Arthur Engoron
August 12, 2024
Dear Wildcats,
Welcome to the Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 172,
All other details including date, time, and registration fee remain the same.
Of course there will be food and drink.
We will also be dancing to our 80s favorite tunes!
Cost: $125 per person.
If you have not yet paid, please bring cash to the door.”
All taxes and gratuities are included in the final price!
Looking forward to seeing all of you!”
Steve Morris (1964) Writes - The full picture of Lyndon Johnson’s legislative brilliance and what he accomplished (both as Senate Majority Leader and President) still have not emerged from recent comments published in the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter.
As Carl Stewart (1960) notes, Johnson was the furthest thing from a ‘tired, old Senator’ at the time in issue. In the 1950s he became the youngest Senate Minority Leader in United States history, and he became the Majority Leader in 1955.
As George Washington Plunkitt of Tammany Hall once said (in a different time and different context), ‘I seen my opportunities, and I took ‘em.’ Well, that’s exactly what Lyndon Johnson did during his tenure as Senate Majority Leader. He took an institution that was purposely devised to ponder issues endlessly and act slowly and changed it through brute political force to become a vehicle for change.
It is incorrect to state that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the most significant piece of legislation regarding civil rights since the Civil War. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent a civil rights proposal to Congress, where it would have died as usual. But this time Lyndon Johnson was there to mastermind its passage in the Senate, which was always the stumbling block for this type of legislation.
You see, Johnson saw an opportunity to garner African-American votes for the Democrats, as he instinctively understood how the political calculus was changing in America, and that black citizens could be pried away from the Republican Party and ultimately support Democrats.
But Johnson had a problem. In order to get his bill to the floor for a vote, he had to overcome the inevitable filibuster of the racist Democratic Southern Senators.
So he seized upon a brilliant idea. He calculated (as an expert vote counter) that if he could get Western Senators to join Eastern and Mid-Western liberals, he would have enough votes to invoke cloture and end any filibuster.
Now, the Western Senators really had no skin in the game (on either side) because at that time there were very few black citizens living in the West. What the Western Senators were interested in was water. Yes, water!
So Johnson made a deal with them. I paraphrase: ‘You vote for cloture and support my Civil Rights Bill (it became HIS bill, not Eisenhower’s), and I’ll get you all the damn water you want by constructing dams and other water projects.’
And it worked. He got the votes he needed. The Democratic Southern bloc was shocked when cloture was invoked and the 1957 Civil Rights Bill was enacted. It became the first piece of civil rights legislation to be passed in almost 80 years, even if it was a somewhat watered down bill. Bitter liberal critics at the time later realized how significant the 1957 Bill was. Interesting historically, Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) voted AGAINST the bill-turned-act.
Only seven years later, by the twists and turns of fate, Johnson marshaled the 1964 Act through Congress, an Act which was his baby, not JFK’s.
Kennedy, a Democrat, may have verbally proposed that the time had come for civil rights to come to the forefront of American politics, but he had neither the political skill nor courage to pursue it before he was struck down in November, 1963.”
Richard Jalonack (1966) Writes - “I haven't thought about the assassination of JFK in a long, long time. If you asked me now what my memories of that fateful day are, l would say, ‘not much.’ I think that must be wrong. I saved 6 inches of the newspapers of the next 6 days. It must have affected me greatly; l still have those papers. Rick”
Marc Geller (1972) Writes - “Judith Oppenheim Darrah’s (1972) recollection of November 22, 1963 is close to mine. I believe we were together in Mrs Dehler’s 3rd grade class. I recall someone came in (could it have been Philip Wild?) and told Mrs D what had happened. I recall us being pretty quickly taken out to where the busses came to take us back to our homes. I, too, recall sitting with my mom and seeing the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald.
It was one of two earth-shattering events I shared with my mother in front of the TV. The next was August 1968. We watched in horror as the police rioted at the Democratic National Convention.”
Scott Frishman (1967) Writes - “Art, Mrs. Gunderson, Mrs. and Mr. Visco, and Miss Owens (who taught us ornithology) were amazing teachers. I agree that Mrs. Smiley never smiled.”
