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May 2003
Volume 3 Number 8
May Birthdays
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?
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Lorraine Kalen Lowen, 1966 (NM)
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2
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Ronnie Gardner Izzo, 1959
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11
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Vic Matuza, 1963
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14
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Bob DeMatteo, 1961
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15
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Charles Brooks, 1965
Frank Koziuk, 1967 (MD)
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17
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Ginny Frazer Caliguri, 1961 (FL)
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25
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Olga Yarish Jordan, 1951 (HX)
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26
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Steve Weinblatt, 1962 (L.I.)
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BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES
March 5th - Pam Kurth Woodbury, 1965
March 15th - Nancy Walsh Gustafson, 1958 (L.I.)
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In Memory
News and Notes and Memories
FYI
Trivia
In Memory
-
Michael Kent Blue
Passed away on January 31 at the age of 61. He was
preceded in death by his beloved parents William
and Gertrude Blue. Survivors include his wife, Zee
Greenwood; son, Jeff; daughter, Julie; stepdaughters,
Stacey Siegel and Tisha Greenwood; stepson-in-law,
Marc Siegel; and sister, Roz McCracken; brother-in-law,
Bill and their children, Eric and Kathy. Mike shared
a full life with family and friends. A graduate
of UCLA and a CPA by profession, Mike was one of
the largest individual fundraisers for the Alzheimer's
Association of Los Angeles, a founding member of
The Executives of the Jewish Home for the Aging,
and a philanthropist for the Jewish National Fund,
UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center, and The Wellness Community.
An avid sailor, Mike loved every moment aboard his
boat, Tru Blu, named after his late mother, Gertrude.
His passion for life was matched only by his generosity,
dedication, enthusiasm, loyalty and love. May Mike's
sense of family, religious and community responsibility,
his wit, sincerity and perspective remain in our
thoughts and actions and help us to make peace in
the world. His life serves as an inspiration to
us all. Memorial Services to be held at Eden Memorial
Park on Sunday, February 2nd, 10:00 AM. Donations
in Mike's memory can be made to The Wellness Community
(310) 314-2555. Published in the Los Angeles Times
on 2/1/2003.
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Kenneth Chupka, class of 1962, on Sunday, March
2, 2003.Ken leaves his wife Joann and two daughters,
Lauri and Lisa, his mother, Anna Chupka and two
brothers, Hank (class of 1955) and Tom (class of
1970) Chupka. For those who knew him, condolences
are being received for the family at 160 4th Street,
Hicksville, NY 11801, care of his mother Mrs. Anna
Chupka.
back to index
News, Notes and Memories
-
Once again - it's great - funny you mention Hicksville
as an "unusual name" - when I first met
my husband, he told he was from a hick town in Illinois
- I burst out laughing because I told him I was
from Hicksville - we met in Florida in 1979 and
we celebrated 21 years last December.
Keep up the good work!!
Kathy ("Cookie" Koziuk) Hannaman, 1960
-
First of all, for those of use who were born and
raised there, Hicksville is NOT an unusual name!
LOL!
I want to thank you again for this newsletter.
I really enjoy reading the history of Hicksville,
as told by its residents. You are truly preserving
history. Perhaps you would consider publishing a
book with these historical memories.
Regards,
Carl Chris Calma '76
-
Great newsletter again. Would like to hear from
people from the 1950 thru 1954 classes who would
be interested in working on a joint class reunion
on Long Island or some other state. I presently
reside in Georgia just North of Atlanta.
Norm Nichols '52, nick34@mindspring.com
-
I have truly been surprised by the number of Hicksvillites
who have picked up on my name from hixnews releases,
and have contacted me inquiring whether it is the
same family name they knew. While I felt that few
if any would remember, the number of inquiries,
together with the recollections and comments, have
surprised to the point that it has emboldened me
to outline my traveling since I left HHS, as a few
other "Classmates" have done.
My basketball scholarship with LIU did not work
out and after 6 months I found myself working on
Wall Street in Bankers Trust Co., courtesy of contacts
by Mrs. Farley, then principle (and stern disciplinarian)
of HHS. A year later I was at American Tobacco Co.,
on 14th St., NYC, where my sister Marion was employed.
