Around Hicksville

Kudos to the Hicksville Middle School Student Council for organizing this year's school-
wide toy drive. Under the direction of advisers Janice Fitzgerald and Jennifer Presti, the

group collected toy donations from middle school families and staff members throughout
the month of December.
Michele Johnson, Councilwoman

It’s almost the end of 2018, and I still have so many unanswered questions! I still haven’t
found out who let the dogs out...where’s the beef...how to get to Sesame Street. Why all
flavors of Fruit Loops taste exactly the same, or how many licks it takes to get to the
center of a Tootsie pop......why eggs are packaged in a flimsy carton, but batteries are
secured in plastic that’s tough as nails... why “abbreviated” is such a long word, or why
there is a D in ‘fridge’ but not in refrigerator... why lemon juice is made with artificial
flavor yet dishwashing liquid is made with real lemons... why they sterilize the needle for
lethal injections... and why you have to “put your two cents in” but it’s only a “penny for
your thoughts” (where’s that extra penny going??)... why The Alphabet Song and
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star have the same tune... why you just tried to sing those two
previous songs... And what exactly Victoria’s secret is... and where Is Waldo?... Can you
hear me now?...and do you really think I am this witty? Actually, I got this from a friend,
who stole it from her brother’s girlfriend’s uncle’s cousin who lived next door to an old
class mate’s mailman. Now, it is your turn to take it from me...copy and paste, so your
friends can enjoy a little giggle too.
Editor note…you forgot, “Where’s The Beef”???
Joanna Capper Osterman 1975

Robert Sprague commented on your video “Hicksville Then & Now”

https://youtu.be/yk_viU42PlU
Yes, that was McKeon Lumber just down from the Carvel Store at Ludy Street and Route
107.

The only way on earth to multiply happiness is to divide it! – Paul Scherer

We will be away from December 8th through the 24th. We are going on a cruise down in
South America, sailing on Celebrity's "Eclypse". We pick up the ship in Buenos Aries
then sail down the East coast of Argentina and will be making 2 stops in Uruguay, and in
Chile as well. We will pass through the Straits of Magellan and sail around Cape Horn on
our way to Chile. I never dreamed we get to all the places that we studied in geography
while in school!
Please hold your e-mails and save the news and good jokes till we return.
John is feeling better and wants very much to go, so we are giving it a try! It's a 10 hour
flight each way, and we did upgrade our accommodations so we will have more leg room
and more space to stretch. Hopefully, it will work out. I hope that you will all have the
Merriest of Christmases and wish you many blessings in the New Year! I did get
Christmas cards out, but if you were missed, I apologize. You know how it is as it gets
closer to departure...busy, crazy busy. We send our best wishes to you, families and
friends.
xoxo
Barbara DiBella Dowd (the typist) 1962 and John Dowd (the husband)
Hi Bob…John & I sailed down the east coast of Argentina and we were down and around
Cape Horn. We did so well on that part of the trip because the stabilizers are so good.
Hardly and rolling or rocking, and the weather was overcast and showery and COLD!
Not the best of days! We sailed in the Straits of Magellan by the Glaciers, weather the
same...we stopped in a place called Terra del Fuego National Park in Argentina, by the
city of Ushuaia and in the park we had snow...nice fat, big flakes which settled
themselves on the grass besides the road. When we exited the ship to make this
excursion the wind and rain were blowing so strongly, we had trouble walking straight
up! And this is in their SUMMER! The average temperature there for this time of year is
52-54F and it was quite a bit less with heavy wind chill. For those of us who are
Floridians and don't get snow, it was a taste of Christmas! We made stops in Punta
Arenas, Chile, better weather, temps 55-57F and then headed back up Argentina's coast,
back to Buenos Aires.Temps there were more summery - 85 and humid! Same with
Montevideo, Uruguay. John did really well on our trip. Minimum of pain and overall, it
was one of our better trips!
Hope all is well and we wish you a very happy New Year.
Xoxo
Barbara

I bet some of our classmates headed to maps to track your trip after seeing the above
itinerary. When we were in Capetown, South Africa (the USS Liberty) back in 1965, our
captain decided he wanted to sail the Indian Ocean so he took us through the Cape of
Good Hope. The impact of the opposite currents took the ship on a jolly roger ride when
we were once again doing the stroll.
Wondered if there will be any effect on a huge ship like the one you will be on as
compared to the 497-foot vessel we called home once upon a time. It was quite a trip.
You said the stabilizers were very good, so there wasn’t too much rocking and rolling.
Love ya, Bob
p.s. Glad John enjoyed the journey and very happy he was not in too much pain.