Steve Miller (1967) Writes - “Hello Arthur, After reading the mentions of Mrs. Gunderson in the Newsletter, I’d like to add an anecdote.
After spending what I remember as most of Miss Hughes’s first grade class at Willets Road outside of it in the hall instead of in it, or being sent down the hall to the Nurse’s Office for discipline, Mrs Gunderson’s second grade class was where I learned that it was better to be smart than to be a smart ass. We did all kinds of cool stuff, like build a paper mache volcano and light it on fire, or demonstrate peristalsis with a volunteer (Shep Messing, of course) standing on his head while drinking a cup of water through a straw.
Following second grade, Mrs. Gunderson wrote me a letter that I received in Los Angeles, where I was staying for the Summer with my Aunt, also a grade school teacher, requesting that I write a short story for the teachers’ journal to which she contributed. Of course I got right on it and mailed one back, honored to be a published author at eight-years-old. Turn around complete.
Our teachers everywhere deserve to be recognized and appreciated for the positive impact that they have had on our lives. I, too, remember going to Mrs. Gunderson’s apartment on Roslyn Road some years later, when I was still at Wheatley, to thank her for being such an awesome influence. She may have been retired at that point. Good to know I was only one of many that visited her there.
My Aunt, too, not only had a huge impact on my life that first Summer away from home but also on her own students. She was a first-grade teacher in an all-Black grade school in Watts from the late 1940’s, having been unable to get a teaching job in Connecticut after the War due to not being ‘White’ enough herself, aka Jewish. Upon retirement from that same first-grade classroom, where she spent 25 years, she was honored with a Resolution of the California State Legislature that recognized her sparking the school breakfast program in California. When no one yet was much dealing with the fact that hungry children have a hard time staying awake in class, much less learning, she would bring groceries to class each morning and first make breakfast with her students before starting the school day.
All the best, Steve Miller”
Wendy Aibel-Weiss (1968) Writes - “Talking about the beloved Mrs. Gunderson, I remember that periodically, she would ask us to sit under our desks. Mrs Gunderson would play classical music during these interludes and ask us to close our eyes and think about the beauty and feeling of the music. This was a special time for all of us. Recently, I have come to understand that actually these were periods of “duck and cover” drills mandated by the federal government. Mrs Gunderson transformed something that could be scary to 2nd graders into an experience of pleasure and exploration. She was an inspirational teacher and humanitarian.”
Glen Greenbaum (1966) Writes - “The Gipp family, three doors down from us on Crandall Drive, owned Mahoney's, on Hillside Avenue in Williston Park. They had three sets of twins, Bob and Barbara (1962), George and Fred (1964), and Patricia and Pamela (1966). The boys were exceptional baseball players, and the snowball fights were epic. I took a few in the eyes. One for the Gipper.
The Najar Family (Randy 1966, Wendy 1969, and Elaine 1973), also on Crandall Drive, owned the candy store next to Italian Gardens. I had a hamburger, fries and a coke most Saturdays walking home from football practice.”
Jane Colchamiro Schlanger (1967) Writes - “Art, thank you for all the history of Westbury Manor. I never knew it had such an illustrious background. It was my grandfather’s favorite place to eat whenever my grandparents came from The City to visit on Sundays. When it came time for my Sweet 16, we chose Westbury Manor. We have lived in my current home for 47 years. Westbury Manor is only a few miles away, and when I was VP of my community’s Civic Association, I planned our annual dinner party to be there.”
Steve Linde (1971) Writes - “The recent discussion of eating establishments in our area brings back a great memory of Howard Johnson's on Willis Avenue. They had an ‘All You Can Eat’ Chicken Fry. One evening, during our senior year, the Class of 1971 assembled a large group (of over 20 students) to go to Howard Johnson's and eat so much chicken that the restaurant would lose money on us. And did we ever succeed. So much chicken was consumed that night (and some desserts as well). It was a great time for all who came. I recall that the restaurant management was not pleased with us, although they tolerated us. We never understood why management did not use this as a marketing opportunity. What better publicity than sending pictures to the local newspaper of high school students enjoying Chicken Fry?”
Daniel Wolf (1971) Writes - “To this day, I would put Albertson’s Parkway Deli’s German Potato Salad above all comers!”
