The Newsletter
To the Editors
I enjoyed the piece on the Farmer's Market. The photos brought back memories of a slightly grungy interior and the amazing displays of everything (as the article says) of clothing, storm windows, food, furniture and hardware. I was particularly struck by the reminder that families often wandered past the booths together, enjoying the sights and sounds and smells, and perhaps buying nothing more significant than a hot dog or an ice cream cone. Think of it; parents and kids and simple pleasures. No cell phones beeping, no hermetically sealed spaces with stale air and piped in music. I remember that people actually strolled along, chatting with hard working vendors. No frenetic shopping for designer clothes, no rowdy groups of teens, no foul language wafting across the aisles; just a sense of community.
It was in that market that I first encountered the Levitens, a husband and wife, offering custom made picture frames. Their work was superb; Gilda's choice of mats and frames celebrating treasured photos or art. Bill could build whatever Gilda conceived and the result was more than a purchase, it was a gift. After the fire I followed the Levitens to their new gallery on West John Street and brought my photographs there for over twenty years until their retirement. There are over a dozen photos in my home, lovingly framed by that warm and talented couple. Thanks once again for the memories.
Frank Scarangella, '55
I just finished reading the latest newsletter. Excellent job by all. Where did you guys get all the pictures of the Farmers Market? They're great! I searched online for anything on the Farmers Market and forwarded you what I found. Now I have to finish my article for the newsletter. I haven't gotten back to it in a while.
I forwarded the newsletter address to Bud and Joan Taylor. They are the parents of Karen (Taylor) Keegan, Ken Philcox's HS girlfriend that I still keep in touch with. We visited them when we were upstate NY. Bud was a fireman for Hicksville. I thought he might be interested in the pictures of Bernard Ofenloch's funeral. He may have even been there. I don't know if they, or Karen, are on the mailing list. Bud said he doesn't know most of the people who write in. I don't remember how long they lived in Hicksville.
Frank Koziuk, '67
(The pictures of the farmers market came from Richard Evers, historian, by way of Chris Andersen. Ed.)
Hey thanks you guys- you're doing a great job...I've been out in California for 28 yrs and its always good to catch images of "home" on your ("our") website.
My name is John Polli,'75 and I'm looking for Bobby Becker and Mitch Dubner, both from '72....Thanks
To the editors:
First and foremost: Congratulations on a job well done! Your hard work has created, for me, a very special "blast from the past". As a member of the Class of 1942 it is a great pleasure to catch up with people from the past especially those who attended HHS in the late '30's and early and even late '40's. Your most recent edition mentioned people like Pat Naso, Bea Eiseman, Pete Zieher, and Raymond Rusch, who are among the many I remember from those days of a while back.
Okay, let me reintroduce myself ( I have been in contact with this web site before). My name is Sam Levitt, brother of Gene Levitt ('44) and, I am sad to report, the late Milt Levitt ('49) who passed away almost a year ago. Many of you might remember us as the sons of Eva and Ben Levitt who ran a harness shop for horses, which later developed into auto upholstery shop in order to keep up with the times. Milt took over the business and kept it going until the late '80s after which he moved to the Baltimore area, where his wife, Suzanne, presently resides. Gene and I remained on Long Island, albeit the North Shore, where we still reside. Gene, who practiced law in the Huntington area, has a home in Centerport, in which he resides with his wife Shirley. I, formerly a secondary school Social Studies teacher in Great Neck, am still a resident there. My wife, Geraldine, I am sad to say, passed away almost six years ago.
I am writing this to make contact with classmates, friends, and acquaintances from the years spanning the late 30's through the late 40's. I would certainly like to hear from anyone who recognizes the names described above. As I stated before, your web site creates a very interesting and very informative "blast from the past". Once again, congratulations and very best wishes that you keep up the great work. All very best wishes, too, to all of you who recognize the names you see above.
Sincerely,
Sam Levitt '42
Your blast from the past ....
What Places Used To Be On Long Island
I didn't see:
- Hicksville Movie Theater on East Marie - now is a church
- Thrift City - Office Max
- Williams Dept Store - CVS
- Morton Village Theater - Office Building
- Jahns - Steak House
Thomas Carman, '74
Recently I learned that Frank's Alibi is now an Oriental restaurant. Now I wonder what ever happened to Jay Poggiali, class of '55, the owner's son.
