The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 118

Back In the Groove After the Allotted Time Off

Sep 02, 2023

Dear Wheatley Wildcats and Other Interested Persons,

Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 118.

According to Substack, in the first 25 hours after publication, Newsletter # 117 was viewed 2,884 times, was “liked” 23 times, and received seven comments (all positive). In all, 4,652 email addresses received # 117. In all of July the Newsletter garnered 17,500 “reads.”

All underlined text is a link-to-a-link. Left-clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then left-clicking on the link that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination.

The Usual Words of Wisdom

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 117 Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at

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 use it all the time; it works!

I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me.

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

Wheatley School-Harvard College Graduates: Addendum

1971 - Geoffrey Garin

Writes Michael Garin (1964) - “I used to tell people that I knew Geoff was successful when I stepped being Michael Garin and became Geoffrey Garin's older brother.”

1990 - Jennifer Goldberg

Wheatley Ranked

Query - Could there be 304 High Schools in the United States better than Wheatley? Could there be any??? No! The fix was in. We wuz robbed!

Wheatley Teachers Appreciated

Writes Linda Caterino (1967) - “Several alumni have been commenting on Wheatley teachers. Here are my thoughts on the most inspiring.

Social studies: I liked Mr. Pagliaro very much. I remember him telling the class about the Japanese interment camps (which certainly was not in our textbooks). After I moved to Arizona I was able to visit the memorial here and talk with one of my colleagues at Arizona State University about her family’s experiences in one of those camps.

Mr. Seiderman definitely encouraged independent thinking and questioning. I don’t think he actually taught much history, but that was OK, because he told us to read the Outline of History, and I did, and that covered all the history that I needed to know. I also liked some of his projects. I did mine on the artist Orozco, and I recently visited his fellow artist’s (Guayasamin’s) home in Quito, Ecuador, where the guide discussed Orozco and his work. Our other two reports (on Keynesian economics and a new constitution) haven’t come in handy yet, but maybe there’s still time.

Mr. Loring was a good and decent man who taught me history and sociology and allowed me to sit in on a graduate program for teachers that he was leading in the library after school (but only if I stayed hidden). I enjoyed the mock trial activity in Mr. Levin’s class. I also had Latin American history. It was a very small class, with only about 6 students. That class prepared me for my trips to Central and South America. One or two of the social studies teachers were also the advisors for the World Affairs and Model UN clubs, which were great!

Both Mrs. Feindler and Mrs. Johnson were excellent French teachers. Mrs. Feindler really knew how to get us to work - reading very difficult books (Proust, etc.), and writing long - I think 30 page - papers, all in French. She also gave me a job tutoring a student in French, which paid quite a bit back then. Mrs. Johnson was always very cool; she even suspended class one day to teach us how to play Frisbee.

By the way, here’s an anecdote from a junior high French class. During our slide show with “Voila M. Thibault”, as the lights were dimmed, a student (LS) snuck out the window and later snuck back in, all without the teacher (was that Ms. Altman?) realizing it at all. I have used French in my travels, but unfortunately in all my years practicing therapy, I have only had one French client. I’ve had many Spanish-speaking clients, and my two years of Spanish with Mr. Agatstein were very useful.

Wheatley had great English teachers: Mr. Nixon was my advisor for my senior paper, on 18th century British playwrights (my brother thought it would be a great topic - it wasn’t). Mr. Nolte taught us so much about poetry; Mr. Ouchi introduced us to linguistics ( but might have been a little too strict); Miss Bodnar, who facilitated great class discussions; and Miss Kleinsinger, who taught me everything I know about mythology, which was very useful in both English and Art History classes in college. She also let two students (DS and DN) do a soft shoe routine at the beginning of class, which was definitely entertaining. I also liked Miss Hirschcopf, (I think that was her name) who had giant posters of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in the back of the room, which piqued my interest in folk music. Mr. Tchack, my World Literature teacher, was just wonderful; he had us reading all the classics, from Dante to Ibsen to Kafka, etc.; and Mr. Campi was always very nice to me!

