Newsletter for the Alumni and Friends of
Hicksville High School Hicksville, New York
The Editors:
Buffalo Bob Casale '61 Linda (Piccerelli) Hayden '60
Pat (Koziuk) Driscoll '56 Bob (Gleason) Wesley '61
Contributing Editors: Bob Gillette & Walter Schmidt
Webmaster: Roger Whitaker

To contact the editors, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Dear Friends,

By now, you should have received the change of address notice for the newsletter. That is, except for a few of you who do not check your mail and delete stuff on a regular basis. The reason for the new address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is that Netscape has changed again. I spent all morning sending out the special edition because Netscape no longer allows me to send something to 100 people.

After some experimenting, I found that I could send to 30 addresses. Since there were 369 (now 389) addresses on our distribution list, I had to send it out 13 times! That means 12 times I had to move the message (special edition) from the sent folder to the drafts folder. Then I removed all the addresses and the propaganda at the bottom that Netscape attaches. Then I waited for the address list to open before I could select the next 30 names and send it out again.

I really have enjoyed the last 2-½ years of working on the HICKSVILLE NEWSLETTER and thanks to a suggestion from Arline Barna (1956), I can now send out the newsletter with just one click. So please keep the news coming!

Sincerely,
Pat Koziuk Driscoll

Bob Casale has archived all the old newsletters. If you wish a copy of any issue, drop him a note at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feburary Birthdays

  • 1: Pat Thompson Dumas, 1975; Emmett Goodman, 1956 (FL)
  • 8: Diane Burke McGinn, 1960 (L.I.)
  • 9: Michael Perduto, 1966 (FL)
  • 11: Mike Soblick, 1974
  • 12: Ronnie Wells Brigandi, 1965
  • 14: Tom Manaskie, 1960 (HX)
  • 16: Denis Rossi, 1953
  • 24: Suzanne Garrett Cullen, 1956 (L.I.)
  • 25: Henry Lichtenstein, 1959 (NM)

Belated Birthday Wishes

  • Jack DeVaul, Jan. 10th, class of 1956

Trivia for Football Fans

1. Who is the only player to be with five Super Bowl winners?

  • Ken Norton
  • Preston Pearson
  • Marv Fleming
  • Charles Haley

2. Who has scored the most career points in the Super Bowl?

  • Jerry Rice
  • Emmitt Smith
  • Franco Harris
  • Roger Craig

3. Who had the most rushing attempts in a game at the Super Bowl?

  • John Riggins
  • Emmitt Smith
  • Franco Harris
  • Larry Csonka

4. Who rushed the most yards in a game at the Super Bowl?

  • John Riggins
  • Marcus Allen
  • Tim Smith
  • Franco Harris

5. Who attempted the most passes in a game at the Super Bowl?

  • Dan Marino
  • Stan Humphries
  • Neil O'Donnel
  • Jim Kelley

6. Who has thrown the most career touchdowns in the Super Bowl?

  • Steve Young
  • Joe Montana
  • Terry Bradshaw
  • Roger Staubach

7. How many punt returns have been returned for touchdowns in the Super Bowl?

  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

8. Which of the following teams did the Steelers not beat in the Super Bowl?

  • Vikings
  • Cowboys
  • Rams
  • Redskins

9. Which of the following teams did the Vikings not lose to in the Super Bowl?

  • Chiefs
  • Dolphins
  • Colts
  • Raiders

10. Which of the following teams did the Broncos not lose to in the Super Bowl?

  • Cowboys
  • Bears
  • Giants
  • Redskins

In Memory

RUSCH, RAYMOND L., Memorial service for Raymond, age 76, of Orlando, who passed away January 17, 2003, will be held at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Semoran/Curry Ford Rd.) at 11AM on Tuesday, January 21, 2003. Mr. Rusch, born April 5, 1926, is survived by his wife, Edna; son, Ray; sister, Joyce; 'daughter', Denise; and his three grandchildren, Rachel, Roxanne, and Shaun. May he Rest in Peace. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Luke's Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, 2021 West S.R. 426, Oviedo, FL 32765. Newcomer Family Funeral Home, 895 S. Goldenrod Rd., Orlando, FL 32822. (407) 277-4227. Published in the Orlando Sentinel on 1/20/2003.

Ray Rusch retired as principal of Hicksville High School in June 1981. He was a wonderful principal and a true gentleman.

Barbara Deutscher teacher HHS 1966-1995

Your Editors have forwarded the many messages of condolence received by the newsletter to Jean Goettelmann LaPointe (1959), Mr. Rusch's niece, to be shared with his family.

