November, 2007     Volume 8 - Issue 2

 

 


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Last month's HixNews

PEOPLE LOOKIN' FOR PEOPLE

Robert Uhlich,'57 is looking for Richard Cabble,'59, Larry Knieter and Robert Hilderbrand
Ralph Powell, 57 is looking for James Bruce,'57
Arline Barna,'56 is looking for Edward H. Kasten,'56
Bob Gerrets,'66 is looking for Belle Miller,'66
Pat (Thompson) Dumas,'75 is looking for Crystal Demas,'75
Karen Kelly,'69 is looking for Fran Barber,'69
John Connelly is looking for Jennifer James,'90
Bob (Gleason) Wesley,'61 is looking for Jeff Foster,'61
Carol (Kiever) Ohliger,'57 is looking for Betty Kenny,'57
Linda (Zuckerman) Rausch,'60 is looking for Richie Bizzaro,'60
Susan Spector,'62 is looking for Loretta Noce,'62
Ann (Krex) Friedman,'65 is looking for Laura Krakoff,'65 & Lynne Cohen,'65
Mike Linihan,'65 is looking for Terry Sheehan,'64 & Charles Dohrenwend,'65
Beth (Halper) McFall,'65 is looking for Judith Lapiner,'65
Ron Smith,'73 is looking for Peggy Levins (69-70), Bonnie Fuchs'73, Denise Bonsang,'73 & Paul Cecery,'73
Marty Winkel,'62 is looking for Cathy Sorrentino,'64
Frank Scarangella,'55 is looking for Jim Tweedle
Mike Cucci,'64 is looking for Phil Hearon,'64
Cheryl (Woods) Newell,'69 is looking for Penny Thompson,'69
Walter (Butch) Allen, '60 is looking for Richie McKenna
Josie (Dzieniezewski) Bacchi, '76 is looking for Evangeline Econ
Joe Carfora, '62 is looking for Eddy Kramer, '63


If there's someone you're looking for, just send your request and we'll be happy to add it to the list.

If anyone knows these folks, send an email to:
editors@hixnews.com 


Here I am performing with The Turtles on Saturday.......sort of......
along with an escapee from an Alice Cooper Concert.

Mark Virgilio, 1967



Anyone remember the Dynamics? We played at many of the school functions and a lot of Friday night parties. This is our promo picture taken at Bond Clothes , Mid Island Plaza.
From let to right: Jim Rosica, Ken Arnold, Vic Olsen, me, John Barcelona

I stay in touch with Johnny B. I spoke to Jim about 8 years ago. I've never been able to track down anyone else.

Rick Weick '65


Thank you for putting my luncheon show in the monthly paper.  That was so nice of all of you.  I hope to see some of you for the show, if not I will see you at the upcoming events.  One of my best friends will be at my show as usual, Anita Foster.  We have been friends for over 50 years.  It just doesn't seem possible that so much time has gone by.  When I look at my old graduation picture it reminds me that time does fly!!  Talk soon, and thanks again.
Best Regards,
Ann Fisher (Colascione) 61'


I'm in your latest newsletter and thanks--great photo!

Thanks ever so much and if anyone is interested, I am not far from my hometown, just a bit upstate NY in Rosendale.  I have a web site http://www.photosbyrochelle.com as I am a photojournalist and commercial photog now.

Much appreciation for all that you do to keep our brain cells full of wonderful memories.

Rochelle Riservato '67


Hello to all the our friends in the class of 1963.

As you could see in the October news letter, Janet ( Stietz ) and I Tony Masi were married in 1967 and celebrated our 40th wedding Anv. As a gift to each other, we treated our selves to a Caribbean cruise on the worlds largest cruise ship, " Liberty of the Sea ". Here is a picture of the ship when we were in Labadee, Haiti.

We stopped at several Caribbean countries. We were not a lone as we met Janet's cousin and her husband Ray and two other couples on board and had a great time and lots of laughs. Here are a couple of pictures from the ship and the group.

In the picture is from left to Right, Janet, Ray, Elaine ( Janet's cousin ) Harold & Rose and Diana & Michele. 

this is taken on the promenade deck.

