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.

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Robert Edward Gleason Wesley, 1943-2010

Five years ago, February of 2010, was when the music stopped for Bob Wesley. An accomplished musician, Bob had a radio show in Dannemora, New York that aired weekly. Along with a co-host, Frank, the duo made music that the community really enjoyed. He loved music and travelled to local hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities and performed for the residents free of charge.

His passing saddened many. Bob "partied hard" over the years and realized his activities would tell its toll eventually. He survived open heart surgery only to find himself spending time in the hospital for a string of illnesses that did eventually cut his life short, too short.

I remember fondly the time he travelled from Dannemora to Long Island to visit me. What would be the last time, this visit included us making a trip to New Jersey to visit with Linda Piccerelli who along with Pat Koziuk were the original editors of HixNews. Bob was instrumental in taking the Hicksville High Newsletter from ancient times into the new world. The website he established exists today and many can thank Bob for his vision of what future issues of the newsletter should be.

His daughter, Heather and granddaughter, Rebecca remember Bob as a warm, wonderful person who they miss every day.

Buffalo Bob Casale

Hicksville Vietnam War Era Memorial - PROJECT UPDATE

With moving into a new house and the Holidays in late December, I was not able to provide readers with a project update for the January 1 issue of HixNews, so this report covers progress over the past two months.As you may recall, tax exempt status for the project was achieved in mid-October of the past year and our project bank account has been open since late October.  So far, just under $3,400 has been collected against an overall goal of $25,000.  Only 18 people or groups have contributed thus far and 3 very generous donors make up 70% of the amount collected!

Bill Walden, Commander of Hicksville's VFW Post and a long standing member of the Project Team, is in charge of our fund raising efforts.  So far, while many readers have expressed interest in the Project and have complimented the hard work put into it, very few have made a donation to help make it happen.  With the Holidays behind us, we sincerely hope more readers will review this month's UPDATE in the Honoring Our Veterans section of this issue of HixNews for detailed information on how to send a donation to the Memorial Fund.  Please remember, any amount you can spare is a tax deductible donation that will enable us to construct, erect and maintain the Memorial once it is in place.

Three new names were added during the December/January period to the Confirmed List of Names, which now stands at 1,893.  We still need the help of all readers to fill in missing data on the Confirmed List of Names and to help us qualify the names shown on the Unconfirmed List.

Our appeal continues.  As Jim Rubins did for the Class of '67 last August, if we can get other class presidents and/or reunion committees to provide us with contact information on the Veterans in their respective classes who we are still missing data for, we can get this task completed.  

When you visit this month's UPDATE, please remember that clicking on the two links near the bottom of the page will bring you to the complete Confirmed and Unconfirmed Lists of Names as of the end of January.  And, If you have any new information to send us, please email it to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

On behalf of the Project Team, I wish all of you good health and prosperity in this new year!

Joe Carfora, HHS 1962
Project Coordinator

The Newsletter

Photo Gallery

The following was submitted by Kathy McDonald Corey - Class of 1960

A view from behind the Lincoln Memorial statue taken during Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech --28 August 1963

The recording of the MGM Lion in 1929

 A photo taken by Scott's British Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole before they perished on the return journey in 1910

German prisoners react to viewing footage of the Concentration Camps in 1945

The models of "American Gothic" stand next to the very famous painting

The Hollywood sign shortly after it was installed in 1923. It originally read "Hollywoodland".

Some pretty pictures...

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Memory Lane

Thanks to Art Lembke from the class of 1949 and Walter Weber class of 1963 for the following...

Casale's Corner

Kyle

We witness bullying every day and the stories are remarkable. Many cannot tolerate the harsh treatment so end their lives. If the following story inspires one to not commit suicide, then the inspiration speaks for itself.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school. I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.

" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! " He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown , and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others."Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."