Then some big changes occurred swiftly, when the
Army draft caught me. I was in the first contingent
drafted from Hicksville and we departed from the
LIRR station. The whole draft board was present
because, not only were we the first contingent,
but also because it was St. Patrick's Day, March
17, 1941 and the board gave each of us a green carnation.
Basic training took place at Ft. Belvoir, Va., Camp
Beauregard, La. and Camp Van Dorn, Miss. Immediately
before my unit departed for overseas I returned
to Hicksville to marry my HS sweetheart, Sonya Teresko.
My unit, the 165 Engineer Combat Bn. shipped from
Massachusetts to England. We hit the beaches in
Normandy (Utah) and although subject to strafing
and ground fire on the beaches, we were not there
on D-day. We fought all the way across Europe with
the Patton and Patch Armies,
involved in all major campaigns in France, Germany,
Italy and linking up with the Russians in Czechoslovakia.
After the war I returned to my civilian employment
and college at nights, only to be called up again
when the Berlin airlift was in progress. Thereafter
I stayed in the Army for a 30 year career following
assignments to Guam, Okinawa, Korea (twice), Iran,
France, (again) and Belgium, interspersed with assignments
in the US, most of which was accompanied with family.
After retirement from the service I was Director
of Transportation for the Prince William, Va. County
School Board, subsequently resigning for higher
Christian purposes, to run two small transportation
services for the retarded, elderly and handicapped.
While in the service I never lost track of my Hicksville
roots and look back on them even today with great
fondness, staying in touch with some classmates,
Dick and Gloria Rennie, Pat Naso and Philip &
Betty Pignataro to name a few. There was correspondence
with Howard Finnegan while he was with the Hicksville
newspapers, and often stayed abreast of local news
through a subscription. Sonya and I have raised
three responsible daughters, and we have two grandchildren.
We have resided in Richmond, Va., for the past 24
years where two other daughters are located, the
third a resident of Wayne,
Pa. Any reader who comes to Richmond is certainly
welcome to visit.
Fred Fluckiger, 1937
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Hi Pat, Linda and Bob,
Thank you once again for a wonderful newsletter.
I really enjoy receiving it as it allows me the
headspace to think about my
roots and places I've stomped about while going
through those formidable years.
Quoting from the Hicksville Newsletter, March 2003,
Volume 3, Number 6 # - Why, do you think, Hicksville
is listed as an unusual town name??? I think it's
unusual because, well. . ., don't you get it?!?
Heh! Just kidding. It's one of those names that's
often quoted and used as reference in conversation
and in writing to describe a personality type, township,
or someone from the "sticks", similar
in manner to calling someone a hillbilly, Joe-Bob,
and the like. I would think that as a name, when
used in a spoken manner, the name "Hicksville"
may conjure up visions of little shacks in the backwoods
or hills and perhaps under-educated people that
live off a dirt road that have the old style cup
receiver with straight cord telephones that you
hand crank to get the operator to place a call for
you (Mabel are you there?!?) in their homes. You
know the type where there's an operator
pulling and inserting phone jacks into a big board
to make the connection for you.
As an example, while sitting with a friend in a
fast food drive through recently I couldn't believe
what I had heard. She said, "Where's this guy
from, Hicksville?" She was making a reference
to the pickup truck in front of us that had unusually
large wheels and tires. I said, "What did you
just say? Did you make mention to that truck in
front of us being from Hicksville because of the
huge tires?!?".
She did and I replied, "Honey, I've a story
about Hicksville for you".
I've a short story about the town name Hicksville.
The "real" Hicksville that is!
One beautiful early evening in the summer of 1973,
my girlfriend Dianne Duncan (Class of 1975?) of
Farmingdale and I were at Jones Beach walking along
the shore and enjoying the sunset. We were approached
by a slightly older young man who was wearing jeans,
no shirt or shoes, a big round belly, an unlit cigarette
dangling from his lips and a guitar hanging around
him, which he was strumming. He asked us if we had
a light for his cigarette. We gave him a light,
chatted and I asked him where he was from. He said
he was from Texas. He asked where we were from.
I replied, "Well, I'm from Hicksville and Dianne
is from Farmingdale." When he heard the town
names he almost fell onto the sand from laughing
so hard. Finally after his amusement
allowed him to explain himself he said with a big
Texas chuckle, "[hyuck hyuck hyuck] There ain't
even a Hicksville in Texas!" We all had a good
laugh over that one.