Mrs. Bogart was a great algebra teacher, as well as being the advisor for the Future Teachers of America Club. She allowed me, as President, to run the club as I wanted, bringing in guest speakers and coordinating a tutoring program in Hempstead.

I don’t remember all of the club advisors, but the number of clubs available was just outstanding, from newspaper, to drama (I loved being in Our Town), to literary magazine, to American Field Service, and student government. There were many others.

While almost all of the teachers bring back very good memories, I have to say that Mrs. Wilfert probably did the most for me. Although she wasn’t even my guidance counselor, she repeatedly called my mother to convince her to allow me to go to college. My parents finally agreed, but only if I could fund it. (It also had to be close-by and Catholic.) Luckily, I got a full ride to Fordham University. In later years, long after she retired, I was able to call her and thank her. She just said that there were so few other students who needed help at Wheatley that she decided to devote some of her time to helping me. She thought that she could change my mom’s mind about college, and she did!

All in all, Wheatley was probably the most impactful learning experience of my life, much more than my bachelor’s at Fordham or my doctoral program at ASU! I know that some students from my neighborhood had difficulty fitting in at Wheatley, but for me the learning experiences outweighed any social or economic difficulties. I was always happy that those few blocks of Mineola were included in the East Williston school district boundary. Linda”

Wheatley Teachers from Back Then, Now

Left-Right - David Israel (English), Karen Bartscherer (English), Art Engoron (1967)

Two ‘Hoods - Two Different Views

Writes Lois Kass Kleinberg (1962) - “Jeff Orling (1965) is right about the changes to the old neighborhood. Last month I drove past my parents’ house on Carriage Lane, and it wasn’t there! A McMansion is being built on the property. Progress, I guess.”

Writes Bill Meyn (1974) - Jeffrey Orling (1965) wonders how his old neighborhood has changed. I recommend taking a walk through your old stomping grounds either through Zillow or Google Maps. Other than new windows and doors on some houses, Shortridge Drive, Mineola, seems frozen in 1959 (I lived at 24 Shortridge),

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24-Shortridge-Dr-Mineola-NY-11501/31112287_zpid/

More ‘Hood History

Newsday Article by Ellen Solow Holzman (1964):

(You might need to enlarge to read)

More About Faculty

John Lineweaver - Newsday Photo and Obituary

Writes Susan (“Rapo”) Rapoport Brown (1960) - “Art, I was deeply sorry to read about the passing of Professor Lineweaver. He was a wonderful teacher, and I never forgot the saying over his door as we left his class, ‘All Life Begins and Ends with RNA and DNA.’ He was way ahead of his time!”

Writes Lois Kass Kleinberg (1962) - “So sorry to read about Mr. Lineweaver’s death. He was my biology teacher, and his classes were memorable. I still remember agonizing over my science project. That’s when I decided to become a history major!”

Salvatore Signorelli - Deceased - 5/15/1925 to 4/4/2023 - Lived to 97

Writes Sharon Laurette Neely Halm (1965) - “There are many of us from the 50s to the 70s that studied with Mr Signorelli. He was a wonderful mentor to so many of us.

Writes Barbara Burri (1971) - Prior to every Chemistry test Melvin Rosenstein, would say, ‘Do not print, paint, stamp, stain, hew, cut, carve, mark or engrave on that which you are about to receive. And for what we are about to receive, we give thanks…….”

Chemistry Correction

Writes Andrew Pessin (1980) (Professor of Philosophy, Connecticut College) - “I took chemistry with Melvin Rosenstein sophomore year and physics with Elito Bongarzone junior year, and the way I remember it, Mr. Rosenstein, not Mr. Bongarzone (as previously reported), was the science teacher who often said something akin to “If my grandmother had wheels, she would be a trolley.”