Janet and me along the shore of Cozumel, Mexico

Here is a shot taken in the dining room of Janet ( Stietz ) Masi and me. We had lots of fun and met so many people from around the world. As a ham radio operator, this was a chance of a life time. If any one would want to see our cruise pictures, e-mail your e-mail address to amasijr@stny.rr.com and I will send you the web site that I use. There is no down loading to your system. The pictures are all stored on the web page and you just review them. Sorry that some are out of order. Not sure what happened. 
Janet & Tony Masi Class of 63


Hi,
I have really enjoyed reading all the stories. My name is (are you ready) Josie (Dzieniezewski) Bacchi, DOB: 05/22/you can do the math!) I graduated HHS in 1976. I used to live at 8 Cedar Street and I went to East Street School. It flipped me out when I read Mrs. Schaaf's name. I had her as a teacher at East Street. She was great! Also, Mr Hilsky (Oh my gosh! does he still have a crew cut?) I have been married since 10/13/84 to Joe and we have lived in Farmingdale, NY since 1985. I really enjoyed the stories about Mid Island Plaza. FYI, the parfaits at Gertz were the best and I think they only cost 25 cents. I especially remember all the candy stores like Baracinis, Lofts etc. You don't see those any more and what about the famous hang out, the pizza place in the back of the mall. Of course there was Calda Pizza where everyone in the High School went for lunch every day does anyone remember Maria? 

I had some really good friends at HHS and I have long since wondered what happened to Evangeline Econ. If anyone knows where she is, please let me know. I know MaryEllen Talento (Class of 75) passed away. She was another good school friend and if it wasn't for her, my sister Terry ('75) would never have met her husband Mike Spronck ('74). 

Please keep all the issues coming. I am only living 6 miles from where I grew up and Hicksville is sooo different now I really can't stand it but of course, that's the way it is. If anyone of you out there remembers me (fondly of course LOL!), please email me. I would love to hear from you. I was a BOCES kids back then I went to Westbury BOCES. 

Josie (Dzieniezewski) Bacchi
Farmingdale, NY

FYI I am currently working at New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury Campus Admissions you can email me at: jbacchi@nyit.edu
8 Cedar Street.


Would you believe a cousin I never knew I had, saw my name in the article
I wrote about Roy Schaaf? She wrote to HIXNEWS wanting to know if I could be
her cousin and did I live on East John St. HIXNEWS FWD me her e-mail and I
e-mailed her.

It turns out she is the daughter of my mother's oldest brother's son. She
would be a grand neice to my mother and a second cousin to me. She is doing a
history on my mother's side of the family. We have been e-mailing and I,
being a lot older, have been providing her with family info and pictures.
The sad part is, last year I threw out a lot of old family pictures that
my children didn't want.

Marilyn Bowles is a 1966 HHS graduate. I would guess a lot of HIXNEWS
members would know her.

Thanks HIXNEWS for bringing us together.

Art Lembke, '49

As I have stated in past newsletter's, Joe Ryan (science teacher) is one of the true hero's of our time. Sure he was beyond his time with his teaching methods which made you want to go to class...but he was so much more outside the classroom. Without his support(and his wife's), I never would have made it thru my life threatening illness. Let's stop waiting to acknowledge a great man. Let's vote and induct Joe Ryan now.

Bob Goldmacher '73


Is there 30 year reunion planned for the class of 1978?   -   Christopher Melluso


I like to tell my kids that when I got to High School, I was confronted by Mr. Jaworski, Mr. Munch (Physics Teacher) and Coach Grant and warned that if I was anything like my big brother Vic (his nickname was Skip at that time), I would be expelled in a heartbeat. Vic was five years older than me and had a reputation I guess, and to be honest, I idealized him. But I didn't want to get "expelled", so it was join the football team, like he did. (promptly got injured). But through the football team, in my senior year, we had to be part of the variety show with Ms. Day (Art Dept.). Everyone loved this woman. I loved the Variety show so much, I signed up for the Musical Comedy play, 76 Trombones, and then the Senior Play, a Shakespeare thing called "She Stoops to Conquer". I have to admit, some of us guys did it because the girls in the Thespian Club were gorgeous. In fact, I think hormones drove most of our actions back then, but it was fun. With my friends George Revis, Paul Tava (who owned the neatest car, could fit maybe nine guys for going to drive-ins) and a couple others from our "Fraternity" Phi Epsilon, we were elected to Student Government, became "Hall Cops" and got involved in just about everything there was with the school. I freely admit, the guys I hung with were the doers, but I figured it would behoove me to hang with them, than incur the wrath of the staff. So, I was the opposite of my brother in school, and you know what? We both think on those days as the happiest times of our lives. As an aside, does anyone else remember Mr. Munch wiring the doorknob to his classroom, so that when new kids to his class would arrive, they would get electric shocks?

Joe Platania ' 63


Hi guys,
In the Hicksville newsletter, they asked can you name the two bakeries ? Well there were three according to my brother Lenny. Do either of you recall their names?

