The Wheatley
School Alumni Association Newsletter # 236
Principal
Wathey, the Classes of 1965, 1972, 1976, and 1979, and lots in between.
Welcome to The Wheatley
School Alumni Association Newsletter # 236. The East Williston Union Free School
District
Dan Silver (1967) Writes - “It strikes me, Arthur, that all
25 of US News’ ‘Top 25 elementary schools in New York State’ are located
within NYC’s five boroughs &/or Nassau County. Really? And of the list’s five
Nassau County schools, North Side, at #17, is second only to Great Neck’s
Lakeville School, ranked #12.” Administration
Walter Wesley “Wes” Wathey
Gene Razzetti (1961) writes - “Art, I think the Newsletter should give more copy to
Mr. Wathey - more than just a stand-alone picture. The pictures of you eating
your way across Long Island get more space. Mr. Wathey basically built
Wheatley. If the halls of Wheatley were ever “hallowed,” it was when he was
in them. Best to all, Gene.”
Art Engoron (1967)
Responds - Mr. Wathey was one of
my all-time heroes (along with Mickey Mantle, gym teacher
Bill Stevenson, and a few United States Presidents).
He is the person most responsible (by far) for creating Wheatley’s great
culture, academics, reputation, and ambiance. He and I kept in touch with
each other until his passing. For decades, we called each other on our
respective birthdays. I have often published glowing stories about him (in
which I tend to call him “legendary"). I helped convince him to attend
Wheatley’s 50th (and almost convinced him to attend Wheatley’s 60th)
Anniversary Celebrations from Arizona. I helped raise money for an ailing
family member. Jill Simon (1967) Writes - “I enjoyed seeing the photo of Mr Wathey, whom I
definitely remember. Assistant Principal Colin Bentley was always telling Bob (Forte,
1965) and me to ‘break hands, you two’ when we walked down
the halls holding hands 🤝 😅🤣.” Carl Wirth (1967) Writes - “Art, Seeing that photograph of Mr. Wathey was terrific
...as students, we were lucky to have such a wonderful educator as our
leader. He was more than just a principal. In my time as president of the
student government during our senior year, he and I met at least once a week
so that he was informed as to what the students were thinking. I remembering
asking if he would hold press conferences with the student body, and he
agreed. Many of the ideas that our student government asked for, he agreed
to...the famous freedom of the grounds that led selected students to go about
the building without a pass, allowing to be set up in the library a table
where students could share pamphlets without fear of censorship, and perhaps
my greatest achievement as president...the return of ice cream pops sold at
lunch time. He was an educator with many advanced ideas and very willing to
listen to the ideas of others. A great man. Thanks.” Jonathan Flick (1972) Writes - Thanks, Art, for including a photo of Dr. Wathey in
the recent newsletter. I was a member of the Class of 1972, but I left for
college after my junior year, in 1971. Mr. Wathey assured me that if I
returned after my freshman year with my college transcript, I would receive
my high school diploma. When I did as he suggested, he noticed my transcript
lacked a gym credit. When I explained that my college didn’t offer physical
education courses for credit, he told me that I would need to attend summer
school and take a gym class. I politely declined, and as a result, I never
actually graduated from Wheatley. Fortunately, despite being a high school
dropout, I was able to go on and graduate from college, and then medical
school. Jonathan (Jon) Flick. And for Further Hagiography……..
An Obituary of Mr. Wathey - Newsday, October
1, 2022
JUNE 18, 1924 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2022
Walter Wesley ‘Wes’
Wathey, 98, of Surprise, AZ and formerly of Wes was a proud World War
II Veteran who served during the Graduates
1967 - Shirley Vogl Quarantello
Writes - “Hi Art, I was talking
about Billy Joel to a 23 year old, and he said he didn’t know who Billy is.
Then, I asked him if he knew what the Dewey Decimal System is, and he asked
me if it is an app!!!! 😬” 1967 - Jack Wolf - “I left Wheatley after my junior year and went to the
University of Michigan on early admission. After a year, I dropped out and
went off with the flower children to San Francisco. Ten years later, in 1979,
when I went back to college, I took English, but I don’t think I ever
actually received a Wheatley diploma, despite having finished college and
medical school. So I am a high school dropout MD.” 1972 - Jo Ann Bregman and Patricia
Chock - Forever Friends Jo Ann and Trish Write - We grew up together, lived down the block from one
another, were six months apart in age, and literally played in the playpen
together. Trish lives in
Philadelphia and runs a fabric business. Jo Ann lives on Long Island and is a
retired educator. We always get together in
August when Trish and her husband, Stanley, sail into Huntington Harbor on
their boat, Delphinis. We spend the afternoon relaxing and catching up on the
boat with their dog Buoy, a Partí-Yorkie. P.S. We are putting this
info out there before our obits!