Writes Art Engoron (1967) - I studied Chemistry with Melvin Rosenstein for a year (Sophmore) and Physics with Elito Bongarzone for two years (Junior and Senior). I am confident that Mr. Rosenstein, not Mr. Bongarzone (as previously reported), was the Science teacher who often said something akin to, “If my grandmother had had wheels, she would have been a trolley.” Andrew Pessin (1980) (Professor of Philosophy, Connecticut College) jogged my memory on this.

Graduates

1962 - Ruth Rennert and Harriet Feinglass - Museum Mavens

L-R - Ruth Rennert (1962), Art Engoron (1967), and Harriet Feinglass (1962), at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Manhattan, August 10, 2023

1964 - Jane Berger Putnam and Michele Sklaire Jacobson

L-R - Michele Sklaire Jacobson and Jane Berger Putnam in Florida, February 2023

L-R - Jane Berger Putnam and Michele Sklaire Jacobson in Maryland, July 2023

1964 + 1968 + 1971 - The Garin Brood

L-R - Michael Garin (1964), Patti Garin Abelson (1968), husband Danny Abelson - 8/13/2023

1965 + 1967 - Brunch in Tarrytown, August 11, 2023

L-R - Art Engoron (1967), Amy Pastarnack Hughes (1967), Bob Forte (1965) and Jill Simon Forte (1967)

1967 - Mitchell Stephens - Triathlon Man

Writes Mitch - “Niantic Bay Triathlon. Photo after swim. Still have bike ride and run to go.”

1967 - Carl Thomas Wirth - Youth Minister

Writes Carl - “Art, in my work as an inner-city youth minister, basically working to keep kids out of gangs, off drugs, and preventing teenage pregnancies, in 1997 I was selected to attend the San Francisco Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian seminary for two weeks every year, until 2002. We discussed how to reach kids spiritually in the 21^st century. My program was one of only two Catholic ones selected, because I welcomed teens of any religious or racial background. (Yeah, Art, if you were a teen, I’d let you come just to keep you out of trouble.)

Our generation is now of that age where family members, friends and classmates (and sometimes, in my case, former students) seem to be dying more often. As President of the John F. Kennedy Alumni Association (reelected since 1971), weekly I receive notice of another alumni death. I think your comment at the end of the newsletter is right on in spreading good news before someone else submits your obituary.

1970 and 1972 - Mindy Spier Cohen and Suellyn Karben Giserman - Bonding in DE

L-R - Mindy (1970) and Suellyn (1972)

Writes Mindy - Suellyn and I did not know each other in high school, but we bonded over pickleball and Wheatley in Bethany Beach, Delaware.

1974 - Girl, Girl, Girl!

L-R - Nancy Roeder Zolezzi, Kathy Modico Gallup, Nicky Pastarnack, April 2023

Writes Nicky - “The name of the restaurant is Toscana49 (143 East 49^th Street). This photo was taken on April 29, 2023.

The three of us were best friends during our time at The Willets Road School. My family moved in the middle of 7^th grade (December 1968), so I had lost touch with Kathy and Nancy for decades. Only when Amy Pastarnack Hughes’s daughter, Sarah Hughes, became a celebrity (in 2002) did we reconnect.

It’s always great to see my besties from childhood. I wish I lived closer to them!”

1975 - Catherine Wirth Levine - Deceased

Writes brother Carl Thomas Wirth - “My sister, CATHERINE WIRTH LEVINE, Class of 1975, died of cancer on August 24^th. Her husband was Edward Levine, and she had two daughters, Stephanie and Amanda. Besides me there is my sister CHRISTINE WIRTH LEVY, Class of 1977 and my late sister ARLENE WIRTH BREMER Class of 1970, who also died of cancer, in 2005. We lived at 220 Arlington St., Mineola 11501, where Christine and her husband Scott still live.

1980 - Bob Koenig - Musician

Bob Koenig Podcast

Fan Mail

Administration (Principal Joseph Wiener) - ❤️

Faculty (Bob Brandt) - ❤️

1959 (Jean Schmauder Cassidy) - “Keep up the good work!!!”

