JULY 28, 2023

TO RESPOND WITH A COMMENT OF YOUR OWN, PLEASE WRITE TO OR CLICK ON WHSALUM63@AOL.COM. 

THE ‘WHS NOTE’ WILL TAKE A SUMMER HIATUS THROUGH THE MONTH OF AUGUST. THE NEXT WEEKLY INSTALLMENT IS SCHEDULED FOR AFTER LABOR DAY TO BE IN YOUR “IN BOX” ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8. BEST WISHES FOR THE REST OF THE SUMMER.

Hi Keepers of the Weequahic Piece(s): 

Karen Goldberg (6/62) has a family name change from Shenman to Gerson (tolife.karen@gmail.com). 

Nancy Weisburd Brill (59) is receiving the “WHS Note” now at Nancy.brill@icloud.com.

Barbara Kresch Rothschild (6/62) has a new email at Blrothschild44@gmail.com

Susan Oaklander Leon (1/58) shares news of friend’s passing:

My cousin Helaine Larkey Schonberger (6/57) passed away on July 218th in Allentown, PA. “Lainie” lived most of her life in Allentown and later in Boca Raton, FL. Her brother Richard “Arieh” Larkey graduated Weequahic in June 1953.She will be missed by her loving son Michael, his wife Beth, four grandchildren, me, and many friends. “Laine’s obituary appears at Helaine Schonberger Obituary. Sue

Correction:

Brenda Allen’s (64) family name was misspelled last week and should have read “O’Neal.”

Omission last week fro Alan Ginter (64/65; "the Weequahic work ethic also included my younger cousin downstairs at 272 Schley Street, Susan Feldman (66) who joined the Navy after high school graduation and later attended university.

“WHS Note” Bulletin Board:

Nor Toporek (6/63), Jeff Friedman (1/62), Phil Yourish (6/64)

With only one month and a few days until Labor Day and two and a half months before the October 14, 2023 Joint Reunion of our WHS Classes of 1962, 1963 and 1964, as reunion committee members we call on and invite our classmates who have, yet done so, to register and respond with a “YES” and a formal RSVP. A copy of the invitation can be accessed by clicking on this LINK TO THE PDF.

Please ‘LIKE” and follow 6oth Reunion activities on Facebook, LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE Facebook page (175 have joined the group so far).

To date, the attendance roll stands at ???, a number of which we are proud (far surpassing the catering guarantee) and for which we are grateful to our fellow Weequahic graduates. We are looking forward to seeing you all at the Delta Somerset in Somerset, NJ. Nor, Jeff, Phi

Janicea Jones-Vance (94)

We are currently in the process of forming a planning committee regarding the “Class of 1994 30TH Class Reunion.” More details are forthcoming, but all interested in assisting or desiring more information, please reach out to me at flwrofluv@gmail.com. Janicea

William Ginsburg (58) reaches out to WHS friends:

Known in my youth as “Billy.” I am sure many of the people that I know will be impressed (humor) with details of my life. I spent three years as a member of the 82nd Airborne division housed in Fort Bragg NC. I avoided Viet Nam While in NC. The early 60's was the quiet part of the war and it did not get really ugly until later. I didn't hide, Just the way it happened.  

Feel free to say hello; my email is dandWginsburg@gmail.com. Living in Boca Raton, Florida. I'll be happy to send you my history. Billy

Margie Bauman (60) highlights an WHS alumnus story of some interest:

Very surprised to receive an email recently from Alberta "Albie" Handelman, a Weequahic High graduate, Class of June, 1961. I have not heard from her since I graduated in June, 1960, which is quite a while. She was an amazingly talented singer and songwriter while at Weequahic and was fun to be around. Albie is the composer of a new musical, "Humanity Denied,” which is to be part of the New York Theater Festival. Her letter noted a web location citing career highlights, Link to Alberta Handelman Career Highlights. Margie

David Klein (1/58) shares an article posted recently in his sports e-newsletter, “E-Giants concerning neighbors and WHS family:

I had a lunch date with three other guys a few days ago. And wait, before you suggest that this was no big deal, let me explain. One of them was a guy I have known literally forever. Our families lived across the street from each other in Newark and we were born less than three months apart. Our mothers used to take us for walks around the block in our carriages while they talked and enjoyed the air. We went to Yankee and Giant games as kids and we were almost inseparable, and I am not going to tell you about all the adventures we had and all the escapades in which we found ourselves ensnared which, to this day, cannot logically be explained.

