The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 178
Welcome to the Wheatley School
Alumni Association Newsletter # 178,
Class of 1974
50th-Year Reunion - 10/19
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Class of
2004 20th-Year Reunion - 10/26
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Wheatley Class of 2004 20th-Year Reunion Registration
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Faculty
Jeffrey Kargman (1972) Writes - “So many people have been writing about Mrs. Gunderson.
She was the absolute best teacher I have ever had in my life. She taught us
Art, including Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Rembrandt and all the greats. My
family visited D.C. after 2nd grade. We went to a museum, and I said to my
parents, ‘That’s Starry Night.’ It was on loan from MOMA. I took Art History
in college and the art that I knew came from Mrs. Gunderson. She taught us
words like ‘transportation’ and ‘communication.’ I remember Mitch Markay and
Mitch Reuben playing kickball against the rest of the class, and they were up
first. I don’t remember who won. We sang ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’ My
youngest brother also had Mrs. Gunderson. My family had Mrs. Gunderson and
her husband over for dinner. She called him ‘Gundy.’ There will never be
another Mrs. Gunderson. Jeffrey Kargman”
‘Hood Happening
Classical LPs (and Other Items) for
a Song. On Sat., Sept. 21, from 9
am to 2 pm, Ryuko Ueno (mother of Wheatley alumni Takemi (1983) and Kohta
(1988) Ueno) will participate in the Village of East Williston's annual tag
sale. Ryuko’s husband died in May, and she is downsizing from a house to an
apartment. The items on offer will include LPs (mostly classical), books, and
other things TBD. The address is 58 Meritoria Dr.; it is within reasonable
walking distance of the East Williston Long Island Rail Road
Station."
‘Hood History
Jerry Mintz (1961) Writes “About the Old Motor Parkway: When I biked it, the old
bridges were still intact. If I came to a blockage I just went around it
until I found the road again. Going West I rode the OMP all the way to Alley
Pond Park.
I also heard about the
reason why the road veered south: The powerful estate owners didn't want the
road near them. As you said, that was also true of the Northern State
Parkway. I remember noting at the time that they couldn't block the
Expressway from going through their communities. I also heard that the OMP
had no speed limits, as it was originally built for racing the ancient
cars.
About Joanna Faber's
(1968) book, why is it that I thought the second part of the title was ‘and
how to Listen so Kids Will Talk!’
I remember being
connected to the Pall family, my cousins.”
John Cilmi (1962) Writes - “Hi, Art, Your and other postings about the Old Motor
Parkway bring back many memories for me, too. Our family lived on Brown St.
just off of Congress Ave., so the OMP was easy to access at the point in your
photo near the King Kullen shopping center. That view was a common one during
the winter, because the viewpoint was exactly where we would all end up after
sledding down Roselle St., the best hell in our neck of the woods. Also, we
had an Aunt, Uncle, cousins and grandparents who lived on Cornwell Ave. in
Williston Park near another section of the OMP. It was in a wooded area just
a block or so away from their homes and was a favorite haunt when we visited.
I think our exploits mostly involved looking for garter snakes, one of which
bit my probing finger. Lesson learned. John Cilmi”
Scott Geery (1967) Writes - “Hey Artie (Engoron, 1967), I do remember that Old
Motor Parkway bicycle ride. New and mysterious territory for us. It was
good traveling with you that day. I wish that we could’ve gotten around
that damned sump.”
Bill Kirchick (1969) Writes - “Hi Art -- When you write about the Vanderbilt Motor
Parkway and Robert Moses’s book, regarding the sharp turn southward of the
Northern State Parkway, I don't believe that Robert Caro mentioned that Old
Westbury got its nickname, “millionaires bend,” because of all the
monied wealth in the Village of Old Westbury back then. Thirty or so years
later, when it came to the building of the Long Island Expressway, that old
wealth was no longer as influential, but it did get two concessions as
the Long Island Expressway went through the Village of Old Westbury. First,
there are no exits in the village. Second, through most of Old Westbury, the
LIE is depressed. Again, I do not think that Robert Caro mentioned these
facts in his book, although I might have missed them.”