Those of us that lived in the area of Miller Road had the unique opportunity to participate
in the sport of 'card boarding'. You would head down to the field along the railroad tracks
between the Northern State Pkwy and the LIE and use large pieces of cardboard and do
some grass sledding down the slopes.

Hope never abandons you; you abandon it! – George Weinberg

Hey everyone. We are having a mini reunion on March 2nd in Pompano Beach, Florida.
There are locals and people from out of state coming. I will post soon who will be
coming. Let me say that you all love who is coming.
Bob Willis 1978

Thank You Veterans

Not only on Veterans Day but every day, let’s THANK all of our fellow veterans for their
service to our country, especially the many Hicksville High School veterans who served
in all bases and ships around the world.
SAM ELLIOT NARRATES THIS STIRRING VIDEO.... (4:48 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ aVeBtnfAxP8
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Thank you for the birthday card…

Muriel Maas Froehlich 1955 shown with L to R Dennis Naso, Buffalo Bob
John Pizzariella and Palmer Maas
Harvey Olitsky 1958

Eileen Walter Toscano 1959

Alice McIntosh Rigdon 1961

Frani Fisher Rothkin 1962

Stephanie Hill Vetter 1964

Jim Fischer 1965

Marilyn Bowles Nejman 1966

Maxene Frimmer Grove 1968

David Teitel 1968

Judy Pugliese Alfano 1970

Jan Greenberg Dickelman 1974

Cheryl Schaeffer 1979

Some Thoughts About Birthdays & Anniversaries…

Thank you for the birthday card. It’s always nice to hear from people I’ve known for a
long time.

Thomas Phon 1960

Thank you for the anniversary card and for thinking of us. We are lucky to have
celebrated 52 years together. The card was much appreciated.

Joe Germain 1960 Diane Cuti Germain 1962

Thanks for the great anniversary card. I'd have to say our 50th was very special, with our
delayed river cruise where we celebrated with other family. My brother, Santo and his
wife Jeanne celebrating their 48th and my sister Candy with her husband Peter Colling,
before their 42nd, joined us in having a great time cruising the Rhine River.

Joe Carfora 1962 Santo 1964 Candy 1973

Thank you for the card and thank you for all the work you do producing the Hicksville
Newsletter. Didn’t get my favorite birthday present this year, a big snow. I know some
people never grow up!!!

Eileen Wieditz Moore 1963

Thanks for the birthday card and for thinking of me. It was much appreciated. I look
forward to these cards, Bob, and everyone does such a great job taking us back to “great
times”. Happy New Year to you and the gang at HixNews!!!

Peter Maiorino 1964

Every birthday, every year gets better. How is that possible? I am blessed and grateful.

Jewel Olitsky Umansky 1965

Thank you for the card and for thinking of me. It was much appreciated. I can’t believe
another year has flown by. I feel very blessed. Thanks Again!!!

Karen Armstrong Krautsack 1969

Bob…thank you for the anniversary card. Attached is a photo of Bryce Canyon National
Park in Utah, one stop on our summer trip through 6 national parks and 3 state parks in
Utah, and Arizona.

Jeff Feierstein 1969

Thank you for the card and for thinking of me. It was much appreciated. Always very
nostalgic to get a message from my Hicksville roots. As for memories, I always I will
always remember having one mid-term exam or another on my birthday.

Deborah Wayne Alcantara 1971

Thank you for the very funny and cute care and for thinking of me. It was much
appreciated.

