The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 198
Gatherings of Graduates and a Passing
Dear Wheatley Wildcats and other Interested Persons,
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 198.
Another Scam Warning
Be Careful! - Some entity is offering a “Wheatley School Alumni Professionals 2025 Mailing List.” This is not related to us, The Wheatley School Alumni Association. At best, the offer is probably almost worthless, and at worst, it could be harmful. “A word to the wise is sufficient.” If you want to contact a person or a group of persons, ask us.
San Francisco Bay Area Gathering
Larry Rosenthal (1965) Writes - “Art, I am pleased to announce that The Fourth Annual (?) Unofficial San Francisco Bay Area Wheatley Reunion Potluck—TFA(?)USFBAWRP-- will be held on Sunday May 4, 2025, noon - 4pm, in my Berkeley back yard. As before, fellow Berkeleyan Peter Siegel (’66) will be there, along with Barry Gordon (’65) from the South Bay. Interested Wildcats, please email me at
larros99@gmail.com. Out-of-towners welcome! Best, Larry”
Class of 1975 50th-Year Reuion
Mark Harvey (1975) Writes - “The Class of 1975 will be having its 50th-year reunion the weekend of October 10-12, 2025. We have school visits planned for Friday (Willets Road) and Saturday (Wheatley). The main event will be a buffet on Sunday from 1-5 at the Fox Hollow Inn, 7755 Jericho Turnpike., Woodbury, NY. The events are open to classmates and friends from other grades. For more information and where to send payment, email us at wheatleyclassof1975@gmail.com.”
Wheatley Alumni Performance
An Opportunity to Hear the Work of "Black Mahler" and Other Great Composers
On Friday, April 11, at 8 pm, Takemi Ueno '83 will play with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Space (Broadway & 95th St.). The program consists of Dvorak's Eighth Symphony, Ravel's Tzigane, and Coleridge-Taylor's Ballade for Orchestra. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor might not be as famous as Dvorak and Ravel, but in his day, he was known as “Black Mahler" (his father was African). You can get general admission tickets for $27 until 3 pm the day of the concert at https://nasorch.org/advance-ticket-sales/ If you are a student or senior, you can get tickets for $25 at the Symphony Space box office.
Faculty
Jacqueline Zahariadis - Jay Hack (1969) Writes - “In 1957, my North Side Elementary School first-grade teacher, Mrs. Zahariadis, said something that I remember to this day. 68 years later!! In explaining ‘innocent until proven guilty,” she said that the greatness of the United States is that we are strong enough to allow 100 guilty people to go free in order to make sure that one innocent person does not go to jail.”
Edward Ouchi Revisited
Gene A. Grindlinger (1964) Writes - “My recollection of Edward Ouchi is much the same as my classmate John Corwin's (1964). What I remember explicitly was the phoneme homework he assigned. I don't remember which sound I had chosen, but I sure had fun finding its numerous spelling variations. Back then, English grammar was not my favorite subject…..and it never became my favorite subject. But, to this day, I remember that exercise most favorably.
Just to put a little perspective on the matter, While Mr. Ouchi was teaching us phonemes, My Fair Lady was still running on Broadway. In the musical play, Professor Higgins was teaching Eliza the ‘grandeur of the English Language,’ because, ‘the noblest thoughts that ever flowed through the hearts of man are contained in its extraordinary musical mixture of sounds.’
You can't learn to read, write or speak properly without understanding phonemes. I thank Mr. Ouchi for that.”
Graduates
1963 - Roy Nierenberg - Memorial Service
Dear All,
At the request of several of you, a recording of Roy Nierenberg’s Memorial Service is now available on YouTube. Photos from Roy’s life loop as the rabbi begins to sing. At first, the sound is weak—the rabbi is far from the mic—and then it’s sometimes spotty in the first remarks by Ed and Diane Bernbaum, Roy’s long-time, dear friends, giving the arc of Roy’s life; a transcript of Ed and Diane’s talk is provided.
After that, the sound gets better. But it remains a little one-dimensional when members of the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra stand in their places among the audience to sing Go Down Moses. You can watch a 14-second video clip of the choral performance for slightly better sound and a view of those gathered in the chapel.
Following the the choral performance, family members speak, and Roy’s son Zeke shares an AI-enhanced digital artwork he created from a recording of Roy, which you can see at the above link using the password: gaston (all lower case).
Below are photos of the program for the Memorial, and below that are links to all the speakers’ prepared notes, in sequence, to supplement the message.
With love to you all,
Mimi
Links to all remarks, videos and websites:
Berkeley Community Chorus (full 3 minute video)
Those who wish to honor Roy with a donation may contribute in his name to any one of his many passionate interests—
Cure Huntington’s Disease Initiative
The Huntington’s Disease Society of America:
The Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra:
The Berkeley–Sakai Association
Gene Grindlinger - 1964 - “When my family first moved to Roslyn Heights (2nd grade for me), we had a German Shepherd puppy named ‘Fuzzy.’ The demon dog proceeded to chew his way through our living room furniture. Mom demanded that we get rid of the dog or she was leaving. After some deliberation and debate on that issue, and a few phone calls, Country Club neighbors graciously agreed to adopt Fuzzy.”