Henry Noble (1972) Writes - “Perhaps the best Sicilian pizza was from Umberto’s on Jericho Tpk. in New Hyde Park. I watched a central casting type FBI agent follow Matty ‘The Horse’ Ianello there. Matty stood over the FBI agent’s table and glared at him for a few minutes.
The slogan of the Snow White Bakery (off Roslyn Road) has been a long running joke in my home. Butter does make it better! Cue the Crestor ad.”
Edward Ryder (1973) Writes - “Frank Acierno (1973) once worked at Westbury Manor as the Maître D.”
Bill Meyn (1974) Writes - “Hildebrandt's deserves all the accolades it gets. I, too, remember the place fondly. Closer to my home in the Birchwood neighborhood was the strip mall that included King Kullen supermarket, the fabled Italian Gardens restaurant, a dry cleaner, a bakery, maybe a barber shop, and ... Bill's Candy Store! Bill's was the kind of small corner store that had a sizeable candy rack by the front check-out stand, comic books on those spin-around racks, and miscellaneous toys on shelves. One dollar would go a pretty long way towards a day-long sugar rush. You could get things like wax lips, sugar babies, Bazooka Joe bubble gum, Topps baseball cards, candy dots, pixie sticks, chocolate cigarettes, bubble gum cigars, Turkish taffy, milk duds, and Milky Way bars. Bill's installed a pinball machine, much to the dismay of my best friend’s mother, who was convinced that all pinball machines were owned and managed by ‘The Mob.’ I was fond of the plastic models of movie monsters put together with brain-rotting airplane glue. I had a rogues gallery of monsters in my bedroom that included Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and, inexplicably, some guy in a cape holding a mask off of his disfigured face. I never could figure out why a guy holding a mask was supposed to be scary. Bill's corner store was destroyed by a fire. I think it is a bagel store today. The corner of Jay Court and Jericho Turnpike is still a repository of sweet memories.”
1967 - Art Engoron - Cruisin’
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1968 - Nancy Lagin Writes - “Hi Art, Wheatleyites,
To read, digest, digress, reflect and respond to all the great Wheatley Alumni Newsletters takes me a while - but I want to share this picture/story with you (inspired by Newsletter # 165) as your words and thoughts about my brother, Ned Lagin ('66), deeply touched me.
Here's the poster for the concert at MIT that began his exciting connections with the Dead.
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He told me that as he was the director of the recreation club, he hand-wrote a letter to Jerry Garcia and invited the band to do a concert at MIT…..and he also told them about the synthesizer he was building and his electronic music explorations.
The concert was originally scheduled for May 7th at MIT...but sparked by the Kent State killings a few days before that...the Dead did an impromptu concert outside of the Student Center, which was energized by a huge crowd of people…..students and professors all ‘Striking for Peace’ in solidarity with the nation-wide movement against the Vietnam War. Both concerts can be heard on line. Sorry to say, I wasn't there to experience this spontaneous, exceptional event, which my brother had played a role in generating.
Years later, I had the unique experience of getting a ‘Backstage Pass’ to a few concerts, in which Ned was allowed to play some of his electronic works during breaks. The one album on which he is listed is ‘American Beauty.’
I know that there are also many tapes of concerts he also was a part of, both in the US and Europe.
I'm still angry at Ned for not letting me go to Jerry's 30th birthday party, which was at the Plaza Hotel....because he didn't want his ‘baby sister’ to learn about drugs and partying !
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[[[Art Engoron (1967) adds - The following is from Wikipedia’s article about “American Beauty.” - MIT student Ned Lagin, a jazz pianist who had corresponded with the band after attending their 1969 New Year's Eve concert at the Boston Tea Party, also contributed piano to "Candyman".[18] Lagin subsequently sat in with the band on occasion from 1970 to 1975.]]]
1969 - Gerry Gersh - “Hey Art. In the East Williston Little League Championship Game one year, I pitched for ‘Windsor’ and Scott Geery (1967) pitched for “Valentine’s.” He was tall (six feet or close to it) and two years older than me. There’s a baseball expression that what keeps most great college and/or Minor league hitters from reaching the Majors is the curveball. How true! I batted against Scott and recall the ball blurring to the left and right at the same time, with tremendous speed. Like a hallucination, but I was not high. Scott taught me first-hand(!) the meaning of and respect for the almighty curveball.”