Sure enough, later that night, having looked at
an atlas of Texas, he was right, there "ain't
even" a Hicksville in Texas or a Farmingdale
for that matter.
That moment was one of those that never fades too
long from my memories. It was a sweet night as were
so many I have the pleasure of recalling of living
on "The Island".
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
-
Found this interesting history page describing
Hicksville on rootsweb.com:
Robert Williams purchased from Pugnipan, Sachem
of the Matinecock Indians, on May 20, 1648, the
area known as the Williams Plantation which would
be today part of Jericho, Woodbury, Hicksville,
Plainview and Bethpage, for a quantity of trading
(English) cloth.
Thomas Hicks, the son of John Hicks who settled
in Hempstead along with Robert Williams, obtained
a grant of 4000 acres of land around Great Neck
in 1666. Two of Thomas' sons are important to the
Hicksville story.
* Taken from:
The Story of Hicksville Yesterday and Today
Hicksville Public Library
Hicksville's Story 300 Years of History 1648-1948
Ploughmen, Goldbeaters and
Craftsmen: Hicksville's Earlier Economy 1648-1960
Text in its entirety can be found here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nynassa2/Hicksville.htm
-
Newsday has what appears to be an excellent reference
to Long Island history - http://www.newsday.com/extras/lihistory/
-
As an aside, the San Francisco, California musician
Dan Hicks released a record in the seventies titled,
"Last Train to Hicksville". And, I'd like
to add, it's a fine recording indeed. Additionally
there's another recording called, "Return to
Hicksville". See" http://www.danhicks.net/
And there's a wonderful and fairly comprehensive
article about Mr. Hicks and his musical history
that can be found here: A Tip O' the Hat to Dan
Hicks & His Hot Licks Fast Train to Hicksville
BY MARGARET MOSER - July 13, 2001:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2001-07-13/music_feature.html
-
Additional asides:
1) The fictional town called Hicksville, New Zealand
- Dylan Horrocks' Harvey and Ignatz Award-nominated
graphic novel Hicksville was published in 1998 by
Black Eye Books. Black Eye has also published 10
issues of his comic book Pickle, which was nominated
for two Ignatz Awards in 1997. Hicksville was also
named a "Book of the Year" by the Comics
Journal and was nominated by three of its critics
as one of the Top 100 Comics of the Century.
http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/cgi-bin/dq.cgi?head=bio&menu=dylan&content=dylan-bio
Welcome to Hicksville, where you can find out what
I've been up to recently - and see the results.
Below you'll also find easy text links to some of
the site's highlights, to save you trawling through
dozens of links to find stuff.
http://www.hicksville.co.nz/
2) There's a Hicksville, Ohio, 43526 http://www.hicksvilleusa.com/
3) There's the Hicksville Bombers/Country Cattin'
website in the UK - http://www.hicksvillebombers.co.uk/
4) There's the Hicksville Monthly On-line Magazine
in Japan. Can any of your readers translate?!? :^)
http://hicksville.sprinkle.ne.jp/main.html
5) Another reference -
http://www.placesnamed.com/h/i/hicksville.asp
lists the following Hicksville's in these states:
Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,
and Virginia.
That's it for now. Gee whiz Wally, that was a lot
of fun.
Please feel free to publish anything you see fit
from my email in the
Hicksville Newsletter.
Warm regards,
Robert Cazares
Class of 1974
robert@visicomm.com
-
Two years ago I logged on to Classmates.com to
find Linda Polonetsky and Sandy Weinstein, both
from the class of '66. I never found them, but I
did find Jim Gorman, my first high school sweetheart
and now my husband. After all these years, what
brought us together then, is still alive and well
and we're living in Scottsdale, AZ.
I found my husband, but I'm still looking for my
girlfriends. Is there anyone who knows where they
are or how to contact them? I would be eternally
grateful. You can contact me at tonig66@cox.net.
Thanks and remember you can take the girl out of
Hicksville, but you can't take the Hicksville out
of the girl.
