Hicksville High School Hicksville, New York
| The Editors: | |
|---|---|
| Buffalo Bob Casale '61 | Linda (Piccerelli) Hayden '60 |
| Pat (Koziuk) Driscoll '56 | Bob (Gleason) Wesley '61 |
To contact the editors, email
May Birthdays
- 13: Ginny Mohr Trombetta, 1957, L.I.
- 28: "Clem" Baldwin Moors, 1961, FL
- Belated birthday wishes to Ronnie Gardner Izzo, 1959, April 2nd and Steve Weinblatt, 1962 (NY), April 26th.
News and Notes
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Hi
Just to let you know; my "FAITH" episode of LAW & ORDER Criminal Intent is supposed to be on air April 28th a Sunday eve. But they say that can change.
I apologize in advance if that is the case. I play a lawyer in 2 scenes; "Jacobs"SAL MISTRETTA, Class of 1962
(Editor's Note: Sal won the Helen Hayes Award for his role in THE FIX. See photos of him in the role (with crutches) at:
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David Teitel (1968) has been singing tenor with THE GLASS MENAGERIE, a chorus under the direction of Susan Glass, for almost 16 years. It is all-volunteer and the members pay dues for the privilege of singing with the chorus.
The chorus began about 18 years ago. It was started in the Little Red School House where Ms Glass was the music teacher. It was formed at the urging of parents and faculty as a creative outlet for the adults. The first few performances were in someone's living room with a potluck afterwards. Through the years, the chorus has grown to fifty voices strong. They have gone from singing simple rounds to tackling some of the most difficult music written. They perform one concert near Christmas and one in the spring.
Their Spring Concert is Friday, May 10th at the Grace Church, located at Broadway and East 10th Street in Manhattan. The program will be, as usual, eclectic, ranging from Mozart and Schubert to Spirituals and African Chants. The significant piece they will be performing this spring is the Mass in G by Franz Schubert. Starting time is 7:30 or 8:00 pm. Get there early as there is no reserved seating and the house is usually full. A donation of $15.00 is suggested at the door.
David looks forward to seeing many of his old friends.
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Debbie Coppola (1977) sends the following clarification to the trivia list we printed last month:
Just to set the record straight in case the following fact led others to believe that Carole Lombard actually died in the war as a result of that war....
From http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Lombard%2C+Carole...
RE: 41. Clark Gable's wife, Carole Lombard, was the first American woman killed in World War II.
She was returning from a War bond drive in her home state of Indiana, when her plane crashed outside of Las Vegas in 1942, killing her and her mother and 20 other passengers.
Tragedy struck on a war bond tour that Carole and her mother were on. The plane they were traveling in (TWA Flight #3) crashed. Her last words, in her home state of Indiana, to all the people were just before boarding the plane, "Before I say goodbye to you all - come on - join me in a big cheer- V for victory!" All 22 passengers died in the crash.
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If at all possible maybe you can add the following to next Newsletter. From Bill Canham and Bob Rogers; We want to say hello to our Class of 1961 "Click" Art Clemenz, Pat Hiscock, Judy Yanoff, Phil Leonhard, Jack Hansen, Maureen Thogode, Buddy Bowles, Arnie Klingenberger, Dave Goldstein, Pat Kocher, Carol Schnieder, Peggy Giles, Eillen Frawley, Larry Obracanik, to name a few.
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Hi,
I have been very busy and might have missed a letter or two. Have you listed the names of those HHS graduates that we know were either affected or killed during the 9-1-1 attacks on America? If so, would you be able to resend it to me? Two of my friends were killed...Terry Farrell, Rescue 4-FDNY; Ex-Fire Chief of the HFD and George Howard- PANY; Ex-Captain of HFD Company 5. I don't know what year they graduated. I'm sure there were more.
Thanks for your work on this letter.
Carl Chris Calma, Class of '76
Coral Springs, FL(From the Editor: We have never printed such a list)
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There was a message on the boards at classmates.com from Dina Wallick, class of 1992, which identifies her mother Jo Ann Esposito Wallick as one of the "bad" girls in the movie LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL. She is still looking for a copy of the video.
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My name is Jenni Perduto, my husband Mike graduated from HHS in 1966. We have been married for 24 years; we have a son Michael who is 17, and a daughter Christina 13. Mike recently retired from the Broward (Ft. Lauderdale) County Schools after 30 years of service. He went to school in Ft. Lauderdale after high school, and stayed. We moved our family up to Brevard County to escape the hustle and bustle. He has been working for the past few months at a Charter school, as well as enjoying retirement.
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Anton Mure, class of 1968 sends the following announcement:
HAPPY HOUR/SINGLETON'S ON THE GREEN/MAY 10TH!!!