Steve Wolfert (1969) Writes - “The Roslyn Duck Pond was a magical spot for a young
person. My memories of it include taking my yellow labrador, Goldie, there
and getting into repeated trouble with the park superintendent (thank
goodness my dad was an attorney). The first time, Goldie jumped into the pond
and harmlessly retrieved a live duck in it's mouth (after all, Goldie was a
"retriever"); that resulted in a warning. The second time, during a
Memorial Day parade, Goldie jumped in and shook off the mud onto a
white-clad, baton-twirling majorette; that resulted in an indefinite park
ban.
I enjoy the Newsletter
memories of Andel's Deli, Snow White Bakery, Slow Boat to China, Howard
Johnson's, My Father's Place (my father used to play piano there at the
former tiny bowling alley), Mr. Israel, Mr. Pagliaro, Walter Wathey, and all
the other great teachers & administrators at Wheatley.”
Dan Wolf (1971) Writes - “Ed Roman's description of exploring the Old Motor
Parkway reminds me of one of my favorite ‘kids’ movies, ‘Stand by Me.’”
Paul Giarmo (1976) Writes - “Hi, Art, While we're on the subject of ‘The Old Motor
Parkway,’ my mind goes back to a Spring day in 1976, when I and four of my
classmates, for reasons lost to history were hanging out on the old bridge
overpass above the LIRR tracks between Bengeyfield Drive and Croyden Court.
Since I grew up around the block from the bridge and am a lifelong railfan, I
used to spend a lot of time up there watching the trains roll by. But the
graffiti along the outside of the bridge was beginning to bother me.
Someone had
painted ‘Wheatley '72’ on one side of the bridge, but it had been
defaced by a Mineola Mustang who had replaced it with ‘Mineola '76,’ in
terrible script, to boot. Well, we simply could not allow this outrage to
remain uncontested; and since I had won a penmanship award in 6th grade from
Ms. Quigley, I was ‘elected’ to do something about it.
The next day, armed with
plenty of rope, a can of black paint, a can of white paint, and some old
brushes, we went to work. Tying the rope around me, I was soon hovering 25
feet above the train tracks, using the black paint to cover the outrage and
restore honor to our school. I covered over all of the offending words, and I
could then begin my ‘artistry.’
Well, no sooner had I
painted ‘Wheatley '76’ in big white letters, when a train approached. My
friends thought it might be funny to leave me hanging while the train passed
under me, but I knew what was coming. Those old diesel locomotives were not
exactly ‘environmentally friendly’; and I knew exactly what the engineer, who
had already seen me, was about to do. As predicted, he slowed down, and just
as the train neared me, he opened up the throttle, sending a tremendous cloud
of black smoke up my way. And as you can imagine, I was almost unrecognizable
at that point.
My friends pulled me back
up just in time before the LIRR Track Patrol helicopter approached,
instructing us to stay put where we were as the pilot tried to land on the
bridge. The ‘consensus’ of opinion among us Wildcats was, shall we say, to
‘give him the bird’ and make a run for it. None of us was on the Track team,
but we would have made Dr. August and ‘Wild Bill’ Lawson proud with our
‘fleetness of foot.’
The pilot and officer
soon gave up the chase, as we had all skedaddled out of there. The helicopter
soon took off and left us to finish our work, thus proving the old adage, ‘An
idle mind is the devil’s workshop,’ 😆 lol.
For those of you who may
be skeptical, I invite you to look at the various websites about the
‘Old Motor Parkway’ or ‘Long Island Motor Parkway.’ There were several views
of the old bridge proudly displaying the words "Wheatley '76" on it.
The bridge was torn down in October 1984, 40 years ago, over the course of a
week. The Roslyn Road tollhouse was enlarged in or about 2010 and remains to
this day as a private residence.
BTW, the photograph of
the OMP going under Jericho Turnpike at Rudolph Drive in Mineola was taken
before 1960, when Jericho Turnpike was widened and the tunnel was filled in
and buried. The tollhouse at that location still stands. Paul (‘Spirit of
'76’) Giarmo”
Graduates
1967 - Jill Simon Forte - “During all the years that I lived in
the ‘S Section’ of Roslyn Heights (‘the Country Club,’ as we on Stirrup Lane
called it), I always heard of the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, but I never knew
where it was.