1960 (Eileen Murphy Solomon) - ❤️

1962 (Lois Kass Kleinberg) - “Dear Art, thank you for the wonderful Newsletters.” ❤️

1962 (Karen Strumpfler Tucker) - “Who wants to take bets on Art actually NOT publishing in August? LOL. I always look forward to the Alumni Newsletter. Who ever knew we'd actually get this old?” ❤️ [This time I followed my plan - Art]

1964 (Jane Berger Putnam) - “Art - Thank you for all you do. I have lived away from New York for over 55 years, and the alumni newsletter makes me feel close to my childhood memories.”

1964 (Kay Shamitz Leibowitz) - ❤️

1965 (Richard Roman) - ❤️

1966 (Alison Kent Bermant) - “Thanks for yet another sensational newsletter. Enjoy your August vacation.”

1966 (Jesse Nielsen) - “You and your team keep the news coming.”

1967 (Douglas Brautigam) - “Artie, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”…...well, not you personally, but the Newsletter. It’s like a warm summer breeze, always enjoyed and appreciated. Great fun; please never stop!” ❤️

1967 (Linda Caterino) - “Thanks, Arthur, for keeping Wheatley memories alive.”

1967 (Scott Frishman) - “Thanks, Artie, for another great newsletter. I Can’t wait for the next one, in September. Best, Scott”

1967 (Edward Goldstein) - “I appreciate the Newsletters and the effort you put into making them happen.”

1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - “Wonderful as always, Art.” ❤️

1967 (Carl Thomas Wirth) - “Keep up the good work.”

1968 (Joel Blumenthal) - “Is there any alumni picture in NY that you are NOT in? You are the Forrest Gump of the Wheatley School!”

1968 (Sandra Brodkin Dreis) - “I very much enjoy the Newsletters!!”

1968 (Mark Gross) - “Thanks for all the Wheatley news.”

1969 (Jo Anne Newman Abraskin) - ❤️

1969 (Paula Panzeca Foresto) - ❤️

1969 (Ronni Seltzer) - ❤️

1970 (Lyn Goldsmith) - “How do you have so many more hours in a day than us mere mortals! Thanks for all you do.”

1970 (Candice Maller Sherman) - “I enjoy receiving each and every newsletter and especially appreciate the photos. I was readily able to identify several of the faculty members in their luncheon picture w/o looking at their names. Truly amazing after 50+ years. In any event, thank you for all that you do to pull things together and keep us informed.”

1970 - (Mindy Spier Cohen) - “Thanks again for everything you do for Wheatley!”

1970 (Victoria Unger Hochman) - “Thank you for the Newsletters.”

1971 (Carolyn “Cakky” Braun Evans) - “Best, and please enjoy your August vacay or time away, Many thanks, Cakky Evans (Carolyn Braun '71).”

1971 (Geoff Garin) - “Thanks for all the work you put into the Newsletter.”

1971 (Larry Koenigsberg) - ❤️

1971 (Merrie Sesskin) - “Art and Ken, Thank you, have a nice month off….. you never disappoint, love reading our Wheatley Newsletter. Best, Merrie Sesskin, Boca Raton, FL” ❤️

1972 (Robin Freier Edwards) - ❤️

1973 (Edward B. “Woody” Ryder IV) - “Enjoy the summer off from the Newsletter.”

1974 (Victoria Abbott Pitcavage) - ❤️

1974 (James Elefonte) - ❤️

1974 (Carol Leifer) - “Thx, Art, for these amazing newsletters!!!” ❤️

1976 (Robin Firetog Glanzberg) - ❤️

1977 (Peter Fitzpatrick) - ❤️

1977 (Nancy Meyer) - ❤️

1978 (Gary Lubin) - “Hi Art, I love the work you (and others) are doing to keep the Wildcat spirit alive!”

1979 (Jean Kayton Sogno) - “Thanks for all you do, Art.”

1980 (Adam Goldstein) - ❤️

1980 (Alison Katz Wolfson) - “Thank you, Art, and enjoy your month off! 😜” ❤️