Pat Koziuk Driscoll
I like your web site, it makes me feel young. Are there any kids my age visiting the site?
I just wanted to check up on my favorite groupie and lab partner in Mr. Ryan's class, Mark "The Leap" Liepert. And of course Howie Stryker, are you still living in the middle class? Don't worry guys; I finally grew up to be cool.
I live in Maryland and I am seriously interested in heading back to Lawn Gyland for a thirty year reunion for the Class of 1978. Is it happening?
Chris Melluso Class of 1978
Hi "Bobby" Casale,
Have been enjoying your newsletter pictures very much. My sister e-mailed me a photo of you in front of your house. We are the "Peter girls" who lived at 21 Edgewood Drive. I was friends with your sister, Patty. My name is Jackie Peter ('72). My two older sisters are Mikki Peter ('70) and Margo Peter ('68). We have two younger sisters, but I don't think you know them; they are a lot younger than we are - Amanda Peter ('83) and Jessica Peter ('85).
Would love to know how Patty, Diane and Eileen are doing and where they are living now. Anyone still in Hawaii?
Thanks again for the pictures of Hicksville, haven't been there in a while.
Jackie Mahler
Old friends reunited after 52 years April 5th 2008
This is a tale of two guys who were friends back in the mid 50`s, Ray Babinski and John Hattenback.
Both, class of 56 and in 1956, Ray Babinski went into the army. After the completion of his military term, Ray returned to Hicksville for a short time and then moved away and by doing so, lost touch with all the friends he had known from school, including John. All that was left were memories and photos and instead of trying to renew old friendships, both Ray and John went down their own paths in life trying to carve out their own nitch. Many years went by and through those years, Ray would look through his collection of photos that held so many memories in his life and he would often wonder what happened to not only John, but other friends that he had come to know in his young life. Finally realizing that he had to make some sort of effort to find John, for starters, Ray, using people search came up with three locations where John might be living and to make a long story short, located him living in Florida. This all happened in Nov. of '07. The first phone call lasted about three hours and they have talked back and forth either on the computer or phone almost every day since. So now the circle has started and they are looking for others from the past and have found, Eddie Kasten living in North Carolina and Bobby Dunn living in Georgia and the search goes on. As this article is being written, John has traveled to South Carolina to visit with Ray and become reacquainted after 52 years. Check out the then and now photos of Ray and John. Hope this little article will give some inspiration and hope to anyone who might want to find an old friend from the past. If you have someone who was a true friend and you both lost touch with each other, there is always the chance you can reconnect. This is the proof that it can happen. I know this as fact, it can happen.
Good Luck in your search
Ray Babinski
John Hattenback & Ray Babinski - then 
John Hattenback & Ray Babinski - recent 
Ed Kasten & Ray Babinski 04/2008. Reunited after 52 years(Ray and John are not in the 1956 yearbook. Ed.)
I just finished reading this month's edition and had to write to tell you just how much the articles about the American veterans moved me. They brought me to tears and I was not ashamed to cry them. I have been widowed twice, both Korean War vets and have a very deep appreciation for all the veterans of this country, no matter which conflict they served or are still serving, they made/make great sacrifices and need to be thanked and honored. I have been to Washington, D. C. and been to all the war memorials there. They are all inspiring in their own way, but the "Wall" is, I believe, the most emotional. Also they left off the last words of FDR where he referred to God on the WWII memorial. I'm not sure of the exact quote, but I know it didn't end the way they ended it there. Thank you all, again, for doing such a terrific job with the newsletter. Madeline (Bianco) De Louisa, '60
I recently came across your web site and was so surprised to see that my sister Annette D'Amato is having her 50th reunion. Since my class will have their 50th in two years, I thought I'd like to add my name to the list of alumni for the class of 1960.
Thank you for providing such an easy venue for keeping in touch.
Sincerely,
Mary D'Amato Fenton
Good Day,
If you know the whereabouts of Billy Tufts '65 please tell him that Al Frost & Bill Cashel would like to reconnect.
I am an Island Trees grad that spent many an evening at the Wayside Inn in Glen Head with Bill. Thanks for you help.