Chris Composto 1979

Elizabeth Tucker 1983

Thank you for the card and for thinking of me. It was much appreciated. That boyfriend
is now my husband for almost two and a half years. His name is Catarino Rodriguez and
everyone calls him “Rino”. We also have a beautiful 13 month old baby boy who we
named Catarino Mario after my husband.
Chrissy Stathes Rodriguez 2007

E-Mail Address Changes

Chris Cronin from the class of 1966 and Rich Delia from the class of 1968 both have a
new email address. Anyone wanting to get in touch with Chris or Rich, send a note to
editors@hixnews.com and we will make the connection.
The editors…
Flashback

This is a page from the class of 1926 graduation booklet. The class motto
“Tonight We Launch, Where Shall We Anchor”
Interesting is that several names are very familiar to me and probably will be to many
others from various classes. There may even be some distant relatives whose names are
on this page!!!
Botto * Stolz * Chomyk * Kearney * Chlumsky * Ulmer * Hahn * Van Slyke * Farley
Who watched Howdy Doody? The show ran from December 27, 1947, until September
24, 1960. It was a pioneer in children's television programming and set the pattern for
many similar shows.
A note to Judy Manning Baron...The first photo is the one you posted earlier about
your house at 15 Garden Blvd. The second photo was taken in 2000 and the third and
fourth were taken in July of 2017. The house didn’t change a lot though it looks like the
house was pushed out on the driveway side and the stoop in the front has changed. The
last photo is the house next to you that had some major changes made over the years.
Burns avenue 1963 photo this is class of 1973

The names below of those pictured in the photo above are in alphabetical order. This is a
3rd grade class at Burns Avenue and these students will be part of the graduating class of
1973. The photo with a list of names was published on December 28 by Linda Schairer.
Next challenge is to look at those numbered and match them to the names shown. There
are 27 names and 27 3rd graders. There were no yearbook photos for several and my
guess is they left school before graduating. There were a couple of former classmates
who were able to match only 5 of the numbered photos. The rest I’ve posted pictures for
but don’t who was who back in the day? If anyone does know the names of others
pictured, send a note to bufbob@juno.com and I can post the results in the March issue.

Henry Boll (no yearbook picture)

Russell Costello

Robert Daub
Theresa Deas

Robert DeRosa

Alice Famigletti #27

Philip Gianfortone

Jeffrey Hirschfield

Theresa Hodgson
John Jenisch

JoAnn Johnn

John Kovaks
Eugene Lederer

Marie Londino (no yearbook picture)

Robert Lynch (no yearbook picture)

Irene Moreno

Patricia Nemeth (no yearbook picture)

Steve Persoff (no yearbook picture)

Mark Salis (no yearbook picture)

Kathy Scattoreggio

Linda Schairer #25

George Schuckmann
Elaine Schuler #27

Stanley Sosulski (no yearbook picture)

Rosemarie Vollono (no yearbook picture)

Richard Webber #9
Helen Werner

A call to the call center at Samsung Electronics

Caller: 'Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?'

Operator: 'I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand who you are talking about.'

Caller: 'On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that

I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC wall socket and
telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for
Jack?'

Operator: 'I think it means the telephone plug on the wall.'

“T h e Sport of C a r d b o a r d i n g”
Those of us that lived in the area of Miller Road had the unique opportunity to participate
in the sport of 'Cardboarding'. You would head down to the field along the railroad
tracks between the Northern State Pkwy and the LIE and use large pieces of cardboard
and do some grass sledding down the slopes.

John Agnoli (1974) When I got older, I rode my bike down and flipped it. End of
story…I went into the school year with a broken wrist in a cast for 9 weeks.
Michael Endsley (1972) Don’t do it now...you’ll break your ass

John - 55yrs later I’ll break more than my arse.

David Teitel (1968) I remember it well.

John Eric Pinero (1977) Loved it back then

Paul Martin (1977) Cardboard hill! Loved it!

Leonard Uusitalo (1970) Yup cardboard hill, and dead dog park was across the street.

John That sump is now overgrown with bushes and trees.

Mike That's a shame.... lots of fun

Gary The sump was the place to go, day or night. We once carved a path on the other
side through the trees at night.

Deb Fippinger (1974) My in-laws house was the big 100 year old house right across
from the sump that is now sort of a nun’s convent. Many a bike race down it's hill. Me
and the late "Sig" spent a lot of bike time and umm...well..."smoking" sessions back in
the day....while I was trying to see if my future husband was outside lol lol.

