The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 276

This is another "real" Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter

Dear Wheatley Wildcats and Other Interested Persons,

Welcome to the Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 276,

Late Breaking News

East Williston Board of Education renews calls for perimeter fencing after SUV crashes through elementary school

The school was empty at the time of Sunday’s crash.

Jonathan Gordon

Jul 27, 2026, 10:17 AM

News Report of Crash into North Side

“The East Williston Board of Education renewed the district’s calls to install safety and security measures outside of North Side Elementary School, one day after a car slammed through the school’s library after a driver suffered a medical emergency.

East Williston Superintendent of Schools Danielle Gately and board President Mark Kamberg both delivered public statements at this morning’s previously scheduled special meeting following executive session.

“The safety of our students, staff and visitors remains our highest and most important responsibility,” Gately said.

“Yesterday evening’s incident at North Side School was a stark reminder of how quickly unexpected events can occur,” Kamberg added.

Nassau County police said a 77-year-old man was driving a Jeep when he suffered a medical emergency that forced his SUV off the road and into the building at 110 East Williston Ave.

Neighbors said traffic is usually bad on that stretch of road, even at the time of the crash, when they didn’t hear it until first responders showed up.

“Hopefully everybody is okay, and then you worry about the driver,” East Williston resident Nyna McKittrick said.

The district said the building was empty during the crash, but there are piles of books, windows and other library materials scattered across the ground inside.

The debate over the fences around North Side Elementary School heightened in 2019, when the district began construction on the 6-foot fences after receiving approval from the State Education Department.

The district said the fence was necessary to keep students, staff and faculty safe from intruders walking freely onto the campus.

Work stopped after a group of residents sued, alleging that the district failed to apply for the proper variances from the village for the fence’s height.

The district contended that it didn’t need to apply because it was authorized by the state.

A judge initially ruled in favor of the residents, but the district appealed the decision and in 2024 a State Appellate judge reversed the lower court ruling and sent the case back to continue litigation.

“The accident that occurred yesterday would not have been prevented by the fencing currently proposed,” Kamberg said. “However, the district’s original plans envisioned a comprehensive approach to protecting the entire campus. Those plans included perimeter fencing as well as a stone wall retaining wall along the East Williston Avenue property line.”

Work has not restarted as the case remains open.

News 12 reached out to the village of East Williston, the State Education Department and the attorney who brought the lawsuit against the district and is waiting to hear back.

As for yesterday’s damage, Kamberg said the district is working with its architect and the State Education Department to come up with a plan to have the wall and library fixed in time for the upcoming school year.”//

A student wrote - “Hearing anything about North Side on 1010 WINS radio is quite unusual.”

(((Art Engoron, 1967 Writes - I STRONGLY oppose the fence. “Don’t fence me in.” Can anyone identify what part of the school, east or west, north or south, the vehicle struck?))). Bing Crosby Singing Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher's "Don't Fence Me In,”

Administration

L-R - Art Engoron (1967) and Rick Simon (Wheatley Principal 1995 to 2008) in Stresa Restaurant, Northern Boulevard, Manhasset, July 16, 2026

Graduates

Mystery Presented

REPRINT FROM ISSUE # 275

1958 - Steve Nelson - “Seeing Whitey Ford’s picture in Issue # 268 of the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter reminded me of a small mystery that I’m hoping one of you can solve. Whitey, of course, was a star pitcher with the Yankees, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1950 before serving in the Korean War for two years and returning to the Yankees in 1953. That spring I was in 7^th grade at the Willets School and played for the Buffaloes in the Roslyn Little League. Art Rollini ’59 was on the team too.

One Saturday morning in May, all of the Roslyn Little League teams were summoned to be at Roslyn High School in uniform, where a film was being made about Little League starring Whitey Ford! He was a big hero of mine, both of us being left-handed throwers and on the shorter side, although I wasn’t a pitcher. I remember seeing him there, but I was just one of a couple hundred kids playing ball in the background.

