The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 204
Wheatley's Mock Trial Win; California Reunion; Triplets; Fencing; a Passing; a Horse; and more.
Dear Wheatley Wildcats and other Interested Persons,
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 204.
Wheatley’s Mock Trial Tournament Win
As noted in Newsletter # 201, after several months of competition against 46 other teams in the Nassau County High School Mock Trial Tournament, sponsored by The Nassau County Bar Association, The Wheatley School came in 1st Place, and W.T. Clarke High School (which opened in 1957, one year after Wheatley) came in 2nd Place. An Awards Dinner was held on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Association Headquarters in Mineola.
The W.T. Clarke Team - On the right is the coach, Tom, who has been coaching the team for 25 years!
The Wheatley Team and the Trophy, which the teams two advisors are holding.
Team Member Sunidhi Ajmera (2027) and proud alumni Art Engoron (1967)
L-R - Club Advisor Justin Portente, Attorney Advisor David Schwartz, and Art Engoron (1967)
2025 San Francisco Bay Area Gathering
Larry Rosenthal (1965). Writes - “Art, Good food and high spirits abounded at The Fourth Annual(?) Unofficial San Francisco Bay Area Wheatley Reunion Potluck. Barry Gordon (1965) once again wore his Wheatley sweatshirt. Mark Luria (1961) shared his encyclopedic knowledge of the whereabouts and current doings of early Wildcats and regaled us with tales of Wheatley past, as did Susan Stone (1968), Liz Mazlish (1976), Lizzy Lynn (1964), Steve (Rosenthal) Roselaren (1967), the father and son team of Bryan (2001) and Joel Harris (1972), and yours truly (1965). Adding to the merriment were Aldeen Gordon (wife of Barry), Heather Roselaren (wife of Steve), and Peggy Datz (my very own sweetie). For the first time, we were without the late Roy Nierenberg, whom we remembered fondly. Several folks sent regrets, vowing to attend next year, and I’ve vowed in return to announce the date earlier than in the past. Best, Larry
L-R - Bryan Harris (2001) (partial), Aldeen Gordon, Barry Gordon (1965), Liz Mazlish (1976), Susan Stone (1968), Joel Harris (1972), Mark Luria (1961)
L-R - Steve (Rosenthal) Roselaren (1967) and Peter Siegel (1966)
From bottom to top, L-R
Larry Rosenthal (1965)
Heather Roselaren, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Lynn (1964)
Steve (Rosenthal) Roselaren (1967), Liz Mazlish (1976)
Mark Luria (1961), Peter Siegel (1966), Barry Gordon (1965)
Bryan and Joel Harris (1972)
Triplets at Wheatley
According to my records, which this time may be suspect, four sets of triplets have graduated from Wheatley: the Rapoport kids in 1998; the Lee kids in 2001; the Barroca kids in 2016; and the Mattioli kids, also in 2016. The information I receive from Wheatley does not include this designation, so I am basing this observation on the similarity of last names and (in three of the instances) the similarity of addresses. I would appreciate any confirmation or refutation of this claim. According to Google’s AI, “Approximately 0.07% of live births in the United States are triplets, which translates to about 73.8 per 100,000 births. This means that for every 100,000 births, roughly 73 to 74 are of triplets.”
Graduates
1961 - Peter Calderon - Art, The photo of Shep Messing (1967) in Newsletter # 203 is a beauty. His older brother, Marc Messing (1965), took over The NY Times deliveries from me when I graduated in June 1961. I had been the Times paperboy for 3 years, selling the paper to students for 3 cents a day. I delivered the NY Times to the subscribers home rooms every morning in 1958-59. The last 2 years, the Times was delivered for me by Messing and George Glaser (1965). This job earned me lunch money of $18-$20/ week, as the Times billed me $.015 for each paper. As the Times high school representatives, we were treated to a personal tour of the Times building in midtown in September of the school year, with presentations by James Reston, Max Frankel and other Times’s Op-ed writers of the 1950s and 60s.
The photos below are from the victory stand at the Spanish Veterans National Championship in Valencia, Spain, in June 2024, where I won both epee and saber in the 70+ championships at the age of 80. I will be in San Sebastián on June 14 of this year to defend my titles.
In May 1961, on the stage of the Wheatley Auditorium, Principal Norman Boyan awarded fencing medals to Carol Abby Benjamin (1963) and Peter Calderon (1961).
Peter Writes - “The real star of Wheatley Fencing is Carol Abby Benjamin (1963), who built on her early victory in the 1961 LI girls championship to fence for the US Olympic team (I assume it must be the 1968 Olympics) (but see below). Carol is undoubtedly Wheatley’s most gifted female athlete.
