This is a condensation of the April 2005 newsletters
Newsletter Editor: Frank Barning 1960, fbarning@yahoo.com
From Frank Barning, Newsletter Editor, fbarning@yahoo.com
It seems like yesterday that we were teenagers hanging out at one of Levittown's Village Greens. The truth is, most of us are in our early 60s and some have already retired. A few from the class of 1960, including myself, are collecting Social Security. Many who graduated from Division Avenue in 1961 are 61 years old and will soon be eligible for monthly checks from Uncle Sam. Class of 1962 people are approaching retirement age, too. How did the years fly by so quickly?
For some, the transition to retirement is easy, while for others it can be a negative experience. When I was in my 20s, I had an older friend whose parents were close to retirement age. The father, who had lived his entire life in Queens and Nassau Counties, was looking forward to not commuting to New York City, but was fearful that he would be bored staying home. What to do, what to do?
He put a great deal of thought into his coming retirement and decided that they would sell their beautiful home in Hewlett and move "far away." He mentioned that "I still have to figure out where to move, but the idea is that I want to live in a place where everything is new to me, every person, every road, every store, everything. I want to start over."
This works for many people, while others want to stick around and enjoy the kids and the grandkids if they live close by. Some want to move if family members are close by. Just kidding. More than a few Division graduates have it both ways, maintaining homes on Long Island and Florida.
If you have retired and are willing to share your thoughts/advice about retirement with other Division alumni who are getting close to that time in life, please send them to the Newsletter. Any comments about retirement, in general, are welcome, too.
Some people never want to retire. As George Burns stated, "Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples."
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: CARING ABOUT PEOPLE
From Tom Paturzo Baker 1960
Occasionally, someone enters your life center stage and makes a difference. I will never forget a friend who saved my neck or even my life. She did the ultimate thing you can do for another; She made a difference in my life during those stormy adolescent years.
Being a teenager is the "Perfect storm," a combination of delayed brain development and raging hormones. Impulse control is a problem for the emerging adult, especially in stressful circumstances. We look retrospectively at the teenager years with great nostalgia, not
because we were high on drugs, but because of our raging hormones. It is at this time when we are the most vulnerable; the right friend at the right time, can make the difference between tragedy and survival.
A vulnerable time was emerging in the late summer at Azalea Pool; we were sad that it was ending. The autumn leaves were turning and everyone was feeling a sense of desperation. The summer was ending; it would be over in a week, never to return. You can never go back again!
This time urgency produced impulsive and high-risk behaviors in my adolescent mind. The diving boards at the pool provided the perfect opportunity for recklessness behavior. I never took a diving lesson and decided to try complex diving techniques. I practiced the cut-away dive for over a week. Neither the lifeguard, nor anyone else commented on my near disasters. I was going to suffer the fate of Christopher Reeve, AKA Superman, without an intervention.
My friend finally took decisive action concerning my reckless behavior and poor diving skills. She approached me at the diving board and in a firm manner said, "Tommy never do that dive again." I hesitated for a moment, thinking that the dive was not that poor. She paused for a moment, and commented, "You are going to break your neck or die. Your head missed that diving board by an inch." She was right; I was an accident waiting to happen. I never did that dive again; I gave up diving for life.
Maryann McNally (1960) cared about other people. The noblest human quality one can have is to care enough to prevent harm to another or to save a life. Maryann made a difference in my life; she saved me from my "perfect storm."
Jean Hofer Peters 1962
I graduated in 1962 from DAHS and two weeks later my family moved to New Jersey. I moved to Queens and began a job in Manhattan. I worked in Manhattan moving up to a position as an Editorial Assistant for the then book publisher, Harcourt, Brace & Janovich located at 757 Third Avenue. In 1965 I met my husband Ed Peters. At the time Ed was a high school math teacher and a lifeguard at Jones Beach in the summer. We actually met at Jones Beach.
In August of 1968 we married, moved and moved to Flushing. At this time Ed was working as a programmer for RCA on Wall Street. In 1969 we decided to move to Hawaii. So we stored our furniture, packed up our TR-250 and drove across country with another couple (they drove an Austin Healey). When we reached California, we shipped our car to Oahu. We lived in Hawaii (both on the North Shore and then in Kailua) for a year and then came back to L.I. Ed and I settled in Syosset in 1970, began our family and I went to college for nursing--first to Nassau Community College and the St. Joseph's College.
We have a son Michael who is 33 married to Danielle and has two children, Matthew, age 4 and Mackenzie, age 3. Our daughter Corinne is 30 and is to be married this July to Mike. Michael lives in Connecticut and works for the phone company. My daughter-in-law is a para-legal. My daughter Corinne and Mike are both teachers and lifeguards at Jones Beach. My son also worked as a lifeguard at Jones Beach before moving to Connecticut.
