a 19-7 game in the fourth quarter, which is how it ended. In the 1966 yearbook photo it looks like Mr. Foresto took some would-be Floral Park tacklers into the end zone with him.

And speaking of our football greats, I would just like to extend my condolences to the family of George ‘Dixie’ Howell and to all his teammates on the loss of their captain and friend.

Finally, I want to give a ‘shout out’ to my old friend, Rob (Robbie’) Yaffe (1982). Our two families were next door neighbors for decades on Valentine Drive, from 1965 to the 2000's. Good to hear from you, Rob. Paul ‘Spirit of '76’ Giarmo.”

Fan Mail

1965 (Nancy Gittleson Hodson) - “The Wheatley website has over the years been an invaluable source of good news and bad, and some great memories.”

1965 (Jeffrey Orling) - “Art, Thanks! Another great read. You're the best. Jeff”

1966 (Alison Kent Bermant) - “What a labor of love the Newsletter is. Everyone is so grateful for all your work.”

1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “Thanks for another smile with memories 😊😊😊☮️.”

1970 (Cameron Kane) - “Thanks for your work keeping us up to date, Art!”

Writes a friend - “The suite of opportunities to reunite and engage in activities with Wheatley alumni is fantastic! It could be a template for a how-to guide on keeping a community connected. I also enjoyed the renditions of the Wheatley Fight Song.”

Closing

That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 150. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.

The Wheatley Alumni Association Newsletter # 150