1967 and 1975 - Merrill Stanton and Wendy Zacharkow Herbel
L-R - Wendy Zacharkow Herbel (1975) and Merrill Stanton (1967) - Dana Point Harbor, CA - 2025
Wendy and Fonzie
1967 and 1989 - Art Engoron and Alexander Tisch
R-L - Alexander Tisch (1989), Art Engoron (1967), Art’s 1979 NYU Law School Classmate - New York City - April 1, 2015
1969 - Gerry Gersh - “Hey Art. The last two Newsletters mentioned Friends World College. I went there for a couple of years before graduating from Goddard College. As a Friends student, I went to Mexico with a friend from Herricks High School who turned down an Ivy League College to go to Friends. Charlie was an All-State Lacrosse Goalie. I studied progressive education in the mode of John Holt (‘How Children Fail’), Paul Goodman, and the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire.
Paulo believed that if you taught people to read words that they used in their every day lives, they would be more motivated to read. His method with the Brazilian farmers was so effective that they ended up being able to read their land contracts with the government and rebelled because they saw how much they were being cheated. As a result, the Brazilian government threw Paulo out of Brazil.
Anyway, highlights? In Mexico, a scorpion stung me. In East Africa, I contracted Malaria and spent a year and a half learning the purest form of Swahili in a remote coastal town called ‘Lamu.’ I also went looking for gorillas, hiking with my guide in the jungle for five hours. We knew that we got close, because we saw freshly broken stalks that gorillas like to eat. However, my guide spotted leopard tracks, so we had to head back. After a long bus ride back to Kampala, Uganda, when I got off the bus, soldiers were running everywhere, as General Idi Amin had just ordered a coup against President Obote (who was brilliant enough to translate Shakespeare into Swahili).
Friends World College kicked me out because the rule was that you had to go to a different country every six months, learn the language, and write up a study. I had just become fluent in Swahili, so it made no sense to me to move on. It was the biggest risk and act of independence of my life.
I ended up writing a thesis on how both Africa and India faced the same identity crisis. There are so many languages/dialects in both, Africa and India faced the same dilemma: Do we mandate teaching English to keep up with the West, or do we keep our multiple languages to shore up our identities? I watched this struggle play out in Lamu. Every week, the poor fishermen boys would play a soccer game against the English speaking boys who had colorful uniforms. The usually somber African/Arabic elders would quietly come to watch. But as soon as the game started they would go crazy cheering for their side. They knew what was at stake. Friends World College liked the thesis and ended up giving me credit.
One final ‘goodie’. I visited the legendary Jane Goodall’s house (she was away on safari) in Kenya and had to go to the bathroom. On my way back to her living room, a young lion, but almost fully grown, started gnawing on my boots. I was terrified for my life, until one of the lion’s helpers laughingly pulled her away.
India’s poverty was brutal……but seeing the white marble Taj Mahal was breathtaking. The Shah built it for his wife in 1632 AD, only for her to die during childbirth. What MANY don’t know is that when you enter its main hallway, two tombs are there. But it’s asymmetrical! Antithetical to the perfect structure, the 20,000 slaves who built it had their hands cut off so that no duplicate structure could be built. The Shah put his wife’s tomb in the center of the room. But his son, a devout Muslim, followed the Quran, which forbids any kind of ostentation at the time of death, so he put his father to the side of his wife.
EXPERIENCING GOD in Nepal. A jet averages flying at 30,000 feet. Mt. Everest and its peaks are 29,000 and change. The tallest mountains in Europe are only the size of the foothills of the Himalayas. So from Kathmandu, I took a small plane to get closer to Pokhara, Nepal. I recall walking out of my hut early in the morning. All clouds, but suddenly they parted. I recall feeling nauseous, overwhelmed. I saw imposing white mountain where logic said only space and sky should be. It was the first of only a handful of God moments in my life.
In India, I contracted hepatitis. I finished in Nepal to come home for the wedding of my sister Gretchen Gersh (1966). In all, I was gone 2 1/2 years.”
Pokhara, Nepal
1979 - Ethel “Edyie” Yarwood - Deceased
Fan Mail
1965 (Jeffrey Orling) - “I love these Newsletters. Thanks.”
1967 (Scott Frishman) - “Art, I always look forward to the Newsletter. I loved the photo of Phil Celella, Dom Foresto, Bob Rico, and Bobby Scandurra. They were all easy to recognize.”
1967 (Merrill Stanton) - “Thank you so much for keeping us all informed, Art ❤️. It’s these longtime connections far & wide that bring special meaning to my life and remind me that time can’t truly be measured when it comes to the heart. The Newsletters are wonderful!”
1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “Hi Art, The Newsletters always include a name or a photo of someone that reminds me of the days when we were young.”
1973 (Edward Ryder) - “Nicely done, on an early Sunday morning!”
1974 (Bob Berta) - “Hi Art and Keith, You are The Dynamic Duo that ALWAYS brings us exceptional Newsletters with the help of the alumni. Always a pleasure to read the Newsletter treasure. Keep up the good work /s/ Bob”
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 197 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 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 # 198. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
646-872-4833
Thank you again for another wonderful issue. So much fun to visit the past with many of my classmates
Roy was the first or second Nierenberg I met when I was moving on through age 4. I had seen him earlier but was now confused when I met him later that day.
I asked who he was and he mentioned confidently he was Roy Nierenberg.
I quickly rejoined and said he couldn't be because Roy doesn't have a cast on his arm.
Roy replied, "I broke my arm this morning," beginning a long spell for me convinced that Nierenbergs until further notice would be the arbiters of what was real and what was not.
Roger Morris, neighbor growing up in Roslyn Heights.