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!! TIME TO PARTY AND DANCE OUT DOORS TO THE SOUNDS OF HICKSVILLE'S ONLY BAND-"MID-LIFE CRISIS"!!!!! SHOW STARTS AROUND 6:00 AND GOES ON AND ON! BEAUTIFUL 30'X 90'PATIO (COVERED) RIGHT ON THE GOLF COURSE!! MAY 1OTHDON'T MISS IT!! RTE 135 S.TO JERICHO TPKE EAST APP 3 LIGHTS ON THE LEFT--GOLF COURSE/ SINGLETON'S!
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Bonnie Brigandi (1974) has recently moved to Port Richey, FL and would like to find some of the old crowd. She mentioned that she used to live on Cedar St. in Hicksville with her two brothers, Louie and Keith. Her father, Louie, still has a plumbing and heating business in Hicksville; Alpine Plumbing and Heating. You can reach Bonnie at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Spotlight: Carolyn Wood, Part 2, by Bob Casale
The step up from Junior High to High School was Carolyn's first exposure to collective bargaining.
"Instead of being allowed to continue in the public school system, Mom and Dad coerced me into attending Queen of the Rosary Academy (QRA) in Amityville," she said. Parents want the best for their children, and hers were exceptionally watchful. To avoid the pitfalls of public school, it was suggested that she go to private school.
"I had taken and passed the acceptance test at QRA," Carolyn remarked, "so went there with the understanding that I would be allowed to move to the public school system after tenth grade." All the students there wore uniforms and she said with a crooked smile that she looked cute in hers. The kids, too, were typical teenagers and did the same things kids everywhere did.
"I don't suggest that it was a mistake being a student there...I only suggest that my heart was with my friends, in my community, who were relegated to being part time companions," she chided.
While in the eighth and ninth grades at QRA, Carolyn increased her dance schedule of her own volition and relished the fact that her father had the insight to create a dance studio in the house for her. It was like destiny. She was concentrating on tap and enjoying the diversion. Her routine was quite good and actually earned a second place in the Diocesan High School Talent Show where she represented QRA.
In September of 1961, she enrolled as a junior at Hicksville High. Her days at Queen of the Rosary were behind her and she was, finally, a happy camper. In theory, Carolyn should have grown accustomed to her surroundings and developed a liking for QRA and would want to stay. The theory was only that...a theory. When the time was drawing near for her transfer to Hicksville High, a roar went up in one neighborhood that registered a response on the Richter scale. She was finally liberated.
Carolyn's dance career was progressing nicely. Her interest in theater at Hicksville High was an obvious outreach of her dance. However, because of other obligations, she would become a part time actor. The change of schools gave her additional time during the day to do more. The trip to Amityville was long because the school bus made rounds of Hicksville and surrounding communities every morning and afternoon. Instead of using the time participating in a talent show or class play at the high school, the newly discovered free time was devoted to teaching tap and ballet in her home studio. She did find time to join a chorus line that played weekends at various supper clubs on Long Island.
"My heart was aching to be more involved at school," Carolyn said. "Commitment to my future took precedence," she added.
Continued hard work and dedication to goals would not guarantee a successful future but would carve a path that gave her an advantage. Those first several months in a new place provided a special feeling that she had never experienced before.
"I met Tom Sullivan for the first time and wanted to be near him on a regular basis," Carolyn suggested. "Initially, there was no way to classify the feeling except to say that a few of my habits changed and life took on a new perspective." The pangs of love were unfolding.
Tom was in band, theater productions and had his own rock group. His first band was called the Imperials, and later on, when he and friend Bill Jordan, whose group was the Bill Jordan Trio, joined forces, they formed the Night Riders band. This happened during Tom's senior year at HHS and their start in music found them playing at numerous school functions, church dances and in local taverns. The Night Riders consisted of Tommy Sullivan, John York Foley, Bill Jordan and Jimmy Walker.
"My focus was on dance," Carolyn recalls, "but I loved to follow them around."
Carolyn's expertise and growing reputation resulted in an increase in the number of dance students in her classes. The best advertisement comes from parents who see their children changing before their very eyes and put out the word. The word spread rapidly. The end result of the teacher, student relationship was two recitals that were held during her junior and senior years.
"I felt really good about myself," she recalls, "and things were going right and in my direction. I decided to enter the Miss High School of New York Pageant at Freedomland during my junior year."
The committee of judges was responsible for selecting both a beauty queen and a talent queen.
"My tap performance won the talent portion of the Pageant," Carolyn remembers. "That had more significance than the beauty portion of the contest because the honor of winning only justified the hours I danced and danced and danced in my studio."
"I remember, too," Carolyn said, "racing home to get dressed for the Junior Prom that was being held the very same day!"
The win at Freedomland qualified Carolyn for a national competition that was held in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Carolyn and Mom traveled to the event, and, although no prizes were won, the experience would prepare her for something special that would create a dramatic career change in the future.
