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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HICKSVILLE VIETNAM WAR ERA MEMORIAL - PROJECT UPDATE

Donations surged in March with $1,475 in new receipts, bringing the current donation total to $11,882 toward our needed goal of $25,000 to build and maintain the Memorial!

Twenty-three new donors in March brings our total list of donors to 118 individuals, couples and organizations. If each HixNews reader can contribute as little as $10, we will achieve our goal. Please remember, all donations are tax deductible.

March also welcomed the arrival of the Memorial's Center Plaque in Hicksville, where it will be on display at the Hicksville VFW and used at additional donation sites, such as the April 15th Hicksville Alumni Foundation Fundraising Event.

An alphabetical list of donors through March, along with details you will need to mail in your donation, can be viewed in this month's MEMORIAL UPDATE in the Honoring Our Veterans section of the newsletter. 118 donors represents roughly 6% of the HixNews subscriber list. We are very appreciative of those donors, but obviously the $25,000 goal can easily be achieved if many of you who have yet to contribute, do so as soon as possible.

One new name was added to The Confirmed List of Names in March, for a new total of 1,905 names and additional missing data was again added. The Unconfirmed List remains unchanged. We continue to need the help of all readers to fill in missing data on the Confirmed List and to help us qualify the names shown on the Unconfirmed List.

As in the past, when you visit this month's detailed UPDATE in The Honoring Our Veterans section of this newsletter, 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 March. 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,
Joe Carfora, Project Coordinator, HHS 1962

Special Spring Concert at the High School in April

The HHS Alumni Foundation will be sponsoring a concert in the high school auditorium on Friday evening, April 15, 2016 from 8pm to 1030pm featuring class of 1969 Paul Korman's great musical group, Dr. K's Motown Revue. Tickets are $15.00 each. Proceeds are going for scholarships, create and install an Alumni Wall of Honor in the main lobby of the high school plus a portion of these proceeds are to be given to Hicksville Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. The main office of the high school will have tickets available for sale or people who wish to attend can send their checks payable to HHS Alumni Foundation, Inc to: John Maniec, 223-28 A 65th Avenue, Oakland Gardens, New York 11364. There is no assigned seating. Auditorium holds 800. Refreshments will be sold during the intermission.

"Coney Island Korman" and his Dr. K's Motown Review has been around a long time. Paul graduated back in 1969 and loved music his entire life. His primary goal was to put together a group of musicians and singers that he met along the way who love the Motown Sound. His goal was accomplished and the entourage of talent has appeared at Lincoln Center, Mohegan Sun, Central Park, United Nations, BB Kings and in the Band Box at Jones Beach.

Home of the Comets
Class of 1966 Fifty Year Reunion

Hello Hicksville High School Alumni,

The Class of 1966 is celebrating our 50th reunion the weekend of June 18, 2016.
From: 6:00-11:00pm
Cost: $50.00 per person Includes free valet parking

ANTUN'S CATERERS, 244 West Old Country Road, Hicksville , New York 11801
ANTUN'S CATERERSAppetizers FullDinner
Entertainment provided by Disc Jockey/Musician & Co-Founder of the Brooklyn Bridge, Tom Sullivan Class (class of 1963)
The Worst That Could Happen (1969) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ErNvnpMaE4

Contact Information:
Stephen Goldstein
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CLASS OF 1971 SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR 45^th ReunionJuly 8-10, 2016

We hope you will be able to attend. We arranged hotel accommodations at the Historic Roosevelt Hotel in the heart of midtown Manhattan at Madison Ave. and 45th St.

www.theroosevelthotel.com

Details:

• Rate: $189 per night + tax/single or double occupancy (a really great rate for NYC!)You may extend your stay 1 day before or after the weekend for the same low rate
• Includes free WIFI and complimentary entrance to 24 hour health club
• To make your reservation call 1-888-833-3989. Please mention The Hicksville High School Class of 1971 Reunionin order to get this discounted rate. Your credit card will not be charged until your stay. PLEASE NOTE: Cancellations will be accepted no later than 24 hours before July 8th (or 7th if you're planning to come in early), otherwise your credit card will be charged.
• Please reserve your room by Nov. 2, 2015
• We are in the midst of planning the entire fabulous weekend (because 45 years is a long time to catch up with one another in just 1 night). We're also looking for assistance with planning our event weekend.

For questions about the reunion or to volunteer for the planning committee, please email us:

• Carol (Greenstein) Epstein: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Arlene Gottesman: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Looking forward to seeing you in New York City in July 2016.

Your classmates,
Carol Epstein and Arlene Gottesman
415-846-6907

The Newsletter

Photo Gallery

Happy Pictures

There's so much depressing, tragic and idiotic stuff going on in our world today, we need to periodically stop. So take a deep breath and consider what's truly important - and then smile!!! Enjoy these "Happy Pictures"

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Memory Lane

Then & Now

Sal Mistretta 1962 Joe Carfora

Gail Cluxton 1963 Jim Cutropia

Marlena Borst 1964 Neil Barrocas

Irene Annucci 1965 Phil McCrea

Sandy Brindisi 1966 Tom Gill

Lorraine Tully 1967 Arnold Sherman

Barbara Hoosack 1968 Pete O'Malley

Casale's Corner

Daddy's Poem

Thanks to Diane Cuti Germain & Joe Germain for this poem...break out the tissues

Her hair was in a pony tail,
Her dress tied with a bow.
Today was "Daddy's Day" at school,
She couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home;
The kids just might not understand,
If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say,
What to tell her classmates
Why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why, once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school,
Eager to tell them all
About a dad she never sees,
A dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall 
for everyone to meet,
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seat.

One by one the teacher called
A student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
As each child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
For a man who wasn't there.

"Where's her daddy at?"
She heard a boy call out.
"She probably doesn't have one,"
Another dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
She heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day."

The words did not offend her,
As she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher, who 
Told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.

"My Daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know
All about my daddy,
And how he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories,
He taught me to ride my bike;
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

'Cause my daddy's always with me,
Even though we are apart;
I know because he told me,
He'll be forever in my heart"

With that, her little hand reached up, 
And lay across her chest,
Feeling her own heartbeat
Beneath her favorite dress. 

And from somewhere there in the crowd of dads, 
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her little girl,
Wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was a right.

And when she dropped her hand back 
Down, staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud. 

"I love my daddy very much,
He is my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
But heaven's just too far. 

You see he is a soldier
And he died just this past year,
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy 
And taught the warriors fear. 

But sometimes when I close my eyes, 
It's like he never went away."
And then she closed her eyes,
And saw him clearly there that day.

And to her mother's amazement,
She witnessed with surprise,
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them; 
Who knows what they felt inside,
Perhaps, for a mere second,
They saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy," 
To the silence she called out
And what happened next made believers,
Of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it, 
For each of their eyes had been closed,
But there on the desk beside her
Was a fragrant, long-stemmed, pink rose

And a child was blessed, if only for 
A moment, by the love of her shining star,
And given the gift of believing,
That heaven is never too far.