I’m glad to hear about
the area. I lived on the side of the Clark Estate. It was all wooded, and one
day Ritchie Harvey (1966), Michael Mahler (1967), and I decided to scale the
fence and walk through…..not such a great idea. It let out across from the drug
store Super Drug and the grocery store Sunrise. Well, just before we left,
some large dogs started to bark and chase us. After all, we were trespassing 😆. If it wasn't for
Ritchie dragging me along, I guess it wouldn't have turned out very well!!!
We scaled the fence and got out unscathed 😊. So you see how the Newsletter brings back memories 😀.”
1969 - Boys Basketball Team
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Front Row -
Michael Janowitz (# 34) (1969), Richard Kornblath (# 21) (1969), Billy
Diamond (# 25) (1969), Johnny Rutenberg (# 32) (1969), Rob Rosenthal (# 10)
(1969), Eddie Curland (# 52) (1969), Kenny Shainess (# 35) (1969)
Back Row - Gary Hill (#
13) (1969), Doug Terris (1970), Robert Abramowitz (1970), Steven Rosengarten
(1970), Kirk Moritz (# 50) (1969), Jimmy Franzino (1969), Donald Cohen
(1969), ??? (33), Paul Seeth (# 11) (1970)(?)
1969 - Steve Wolfert “I now live in Irvington, NY, on the beautiful Hudson
River, after a career in corporate communications, by way of New York City,
New Jersey and Northern California. Andrea and I have been married for 38
years, with two adult sons living in Austin, Texas and NYC.
1971 - The Varsity Revue - Andrew
Rosen (1971) Writes - “I have
fond memories of performing in the 1971 Varsity Revue. Many of my
classmate friends were big fans of Sha Na Na. We saw them live a number
of times and decided to form our own tribute band for the Varsity Revue.
We did some rehearsing and learned four songs. The band used the auto
shop as a dressing room to help get into character. We were well
received. When the audience asked for an encore, I paused for a moment
and said, “Play the first song again.”
Sha La La consisted of Jon Landsberg (lead singer), Billy Lerner, Joe
Stavola, Tom Kuveikis, Don Harger, James Wiesenfeld, Jimmy Schaus, Jeff Zahn
(who later played cello on Broadway for decades) and me. Dr. August declared
us the best act in the history of the show. High praise! We had a
blast.”
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L-R - Jimmy
Schaus (1971), Andrew Rosen (1971), Tom Kuveikis (1971), and James Weisenfeld
(1971)
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L-R Jimmy Schaus
(1971), Andrew Rosen (1971), and Tom Kuveikis
1972 - Richard “Rich” Weissman
(graduated in 1971) - “Speaking
of the Vanderbilt (‘Old’) Motor Parkway.….in 1960, just before I started 1st
grade at The North Side School, part of the East Williston Union Free School
District, my family moved into a house on Hilldale Road in ‘Albertson Downs,’
an area consisting three streets of Levitt-built, Colonial-style houses. This
development (which predated the houses known as ‘The Country Club’) was
nestled between I. U. Willets Road to the North, Roslyn Road to the East, the
Valentine Farm to the South, and the Long Island Railroad tracks (the Oyster
Bay Branch) to the West. Between the farm and Bengeyfield Dr., running west
from Roslyn Road through to the railroad tracks, was a portion of the Old
Motor Parkway. A ‘bridge to nowhere’ crossed over the tracks.
In 1963, the Valentine
Farm was sold to a developer, who built three streets of houses, consisting
of Dutch colonials, raised ranches, and split-levels, in a development called
‘Rosewood.’ My parents purchased one of the first houses (a Dutch Colonial) on
Heathcote Drive, and in 1964 we moved three blocks down, as shown in the
photo of my mother and me in 1975 in front of the Heathcote Dr. house (I’m
holding our little black dog).