The two years spent at Hicksville High passed fast for Carolyn. Her work schedule occupied a great deal of time. She was doing schoolwork and following the band, too, when she wasn't dancing, "but I mostly remember the dancing. It was my life," she said.
Then high school was over and the real world presented a challenge to Carolyn. She was well prepared to enter this new phase in her life. The discipline of years past set the table for her and now it was time to get some dessert.
"I know there was a lot more learning in my future but with the ground work done, it was a matter of just getting better through exposure to a wider horizon," she said.
Carolyn registered to attend St. Johns University for the 1963-1964 school year. She finished out the year there, and then opted to take a job at Grumman Aircraft shortly after the school year was completed.
"I worked at Grumman until 1966, still dancing and feeling special about my abilities, to the point that I thought seriously about going for a tryout with the Radio City Rockettes in early 1966."
Carolyn said, "during the time I was going to school and working at Grumman, I was seeing Tommy Sullivan casually, working in the studio teaching dance and performing on weekends with the chorus line."
"Our exposure in Vietnam increased during the middle sixties and Tom enlisted in the army. We wrote to each other on a regular basis while he was in boot camp and with each letter, there was a definite upswing in our relationship," she confided.
His musical background qualified him for special duty so, after boot camp, he was assigned to the military band on post at West Point.
Suddenly, the relationship with Tommy became serious to the point that he proposed to Carolyn. They planned an August wedding.
Tom's position as musician at West Point meant that he would be part of special details that had music associated with the event. The band played for parades, reveille, taps and at funerals when burial in the cemetery at West Point was requested.
"Tom was enjoying himself," Carolyn said, "while creating a scheme in his mind."
Both Bill Jordan (bass player) and Jimmy Walker (drummer) were being drafted into the army. Tom, always the salesman, joked with the commanding officer about creating a "rock band" to play at the service club, the officer's club and at cadet hops.
There was a dance band on post that was just that...a dance band. Great music...but not the kind that kids in this new era really danced to. Tom explained vehemently about the Night Riders, his band, and the success they had playing clubs on Long Island. He explained, too, that two of his band members were being drafted and if they were allowed to get together again, they could establish a rock band that would provide an additional environment for the cadets to use for relaxation in their off hours.
To make a long story short, Tommy Sullivan is credited with establishing the first "rock band" in the history of West Point and for changing the lives of two friends, Bill and Jimmy, who joined him as new residents at the point. Carolyn and Tommy were married on August 13, 1966...
More to Follow...
From the Editor
To All Hicksville High School Alumni
The editors of the Hicksville High School newsletter have been creating albums and adding photographs to the classmates.com website. If you've never visited classmates, click on the below to bring you to that location...http://www.classmates.com/user/index.tf
This should bring you to an entry page for Hicksville High School...on the left where it says Hicksville, click on that... then when the screen changes, scroll down a little and click on School Photo Albums...there are albums there that were created by Hicksville alumni. Simply click on the main picture of any of the 13 albums that are shown presently. This is a time consuming process and is done out of love...for our school that ranks as number one in the nation...for friends we cherish dearly...to review memories that last a lifetime.
Please give us some feedback...is this a good thing.... are there suggestions.... is there something additional we should add...is the presentation okay...pictures too big...too small.... bad hair day (leave it off)...that's my good side (leave it on)...I like it.... I don't. Also, there is a comments section beloweach picture. Comment there if you'd care to.
Additionally, if you cannot add a picture that you would like to see in one of the albums, send the photo to Bob Casale, 195 Lauman Lane, Hicksville, NY 11801-6522. Bob will scan the picture and add it to an album or he will create a new one. We are limited in what we can do only because we lack material. If you have a yearbook that you can loan to Bob, he will add pictures as the demand increases.
Thanks
The Editors
In Memoriam
John Koziuk, born on 10th Street in Hicksville, lifetime resident of Long Island, decorated Korean War veteran, died Monday April 8, 2002 in his 72nd year, buried in Calverton National Cemetery. We'll miss you big brother, cousin and uncle.
Tanya, Pat, Cookie, Frank and Harry Al
Reunions
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CLASS OF 1957
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2002 at ISLANDIA MARRIOTT. Cocktails at 7:00 and dinner to follow. $65 per person. Contact Phil Fulco
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CLASS OF 1962
Work in progress. Contact Karen Hubner Jenkins
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
Florida Multi-Year Reunion; Oct 12, 2002 contact Pat Koziuk Driscoll
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Kathy "Cookie" Koziuk Hannaman atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Trivia
- On Mother's Day, Americans spend an average of $329 million on candy and $75 million on phone calls.
- Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
- Those San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
- "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language
- The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
- The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
- The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
- No NFL team, which plays its home games in a domed stadium, has ever won a Super Bowl.
- The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.
- The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400.
Pat Koziuk Driscoll, 1956, FL
Linda Piccerelli Hayden, 1960, NJ
Bob Casale, 1961, HX and PA