1971 - Neil Cohen and Jon Sporn - Checking Out MAD in MA
Writes Jon Sporn - Classmate Neil Cohen and I took a summer day trip to Stockbridge, MA, for an exhibit on the history of MAD Magazine. Back in our Wheatley days, we eagerly awaited the arrival of each new issue of satire. MAD’s irreverent attitude to cultural and political happenings was a key contributor to acceptance of the 60’s motto “Question Authority.” And for another example of challenging 60’s status quo, on the way home we stopped at Ralph Nader’s Museum of Tort Law, in Winsted, CT, which was filled with exhibits such as his ‘Unsafe at Any Speed’ that championed the rights of the consumer against large corporations.”
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L-R - Neil Cohen and Jon Sporn
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L-R - Neil Cohen and Jon Sporn
1972 - Nancy Drummond Davis - “I hope by way of this message to encourage more grads from the 1970s to send recollections and news.
Our home on Schoolhouse Lane, which I inhabited with my older brothers Hugh (AKA ‘Bob,’ and ‘Bulldog,’ 1961, deceased) and Dan (1964, deceased ) was surrounded by great neighbors with kids of all ages: the Buckners, Luttingers, Seatons, Goldsmiths, and Aufhausers. A special appreciation to Bruce Aufhauser, who helped my family through some rough times.
Here are some recollections of friends from the Class of 1972. At Willets Road, I met Sherry Goldberg on the first day of school and became friends forever. Sherry taught me how to read and do arithmetic (still not my strong point). Mrs. Tillotson was a patient & kind teacher who in 2nd grade allowed me to bring my dog to school to meet her (after hours). I had fabulous piano lessons with Mrs. Strauss at her home on Barnyard Lane, and I played the Donkey Doodle duet with Mindy Buckner (violin) at our 6th Grade graduation ceremony.
I had some great, innovative teachers at Wheatley. To mention a few: Mr Pagliaro changed my perspective after reading about the ‘Nacirema.’ Merle Levine took a special interest in exposing me to the arts. Mme. Desbonnet regularly gave me a ride to school as I walked across the bridge on I.U. Willets Road over the Northern State Parkway. In the inaugural year of the School Within a School, Stu Doig taught that injustice to any one person was injustice to all persons. Ted Tchack introduced me to some wonderful poetry. Mr. Israel assigned book reports with a new perspective. Mindy, Sherry, and I and others created a giant wall mural for a report on Lord of the Flies while listening continuously, loudly to the Beatles’s White Album, especially Revolution # 9 at Mindy’s house. As I recall, Howie Davidson wired up that same class to hear In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly—the long version). It was a revelation!
In Grade 9, Alisa Kline and I wore sandwich boards in school with something like “What happened to human decency” to protest some raucous behavior at an assembly to hear from candidates running for the Jr. High GO (student government) offices. As I recall, sometime around 4th period, Mr. Wathey came over to us and politely suggested we had made our point and to put the sandwich boards away.
Does anyone remember a labor dispute with the teachers that led to a brief labor action sometime in the 1970-1972 era? I remember looking out the window and seeing a string of teachers, including Dr. Wills, demonstrating on Bacon Road.
Our period at Wheatley went through the era of first allowing girls to wear pants to school only when the weather was cold to wearing pants any time. At first we were not allowed to sit on the floor, but we did it anyway. Sitting on the floor lead to playing Jacks. Janet Schaffel started the Wheatley Varsity Jacks Club. We had tee shirts made, and Mr. Pagliaro was our faculty sponsor. As I remember it, I helped organize our only inter-scholastic competition—was it against Carle Place? We won because we had a star player—Jackie Obrant.
In the attached photo, Alisa Kline and I got together for a brief visit in Joggins, Nova Scotia, earlier this summer. We had a fun time visiting and looking for fossils. I’ve been fortunate to keep in contact with some 1972 -ers-- Sherry, Alisa, Richard Weissman, Sue McGovern, Beth Stephens, Janet Schaffel, Suellyn Karben.