Toni Passalacqua, 1966
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Fond Memories
By Bob Casale
When you're 13, maybe 14 years old, your priorities
are different. For the boys, there was more emphasis
on basketball, baseball and intramural sport, and
not so much on having a date with the Prom Queen.
For the girls, there was more emphasis on school
related items, like field hockey, or cheerleaders
and not a date with that cute guy down the block
What did we do for excitement??
We, Tommy Farrell, Jimmy Thompson, Bob Casale, Eddie
Caesar and other Hicksville High School Alumni,
went "Roller Skating" Friday nights in
Levittown. It was a diversion from the hectic pace
we experienced in high school and a time to meet
some neat people from other schools. The kids we
skated with came from various parts of the island
East
Meadow, Franklin Square, Westbury, Oceanside
and
points East.
The skating rink was adjacent to Jahn's Ice Cream
Parlor on Hempstead Turnpike, just a little east
of Newbridge Road. We arrived early because we hated
standing in line waiting to get inside. Being first
in line meant you would get inside faster, get a
good choice of skates, and get onto the skating
floor before the crowds rolled in.
After skating for several months, we became part
of the regular crowd. Some of us even bought our
own skates and had a carrying case that was many,
different colors. We could watch cars pull up and
see some of the kids that became our new "Friday"
night friends arrive. Parents dropped kids off,
and then picked them up. It was a special time of
my life, and there were many friends I'll never
forget even though I've never seen them since leaving
high school. We skated and made arrangements to
meet in Jahn's afterwards to have a Banana Barge
or some other, sinful treat.
I remember one night getting a phone call at home
from Melody Priceman. She was at a meeting in a
Jewish Center close to Wantagh Parkway and Carmen
Avenue in Westbury. We had an ice storm and her
Mom didn't want to drive to get her, so my dad picked
her up and took her home to 52 Alpine Lane (how
can I remember that 40 some odd years later?? ((And
I'm suffering from CRS)).
Who remembers going to watch a football game then
going to the Sweet Shop for a soda. How about getting
ready for prom night and decorating the boys gym??
Then going to the Casa Allegra for a slice of pizza
and a soda.
To this day, I remember Paul Carbe dancing with
Jackie Travers who was selected Senior Queen for
the class of 1961 at the prom with the strange name,
"Ramayana!", The variety show, The Good
Old Days; the senior play, Romeo and Juliet; and
of course, South Pacific. Sal Mistretta, who starred
in many shows throughout high school is still involved
in theater and was on TV last year.
I remember my first job when I worked at King Kullen
at the West Village Green
and my supervisor
was Gladys Stermer, (Bobby Stermer from the class
of 1959 and his sister, Barbara's Mom).
I remember working at Newberry's during Christmas
because they needed part time help. I think I was
paid $1.00 per hour. Wow!!! Had a chance to sell
stuff I knew nothing about.
Who remembers Girl's Sports Night
the Orange
Team
the Black Team??? The Orange team captain
in 1961 was Volena Henningsen and the Black team
captain was my wife, Joyce Gabrielsen. Some of the
leaders were Vicki Krasner, Joan Brandt, Joy Edelstein,
Kathy Kapsol, Bonnie Scharr, Judy Yanof, Alice McIntosh,
Lois Werneberg, Pat Kocher and Aileen O'Campo.
This winter has been one to remember with the extreme
cold and snow. Why is it I remember big snows back
in the late 50's and early 60's. I recall one big
snowfall when Rob McCotter, Mike Goldsmith, Billy
Cook, Nick Quatrone, I think Roddy Clements and
me walking south in the middle of old Newbridge
Road (when it was one way in each direction) with
not a car in sight
the snow was deep and falling
at a steady rate.
My "2nd" last year in high school when
I worked at the Cross Island Oil Terminal that was
located down near the old Farmer's Market on Broadway
(Steve and Stu Blust's father hired me). The Farmer's
Market was a great place to get a variety of pickles.
Oh, those old Garlic Dill were the best.
I think when the place burned down, that was one
of the biggest fires we ever had in the area
or
maybe it was Henshaw's on the corner of Hempstead
Turnpike and Jerusalem Avenue (or maybe it was the
Christmas tree bonfire in January of 1958 in the
middle of the potato field that is now Trinity Diocesan
High School).
I went into the navy shortly after high school.