Bill Cashel
Hi,
A while ago (not too terribly long ago) you had a link on in your monthly newsletter for some pictures of Mid Island Mall (I think now Broadway Mall). These were older pics - and they were wonderful. I subscribe to your newsletter (and LOVE it) and was telling my younger brothers about this. I have gone back and can't seem to find the link. Could you tell me which newsletter it was in? I would like my brothers to sign up for the newsletter and they both would love to see these pictures.
Thanks so much, keep up the great work!! I graduated in 1979 and have yet to find anyone from my class, but I watch all the time!
Barbara Ruggles (nee Sprufera)
(There are some photos on classmates.com. We hope you can view them all. Classmates.com sometimes just lets you see 3 pix and then tells you to go gold! I think we did publish them but in one of the newsletters available only on disk from Bob Casale. His mailing address is on the archives page.)
What a wonderful find was this web site. Thanks to old friend, Steve Moddle. I'm Claudette Slavek Meier from the Great Class of '53! Like Ali, from the minds and hearts of this class we always felt like the greatest. Not necessarily as individuals or egotistically but as a group. What spirit we had. What fun we had. How fortunate we were to go through high school in Hicksville and in the '50's! Ray Rusch and Pat Naso were our hero's. Mabel Farley, Principal, our Rock of Gibraltar. She truly cared about all of us. What a leader and as a great leader our admiration often ran from fear to respect and sometimes back again! Five years ago this incredible Class of '53, drawn together by Patty Lenzner and Roberta Sipf, celebrated our 50th Class Reunion, in large numbers and the spirit was still there. Those were the days when potato fields still dotted the outskirts of town and backed up the houses on Murray Road. Students from Plainview and Levittown attended HHS. Believe it or not! That's when we still attended the "Old" High School. What a great place to grow up. We never thought of "growing up" into our 70's! But here we are and still keeping in touch. Thumbnail of my life thus far: Adelphi graduate before it became a U. Graduate degree NYU in Camping and Outdoor Education. Taught Jr/Sr High seven years; purchased children's summer camp in NH 42 years; sold and reinvested in various commercial properties. Now semi retired.
Fondly,
Claudette
Hi Everyone: Hope all are healthy and happy, especially the class of 1956. If you have time, catch me on the web at www.howcast.com in "How to Appear Younger Than You Really Are." It was a fun shoot and the webisode is hysterical!
http://www.howcast.com/videos/3020-How-To-Appear-Younger-Than-You-Really-Are
All best wishes to everyone,
Harri Molese, Class of 1956
Hello, I have been reading Hixnews and think it's great. It's good to catch up with a lot of people we knew and can somehow get back in touch with them.
My name is Linda ( Mastrosanti ) Aragoncillo, my husband is James I graduated in 1961, birthdate is May 10th, anniversary is May 25, we are living in New York.
I have connected with a lot of my friends from H.H.S. It's really a shame that too many years have gone by and we lost connect with friends.
You have done a great job, bringing back great memories of Hicksville. My husband and I have a lot of good memories growing up here.
Thank you.
Former Spanish teacher Libbie Kozma is still in Memorial Hospital S, 3600 Washington St., Hollywood FL 33021. Her daughter Margaret (Kozma) Ryan tells us that she has been moved out of critical care and awaits going to a nursing home.
Gloria HurleyDear Alumni:
We have a very active counter at Liberty Plumbing and Heating Supply in Hicksville. One of our major competitors doesn't supply replacement parts for faucets. We had two ladies come to the counter and they were asking for parts and they had samples of the parts they needed. Our competitor sent the people to us because, the competition said, "Liberty probably has the parts you need." So, after viewing the parts, we were able to satisfy their requirements. All the while, I'm staring at one of the ladies and finally said, "You look very familiar to me." She said, "what do you mean?" I said, "you look like someone I know. When did you graduate from high school?" She said, "1961!" "My question to her was what high school did you graduate from?" Her comment was, "Hicksville High School." So I went and got my yearbook (of course it's always handy) and I found this nice looking ladies' picture in the yearbook. I showed her the picture and her comment was something reminiscent of, "I was a lot younger then." "Well, let me tell you something, Gloria, you look great, and your yearbook picture and the way you look now are very close!!!"
I love to meet my friends from high school. Here's a picture of Gloria from years past...