Don Zettwoch (1974) I remember some of us dragging a car hood up to the top to go
down the hill. Lol
Gary Hertling (1974) We also found that same car top! Pulled it up the hill. Great ride,
except someone got cut on a piece of metal. Ride over.

John Anthony Used the hood from a 1958 Plymouth in the sump.

Mike Soblick (1974) Speaking of Miller Road…Sledding in the sump...unfortunately for

me I ran into that backstop for the dual purpose facility.
Rich Calma (1971) Saw someone hit that backstop once. He cut his face badly and was
walked out of the sump by a friend. He left a big blood stain trail in the snow. We were
all shaken up and didn't go near the backstop again. We lived on Miller Circle. We
weren't allowed to walk that far. LOL.

Kathleen Woods Reitzel Don’t forget sledding down at the sump!

Maureen Stephenson Lytsell (1972) I remember sledding many years with my brother
Jimmy. We lived on Salem Road and the sump was just beyond the back of our yard. Me
and the late "Sig" spent a lot of bike time and umm...well..."smoking" sessions back in
the day....while I was trying to see if my future husband was outside lol.

Richard Bowra (1968) We did the sump on Andrews Road

Laura Carbonella Petersen (1975) I lived on Moeller Street right next to the sump.
Every season someone would cut a hole in the fence and we'd ice skate on one side and
go sledding on the other side.

Greg Navoy (1972) We used to be able to squeeze through the gate on Ronald Ave.
Laura We had no need for that. On our side, the fences were always cut

Vincent R Barone (1984) Cardboard hill !!

Torri Christianson Hill (1978) Such fun!!

Susan Ames Beresk OMG! Cardboard Hill! Wasn't allowed to go there. Did anyway!

Jessica A. Klauber (1972) It was fun!

Rick Russo (1970) We did this in the sump at the corner of Division Avenue and 10th
Street. It was great when someone in the neighborhood got a new washer, dryer or
refrigerator.

Glenn Koebel (1972) Card boarding is all we knew back then and we did it at the
Westbury music fair during snow falls. What a blast!!!
Don Martin (1965) Great way to spend an afternoon.

New Readers
Geraldine Meehan Schnurman 1964

Charles Schnurman 1965

Lori Lazar Conklin 1977

Nancy Pitrelli Mancini 1982

Karen Ehrhardt Nordstrom 1982

A note to Patricia Crabtree…I sent an email to Mary Jo and it bounced back to me. Can
you give me a valid email that I can add to the Hicksville Newsletter new list that I'm
creating? We lost access to the master list when Henry Lichtenstein passed away and the
list he monitored was password protected. Henry never gave the password to any of the
editors so that list is useless.Hope you are well and that your new year is off to a good
start. Thanks for your help.
Buffalo Bob Casale

Her email is (concealed). Hope this helps.

Patricia
Editor note…if you want to contact Mary Jo, contact us at HixNews and we can make it
happen.
Passages
Hi Bob…Happy New Year. Sadly noted in Newsday this past week that

James McGeever from the class of 1966 passed away. Here is a link to his Obituary…
http://www.legacy.com/search?countryId=366899&countryUrl=united-states-of-
america&dateRange=Last7Days&firstName=james&lastName=mcgeever
Hadn't seen him since High School but ran into him in the 90's at his family's furniture
store, Long Island Furniture, which was then on the north service road of Sunrise
Highway near Route 109. Please add him to the list of his classmates who have passed.
Hope the New Year brings you good fortune health and happiness.

Steve Schein 1965

Unfortunately I took these pictures inside St. Ignatius church on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019
after the funeral Mass for my cousin, Jamie McGeever.
The altar had the original Nativity on it for Christmas. I remember this beautiful display
on the left side of the altar for decades growing up and always admired it. I’m relieved
that it wasn’t discarded as many old things are.

Cheryl Gries Brown 1972

Videos On The Internet
The below comment is about my video “Hicksville Then & Now”…
Very Nice Video of Our Hometown!

Ray Schnoor 1972

Magic trick that won a world competition

http://digg.com/video/best-magic-trick