Buoy wearing his
red life preserver. 1972 - Howard Davidson - Another
Motorcycle Man - “So, Art, the
real story is this. I am on a motorcycle ride in northern Thailand, up to the
Myanmar border. I went to the place where you can see Thailand, Laos and
Myanmar (formerly Burma). It’s the old Golden Triangle area of warlords and
opium smugglers. The trip has been amazing, often along steep, twisty
mountain roads. There are eight people in our party; two have had minor falls
on their motorcycles; luckily, no major issues to the people or motorcycles.
I spent a week in Bangkok before heading north for the motorcycle part of the
trip.
Art Engoron (1967)
Responds - I owned and rode a
Suzuki 750 for several years in my mid-30s. If you want to know what fun is,
ride a powerful bike, fast, up a hill, around a curve, in a middle gear, on a
beautiful day. Now, that is fun. Be careful and wear
a helmet. 1980 - Ken Breslin Writes - “The
boys of the Class of 1980 are still tight and getting together before the New
York City Marathon.”
L-R - Todd
Cooper, Gary Correnti, Ken Breslin, Larry Rush, Rob Perelman 1985 - Michael Ferrara - “After 24 years at Becton Dickinson in medical sales,
I’ve hung up my corporate badge and officially retired - although I’m still
figuring out what ‘retired’ actually means. So far, it involves coffee each
morning at my favorite bagel store, long walks, and wondering how I ever had
time for a full-time job. I’m exploring what’s next, and part of that
includes reconnecting with old friends from Wheatley and the neighborhood. Some things haven’t
changed: my parents still live in East Williston, in the same house in which
my sisters - Anna, Cathy, and Gena - and I grew up, and they are all nearby.
We still gather at my parents’ house once or twice a month, which is
basically a family reunion around a table of food and loud conversation. My wife Debbie and I now
live in Wyckoff, NJ. My two sons, AJ (26) and Francesco (23), are doing
great. AJ is based in NYC and Francesco is in Washington DC, both carving out
their own paths.
L-R - Francesco
and Michael Ferrara
L-R - AJ and
Michael Ferrara at AJ’s graduation If you’re reading this
and thinking, ‘I should reach out’ - please do. Whether it’s a quick hello,
grabbing a drink, or just sharing stories, it would be great to reconnect.
You can reach me directly at mferrara9@gmail.com. From the Archives - Class of ‘65 In 2016 - New Names Added in
Bold
L-R - Sitting -
???, Donna Hegyi Gillman, ???, Ellen “Ellie” Senft Kochek,
Jane Goldenberg Fire Standing - ??? Gibb
“Saleem Pernath” Geery, ???, ???, Neil Firetog, ???, Norman Resnicow, ???, Lanning
“Lanny” Schiller, Ken Katz From the Archives - Class of ‘72 in 2016 - All Blanks Filled
In
Recent additions in bold. Front Row - Elizabeth
Diamond, Donna Filler, Pam Arcuri, Arlene “Ally” Acker, Jean
Walsh, Richard Frishman, Bonnie Greenberg, Gloria Zibaida,
Ellen Kandell Back Row - Paul
Celella, Judy Oppenheim, Jo Ann
Bregman Miles, David Resnicow, Jill Gaines,
Maris Dobrow, Seth Katz, Ilene Kent, James Vincze, Richard Weissman, Phil
Wild, Patricia “Tricia” Chock, Steven Krakauer From the Archives - Class of ‘76 in 2016 - Identifications
Needed
From the Archives - Class of ‘79 in 2016 -
Identifications Needed
Fan Mail
1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “Thanks for more good memories.” 1985 - Michael Ferrara - “Thanks for the great Newsletter, Art, and for all you
do.” The Official Notices
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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 234 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 New Yorker type 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 # 236. Please send me your autobiography before
someone else sends me your obituary. Art
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Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967