My career in nursing began at the then Nassau Hospital in Mineola, which is now Winthrop University Hospital. I was a staff nurse in the Emergency Department and the Operating Room. I then moved to another type of nursing, working for an insurance company to aid people on disability or comp return to work. Not the job for me. I then moved back to a hospital. Glen Cove Hospital which became North Shore University Hospital at Glen Cove. I was the Head Nurse in the Operating Room. I ended my career at Mid-Island Hospital in Bethpage as the Nurse Manager responsible to the Surgical Services Department which is made up of five departments.
After my husband and I retired, he returned to teaching high school math at Mepham HS where he also coached the girls' swim team -- we spent the first winter back in Hawaii. We would spend another winter in Hawaii, and two in St. Augustine, Florida. In 2003 we bought a house in Jupiter, Florida where we spend our winters. I went back to working on a per-diem basis until 2004. I am now retired for the second time. We still have our home in Syosset where we spend our spring, summer and fall. Ed still lifeguards at Jones Beach where he is a Captain at West End II. I would love to hear from anyone from DAHS class of '62. My email address is jmprn@optonline.net
Damon Solomon 1960
THE LAST 45 YEARS
I finished up at Hofstra College in 1964, and then went to work in the entertainment industry until 1968. I met my lovely wife Fran in 1967 and married in 1968. She was an art teacher and actually student taught at Division Avenue. I switched careers in 1969 and to this day I am still working in the furniture industry. My daughter Corrie was born in 1971 and we all moved to Miami when she was three-months old. I opened up a Florida branch of the N.Y.C. store, TIP TOP EQUIPMENT CORP., on the corner of 46th St. and 2nd Ave. in the Design Center of Miami.
My son Steven was born in 1974 and we all lived in what is now known as Aventura. I closed the Miami store in 1989 and opened in The Design Center of The Americas in 1985. The Design Center is located in Ft. Lauderdale near the Ft. Lauderdale airport. We moved from Aventura to Hollywood in 1995 and we are still living there now. My wife and I semi-retired about three years ago after a series of illnesses and my daughter and son-in-law now run the business.
My son Steven is on the faculty at Florida State University and also has his own business as a grant writer. I have three grand daughters with a fourth due to arrive in mid June. My brother Philip, who also graduated DAHS several years after me still lives on Long Island in Mt. Sinai and owns the Port Jefferson Cinemas, in P.J. .As a matter of fact he once had Jay Citrin's daughter working at his theatre.
For those of you who remember my Mom and Dad, they both passed away in the last three years and use to constantly talk about DAHS, and their wonderful times in Levittown growing up with my brother, myself and all of our friends. It was a very special time for all of us and we were all very lucky to be part of an era of happiness and innocence that this country may never see again. It's been wonderful reading about all of my old friends and their last 45 years, too. My only regret is that so many of our old friends are not here to enjoy it with us. Damon's email address is damonsolomon@bellsouth.net
Bill Stanley 1960
I HAVE NOTHING BUT FOND MEMORIES OF MY LIFE IN LEVITTOWN AND ENDED UP BUYING A LEVITT HOUSE IN THE HICKSVILLE SECTION WHEN I GOT MARRIED. READING THE NEWSLETTER, IT IS FUN SEEING HOW WE HAVE MATURED (OR IS IT GROWN OLD), ALTHOUGH IN MY MIND THINK I'M STILL A KID THAT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO BE "IF" I GROW UP.
I TIRED TO LIVE THE LIFE OF DOING SOMETHING I LOVE, THAT BEING, PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL. AFTER COMING OUT OF THE ARMY, WHERE I PLAYED ON THE FIRST ARMY CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL TEAM AS A STARTING WIDE RECEIVER, DEFENSIVE HALF BACK AND PUNTER AND ALL STAR CENTER FIELDER AND CO-CAPTAIN FOR THE WURZBURG WARRIORS BASEBALL TEAM IN THE MARNE DIVISION BASEBALL LEAGUE IN GERMANY, I WENT TO A BASEBALL SCHOOL IN WEST PALM BEACH FLORIDA IN HOPES OF BEING NOTICED (AS THEY SAY).
I WAS OFFERED A TRYOUT WITH THE ATLANTA BRAVES WHO HAD SPRING TRAINING IN WEST PALM AT THAT TIME. AFTER THE TRYOUT, THEY TOLD ME THAT I WAS BETTER THEN ALL THE GUYS OUT ON ANOTHER FIELD THERE, THAT TURNED OUT TO BE THEIR A-BALL PLAYERS, HOWEVER, THE DREADED HOWEVER, I WAS 23 AND THEY WERE 21 AND THEY WOULD HOPE THAT THEY WOULD BE PAST WERE I WAS AT THAT TIME.