I was a child of the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and early on set my sights to be a marine biologist. After Wheatley, I went to Drew University to get a liberal arts education, then studied marine biology at Dalhousie University in NS, Canada. I lived there with my husband until we decided to move to Seattle. I worked for many years doing ocean salmon research at the University of Washington, completing 24 research cruises to the North Pacific and a PhD in Japan. I later shifted to science administration, working in beautiful Vancouver, BC, and then returned to Seattle. Now I’m an environmental planner with the WA Department of Ecology. No retirement plans, yet.
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L-R - Alisa Kline 1972 and Nancy Drummond Davis 1972 at Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Nova Scotia, June 2024.
1972 - Richard (“Rich”) Weissman (Graduated 1971) - “Earlier this summer, my husband (of many years), J.D. Horn, and I co-hosted the San Francisco event for the Congressional LGBTQ Caucus of the U.S House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. I retired 10 years ago, when I sold my data analytics tech company (which I founded) in the financial industry, headquartered in Portland, Oregon (where I lived for many years), which had offices in the U.S. and Canada. More recently I co-founded and co-chair an innovative think tank (all volunteers, including me) of leading national experts who work exclusively with the Caucus to develop strategies, plans, and programs to help Congressional LGBTQ candidates and their campaigns through sophisticated data analytics and cutting-edge media/marketing activities. The Caucus has 15 races in November. Photo 1: Me (center) with the heads of the Caucus - Congresspeople Ritchie Torres, NY (left) and Mark Takano, CA (right).
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They are both incredible people. Photo 2: Me (left) with the Executive Director of Equality PAC (center) - the political/fundraising arm of the Caucus - and the other co-founder/co-chair of the think tank (right).
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I’m fortunate to be able to co-lead a team of remarkable professionals who are making a real difference in the history of our nation (see my website www.richweissman.com).
When not travelling, my husband and I live primarily in California, where we split our time between our homes in Palm Springs and San Francisco, and we also have a home on a ranch in Central Oregon in the magnificent Cascade Mountain range. We have three wonderful grown children (two daughters, one son, and more recently one son-in-law) and a beautiful six-month-old granddaughter. It’s comforting to be at an age and a place where I can actively give back to the community and help positively move our country forward, while spending lots of time enjoying our loving and growing family.”
1963 (Janet Dubin Ruyack) - ❤️
1963 (Marcia Friedman Mayer) - ❤️
1965 (Jeffrey Orling) - “Art, I always enjoy reading about what I have forgotten. You don't know what you got ‘til it's gone. Thanks!'“
1966 (Glen Greenbaum) - “Thank you for all you do and for all the pleasant memories that have come to resurface.”
1966 (Wendy Aibel-Weiss) - “Thanks for your amazing Wheatley work.”
1967 (Jane Colchamiro Schlanger) - “Thank you for bringing back such happy memories.”
1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - ❤️
1968 (Nancy Lagin) - “Thank you, Art, for all that you do! The Newsletters bring smiles to so many of us!”
1969 (James Wallach) - “Hi Art. Another great job! Jim”
1971 (Jon Sporn) - “Thank you for your dedication to the Newsletter. I'm always amazed that you've been able to find time to devote to this as a service to all alumni!”
1972 (Nancy Drummond Davis) – “Thank you and Keith for all your great effort on this Newsletter. I always read it immediately when it enters my inbox and enjoy the flood of memories it conjures.”
1972 (Sherry Goldberg Gottlieb) - ❤️
1972 (Joel Harris) - “Hi Art, Not only do I enjoy reading the stories, I can also share experiences with my son, who graduated from Wheatley in 2001. Great memories.”
1972 (Jeffrey Kargman) - ❤️
1981 (Brian Seidman) - “Art, Huge thanks to you and Keith for the Newsletter, and to all the alumni who contribute. Cheers”
1984 (Gina Potenza) - “Thanks for all you do for us alumni 😊👍”
In the first 24 or so hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 171 was viewed 2.940 times and was liked 11 times. In all, 4,725 email addresses received Newsletter # 171.
Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 171 or so Wheatley School Alumni Association 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
That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 172. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