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Howard Davidson’s (1972) parents bought our Hilldale Road house when we moved. He
was in my grade, and we became great friends (and are still friends and keep
in touch). The Rosewood development (which was also considered part of
Albertson Downs) was now directly next to the Old Motor Parkway, which was up
high on a steep hill, with a wide area of woods surrounding the defunct
parkway from Roslyn Road to the LIRR tracks. It was quite densely overgrown
and forested, and it made for an incredible play area year-round (including
in the snow). From 1st grade on, when I would go there after school with
friends, I always managed to come home filthy from playing in the woods, and
I would get the rolling of the eyes from my parents. It was a wonderland in
which to invent and play all kinds of imaginary games, and later, just to
hang out with friends. However, there were regular rumors of sightings and
interactions with ‘The Old Motor Parkway Gang,’ which supposedly consisted of
dangerous ‘big kids’ as to whom we had to be on the alert. The stories
rumored about the gang were frightening, but I never once saw them, nor knew
of anyone in this purported gang. Nonetheless, the fear of knowing that at
any moment they might appear, and we would have to run for our lives, made
playing there even more exciting.
Tommy Faruolo (1972) also lived in the original Albertson Downs (his family
moved to East Williston at the same time my family moved to Rosewood). We
became best friends the very first day of 1st grade when we first met.
That day, Mrs. Chamides threw us out of the classroom because we were seated
next to each other and could not stop laughing when she called a seesaw a
‘teeter-totter,’ and we had to sit in the hallway until we were able to
control ourselves. Mr. Heroy, the wonderful school Principal, walked by and
inquired what we were doing. We tried to tell him but could not stop our
uncontrollable laughter. He gave up and walked away. Tommy and I remained
best friends (and we never stopped laughing – he was undoubtedly the funniest
person I have ever known) until his death during the AIDs crisis. He has
indelibly left wonderful stories and humor in our memory banks, and sadness
at his death, for so many Wheatleyites.
Question for other Wheatleyites: Any Old Motor Parkway gang stories? Was it real
or simply local mythology? After all these years, I wonder. And if you were
part of the gang, not to worry – the statute of limitations has long
since passed.”
1975 - Alan Peterson - “I am enjoying reading everyone's memories of the
spring musicals, with mentions of "Fiorello" and "Anything
Goes.” I didn't involve myself until 1973's "Finian’s Rainbow,” when I
joined up for a chorus position. But once the dance rehearsals started, it
was evident that I had the movement skills of Mr. Bill. I saved myself
embarrassment by switching to the orchestra instead, where there was a
vacancy for a guitar and banjo player. Down in the safety of the pit, I could
watch all my friends be brilliant on stage.
March and April were
always crazy times -- between the spring musicals and the Varsity Revues, I
found myself coming and going. But memories were being made that still make
me grin today. A shout out to my fellow performers and musicians from Finian,
Oklahoma (1974), Bells Are Ringing (1975), and The Red Mill (1976, hired
musician).”
Fan Mail
1960 (Joanne Festa) - ❤️
1963 (Annette Heller) - ❤️
1965 (Cliff Montgomery) - “Yet another great edition, Art. Thank you.”
1965 (Sharon Neely Halm) - ❤️
1965 (Jeffrey Orling) - “Thanks, Art! The Newsletters need to be compiled into a
book! Best, Jeffrey Orling”
1967 (Scott Frishman) - “Art, I am in Detroit with my son Michael’s family
enjoying five days here and reading the Newsletter. What a treat?!”
1967 (Scott Geery) - “Thanks to everyone for making the Wheatley Alumni
Newsletter a real fun ride.”
1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - ❤️
1969 (Steve Wolfert) - “I love catching up every week (or more) through the
Wheatley Alumni Newsletter!”
1971 (Dan Wolf) - “Thanks for all your time working on the Newsletter.
Who would have thought it would be such a hit.”
1972 (Richard Weissman) (graduated
in 1971) - “Thank you, Art! So
much fun to read the Newsletters and reconnect through memories and stories
with classmates. The Newsletter is so appreciated.”
1983 (Maria Reyher Meredith) - The creation of The Wheatley School Alumni
Association and its accompanying Newsletter is a great legacy. You are the
glue than binds us to each other and to our shared history of neighborhood
and school. Thank you.”
???? (Tami ????) - ❤️
The Official Notices
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.
In the first 24 or so
hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 177 was viewed 2.867
times, was liked 12 times and was commented on four times. In all, 4,722
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The Usual Words of
Wisdom
Thanks to our fabulous
Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can
regale yourself with the first 177 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
Closing
That’s it for The Wheatley School
Alumni Association Newsletter # 178. Please send me your autobiography
before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967