The answer is Baronburgs {Barenberg's}, Just 
Right, and the Broadway Bakery, 83 N Broadway, which happened to be the Cheese Cake King of Long Island.

What answer did you guys have?

Thanks Ray Feierstein class of '63


Hard to believe, but it's nearly that time again. The Glass Menagerie's Winter concert is nearly here. We've been working real hard and the program is really beginning to shape up. Selections by Rossini, Mendelssohn, Gounod as well as a medley from "Porgie and Bess" will be featured plus much, much more. And don't forget our world famous holiday sing-a-long.

It should be a great show and I hope to see you all there.

Here are the particulars;

The Glass Menagerie's Winter Concert
Saturday, December 8, 2007
St. Joseph's Church
371 6th Ave. (Corner of Washington Pl. 1 block North of W. 4th St. or 2 blocks South of W. 8th St.)

A $15.00 admission is suggested with senior discounts available.

David Teitel, '68


S E N I O R  M E D I C A L  N O T E S

A great deal of us are senior citizens now. Many follow a regimen of seeing doctors, filling prescriptions, watching what we eat very carefully and exercising diligently, but conservatively. Exams, medications and procedures have certainly prolonged our existence, but the longevity is based on the known...the high blood pressure; high cholesterol; diabetes; and a multitude of other treatable maladies. But what does one do about the hidden dilemma?

I had been experiencing shortness of breath for awhile back in 2003. Went to my primary and was checked for simple things. No asthma; no emphysema; no pneumonia...so further testing was considered. I was directed to a cardiologist who would perform additional testing in an attempt to discover why I was having shortness of breath.

The cardiologist ordered a stress test. For those who have not had the pleasure of a stress test an explanation about what is involved is in order. Prior to testing, an intravenous device is inserted into a vein. This is for the introduction of a dye into your system prior to the taking of pictures of the heart. After the first injection, pictures of the heart are taken at rest.

After the initial pictures are taken, you wail awhile until the second part of the test is started. This is to capture pictures of the heart after exercise. Those who are able to use a treadmill are required to walk until a target heart rate is achieved...then they are injected. Some cannot walk so another injection is used to raise the heart rate without exercise. A second series of pictures is taken.

The results often show little change in the way a heart functions at rest and while in exercise. There are times when the doctor wants to look more closely at the heart and will ask for an angiogram to be performed. This is when the doctor introduces a tiny camera into the heart through a catheter inserted into an artery in the groin so he can view the cardiovascular structures that carry blood throughout the body.

This brings us back to my statement about the hidden dilemma. 

After an angiogram, I was in recovery where you are required to lie still for several hours until the wound in the groin closes. I was having difficulty catching good breaths of air. The nurse noticed my stress and asked what was wrong. After explaining, she went directly to a doctor and he recommended a cat scan to see if they could analyze my problem.

I went for the scan and returned to cardiac recovery and felt a lot better than I did before. They weren't able to determine why I felt the shortness of breath...but they did make a remarkable discovery...I had an AAA (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm). If the scan was not done, I would not have known about the aneurysm.

At the time, the size was about 3.4 centimeters. They do nothing until the size exceeds 5.0 centimeters. This is when they do surgery to repair the problem.

We monitored the aneurysm for several years...last September, I went for a scan and the size had grown to 5.7. We scheduled surgery for November 9, 2006. There are two methods of correcting the aneurysm. Radical surgery where they crack you open or the relatively new less invasive catheter based technology using endovascular grafting. I opted for the second choice. I had the surgery on the ninth and was discharged on the tenth.

The point I am making here is there are many people walking around with a time bomb ticking inside and they have no way of knowing that a burst aneurysm is usually deadly. Next time you schedule a doctor appointment for an annual physical or routine testing, ask that they check you for an aneurysm. 


My sister, Eileen Casale Mahan, class of '59, lives in Las Vegas and has been there since 1972. Also, living in Las Vegas, from your class of 1959, is Irene Hyman. I forgot...also Chris Heidt... My sister is married to Federal Judge James Mahan who sits on the court, Las Vegas district.
Regards
Bob Casale 

 
 
 

I would love to be on your mailing list. I was sent this month's newsletter from Mike Puccio (59) and found pictures of my Brother in law Tommy D'Amato in several of them. Very interesting!

Murry Dalaimo   murry4@cox.net   Las Vegas, Nevada


(The 1967 reunion) was absolutely fantastic and we got some great class pictures of the various elementary schools in attendance. Hopefully we will have them ready on time, though my wife is busy working on them in Photoshop. It was really hard to believe all those people were 58....incidentally; we are considering a mass 60th birthday celebration in 2 years, if everyone can make it. We did have some last minute arrivals and probably had somewhere between 80 and 90 people in attendance. I had the time of my life and felt 18 again.
Mark Virgilio

 


Late Update.. News from the Class of 1967 40th Year Reunion.

