The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 246
Class of 1966 Reunion; Girls LaCrosse; Boys Wrestling; Little Eddy Brown; Steve Saletan's Book; The Goldbergs; The Kurmans; The Pets
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 246.
Class of 1966 Reunion Planning
A group of 1966 graduates, including Beverly Berman Hornick, Amy Gruskin Gerstein, Alison Kent Bermant, Diana Noble Rubinge, Suzanne Stone, and at least one guy, are starting to plan a 60th-Year Reunion. If you would like to help, please contact Suzanne by telephone or text at 917-972-0215.
Wheatley Sports - Girls Lacrosse
Helen Burns Olsson (1984) Writes - “Hi Art, I was going through an old box and found a copy of the April 28, 1983, issue of The Free ‘Cat, which includes an article on Wheatley’s nearly brand-new Women’s Lacrosse Team. (Big typo on the headline!) I believe this was from the second season of women’s lacrosse at Wheatley. In our inaugural year, not one player had ever played the game before, which is an experience that stays with me. We had a blast under Coach Terry Grace. We didn’t have much of a budget, and we cobbled together our gear. Bernadette McCrave (1983) often played goalie, and she wrapped newspapers around her legs under her sweatpants to mitigate blows to the leg, and she hung a men’s cup from the bottom of her helmet to protect her neck. Great memories from those days!
Helen Burns Olsson continues - “Here’s another one from 1984. Gia Brown, Regina Duffy and I (all 1984) were the three graduating seniors that year. The quotes are priceless. “I can’t wait until next season. I just hope my black and blue marks go away by then,” said goalie Alexis Huber (1985).
Helen Burns Olsson Continues - “The 4/28/83 article above says that our practices were ‘taxing.’ I’m not sure how ‘taxing’ they really were! Sure, we ran up and down the field during practice at Wheatley, but I don’t remember ever running more than a mile at a time as conditioning. I went on to play lacrosse (and field hockey) at Hamilton College. Freshman year, I just about died when our coach had us run a 5-mile ‘fun run’ during preseason.
I’m attaching stats from the 1982 and 1984 seasons. I haven’t seen those names in decades! Pam Phalen, Carol Antonino, and Maureen Leary were the high scorers in 1982. High scorers in 1984 were Gia Brown 1984, Barbara Benz 1985, and Kristin McVeigh 1985. That was a rough year, with a 2-10 record.
Wheatley Sports - Boys Wrestling
Marisa Reichman (Parent) Writes - “Good Evening, Arthur, The parents of Wheatley Wrestlers, and Coach Michael Miller (MILLERM@EWSDMAIL.ORG), have been trying to organize some outreach to the wrestling alumni. Bernadette Quinn (1983), the president of the Wheatley Athletic Foundation, forwarded me your contact info as the alumni coordinator.
We are holding our first wrestling dual meet tournament since 2009. A dual meet tournament is held over the course of a single day of competition. The Wheatley Classic is a round-robin tournament, so it will consist of four teams (Wheatley, Carle Place, Great Neck South, and Evergreen Charter) wrestling each other one time each. The Wildcat Classic will be held from 9:30 AM to around 1 PM this Saturday, December 13, 2025. Food, drink, and raffle tickets will be sold, and the raffle will be conducted.
Additionally, we are trying to create a database of wrestling alumni to potentially hold a future alumni day or other alumni event. The link to the survey has been attached.
Interested persons can contact me at MARISA99X@AOL.COM
Wheatley Wrestling Alumni Form
Wheatley Honored for Inclusivity
Claude Levy (1966) Writes - “I am definitely not an athlete, but kudos for Wheatley’s recognition in that field!”
Administration
Wayne Jensen (Wheatley Principal) Writes - “I also have a guess on Mr. Wathey’s ‘farewell dinner,’ photographs of which were recently published in the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter. According to the 1965 yearbook, Mr. Wathey took a sabbatical that school year. A formal dinner would appear to be quite the event to kick off a short term leave, but, as you wrote, I don’t know why else there might be a farewell dinner.”
Graduates
1958 - Edward Brown
“Hello Wheatley Wildcats! My name is Dr. Edward A. Brown, known by my 1958 classmates as ‘Little Eddy Brown’! I have enjoyed reading the Wheatley Newsletters for all these many years with all the remarks of various alumni. However, I feel remiss in not having contributed my own words, as I am a member of the FIRST CLASS – the class that selected the school motto, colors, etc., and set the original standards that made Wheatley what it is today – the Finest Public High School in the Nation !!!
These days, I am a “snowbird” – six months outside of Boston and six months in Florida (You can figure out which six months is which!). I am completely retired now, after a 55-year-long career in, with, around, or directly supporting the Defense Department. I’d love to tell you what I did but, …. (well, you know!).
