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

The FINAL Confirmed List of Names, as originally published 4 months ago, again appears in this month's Update in the Honoring Our Veterans tab of this issue of HixNews. Some confusion has existed since the names of those who were Killed in Action do not appear on this list, because they appear with additional details on a separate plaque, located in a special place of honor on the Memorial's Center Stone, just below the Memorial's Dedication Plaque. Please see the two photos below, the first showing the Center Stone, with these two plaques already in place at the Jerusalem Avenue school's Memorial Gardens and the second is a close up photo of the KIA plaque.

Weather permitting, construction of the entire Vietnam War Era Memorial should be completed in November!! While we will make an announcement on completion for those who wish to stop by to view the Memorial, we have decided to delay the actual Dedication Ceremony until next spring, when the weather should be more conducive to an outdoor event. For additional details, please see the latest Update, as noted above.

As always, should you wish to make any comments on the Project's status, 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

Nature's Miracles

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Memory Lane

This is a tribute to Hicksville 's Unsung Hero

Paul Korman was good friends with Howie Blauvelt until he passed in 1993. The below is a tribute Paul wrote that is in the In Memoriam section of our newsletter.

Being a teenager growing up in Hicksville in the sixties was a truly, unforgettable experience. You could stand on the corner and marvel at the sound of basement bands doing their thing. Most of us, and me included, were Wannabe rock and roll stars. Our affiliations at the time were limited but there always was a group that was the 'leader of the pack.' One such band was the Commandoes. The leader of that pack was Howie Blauvelt and his group of young, teenage musicians who were way ahead of surrounding bands. They were so good that they won the Nassau County Battle of the Bands and made a guest appearance at the  New York  World's Fair.

Unique talent has a way of circumventing the average and such a talent was Howie Blauvelt. His musical career began in Hicksville but took a road most only envision while asleep and dreaming. His musical ability and command of playing bass was unparalleled and it was his vision of something great that culminated in the formation of the Hassles. Many watched with envy when Howie performed and time spent watching his performance was infectious.

The Hassles were a rock group in the 1960s, most notable for recording the first releases to feature Billy Joel. The group released two full-length albums and a number of singles. They were very established and played various hot spots in the metro  New York  area; The Eye in the Hamptons and Steve Paul's Scene in the city.

The original line-up of the group was John Dizek (vocals), Billy Joel (Keyboards), Jon Small (drums), Howie Blauvelt (bass) and Richard McKenner (guitar). Dizek left some time after their first album, at which point Joel took over on vocal duties. Joel and Small eventually formed Attila while Blauvelt later joined Ram  Jam.  The group toured our great country and published two albums and had two 'hit' singles.

Spending time on the road comes with many penalties. It's a tough life being away from family and that is one major reason why the Hassles disbanded in 1968. Howie persevered and went on to play with many top-notch musicians and performers such as Billy Joel and Ram Jam. His untimely death on October 25, 1993 ended the 'tribute to our unsung hero.'

To this day, I drive past the  Hicksville Middle School  and reminisce. I can still hear the percussive bass riffs pounding through the gymnasium doors. On the other side of the doors is Howie just "doing his thing". His life of music really began when he was playing on Friday nights for the Junior High dances in the 60's.

Is there someone out there who had the same pleasure I had from seeing Howie perform? I'm certain they will understand what I'm saying!!!

Howie is certainly missed by me and all those who watched with awe when he was on stage. He is missed by many but not forgotten. Howie had all the notes of life tucked away and it's our loss that we never heard them all.

Paul "Coney Island"   Korman, HHS Class of 1969

Casale's Corner

HOMOGRAPHS

For all of you who wonder why folks from other countries have a bit of trouble with the English language. This is a clever piece put together by an English teacher; who else??

Homographs are words of like spelling but with more than one meaning. A homograph that is also pronounced differently is a heteronym. You think English is easy? I think a retired English teacher was bored...THIS IS GREAT !

This took a lot of work to put together!

1. The bandage was *wound* around the *wound*.
2. The farm was used to *produce produce*.
3. The dump was so full that it had to *refuse* more *refuse*.
4. We must *polish* the *Polish* furniture.
5. He could *lead* if he would get the *lead* out.
6. The soldier decided to *desert* his dessert in the *desert*.
7. Since there is no time like the *present*, he thought it was time to *present* the *present*.
8. A *bass* was painted on the head of the *bass* drum.
9. When shot at, the *dove dove * into the bushes.
10. I did not *object* to the *object*.
11. The insurance was *invalid* for the *invalid*.
12. There was a *row* among the oarsmen about how to *row*.
13. They were too *close* to the door to *close* it
14. The buck *does* funny things when the *does* are present.
15. A seamstress and a *sewer* fell down into a *sewer* line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his *sow* to *sow*.
17. The *wind* was too strong to *wind* the sail.
18. Upon seeing the *tear* in the painting I shed a *tear*.
19. I had to *subject* the *subject* to a series of tests.
20. How can I *intimate* this to my most *intimate* friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in a pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.