The HHS Class of '67 reunion was held on October 20, 2007 at the Huntington Hilton in Melville. About 80-90, mostly grads, attended. The reunion was organized via email by a Committee of Ken Marcus (West Bloomfield, Michigan), Jim Rubins (Napa, California), and Mark Virgilio (Acre Lane, Hicksville). To say that the Committee, which had been out of touch for 40 years, "bonded" over three months and hundreds of emails would be an understatement.

Special kudos went out to Peggy Gill, who copied and pasted yearbook photos on name tags, and who retired from her job on the administrative staff at HHS just the day before the reunion!

A reunion organizing company was hired to care of sending invitations, booking the facility and other logistical considerations. Creativity was the sole responsibility of the Committee, which went into high gear to assure an entertaining evening. After initial cocktails, a retrospective slide show edited by Ken Marcus, featuring current and 1967 photos of HHS, Hicksville and members of the class, with a 1966-67 soundtrack, put the audience in a nostalgic mood. Current photos were the work of Mark Virgilio and his wife HHS grad Alice Hayden, while principal Comet yearbook photographer Tom Hoffman generously contributed yearbook "out takes." A number of other grads also contributed material, notably Jim Rubins provided a short film of the rained out graduation ceremony on the HHS football field. The nostalgia was followed by humor when Ken Marcus presented his power point assisted "Evening Homeroom Announcements," which included a bogus message from the Hicksvill Board of Education notifying the class that, because the graduation ceremony was rained out, in fact Bill Joel was the only official graduate of the Class of '67, as recognized at the 1992 HHS graduation ceremony. 
Later, as the party picked up steam, an even greater number of Tom Hoffman's "not ready for yearbook photos" were projected during music and dancing and reminiscing.

The final element of the "official program" was a series of then and now slides (yearbook photo and current photo) prepared and MC'd by Jim Rubins, who passed the mike around so that grads could bring everybody up to date on their lives post-Division avenue. Notably, a number of couples who met at HHS (or earlier!) have been married these four decades.

Plans are underway to post the program material and photos taken that night on a web site.
While the Committee was pleased that the logistics and the formal presentations worked out well, undoubtedly the best part of the evening was people in attendance, In addition to Metro NY and Long Islanders (and a few still residing in Hicksville), grads came from California, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts. In many respects, the evening had the feeling of an extended family get together. The mix of the "who's who" of the class and "the rest of us,"many of whom hadn't been in touch with one another for 40 years, represented a cross section of the class. (A number of "the rest of us" group have since become "who's who," proving that there indeed is life after high school!)

Some might debate whether we HHS grads have anything in common other than the accident of fate that we attended public school during a certain time and at a particular place. People that take the time, trouble and expense to go to a high school reunion, however, are evidence that ties established in our youth contine to resonate with meaning a lifetime later.

Ken Marcus 


Sorry I was unable to attend out Class of '67 Reunion, due to a previous photo assignment, 
but to all who attended --I'd like tip my hat to you and wish you a happy holidays.
Check out my web site at www.photosbyrochelle.com

Sincerely, Rochelle Riservato Class of '67


Hi!

Thought you might like to know I'm shooting a commercial for the Virginia Millionaire Holiday Lottery that will air in December. Additionally, if you get Discovery Times channel, you can catch me on Sat., Nov. 3 at 8pm & 11pm and Sun. Nov 4 at 3am in a re-enactment of serial killer, Dorothea Puente in "Most Evil" (Greed). Also, if you're an insomniac, beginning December 28, catch me in the infomercial, "It All Started with Doo Wop," with Dion of Dion and the Belmonts on late night/early am network and cable channels. Only proves we "seniors" still got it and can do whatever we put our mind to!!!
Hari (Harriet) Molese, '56


Just came across your newsletter. I can't believe I missed it all this time. My Mom still lives in Hicksville and I have lived in Rhode Island, Bob Smith- class of '63 with my Hicksville High sweetheart and bride for the past 40 years, Leslie Worley Smith class of '64. I recently retired from MetLife and we have opened a Del Sol clothing store in Mystic Village, in Mystic CT next to the aquarium. If anyone is traveling to Foxwoods or Boston, take exit 90 off Route 95 and we are right there. It would be great to see some old Hicksville friends. 

Keep up the great work,

Bob Smith '63




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