I have three grown kids, with three “kids-in-law”, and seven rapidly growing grandkids. These days, I try to stay active running, biking, working out – just trying to stay vertical on the right side of the grass!
I don’t get up to Long Island very often these days, but when I do, I always drive by Wheatley and stop in to take a quick look at our wonderful school and think back to my days there. It was, and still is, a fantastic place. I wish it to continue that way.
GO WILDCATS!!!
ED
1968 - Asoka Bandarage - Climate Reporting
Sri Lanka & the Global Climate Emergency: The Lessons of Cyclone Ditwah
1968 - Stephen Saletan (graduated in 1967) - “It’s been a year since my book,To the Midnight Sun, came out, and I’ve so appreciated the warm responses from classmates, friends, and colleagues. The book tells the story of my family’s Russian-Jewish roots and how that shaped my life growing up in Roslyn Heights. In Part One, I describe life in the early years of the Country Club and the weekend visits from my Russian grandparents.
If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, it’s available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It evokes a part of our shared history, so I think you’ll enjoy it!
Click below to learn more from the positive write-up in Kirkus Reviews.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-saletan/to-the-midnight-sun/
Best wishes to all for the Holidays, Stephen
1969 and 1971 - Mark Goldberg and Dale Ilsley Goldberg
Dale Writes - “Mark Goldberg (Class of 1969) and I are well. We recently spent Thanksgiving with both of our sons and their families - we have 5 granddaughters, ages 2 to 10!”
1971 - David Kurman, Gail Hill Kurman, and Thomas Kuveikis
David Writes - The Class of 1971 thanks Principal Rick Simon for seeking out the name of Thomas Kuveikis at the NYC 9/11 Memorial. Classmates David Kurman and Gail Hill Kurman ran the Tunnel to Towers 5K in Tom’s honor with his name and photograph pinned to their backs.”
1976 - Allison Eisenberg - Found on Facebook
The WildCAT Pets Gallery
Babette - Steve Nelson’s (1958) Tortico (tortoise shell/calico mix) cat. Babette Writes - “On behalf of my fellow felines, I demand equal coverage with those darn dogs! After all, it’s The WildCAT Pets Gallery.”
Rocky, Judy Lutrin Sidran’s (1965) 12-year-old 10-pound poodle, cooling by the fan.
Rosie Justine - Suzanne Stone’s nine-year-old, 12-pound, Havanese cutie pie. Suzanne writes, “So nice that the Newsletter has become dog-friendly.”
Daisy, Dale Ilsley Goldberg’s 5-year-old, 10-pound Havanese, waiting for Dale to throw her a ball.
A fabric collage quilt that Dale made of the photograph, which won a blue ribbon for best use of color in a regional quilt show.
Jackson, Andrew Rosen’s (1971) eighth, and smartest, dog. “Jackson is a miniature poodle. After lots of big dogs, the travel size is nice.”
The East Williston School District on Facebook
Miscellaneous Comments on Facebook
Fan Mail
Faculty (Stephen Ehre) - ❤️ “Thanks for all you do! I always look forward to the Newsletter.”
1961 (Carol Matlick Rosen) - ❤️
1964 (Richard Ilsley) - ❤️
1965 (Louise Kampa Triano) - “I look forward to these Newsletters! They are a perfect read in the early morning while having my coffee. Thank you, Art, for continuing this wonderful tradition. I still wonder when you sleep😂” ❤️
1965 (Judy Lutrin Sidran) - ❤️
1966 (Claude Levy) - ❤️
1966 - Diana Noble - “We all appreciate everything you do.”
1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “I love reading the Newsletters, for my fun memories!”
1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - ❤️
1968 (Ilene “Cookie” Levine) - ❤️
1971 (Dale Ilsley Goldberg) - “Hi Art, I always look forward to reading the newest Newsletter and catching up with former classmates and choir members. Thank you for all of your work on the newsletter.”
1972 (Susan French Congero) - ❤️
1976 (Michael Eisenstadt) - “Dear Art: Heartfelt thanks for all you do to put out The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter, allowing us to keep up with the school, our teachers, and our classmates—as well as all those who preceded and followed us. I look forward to each new issue.
Andrew Kirwin (1984) - “Thank you for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter.”
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.
The Usual Words of Wisdom
Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 244 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 style 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 # 246. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
646-872-4833
LOVE the pet gallery! Wonderful to read that the Wheatley Lacrosse team went on to win great honors. Can't recall is it was Dr. Ericson or Ms. Wilson who started us on Lacrosse in 1972-ish?
Thank you Art and Keith: you are the Best! Will try not to inundate you with pet photos...Roar on Wildcats.
Thanks for going above and beyond in all you do for us Wildcats, Art. And, Happy Holidays to everyone!!