But wait, there’s more. There were three boys in each family. I was the oldest, and so was my friend. My middle brother, who is no longer with us, was as old as his middle brother. My younger brother, the incomparable baseball writer Moss Klein, is as old as his younger brother. His two siblings were with us for lunch. My kid brother lives in Florida, so he was present in thought but not in person.

And it dawned on me, sitting there with the strongest possible attachment to my childhood aside from my own family, that between the four of us we represented 317 years; 362 if you count my missing brother; 435 if Florida had been there. Is that possible? I wouldn’t have thought so, but it felt perfectly natural, and it also felt as if no time at all had slipped past. The two old guys have weathered the decades reasonably well. His middle brother, not so much. But he is still around, happy and kicking. His younger brother has had a few difficulties, but he still wakes up on the right side of the grass every morning. Moss is doing fine; could be better but who’s going to complain?

So there we sat, playing our roles as throwbacks to a different decade, recalling memories of fishing, playing in the street, high school remembrances (we all went to the same high school, Weequahic), girlfriends, disappointments, our children, our grandchildren. You know, all the things that make up those younger years and leave the most enjoyable, precious, and irreplaceable memories. We all had stories about a Weequahic Chemistry teacher who was absolutely unbearable, who once threatened one of us with a failing grade for the semester if he went on a one-week vacation with his parents. We remembered a few outstanding teachers, basketball games, football games.

My contemporary was a superb baseball player. I tried a little basketball and a little football. He reminded me about my game against a future All-American center at Notre Dame who I simply couldn’t cover, who scored 37 points against me and who said, when the torture was over, “You did a good job, kid, made me look good, and I know you memorized the number on the back of my jersey all day.” I did. It was 42. And yeah, I pushed him to the ground. But he just didn’t stop smirking.

Later, when the reunion was over, when we all left to take our separate ways, I couldn’t shed the feeling that it had been a once-in-a-lifetime afternoon, a sort of time warp, a rekindling of all those years before, when the world (especially ours) was different and less complicated and, in many ways, exciting and filled with new adventures just waiting to be experienced. In these, one might say troubling times, it was comforting to slip back in time and pretend. And if that’s all we get, I’ll take it. I loved it, and as an old-time comedian used to say, “Thanks for the memories.”  

At this point, you are questioning who are these yet to be identified individuals, old friends reunited. Of course, there is me, Dave Klein, 83, author of 23 books and 39 years sportswriter and columnist for The Star-Ledger, specializing on covering the NY Giants and still do via “E-GIANTS.” For a sample week of “E-Giants,” send your name and email to: davesklein@aol.com.

The three brothers are Lewis Fromkin (6/58), Bill Fromkin (62) and Les Fromkin (67). Lew is 83 and president/CEO of Fromkin Energy, specializing in natural gas and oil. Bill is a retired dentist. Les was a home builder, since retired. My brothers Moss (68), who was not at the mini-reunion, a sportswriter, as well. My brother Barry (62) was not at the reunion; he died in 1988.    David

W-Nostalgia Commentaries: 

Mel Rubin (56)

As I read the newsletter, I am drawn to my favorite subject, FOOD. Warren Bratter’s (60) uncle, Mort, owned Syd’s and later a place on St Georges Avenue in Linden. For four years I ate hot dogs, first at Cohen’s while in the Annex and later, for three years at Syd’s. I would have two hot works, an order of fries and a Cookamanga for .75 cents. Later, I would stop at Syd’s in Millburn and have the same luncheon. The hot dogs would cost $2.50 instead of $ .05. I was told that the cost of the food went up 10 times. I didn’t mind the increase; I was relishing in this great food.

Paula Borenstein’s (67) brochure reminded me of the Bunny Hop. Years later, I would visit Richie Trugman (6/60) at the Bunny Hop on Chancellor Avenue and later at the Essex green mall in West Orange. I would salivate and then eat a “Bunny Bomb,” a sliced grilled steak sandwich with onions, peppers, and fries. It took years to shed the weight gained by these delicacies. But boy, I enjoyed them at the time. Mel

Jack Cobin (Peshine 56/Linden 60)

To Rich Kaplan (1/61) and his note on "Unstoppable," a book that tells the true story of concentration camps survivor and NJ resident Siggi Wilzig and mentions his wife Naomi, a Weequahic graduate. I knew her, but did not know she was from Newark or of her husband. I knew her from a nudist camp in Tampa and how she opened an erotic museum in Miami. I was invited to the opening 10/05/2005. Jack