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

There were no new donors in May and our donation total remains at $34,713. However, 11 new names were added to the Confirmed List of Names, bringing our total to 1,922! We were also able to fill in missing data for a number of names on the current list.

If you have yet to donate, or have missing data you can help us with, it's not too late! Please see our May Update in the Honoring Our Veterans tab of this newsletter for details.

We are concentrating our efforts to get the Memorial constructed for dedication and unveiling to the public. Some concern has been expressed regarding weather for the target date of Veteran's Day this year (November 11th). The Project Team will discuss a warmer weather date, perhaps for Memorial Day, 2019. A number of Project Team members, local to Hicksville, are participating in this effort.

We trust this note finds everyone after enjoying a good Memorial Day Weekend during which all of our fallen heroes were well remembered.

As always, should you have any new information to report for either the Confirmed or Unconfirmed Lists of Names, particularly to fill in missing data on the Confirmed List, please email 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, HHS 1962

The Newsletter

Photo Gallery

If you recognize and remember these pictures you cannot deny you're an old fart! The wringer washer was a deadly 'sadistic device' which caused many arm horror tales! Check out our life in pictures.

 Spread the laughter and share the cheer! Let's be happy while we're still here !!!

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Memory Lane

The Brooklyn Bridge

On a very cold wintry day, in Sussex County, New Jersey we were warmed by the appearance at the Newton Theatre of The Brooklyn Bridge.

Not the Brooklyn Bridge that spans the East River and connects Brooklyn & Manhattan, but The Brooklyn Bridge musical group including three remaining members from the original Brooklyn Bridge, Rosica, Ruvio & Cauchi. Joe Esposito is the only new face, a member of the Bridge about six years! The rest of the band has been together longer than most marriages, Jimmy Sarle, some forty years, Marty D'Amico, forty five years and Lou Agiesta, forty seven years.

Photo by Sonny Maxon

The Bridge Members Are
Standing - Les Cauchi - Vocalist * Lou Agiesta - Drummer
Martin D'Amico - Keyboard & Vocalist * Joe Ruvio - vocals, HHS 1966 Joe (Bean) Esposito - Lead Vocalist

Kneeling - James (Jim) Rosica - bass & vocals, HHS 1965 & James Sarle - Lead Guitarist HHS 1974

We had three Nor'easters in 2 weeks in March. Trees were on houses and on cars, roads were still closed due to damage, and power lines down. People were without electric and water for two weeks and there were three and a half feet of snow still on the ground.

The Brooklyn Bridge presented a show that lifted peoples spirits and made them forget about the past several weeks. As ticket holders were led to their seats, many were somber and probably shell shocked by what they had endured. Then it happened! On stage The Bridge began to perform and the audience transformation was incredible.

Smiles abounded, arms were waving and people were back in the late 60's and 70's. They forgot all their problems - they forgot all the Nor'easters - they stepped out for an evening to forget it all and relived their youth. The photographer I recruited to take candid photographs noticed the change in everyone's demeanor. When the throng of "old timers" left the theatre, they were singing & humming the songs of the past that was a big part of their lives.

Their songs were amazing and flawless. The energy with which they performed was incredible. Don't forget, many of them are in their 60's & 70's but they seemed to feed off the energy of the audience.

How were they originally named "The Brooklyn Bridge"? The Manager of Johnny Maestro and The Del Satins, a woman by the name of Betty Sperber, met with "The Rhythm Method" - Sullivan, Wood, Rosica, Ruvio, Davis & Catanzarita (All are Hicksville Grads) and Richie Macioce who hailed from Rockville Center.  Betty Sperber asked if they would join with Johnny Maestro of the Crests, Fred Ferraro, Les Cauchi and Mike Gregorio from the Del Satins as a new group.

Betty Sperber called Dave Zahn, President of Banner Talent to give him the news. When Dave Zahn heard there would be eleven members he replied "trying to sell that is like trying to sell The Brooklyn Bridge". Betty hangs up the phone and says to Jim and Tommy the name of the group is The Brooklyn Bridge.

Shown below is James Sarle who is also a Hicksville Grad and is in the current Brooklyn Bridge.

Tom Sullivan Carolyn Wood Jim Rosica Joe Ruvio

Shelley Davis Artie Catanzarita James Sarle

After Johnny Maestro and Fred Ferraro passed on, the remaining group members decided to be continue As "The Brooklyn Bridge ". After their show at the Newton I had a chance to speak with some of the group and had a photo taken with them. 

I can never thank them enough for what they did for the people this evening. I am sure to them it was just another gig; however, to us nothing could have been better for our spirits.

Well Done - Thank you "The Bridge"!!!

~ Linda Piccerelli Hayden, Class of 1960

Casale's Corner

The Pocket Watch and Retail Sales

Submitted by Walter Buddy Weber class of 1963

About the Pocket Watch, a very interesting story. If you were in the market for a watch in 1880, would you know where to get one? You would go to a store, right? Well, of course you could do that, but if you wanted one that was cheaper and a bit better than most of the store watches, you went to the train station!

Sound a bit funny? Well, for about 500 towns across the northern United States , that's where the best watches were found.

Why were the best watches found at the train station? The railroad company wasn't selling the watches, not at all. The telegraph operator was. Most of the time the telegraph operator was located in the railroad station because the telegraph lines followed the railroad tracks from town to town. It was usually the shortest distance and the right-of-way had already been secured for the rail line.

Most of the station agents were also skilled telegraph operators and it was the primary way they communicated with the railroad. They would know when trains left the previous station and when they were due at their next station. And it was the telegraph operator who had the watches. As a matter of fact, they sold more of them than almost all the stores combined for a period of about 9 years.

This was all arranged by "Richard", who was a telegraph operator himself. He was on duty in the North Redwood, Minnesota train station one day when a load of watches arrived from the East. It was a huge crate of pocket watches. No one ever came to claim them. So Richard sent a telegram to the manufacturer and asked them what they wanted to do with the watches. The manufacturer didn't want to pay the freight back, so they wired Richard to see if he could sell them. So Richard did. He sent a wire to every agent in the system asking them if they wanted a cheap, but good, pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less than two days and at a handsome profit. That started it all.

He ordered more watches from the watch company and encouraged the telegraph operators to set up a display case in the station offering high quality watches for a cheap price to all the travelers. It worked! It didn't take long for the word to spread and, before long, people other than travelers came to the train station to buy watches. Richard became so busy that he had to hire a professional watchmaker to help him with the orders. That was Alvah. And the rest is history as they say. The business took off and soon expanded to many other lines of dry goods. Richard and Alvah left the train station and moved their company to Chicago -- and it's still there..

YES, IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT that for a while in the 1880's, the biggest watch retailer in the country was at the train station. It all started with a telegraph operator: Richard Sears and partner Alvah Roebuck!

Bet You Didn't Know That!

OK, maybe you did; I didn't! Now that's History.