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December 2001
Volume 2 Number 3

December is a month of Holy Days and celebrations throughout the world. Here in the U.S. they are traditionally Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and even Ramadan cycles into Dec. on a regular basis.

I bring this up because I never appreciated the many wonderful diversities of the people in Hicksville until I moved away. I grew up eating keilbasci, lasagne, blintzes, bratwurst and many other wonderful foods. Our mothers exchanged recipes and we accepted our neighbors as just that - neighbors. It wasn't until I moved down South that I realized what a precious gift we had in Hicksville. The names down here (at the time I moved in) were so bland; no ski's or z's or names ending in vowels! The diet consisted mainly of chicken, steak and seafood. As they say, 'You never miss what you have until you no longer have it!'

So let us celebrate our differences, share our customs, traditions and foods and have a wonderful and peace filled holiday season. Then let us each try to carry that spirit into the new year.

PKD

Looking For
Found
Our Traveling Alumni
Hicksville History
Memories
News
Links


 

Looking For

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Found

  • I found out that my cousin Anne's farm house was demolished to make way for three new houses. Seems her youngest son sold to a developer for a VERY good price!

    PKD

  • WE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING FROM MARY O'SHAUNGHNESSY CLEARY '61 AND HAVE REPRINTED IT IN IT'S ENTIRETY.

    Great newsletter!! I love hearing from everyone. In case you haven't gotten the answer, Nicholai Street School was torn down and it is now a parking lot for Trinity Lutheran Church which is across the street. I plan on writing something for the next month. Do I just forward it to you? Thanks, this is such a great idea. Also, I did see a question to the reason for Holly's death.
    Ginny Kolenik Doherty and I went to the wake. Her brothers said she had been suffering from emphysema for years and had to retire from Lindenhurst Schools.

    She then had a fatal asthma attack. She looked absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. It is said that when you die from lung disorder, it looks like you just went to sleep. This was the case with Holly. Her brothers were very appreciative that we attended the wake........Let me know if there is a time frame to comply with.

    ALSO HEARD FROM RUTH OLSEN COLLINS AND OLGA YARISH JORDAN THAT THE LUTHERAN CHURCH NOW HAS A PLAYGROUND ON THE PROPERTY.
    PKD

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Our Traveling Alumni

  • Den and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Germany, The Netherlands, France and Switzerland. Met several former Long Islanders on our trip abroad including John and Sally Gambling--he was the former host of Rambling with Gambling on WOR-AM. The scenery was breathtaking including the view of several countries from 10,000 feet elevation at the Schilthorn. The cable car was built for the Sean Connery film several years back. To say it was thrilling would be an understatement for certain. For eight days we cruised on the M/S River Navigator on the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Strasborgh, France.
    While in Germany, we attended the Passion Play at Oberamagau in the Bavarian Alps--a moving and wonderful experience. Den I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary aboard the River Navigator on October 4th and we were invited to the Captain's Table for a perfectly delicious dinner.

    Den and I spent the last week at Gurney's Inn and Spa in Montauk, right on the Atlantic Ocean. Life is good! Two of three grandchildren joined us for two days due to school conferences. Marykate is 6 years old and Daniel is 4 years old. What great energy levels they have--and Grandpa and I are both wishing for just a drop or two of their energy.

    Love reading your News From Hicksville site.

    Best regards,
    Ruth Olsen Collins Class of 1956 and Den Collins, Jr. Class of 1953

  • From
    Jeanette Martello Lupis '59:

    "for the mega reunion, all six of us Martello's from '59 to '69 were present. Two came from Florida, one from Alexandria, Va. and the other 3 (including me) live on the island."

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Hicksville History

FROM: Claramae Gross Ceravino ('64)

Hi,

Just reading through the new newsletter. I think it is great that we can keep up with or reaquaint ourselves with our friends from school.Here are some notes of my own regarding my old home in Hicksville. I lived at 552 W. Old Country Rd. road from ages 5-16. There is an office building there now and the address is 550. When we first moved there, we had an RFD # as our address. The house was a big old farm house that was just a great place to grow up in. We were next to the Brumby's Kennel on the right, and Louis Wesnofski on the left, who was a potato broker.