After receiving the sad news of the passing of Ray Rusch, I was reminded of another teacher's passing. We moved down to rural southern York County, PA, near the MD line (one hour north of Baltimore), 8-1/2 years ago. The last thing I ever expected to see in our local York Daily Record newspaper was the obit of a retired HHS teacher. It was about 4-1/2 years ago, I believe. I always read the obits (there isn't a whole lot to do around here - and - you know the story - if you don't see your name there, it's a good day). Anyway, I'm reading and a name jumps out at me - Joseph Loucks - who was a math teacher. I'm sure most of you remember him. He had passed away on L.I., and the funeral service was held at the Hicksville United Methodist Church, of which he was a member. He was being buried in his family's plot in the town of Red Lion, which is 10 miles north of Stewartstown, where we live. Apparently his family was from there. I never had him for a teacher because I took a commercial course in HHS, but did belong to the same church for several years while raising our family, and knew him to be a very gentle and kind man. His wife, Jet, survived him. I believe the obit said that he was in his 90's when he died.

Submitted by Carole (Kiever) Ohliger HHS class of '57

News, Notes and Memories

  • LAST MINUTE ANNOUNCEMENT: MID LIFE CRISIS will be appearing at Delaney's Pub on Saturday, February 1, 2003. Dance to your favorite classic rock from 9 pm until….
  • Sandra Olsen Trenka, 1955 sent a link to a great history of Hicksville. The editors do not have permission to reprint this article so we just share the link: http://users.rootsweb.com/~nynassau2/Hicksville.htm
  • I love hearing about Hicksville, my old stumping grounds. I live up in Connecticut now and have nieces and nephews who still live in Hicksville.... was down there summertime.... hasn't changed much.... thanks for the updates great to hear.

    Eileen Kessler Lee, class 1963

  • My wife (Sonya Teresko) and I are natives of Hicksville. She graduated HHS in 1938 and I in 1937. Her birth month is March, mine is October. We enjoy receiving your intermittent information on the old town and the HHS graduates, most by far, of whom we know nothing. Is there any news, or other information coming from classmates of our days? It would make interesting reading for us, and perhaps lead to some interchange via the net or otherwise. We have considered sending in some information about our time, but reading none about others of those times, makes us hesitant, believing there is little, if any, interest going back to the days of having to walk miles to and from school. You are doing a great service, Keep it up.

    Peace in the New Year,
    Fred Fluckiger

    (We love hearing about what Hicksville was like at all different times. Please tell us more about our hometown. To be honest Fred, there are not many people of your generation who are computer literate. Congratulations and please keep sharing. Is that your sister Muriel in the 1933 photo of the senior trip on classmates.com? The Editors)

  • Thank you very much for forwarding the intriguing http://www.mynassauproperty.com address. I graduated in 1964 and haven't seen the house I grew up in 30+ years until I viewed it on the website you provided. Amazing changes to the house and the neighboring homes. My parents bought the home on Beacon Lane in 1949 for $6,900 or so and although it hasn't gotten any bigger it now is valued at $200,000+. Houses on Blueberry lane which I viewed on the website now appear to be on steroids are valued in excess of $500,000!
  • By California standards (I live in San Mateo County which is 25 miles south of San Francisco) the Hicksville houses are still a bargain I guess. Thanks again for the information, which allowed me to take a step, back in time. Steve Schaiman, 1964 (Steve gave permission to give out his email address so that his old friends may contact him. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Hi guys, That was a great article on St. Ignatius. I really enjoyed it. I also loved the story about the "Bell Ringers". I wrote it up for my students at school and they loved it. I'm at the middle school, grades 6th-8th, and they thought that was great stuff. Keep up the good work and thank you for doing the News Letter for all of us.

    Dana Hayden Jackson 1962

  • G'day everyone! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2003! I am moving from Florida to California, Santa Cruz area in February! I will have the same email address, so I would love to continue to receive the newsletter if that's ok! Well, all the very best to everyone always!

    From, Patti (the girl from OZ!) [Patti Hickey Rees, 1975]

  • Jim Wise and Vicky (Penner) Whitaker have been trying to locate a classmate, Alan Lewis '58. If anybody out there knows anything about Alan, please let us know so we can get these old friends back in touch.
  • Hi Newsletter Staff:

    My name is Barbara DiBella Dowd and I wish to remain on the list for future newsletters.

    I graduated from Hicksville High in 1962 and attended our 40th class reunion in August '02. I lived on South Elm Street off Plainview Road and attended grammar school at St. Ignatius School.

    My high school years were some of the happiest years of my life. Our class was a cohesive and friendly group of people and I experienced a great atmosphere in the school and got a great business education as well.

    I moved away from Hicksville in 1963 with my family. My father had a job change and off to NJ we went. Shortly after moving here I met my husband and we married in 1965. We are still married - 37 years later!

    After living in several places in NJ, we have moved to Palm Coast, Florida, where we have been since August 2002. There is even a fellow living in Palm Coast that I knew slightly in HHS, though he was an upper classman, Rick DiFilipo - probably graduated in 1960. It is a very small world.