I never heard anything more about the film, and I’ve struck out trying to find anything about it online. Who knows, maybe it was never completed. Whitey passed away in 2020. I’m hoping some ex-Little Leaguer from Wheatley who played Little League at the time knows something which can solve the mystery of the missing movie.

Mystery Solved

1961 - Michael Jablon Writes - “Dear Steve,

The lost movie you are looking for is not titled ‘This Is Little League.” I was fortunate to have Jerry Bronfeld as my manager of the Tigers in the Roslyn Little League, and he was also the writer, director who happened to work for RKO Studios. I also had a very small part in the movie. The world premier was shown at the Roslyn Theater with special guest Jackie Robinson.

I was able many years later to procure a copy of the movie. As luck would have it, I met and became friends with Jack Lang, a sportswriter at The Long Island Press and the Secretary/Treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA). Jack knew everyone in the baseball world, and when I told him about the movie, he referred me to Jeff Idelson at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Jeff asked me if I could send him a copy of the movie, which I did, and now The Roslyn Little League is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Best regards,

Michael Jablon

Steve Nelson (1958) Writes - “Mystery solved! And thanks to Michael Jablon ’61, I know much more about the “mystery movie” than I ever thought I would. I knew Wheatley would come through!

1964 - Susan Obrant and Jesse Samberg

Susan Writes - “Jesse, thank your for your amazing story “against the wind.”

1964 - Jesse Samberg (1964) and Ellen Solow Holzman (1964 and Faculty) - Ellen Writes “I listened to Jesse Samberg tell the story of his cousin as I sipped my morning coffee, and I was riveted. So beautiful and sad and yet redemptive. Thanks for the link!

Also, Scott Reich (2001) was the sports editor of The Wildcat when I was the advisor, and so I am terribly proud—but not surprised—that he is having such a successful career as a writer. He was a pleasure to work

1966 - Marjorie Silver Writes - “Dear Arthur,

I’ve been meaning to write for your amazing Newsletter for decades, and yet somehow never got around to it—until now. Your Newsletter # 269 sparked some memories (and still it’s taken me many weeks to respond!)

I played Mary Lou Wingate in ‘John Brown’s Body’, which that Newsletter featured, and while my MCI (mild cognitive impairment) may have erased some memories, I can still recite a few lines from that play:

“Mary Lou Wingate,

As tightly made

And as hard to break

As a rapier’s blade.

Let us look at her now.

Let us see her plain.

Those tiny hands of her generation

That gathered the reigns of the whole plantation...

(At least that’s how I remember it.)

The other reason I was moved to write was seeing the photo of Charlene (“Shotzi”) Krakauer in the photo from Maui. Charlene was a classmate and a friend; also, she, Susie (Rosen) Kutch (’65)—my next-door neighbor on Hilldale Road in Albertson, and my best friend in childhood--and I attended Pierce Camp Birchmont together in New Hampshire (Yes, run by the same family who owned and operated the district’s school buses, at least back then).

So, here’s my bio in a (large) nutshell.

I married Jonathan Silver (1965) in 1969. (Sadly, Jon passed away recently, as was reported in an earlier Newsletter). We attended law school together at the University of Pennsylvania, and both thrived there. That was followed by terrific federal clerkships in Philadelphia for both of us: Jon on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals with Judge William Hastie; I, a marvelous clerkship with Chief Judge Joseph S. Lord, III of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Our son, Josh, was born in 1975. Unfortunately, I suffered what was to be my first of several bouts of major clinical depression (MCD) after Josh was born, and Jon and I separated shortly thereafter.

I suffered several separate bouts of MCD in the following two plus decades—halted now for over 20 years ago by finding an effective antidepressant that has continued to keep me well. I have had a good life and rewarding career in the law. First, with what was originally the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Regional Attorney’s Office in NYC, and then as the Chief Regional Attorney for the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education.