Sal Barlotta was a Hicksville High School Graduate who was surrounded by friends who really enjoyed being part of his entourage. Sal had a well rounded personality and despite his size was a gentle man. A definitive statement about his size would end in huge or big. Sal loved body building and devoted hours of his time toning his muscles and making his body a shrine for others to enjoy. He could easily embarrass most of us who weren't as enthusiastic about our condition but would never berate anyone intentionally.
Sal worked hard and played hard. You wouldn't say he was fearless but Sal knew when he was operating beyond his normally secure surroundings. With one exception. When he had a dirt bike accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Sal was only 19 years old. If only he had been able to see down that road!!
Sal worked for many years as a draftsman, but there is a lot of empty space that needs to be filled in concerning his life from the time of his accident until his untimely death in 1996.
Sal had a sister, Lou Ann, who was very protective of her brother. Not much is known about her life with the exception of the joy of having a son, Kenneth. Lou Ann died from breast cancer in May of 1989.
The editors of the Hicksville Newsletter would like someone to fill in the gaps on the lives of these two individuals who were Hicksvillites to the end.
Below are some pictures.
Sal is on the right. Chris Andersen thinks the fellow on the left is Doug Berry. 
Sal is on the right. Chris Andersen thinks the fellow on the left is Doug Berry 
Sal after his accident
140 Gardiners AvenueMy name is Alice (Hertel) Florentine class of "58. My birthday is the 26th of September.
My husbands name is Dr. Gerard Florentine. Our anniversary is August 15, 1959.
We are living in Mechanicsburg, PA since 1974
I have a copy of the HHS 1963 yearbook that I would like to give away. I am not quite sure how I got it, due to the fact that I graduated in '64. If the editors or anyone else would like it I will be glad to mail it. Please feel free to publish my e-mail address.
Hello. I have just seen your newsletter for the very first time. I graduated Hx HS in 1966 and my name is Judy Joel (Molinari). My brother is Billy Joel.
I would like to receive your newsletter regularly.
Thank you very much,
Judy
This is for Carol MacArthur. My name is Jane (Schaeffler) Dieterich. I graduated in 1960 and grew up next door to Maria Heilig. We were neighborhood childhood buddies. I have lost track of her and I don't know if you remember me. I married Bob Dieterich from the class of 1958, and have been married 47 years. We now reside in East Setauket and Vero Beach which is very close to Melbourne.
Hi,
Class of 1960. I live in northern Virginia, near D.C., with Caren, my wife of 40+ years. I reunited with Forest Dunbar at the only reunion I was able to make it to, about a year ago. He and I ran cross-country when Mr. Earl was the coach. I look forward to reading more newsletters and attending another reunion, hopefully with more members of the Class of '60 there. Keep up the good work!
Jack Gould
Hey Folks; I just received this for a new subscriber. I have had info on Classmates on The Newsletter for about 3 years. Didn't know it was still on there. I will let her know that you will add her name to the list.
Thanks.
Linda Piccerelli Hayden '60
Hi Linda,
I got your e-mail address from classmates. I am interested in the newsletter.
Susan (Donner) Merkler, class of 1968, married Gerard (Rod) Merkler class of 1964. Got married October 30th 1969.
My birthday is Sept. 25th. Rod's birthday is June 9th. We live in West Melbourne, FL. We have 2 sons and 3 granddaughters.
Looking forward to the newsletter,
Susan
Dear Editors,
Living in North Carolina, I'd love to catch up with Mr. Pat Naso, if at all possible; so learning from the picture and caption submitted by Stephen Moddle, Class of 1953, that Pat lives in North Carolina caught my attention. If you can get this note to Stephen so he might possibly forward me Mr. Naso's address, and any other contact information he has for him, I'd certainly appreciate it.
Also, the piece on the Farmer's Market held many memories for me. My family spent many a fun Friday night there and while it was shopping for Mom, my siblings and I usually had a great time and enjoyed some good food, be it a piece of pizza or something else, in the bargain! My wife and I recently visited a farmer's market in Raleigh, our state capital and near where we live. While she hails from Schenectady, New York, even she was drawing comparisons to the few times she went to the Farmer's Market with my family before we were married!
Keep up the great work. This newsletter has to be one of a kind and I'm certain it is really succeeding in bringing alumni together and reuniting many of us.
Best regards,
Joe Carfora '62
