The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 229
The Luncheon Is Filling Up Nicely; A Mystery/Romance Novel; Class of 1967 Reunion; An Inaugural Graduate; A French-Themed Birthday Party; Another Motorcycle Man.....
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 229
The Wheatley School Alumni Association 2025 New York City Luncheon - Friday, 10/3/2025 - 12:30-3:30 PM - Rosie O’Grady’s - 148 West 51st Street - ALL CLASSES WELCOME!!!
The food was chosen by acclimation and will be delicious. The private room holds forty, and 28 people have signed up and paid. Suggested Price - $125 pp. Wildcat Angel Price - $150. If you can’t pay that, pay less, or pay nothing. Pay via Zelle to ARTENGORON@GMAIL.COM or mail check made out to Arthur Engoron to 117 Plandome Road, Manhasset, New York 11030.
Mystery/Romance Novel by Ken Martin (1960)
Ken Writes - The book takes place in New York City and the Adirondacks. Should you care to read it, you can order it online. I suggest using Amazon. Your choices include an eBook, which you download to your tablet or computer. It is the least expensive of the options and costs $3.99. The paperback is $19.99. Probably the easiest way is to use Amazon, although the book is on over 40 other platforms, including Walmart and Barnes and Noble. If you use Amazon, here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+bard+beyond+a+reasonable+doubt+love+story&crid=30AEVTQXX2G4A&sprefix=%2Caps%2C322&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent
BTW-I did not set the prices. Amazon did, and it is the lowest they go for a novel of its length.
You can also use the title if the above link does not work or if you prefer to use platforms other than Amazon. It is entitled: THE BARD (BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT) LOVE STORY
All profits made from sale of the book initially will be donated to charity - 50% to St Jude’s Hospital for Children and 50% to the Salvation Army. Should you read the book and enjoy it, please pass the information on to friends and family - it is my way of networking. And if you feel up to it, kindly write a short review and send to Amazon.
Thank you.
Ken
Class of 1967 60th-Year Reunion
Dear Classmates, With 2026 just a few months away, our very own Barbara Smith Stanisic thinks we should start planning for a 60th-year reunion. OK, let’s start, beginning with asking for volunteers to help plan and execute. Let’s get the ball rolling. Art
Graduates
1958 - Ed Brown - “Greetings Fellow Wildcats, As I read all the Alumni Association Newsletters, I feel a bit ‘guilty’ for not having contributed to any of them, especially as I am one of the Class of 1958 – the first class, the class that chose the school colors, chose the mascot, established the traditions, and set the standards that made Wheatley what was, and still is, the Number One Public High School in the Nation!
These days, there are fewer and fewer of my classmates still around. And since we have spread out all around the country and, indeed, around the world, we don’t get to see each other very much these days. We had a 65th-year class reunion two years ago, which was naturally attended by many fewer graduates than the 60th, five years earlier. (Will we have a 70th? I truly hope so.)
As I read the Newsletters and see the bios of other Wildcats, I feel that I might enter my own story. So. at the risk of boring you all, let me tell you a bit about what this ‘ancient’ Wildcat has become today!
I don’t have to tell you how old I am, as that should be obvious from my Class Year. I am still ‘vertical and on the right side of the grass.’ I run, bike, and work out with a trainer seven days a week. And I see every kind of doctor regularly, just to make sure all the ‘parts’ are still ‘working.’ But after a very exciting fifty-five-year long career in our Defense Department, I am now retired and sort of BORED!!!
I am a ‘snowbird’ – six months a year in Massachusetts outside of Boston, and six months in Palm Beach, Florida. My three kids and seven grandkids are (blessedly) all doing very well – jobs, schools, activities, and, most importantly, health! I work on various ‘activities,’ belong to several social ‘clubs,’ and try to keep in touch with my various relatives and older friends. But I do feel badly about not being able to keep in touch with many of my Wheatley classmates.
I have great memories and feelings about our School, as I sit in my home office and look up at my Wheatley Diploma, which is framed up on the wall, or open up my copy of the first edition of the Aurora, our annual Wheatley Year Book. And on those rare occasions when I happen to be back up to New York, I will drive out to the Island and drive by my old home in Westwood and then drive over to Wheatley and actually get out and go in to walk the halls for a bit.
I feel very proud to be one of the ‘founding members’ of what became such an extraordinary institution. And so, I wish you and yours all the Best, and keep up the great work that is our heritage. GO WILDCATS!!”
Dr. Edward A. Brown, PhD
(or as I was known back then, ‘Little Eddy Brown’)
1966 (Richard Jalonack) - “I remembered a few more items about my (very pampered) upbringing in Old Westbury.
One Sunday morning, an Old Westbury policeman came to our door. Evidently, some of my illustrious ‘friends’ had tossed a book of mine out the school bus window. The policeman was returning the book, because it had my name and address on the cover. Now that's service with a smile.
On another note, when I first moved to Old Westbury, the mail was NOT delivered to your house; instead, you had to pick it up at the Old Westbury Post Office. The post office was a (very) old and small wooden building and general store operated by the Postmaster, who was Christine Tatem's (1966) dad. Some readers will remember her. Dad would have to drive to the post office if we wanted to get our mail. I don't remember when the mail was delivered to our house.”
1967 and 1972 - Art Engoron, Mitch Stephens, Beth Stephens, Phil Wild
Art Writes - On Saturday, September 13, 2025, in an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mitch Stephens and Esther Davidowitz, who have been together for 53 years and have recently returned from six weeks in Paris, celebrated her 75th birthday with a French-themed party.
L-R - Phil Wild (1972), King Louis XIV (a/k/a Mitch Stephens) (1967), Art Engoron (1967), Beth Stephens (1972)
Mitch and Art (disguised as a 21st-Century American and wearing his iconic Wheatley 60th-Year Anniversary Celebration T-Shirt)
L-R - Napoleon Bonaparte (a/k/a Seth Stephens, Mitch’s son) and Mitch (displaying more hair than usual).
1971 (Wayne L. Peiser) - “Art: How East Willisliston looked in the olden days is fascinating. I remember the old houses along East Williston Avenue leading up to the Long Island Rail Road Station, the dry cleaner, and the fire station. Just to the south was the East Williston Library.”
1972 - Howard Davidson Responds to Motorcycle Man Gregory Fitzpatrick (1970): “Hi Gregory, Great to see I’m not the only Wheatley alumnus that’s been bitten by the long-distance motorcycle travel bug. I’ve managed 300,000 miles over the last few years, including 49 states and Canada and a month-long trip to New Zealand last year. I’m off to Northern Thailand in October. I’ve ridden a few certified Iron Butt rides along the way. Your current trip sounds fantastic and makes me a little jealous. I’m in Connecticut and always happy to talk road stories.”
Movie Set - New Zealand
Key West
Northern West Coast
Utah
Howard’s first 100,000 mile award from BMW.
Art Engoron - Some years ago.
Fan Mail
1966 (Richard Jalonack) - “Art, as usual, the Wheatley Newsletter is superb.”
1966 (Claude Levy) - “Thanks for this issue, Art.”
1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - “Thank you Art. Great pictures.”
1975 (Michael Silber) - “I love the updates.”
1984 (Peter Saridakis) - “Great issue. I love the historical pictures of East Williston! Thank you, Kathryn Sterritte Brown!”
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.
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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 227 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 # 228. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
646-872-4833
Richard Jalonack- I remember going to the post office to get the mail. The LIE didn’t exist then. Also, I remember your kind words about my dad’s bakery from a while ago.
Thanks for the memories.