However, I knew in law school that I always wanted to go into law teaching, having been a strange bird who loved law school. In 1983, I joined the faculty of New York Law School. It was a mixed experience. I loved teaching; however, I was one of only two faculty women when I started; the other, much older, never spoke to me.

I met Doug Block in 1981 in an American Sign Language course at The New School (another, rather amusing, story). Doug and I married in 1985. Our daughter, Lucy, was born in 1989 (and is now expecting her first child at the end of August!)

In 1989, while I was pregnant with Lucy, I was denied tenure. I was devastated. It was the first “academic” setback I had ever experienced.

Happily, in 1991, I received an appointment at Touro Law Center, where I had wonderful colleagues who became close friends. I thrived there. In recent years, before my retirement this past December, I had been on “half load;” teaching a seminar for externs placed in civil, government, and public interest practices. The curriculum I created focused on helping my students develop their professional identities, ones that would enhance their well-being and that of the clients they would serve.

While most of my original colleagues had already retired, my goal had been to be the first octogenarian female member of the faculty. However, while I still loved the teaching and belonging to several academic communities that shared my passions, being at Touro just wasn’t fun anymore. I retired as of December 31, 2025, and am now a Professor Emeriti. Doug, a documentary filmmaker and producer, and relatively recent Substack writer, continues doing what he loves.

Some of you may already know about my history of major clinical depression and anxiety, happily in remission for 20+ years. I have written and spoken about it and shared it with my students and others to help destigmatize the shame for those suffering with mental illness.

In that vein, I want to take this opportunity to “come out” to all of you about my cognitive health challenges. In the spring of 2023, I was diagnosed with MCI: mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to Alzheimer’s. For eighteen months I received bi-weekly infusions of Lecanemab (leqembi), one of only two drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of MCI. In June I “graduated” to weekly self-administered injections of the same drug. Since retirement I have been committed to destigmatizing this condition, much as I have done regarding major depression and anxiety.

If any of you want to reach out to me—whether because of concerns about your own cognitive health, or about those of a loved one—please do. You can still reach me at my Touro email, msilver@touro.edu, or at my personal email account: msilver965@gmail.com.

So, Arthur, I have every reason to expect you will receive this before you read my obituary. And I thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the Wheatley community.

Finally, I am very much looking forward to the Class of 1966 reunion in the fall!

Best to all,

~ Marjorie Silver

1966 and 1967 - Robert Eastman (1966) Writes: “OK, I had a big crush on Helene Feiner (1967) in High School!”

1964 and 1967 - Lauren Jacoby (1967) Writes - “I listened and watched Jesse Samberg’s (1964) story on The Moth about his cousin Fred. It was gorgeous.”

Lauren Jacoby (1967) and Bird (non-Wheatley)

Mitchell Stephens - Kibitzing About New York’s Most Important Sports Teams

KIBITZING ABOUT IMPORTANT SPORTS TEAMS

(((click to get to the video and to hear the audio)))

1968 - Claudia Aufhauser - Deceased (in 2014, but not previously reported)

Claudia and twin brother David Aufhauser (1968) moved to Stony Brook after 9th grade.

Claudia Aufhauser Obituary

1970 - Cathy Gerson - Deceased

Cathy Gerson Funeral Home Obituary

Steven Lee Writes - “My beloved wife of 50 years, Cathy Gerson, passed away on June 30th, peacefully in her sleep, with family present.

Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Cathy always longed to spread her wings. She graduated from The Wheatley School in 1970, and she was very proud to be a member of the Wheatley Community. As a college freshman, she attended Moore College of Art in Philadelphia but found it to be too structured. So in the Fall of 1971, rather than return to Philly, Cathy decided to join her older sister in Boston.

She enrolled in the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston and also double majored in education at Tufts University in nearby Medford. After receiving a working scholarship from the Museum School, Cathy moved into a loft/studio in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, where she created ceramic sculptures, pottery and custom tiles. With her studio and scholarship in place, Cathy worked so hard that she graduated in two and a half years. Sadly, in 1976, Cathy lost her home, her studio, and her business when a fire destroyed the six-story factory building where her loft was located.