When I was home on leave, I remember going to Shady
Maples to have a couple of beers. Shady Maples eventually
was turned into TJ Courtney's and was owned by Bobby
Flanagan (Class of 1964???).
I seem to remember a lot of Hicksville kids hanging
there, playing pool and just being sociable. I think
that's where I bumped into Carol Marsh and her husband
Denis Roussillon one night. And perhaps Helen Luna.
I'm sure that what I'm saying is similar for everyone
who ever went to school.
I have special memories, too, of those from the
old neighborhood near Fork Lane School
Mike
Heanie, Mike Rosenwasser, the Fenigstein boys, Ira
and Louie, Jack McCarron (he moved to Florida),
Chris Polanski, Jeff Muller, Bob Gillette, Charlie
Lantay, Charlie Gemuendt (and his lovely sister,
Mary Jane), Ann Cassesse and Candice McGloughlin
Yvonne Jeanette Liddle. And I almost forgot Dottie
Brooks.
I just love Hicksville and the many fond memories
and it's fun to share with everyone. Why not take
a moment and jot down your own recollections of
what it was like growing up on Long Island. It would
be great reading for us all
back to index
FYI
Most of us who have used the Internet for a while are
familiar with emoticons. What do all these abbreviations
mean anyway? Welcome to the growing world of Internet
acronyms (e.g. LOL) and "emoticons" - a huge
family of online expressions that has grown extremely
popular as shorthand to showing emotion without tons
of tedious typing! Defined as various actions, facial
expressions, and pictures created using combinations
of letters, punctuation marks, and other keyboard symbols,
most emoticons are read sideways from left to right.
Following is a list of popular ones for you "newbies":
Popular Emoticons
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:)
|
Happy or sarcastic
|
:(
|
Sad or depressed
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:'(
|
Crying
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:]
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Smug or satisfied
|
:[
|
Despondent
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:D
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Really happy, excited, or laughing
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:-|
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Indifferent
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:/ Or :\
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Undecided, confused or skeptical
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>:-(
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Annoyed
|
8-O
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Surprised
|
Popular Internet Acronyms
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LOL
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Laugh out loud or lots of luck
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BFN
|
Bye for now!
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FAQ
|
Frequently asked question
|
FYI
|
For your information
|
BRB
|
Be right back
|
ROFL
|
Rolling on the floor laughing
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TTYL
|
Talk to you later!
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back to index
Trivia
1955
|
Little
Richard sends his first audition tape to his
future label, Specialty Records.
|
1956
|
Pat
Boone's cover version of Little Richard's
"Tutti Frutti" hits #12 on the pop chart.
Elvis
Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" becomes
his first top-10 single.
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1958
|
Frankie
Avalon scored his first top 10 hit when "Dede
Dinah" reached number 7. He would follow
it with a string of hits over the next couple
of years, including Ginger Bread (number 9), Venus
(number 1), Bobby Sox to Stockings (number 8),
A Boy Without a Girl (number 10), Just Ask Your
Heart (number 7) and Why (number 1).
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1959
|
Elvis Presley sings after-hours at the Lido Club
in Paris while on leave from the U.S. Army.
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1960
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The
Everly Brothers recorded "When Will I
Be Loved", which turned out to be their last
hit for Cadence Records. It was released shortly
after Don and Phil had a top ten hit with "Cathy's
Clown", on their new label, Warner Brothers
Records.
"Teen Angel" by Mark Dinning hit number
one on The Cash Box music chart, despite being
banned by several U.S. radio stations who called
it "the death disc".
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1963
|
The
Beatles saw their second release reach the
top of the U.K. singles chart. "Please Please
Me" became a big hit despite the fact that
John and Paul could clearly be heard singing different
words.
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1964
|
England's Billy
J. Kramer released his first hit song in the
United States. "Little Children" kicked
off a string of hits that included "Bad to
Me", "I'll Keep You Satisfied"
and "From a Window".
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass appear in
their first major concert, in Los Angeles.
Simon
& Garfunkel complete the recording of
"Sounds Of Silence".
The
Beach Boys record "Don't Worry Baby".
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Pat Koziuk Driscoll, 1956, FL
Linda Piccerelli Hayden, 1960, NJ
Bob Casale, 1961, HX and PA
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