THEY ASKED IF I WOULD CONSIDER PLAYING BALL IN CANADA, AND IF THINGS WORKED OUT, THEY WOULD BRING ME BACK TO THE STATES. OF COURSE, I SAID YES AND ENDED UP BEING OFFERED A TRYOUT WITH A TEAM IN QUEBEC PROVINCE CALLED THE ROYALS OF DRUMMONDVILLE, IN THE PROVINCIAL LEAGUE. I WENT UP THERE AND MADE THE TEAM AS THE STARTING LEFT FIELDER AND LEAD OFF HITTER. I WAS DOING GREAT UNTIL WE STARTED PLAYING NIGHT GAMES, HITTING AROUND .383 DURING THE DAY BUT ONLY.075 AT NIGHT. OUR FIELD HAD THE WORST LIGHTS IN THE LEAGUE AND A BIG WHITE SIGN IN CENTER FIELD. WE ALL HAD TO HIT UNDER THESE CONDITIONS BUT AFTER BEING RELEASED AND COMING HOME I FOUND OUT THAT I HAD NIGHT BLINDNESS, EVEN THOUGH I HAD 20/20 VISION. BUT I GAVE IT A SHOT.
SOON AFTER COMING HOME, I MET MY WIFE TO BE, FELL IN LOVE, GOT MARRIED, HAD GREAT CHILDREN, BILLY JR. AND KIM, WHO GOT MARRIED APRIL 1ST, BOUGHT A HOUSE IN HICKSVILLE AND GOT A JOB AS A SALESMAN, SELLING BUILDING MATERIALS, LOST THAT WHEN THE BOSS'S DAUGHTER GOT MARRIED AND EVENTUALLY WENT TO WORK AS A NASSAU COUNTY CORRECTION OFFICER AT THE COUNTY JAIL. IN 2001, I RETIRED AS A LIEUTENANT/TOUR COMMANDER.
I PLAYED "UNDER THE LIGHTS" AT LORING ROAD FIELD A LOT AND ALTHOUGH THE LIGHTS WERE BAD, I HAD NO REAL PROBLEM PLAYING THERE. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE LIGHTS IN DRUMMONDVILLE WERE WORSE. WE HAD TEAMS COME ONTO THE FIELD AND YELL "WE GIVE UP, TURN ON THE LIGHTS." IN ONE GAME A LOW LINE DRIVE HIT TOWARDS ME IN LEFT, HIT ME IN THE STOMACH BECAUSE I LOST IT IN THE LIGHTS, WHICH WERE LOWER THAN LORING ROAD'S LIGHTS.
SPEAKING OF LORING ROAD FIELD, MANY YEARS AGO, NELLIE ORTIZ, KENNY KEMMER AND I WOULD GO TO LORING ROAD FIELD AND PLAY THREE-MAN BASEBALL, HITTING FROM THE EDGE OF THE OUTFIELD FENCE TOWARDS THE BACK STOP. OVER THE FENCE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BACK STOP WAS A HOME RUN AND OVER THE BACK STOP ITSELF WAS A GRAND SLAM. WE WERE VERY YOUNG BUT WHEN ANYONE OF US REACHED 59 HOME RUNS WE WOULD START ALL OVER AGAIN AS NONE OF US WANTED TO BREAK BABE RUTH'S RECORD. I GUESS THE KIDS LIKE US THAT LIVED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF HEMPSTEAD TURNPIKE WERE A LITTLE STRANGE.
SPEAKING OF STRANGE, THIS REMINDS ME OF MY EARLY DAYS OF FISHING. BOBBY BURNER LIVED JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM ME ON SHELTER LANE AND TOBY RUTNER LIVED A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY ON SHOTGUN LANE. SINCE TOBY COULDN'T GET UP EARLY, WHEN BOBBY AND I ARRIVED AT TOBY'S HOUSE, WE WOULD HAVE TO PULL ON A STRING THAT TOBY TIED AROUND HIS ANKLE IN ORDER TO WAKE HIM UP. WE WOULD THEN RIDE TO TWIN LAKES WITH OUR FISHING RODS TIED TO OUR BIKES.
WE ALSO USED TO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE SEA BREEZE INN OR JOANNDI'S IN WANTAGH TO FISH FOR SALT WATER SPECIES LIKE FLOUNDER, ETC. THE SEA BREEZE IN WAS THE PLACE THAT JEFF LINCER CUT HIS FOOT SO BAD AS HE WAS GETTING BACK IN THE BOAT THAT HE WORE A CAST UP TO HIS HIP MOST OF THE SUMMER. UNFORTUNATELY, WE LOST BOBBY RECENTLY, HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND AT THAT TIME AND I MISS HIM TREMENDOUSLY.