To the left of them was Batch's Blacksmith shop. (That old man was a cranky man who would chase away anyone who came around in his older years. He was sort of scary for a little kid). I remember selling lemonade, flowers and anything else we could from our front lawn.

We had plenty of traffic. I also remember Richard Nixon passing by in a parade of some sort one time. We rented our house from the Braun's, who were related to the Offenloch's. When I married and moved to Centereach, my neighbor turned out to be from Hicksville and one of her best friend's is an Offenlach. Small world. My grandparents and uncle, the Gross', lived on Flower street, three houses from the Mulldoons'.

I used to spend my summers with them and still have the urge every time I'm back in Hicksville to knock on the door at number 33 to ask to see the house. Hope I haven't gone on rambling too much.

I would still love to hear from or about any of the people who went to Old Country Rd. School. I still have the class picture from Mrs. Cohen's class, and can still name everyone in the picture, circa 1956. Anyone remember? Thanks for listening.

Claramae

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Memories

For those of you who grew up with MTV I wish to share a Christmas memory of a time before the Weather Channel, doppler radar and weather forecasts. Any inaccuracies can be chalked up to poetic license and faulty childhood memories!

Christmas morning 1947 dawned bright and clear. Cookie and I jumped from our beds and ran to the Christmas tree. Poor Mom and Dad were still asleep because they had been to Midnight Mass. Grandma was busy in the kitchen as she always was the earliest riser. We quickly ate the oranges and hardboiled eggs that were at the top of our stockings so that we could get down to the business of opening our presents. The memories are fuzzy because I was just a small child but some of them stand out clearly. After we opened our gifts, we were dressed in our new holiday finery and groaned because we had to leave our toys and go to Brooklyn to visit our other grandparents. I remember the car because it was a big DeSoto with plush gray upholstery. The back seat was wide enough for Cookie and me both to stretch out and take a nap. I do not know if we had a radio because we never used it. Mom and Dad always sang on our trips. To this day I can still recite all the words to "My Blue Heaven", "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", the original version before the Platters recorded it. However, I still can't sing. [I believe that is why I was elected as President of the Glee Club in HHS ... keep her busy so she won't be heard.]

As we neared Brooklyn, it started to snow. Before the afternoon was over there was a blizzard. We could not get home by car because all the roads were closed by the heavy snowfall. We had to get back to Hicksville, "Green Grandma" (so named because of all the trees and grass) was all alone and the coal furnace needed tending. We tried to get on the subway but there were so many people on the platform that we could not get through. My next memory is of Dad waving to us as he boarded the train. Mom, Cookie and I went back to Grandma's apartment.

The next morning we trudged through the snow to get to a store to buy boots and mittens. My little hands were so cold. My Aunt Bertha, who was only a teenager, buried my hands in a snow drift and wonder of wonders, they didn't hurt any more!

I can't recall just when Dad got back or how many days we actually stayed in Brooklyn. When we finally got back home, Dad took movies with his 8mm camera. There is one shot of me standing on the top of a drift made by the snowplow. I was wearing my new red boots and my feet stood higher than my Dad's head. I don't remember the gifts I received but I have warm feelings when I think of that Christmas. It was filled with excitement and a caring for one another that I can not put into words. To me these are the memories that count.

Pat Koziuk Driscoll '56

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News

Vicky Penner Katz ('58) and Roger Whitaker were married Saturday (11/11/2000) afternoon at the First Presbyterian Church in Virginia, Illinois, about 40 miles from Springfield. One of Vicky's oldest friends from Hicksville was at the wedding: Rita Mallett Papazian, who lives in Connecticut. Wedding photos can be viewed at: http://rwhit.com/wedding

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Links

THE HICKSVILLE N.Y. COMMUNITY INFORMATION NETWORK
"THE HEARTBEAT OF LONG ISLAND"
11801
http://www.Hicksville.net
http://www.Hicksville.org
http://www.Hicksville.com
http://www.Hicksvillechamber.com

admin@hicksville.net Community Network Administrator Hicksville N.Y.
11801

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