    It is great to read about Hicksville alumni in the newsletter. Keep up the good work!

    Barbara DiBella Dowd, 1962

  • I have memories of sneaking out of the gym and skipping class (I only did this once or twice, mind you!) and going over to Old Country Road and visiting the stores over there. It seemed to be easy to escape through the doors by the gym--no hall guards there. I felt so guilty but at the same time so "naughty" and carefree! My friend, Jeannette Migliore, would go with me and sometimes, my sister, Chriss. We would get something to eat and then come back and "sneak" back in. I'm sure many other of you Hicksville-ites have similar memories, am I right?

    Kathleen J. (Trant) Adamo, 1966

  • For those of you who remember singing at the Jones Institute, June Olsen Cullen, 1958, found an interesting article on http://antonnews.com/ about what is planned for the property on John Street. Click on the Hicksville Illustrated News icon and search for January 10th edition.
  • THE DANCE - FEBRUARY 1958

    My Husband and I are great ones for telling our children that we used to "walk to school in a snowstorm, both ways uphill.

    At the moment it is -6 below, snowing and there is a bear on our field that doesn't know he should be hibernating. Suddenly I remember The Dance.

    The Valentine Dance of 1958 at the High School was one I will never forget. Living on Division Avenue there were always kids from the Levitt Homes, Allied Homes and Glen Brook Homes to walk to the School with. So as people started to walk by the house I fell in with the Group and off we went to The Dance.

    Snow started to fall and none of us were concerned, as blizzards on LI were not the norm.

    About 35 or 40 of us showed up at the Gym and we had to remove our shoes because they were wet. We were surprised that not more students had attended but thought possibly the snow kept them away.

    Since we were a small group everyone danced with everyone else. I never Lindy'd so much in my life. At school we had our own cliques but at the dance there weren't enough in attendance that night, there were no cliques.

    Some of the names I remember are Renee Siegel, Alberta Montello, The Doino Brothers, Mike Fuchs, Barbara Galindo and Mike Campanella. I am sorry that I cannot remember everyone that was there. However, the camaraderie that night was fantastic.

    When The Dance was over and we walked out the door there was snow in drifts everywhere. None of us were really dressed for the mess we had to walk thru. We all stayed together and were giddy with the wonderful time we had and the lovely piles of snow that we had to trudge thru.

    When we reached my house my Mom said she could hear our laughter from down the street. I was soaking wet and freezing but didn't realize it until I got into my house. We had so much fun that we didn't realize we were wet and cold.

    After that evening, whenever any of us passed in the hall of the school, there was a great wave or hello. We all remembered the magic of The Dance. That night we were all equal and there were no cliques.

    Somehow I feel the Newsletter is like that evening. We are all from different groups and years in school but we are all bonded now by the fact that we went to Hicksville or lived in Hicksville and now we are all one.

    To everyone that receives this, I say heartfelt thanks for all your interest in The Newsletter and even tho we are all different, we are one.

    The experience with the readers has been as wonderful as The Dance.

    Happy Valentines Day To You All.
    Linda Piccerelli Hayden 1960

Reunions

  • A special note to the class of 1962... click below to link to class of 1962 Reunions booklet pictures that highlight your reunion held in August 2002 at the Imperial Manor in Bethpage http://group.classmates.com/user/photoalbum/album.tf?album_id=159602

    thanks....
    newsletter staff

  • Is there anyone out there from the Class of 1963 doing anything about a 40-year reunion? If so, your newsletter is happy to be of assistance.
  • Dear Hicksville Alumni from the Class of 1961

    If we wait to have a 45th reunion, that will put us into 2006. I think the time is ripe to have a reunion later this year, 2003, or early next year, 2004.

    Reasons are obvious. We do not get younger, and many of us realize the dilemma. I am going to start a mailing list for 1961 and ask that every one from the class participate in the compilation of this list.

    Naturally, we need a name, an address, a home phone number, a work phone number, and an alternate phone number and an email address...(after we get the list started we can add personal info).

    That's a great place to start. A good idea is to review your own list of who's who from 1961 and make sure that the information you have is current. If not, try to update to current. Send your list via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    I will compile an overall listing and make updates as we make changes. I want a complete listing of all the classmates...if you know of any one who has passed away; include that on your list. This will not be an easy task, however, with the Internet and various channels of search, it should be easier than it was in 1981, remember that one O'Shaughnessey???

    Plus, we ask the assistance of those classmates in surrounding years to help...and brothers and sisters of classmates...and whatever else anyone can add.

    Thanks...
    Bob Casale, class of '61


Pat Koziuk Driscoll, 1956,
FL Linda Piccerelli Hayden, 1960, NJ
Bob Casale, 1961, HX and PA

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