SPEAKING OF JEFF LINCER, WE WERE HAVING A BB GUN FIGHT AT HIS HOUSE WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND STUPID. YOU KNOW HOW, WHEN YOU PLAY GUNS AS A KID, YOU THINK YOU CAN HID BEHIND A BUSH AND BE SAFE. WELL IT'S NOT TRUE. I THINK IT WAS BOB BONACCI WHO WAS HIDING BEHIND THE BUSH WHEN I SHOT HIM IN THE BUTT. HE JUMPED UP HOLDING HIS BUTT AND YELLING WHILE I STOOD THERE LIKE DOPE LAUGHING. WELL BOB GOT THE LAST LAUGH AS HE SHOT ME IN THE MOUTH AS I LAUGHED HITTING MY TOOTH, CRACKING IT AND THEN HITTING MY TONGUE. I DIDN'T REALIZE IT THEN, BUT AFTER THE SWELLING WENT DOWN, THE BB WAS LODGED IN MY TONGUE, WERE IT REMAINED UNTIL TWO YEARS AGO BECAUSE I HAD TO HAVE IT REMOVED SO I COULD GET AN MRI. THE RULE WAS NO HEAD SHOTS, BUT IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE, YOU CAN FORGET.
HOPE YOU ENJOYED SOME SOUTH SIDE MEMORIES. MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS: sweetlu4@optonline.net
Len Sandok 1963 writes:
I can't tell you how much I enjoy getting the Newsletter. I especially enjoyed the Zippy cartoons. I first found Zippy when a friend of mine told me there was a cartoon about Levittown in the St Paul Pioneer Press. (We are Minneapolis Star Tribune readers, and the readers of these papers almost never agree upon anything.). Ever since then I borrow his paper and look at Zippy each day. I have a collection of Levittown cartoons that I photocopy (which is probably illegal because of copyright laws) and have hanging beside my computer at home. These will be framed and added to the collection.
We used to go back to Levittown once or twice each year, but since the family has passed on we go less frequently. I even dragged the kids to Division Avenue on one trip about 10 years ago. They were amazed that the old man could still open the top part of almost any locker!
What a great time and place to grow up. I remember the Levittown Athletic Club sports teams. It was the league where everyone who showed up had to play. That was good for me or I would never have played. The guys played at Redwing field if we were playing hardball and at the West Village Green if we played stickball. When we got hot, we would cool of with a swim at the pool.
Many of my finest memories are of fishing and water skiing in the bay behind Jones Beach. We were always close to water on Long Island and I loved boats. At one point we lived in Michigan and I missed the water. We have lived in Minnesota for over 25 years. It has thousands of lakes, good fishing (no flounder or fluke, but they have Crappies, pronounced Crop-ies) and clean water.
Unlike my kids here in Minnesota, I didn't drive a car to school for the first time until finals week during my senior year. I was so excited about driving that I cut out too early from the Regents exam. I passed, but it was not my finest hour. By the way, my kids never knew what Regents exams were. My kids missed Jones Beach, water you swim in that tastes salty, Broadway shows, community pools, streets that don't go North and South or East and West and Village Greens. In Minnesota I think they have less traffic, less crime, more cold, more snow and a very good life, but it wasn't Levittown. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I am a member of the class of 1963 and I never lived in Levittown again after high school. I went to college out of town and then never moved back to New York. My kids are grown and we will try to make the reunion and I hope other class members from the classes of '63, '64 and '65 will attend as well. If anyone from Levittown stops in Minnesota, I'd be happy to share memories. My email address at home is LSANDOK@AOL.COM
Profile of Levittown
http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ny/levittown.htm
From Diane McDonnell 1960
Seeing Ronnie Albaum's "life review" in the last Newsletter made me think, of course, of Ronnie and Donnie -- which led me back to a day in Frank Waters' English class. I wonder if anyone else remembers this. Anyhow, various members (mostly boys) of the class were regularly disruptive. This day, Mr. Waters, a large man, walks in and slams his briefcase on the desk and practically yells that he's had it with us, and he is going to make an example and really brush someone off. He calls either Donnie or Ronnie to the head of the class, has R or D against the blackboard, still berating class behavior in a loud voice. And suddenly, he literally brushed R or D off with a whisk broom or some other small brush. For all I know it could have been April 1st, but whether it was I don't recall at all. I guess he had me scared and that's why I remember it. That memory still gives me a chuckle, though.
Photo website: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fbarning/my_photos
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Newsletter Editor: Frank Barning 1960, fbarning@yahoo.com
posted 2005.07.11 - last edited 2005.07.14
Copyright 2005, blue-dragons.com and Frank Barning