Cathy also became drawn into a more commercial side of ceramics as she began a production pottery line that is both practical for everyday use but also very displayable as art. She named it “gersonware” and the business was formed to create and produce pottery for stores and galleries all over the country – and continued for 30 years.

Commissions, whether pottery or tile, had been exciting departures from the steady pottery work supplied by gersonware. From extremely large urns decorating corporate hallways, to intimate custom architectural tile art installations, Cathy explored the freedom that clay allowed. In particular, she loved to sculpt tiles, to defy two dimensions and provide texture.

This recent focus on her tile creations attracted a wide and diverse group of commissions from architectural to institutional. Inspiration that has driven kitchen back splashes, wall tile art for hospitals and corporate walls, outdoor pieces and many sizes of Gerson totems; pieces that are often infused with small found objects from Cathy’s travels. Many wall murals and totems grace hospital walls in the Boston area.

After moving to North Carolina in 2013, Cathy explored her love of antique cars by creating classic cars in sculpted, free form ceramic tiles. These tile wall pieces capture the style of the cars, from the thirties to the present. These works provide the canvas for sculpted forms with unique and personal glazes and whimsical touches. She personally designed, cut, glazed, assembled and sometimes installed her pieces.

Sadly, Cathy experienced a second life trauma when she lost her home and studio in the 2024 floods caused by Hurricane Helene. A close friend in Birchwood, Tennessee took Cathy in afterwards. This is where Cathy moved and set up a new studio..

Cathy leaves behind her husband of 50 years, Steven Lee, and a son, Zachary Gerson Lee; a sister, Sue Gerson Whitney (1967) and her husband; a cousin, Nancy Feldman and her husband; a cousin, Neal Jacobs and his wife; and many in-laws of the Lee family. Also, all her friends from North Carolina and Massachusetts.

Cathy will be cremated and her ashes spread as she wished. No memorial is planned at this time.

Cathy Gerson and Steve Lee, by the Albemarle County Courthouse, Charlottesville, Virginia, where they got married by a justice of the peace on May 1st, 1976.

Renewing their vows on their 45th anniversary, in front of a minister.

Cathy loved to fish.

Cathy was delighted to gift Jay Leno a classic 1955 Buick Roadmaster tile wall mural at Cherokee Casino in Cherokee, NC.

Cathy and Steve

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lupus Foundation of America. www.lupus.org”

Fan Mail

1960 (Raymond Roller) - ❤️

1964 (Richard Ilsley) - ❤️

1964 (John Sullivan) - “Many thanks, Art, for you perseverance in preparing and publishing the Newsletter. While I am not a ‘ground up’ Wheatleyite (no North Side or Willets Road), I enjoy the historical perspectives.”

1964 (Davida Tunis Philips) - ❤️

1966 (Suzanne Stone) - ❤️

1967 (Lauren Jacoby) - “Hello Arthur, Thank you so much for many many years of the Alumni Newsletter. I imagine and hope it’s been a labor of love.”

1967 (James Seaton) - “Thanks as always for your tireless work.”

1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - ❤️

1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “Thank you, Arthur……nice nostalgia to think about 😊💙☮️.”

1968 (Nancy Lagin) - “Thank you for all your caring work with the Newsletter.”

1969 (Maddy Nathanson) - ❤️

1972 (Nancy Davis) - ❤️

1972 (Jeffrey Kargman) - ❤️

1974 (Melanie Artim) - ❤️

1974 (Jessica Hill) - ❤️

1996 (Joshua Effron) - ❤️

Non-Wheatley (MBDE) - ❤️

The Usual Words of Wisdom

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.

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 275 or so Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at our website:

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 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, performed, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967

Closing

That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 276. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.

Arthur Fredericks (“Art”) Engoron, Class of 1967

ARTENGORON@GMAIL.COM

WWW.WHEATLEYALUMNI.ORG

646-872-4833