The French fencer Marie Chantal Demaille has been my fencing partner (and trainer) these past 20 years, in the south of France, where I live most of the year (Nimes to be specific). My only real claim to fame is being part of the Princeton Fencing Team that won the 1964 NCAA Championship -- a big upset over NYU, Columbia and Notre Dame. Being the best over 70 fencer in Spain is not a big deal, even as the oldest competitor. I get to participate because I've been a Spanish national since 2022, thanks to the Spanish government clearing its conscience by offering citizenship to descendants of Spanish Jews thrown out during the Inquisition.
I have persisted with fencing and was the 70+ member of the US saber team at the Veterans World Championships in Limoges, France, in 2015 that won the team championship. I recall how I was seduced to join a new Wheatley fencing team in November 1960 by our coaches, Messrs. Stein and Amster, who told me, "Peter, fencing is not like the other sports -- football, baseball, and wrestling -- you can still do it in your 30s."
Whatever success I have in San Sebastian, Spain, on June 14 to defend my titles, I gladly attribute to the young men and women on the fantastic Princeton fencing team, with whom I train during the 5 months that I live in The States. Three of them fenced at the Paris Olympics. Our senior foil fencer, Maya Weinstein, won the gold medal for the women's team, coming from behind to beat Italy in the final.
1963 - Carol Abby Benjamin Writes - “Peter: Congratulations on all of your fencing achievements over the years. They are very impressive. My husband and I are well, and we continue to stay active. In the 1990s, I took up running and competed in at least a couple of dozen marathons and half marathons. I won a gold medal in fencing at the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and I returned to the games 48 years later to compete in the master’s half marathon, where I won a silver medal in the age group competition.
I was never actually in the Olympics, but I was an official alternate for the 1968 games. I was also Intercollegiate Champion in 1966, part of the U.S. Team at the Under 20s World Championship in Belgium in 1963, and a member of the 1965 World Championships in Paris in 1965.
My husband and I also took up long distance bicycle touring. After a few cycle-across-Maryland tours, when he retired in 1999, we rode across the U.S. from Los Angeles to Boston, averaging more than 80 miles a day over seven weeks as part of an organized tour group. We have also ridden in Ireland, Nova Scotia, Italy, down the Florida Keys and along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Today, to stay active I continue to take ballet lessons and bike, and he and I walk our dog 2 to 3 miles a day.
1975 - David Abeshouse -Man about Town
L-R - Art Engoron (1967) and David Abeshouse (1975) at Giulio Cesare, Westbury, NY, May 7, 2025
L-R - David and Art, Inside
Friends
1981 - Adam Weinberg - Deceased
Dean Weinberg (1979) Writes - “I’m saddened to share that my brother, Adam Weinberg (1981), passed away April 8 of this year. Adam was a good man with a big heart, an amazing intellect, endless curiosity, and a great sense of humor. He was deeply committed to growth, stretching himself personally to learn and improve every day, and encouraging family and friends to reach beyond what they thought possible. Adam loved his family and friends genuinely and deeply. He instilled in his daughters a passion for life and an aspiration to live every day to its fullest. Adam was a nationally ranked tennis player as a junior, and he played on the tennis team at Wheatley and at Brown University. After graduating from Brown with a bachelor’s degree, he played competitive tennis in Europe & Israel before earning an MBA at Harvard University. He subsequently worked primarily in the financial industry for most of his career. Adam will be missed dearly by his family, including his wife Chris Leahy, daughters Annika & Samantha, and parents Michael & Edith.”
HORSE
Hildebrandt’s, Williston Park’s legendary ice cream parlor, was a sponsor of 2025 Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty.
Fan Mail
1963 (Carol Abby Benjamin) - “Thank you for all the hard work you do to maintain Wheatley Alumni communications.”
1964 (Wendy Wolf) - “Thanks, Artie, for keeping us informed about our classmates. These newsletters are great, and I appreciate all that you do.”
1965 (Arden Aibel Rothstein) - “Thanks for the amazing gift that you give to all of us, and for everything you do.”
1972 (Jeffrey Kargman) - “Art, I am amazed at the quality of what you provide to us so frequently. I know you are busy, and I truly appreciate the importance that you place on Wheatley. As someone just wrote, you don’t appreciate what you had until it’s gone, but you have kept it alive.
It is so great to hear about what past school mates are doing. It is amazing what we had and what Wheatley produced.
I tell friends about what you produce and how often you send the Newsletters.
Wheatley was special.
Regards,
Jeffrey Kargman MD
1972 (Gail Biggs Russo) - “My husband and I read all of the Newsletters, and we appreciate the effort you put into them.”
1979 (Dean Weinberg) - “Thank you for all you do to keep us informed.”
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 203 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 # 204. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
646-872-4833
Wonderful newsletter. Thank you.
Always great to hear about classmates. Everyone involved in the newsletters are just wonderful. I was wondering is there any way I can obtain a 1972 Yearbook. Through the years it was lost???
Sincerely, Susan French Congero class of 1972.