JULY 11, 2025

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

Hi Members of the WHS Friendship Circle,

Renewal of prior request for support:

Several weeks ago, an appeal was made through our weekly newsletter seeking your support for the “Weequahic Class of 63 Association” and their effort to maintain our connection to the high school, the neighborhood and each other. Reaching out to you with this request that you do as many have in the past, show your support for our weekly alumni newsletter, "WHS Note," and the Weequahic Class of 1963 Scholarship Fund.

With the hope that our newsletter subscribers will continue supporting this effort that has continued for more than 26 years, please fill out the form that appears at (LINK TO PDF), and show your support for the Association and the scholarship fund. Thank you for consideration of this request and, hopefully, you affirmative response.

Neil Rosen advises of passing of his mother, a WHS alum:

My mother, Gayle Brody Jacobs (6/52) passed away this past week, July 1st. She was quite active in public service for the local towns in which she lived and state levels in New Jersey and Florida, as well as for the Jewish community and as a citizen. Her obit was printed in the Star Ledger last Saturday and appears at Obituary for Gail Brody Jacobs.  Neil

Jack Lippman (50) shares recollections via a piece he authored:

I wrote a lengthy short story some years ago that I prefaced with an introduction that was mostly true, and which might be of interest to you. I named my work “Across From the Tavern,” the legendary Newark restaurant (picture, below) situated on the corner at the intersection of Meeker and Elizabeth Avenues and directly across the street from Weequahic Park (and where the #17 bus would stop to pick up passengers headed to NYC). The story is not so much about the Tavern as it is about activities in the nearby area surrounding the restaurant starting with newspaper sales on the opposite corner across from the Tavern. 

Just a spoiler alert, though, here is the sole paragraph referencing the restaurant itself. “And speaking of Newark locales, and getting back to the corner where my father went to pick up the Mirror, I had mentioned the Tavern Restaurant across from the drugstore. We didn’t eat there very often since it was a rather expensive place. Though I never was really certain, I had the feeling that, during Prohibition, it had been a speakeasy frequented not only by locals, but by visitors from New York City. Some of the windows were stained glass and the interior of the restaurant was comprised of a series of sedate wood-paneled rooms and in those days, when smoking was still generally acceptable, the not always unpleasant aroma of cigar smoke. The Tavern was the kind of place you got dressed up to visit on special occasions and the kind of place where it was not unlikely that you might encounter someone who looked like a racketeer.”

The attachment contains the full introduction for “Across From the Tavern” and can be accessed by clinking on LINK TO PDF.  Jack

Weequahic Class Reunion:

Weequahic Class of 1970

SAVE THE DATE -- NOVEMBER 29, 2025 – 8pm- 12:00am

Galloping Hill Inn -- 325 Chestnut Street, Union, New Jersey

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT: whsclass1970@gmail.com 

or 

Patricia Price at cordi27@aol.com  

Mary Ware-Brown at brownmf@optimum.net

Norman Levine (6/63) lauds the connection the “WHS Note” sustains:

I find myself reaching out today, which doesn't happen often since I prefer keeping a low profile. But reading about the passing of my classmate, Phyllis Frank Twiss, stirred something in me that I couldn't ignore. I want you to know that I read every e-mail that is sent out. So many times, I'll be going through the updates and suddenly find myself getting emotional, seeing the names of old friends who have passed away, remembering faces from the hallways, and thinking about all the lives that intersected at Weequahic and then spread out across the world.

The truth is, even though I stay quiet, I am deeply connected to what is being done through the weekly newsletter. Not only is news being delivered, the newsletter delivers pieces of our hearts back to us. They remind us that being a Weequahic graduate isn't just something from our past; it's an integral part of who we are today.

That school gave us more than an education. It gave us character, community, and a sense of belonging that has lasted over sixty years. When I think about the values I've carried through my life, so many of them trace back to those formative years in those familiar halls.

I know there are many of us out here who may not respond nor write in often, but don't mistake that silence for indifference. We're reading. We're remembering. We're grateful. Thanks for being the keepers of our shared story. What you do matters more than you'll ever know. With deep appreciation and Weequahic pride, Norman

Definitely summer escape time; Jersey Shore memories continue ala Jac Toporek (6/63):

I guess that I can comment and fulfill the request I previously made of you about sharing Jersey Shore memories. As I recall, and my twin brother Nor can affirm or revise what might be a blurred memory from an almost 80-year-old, our family may have spent a week at a time in Bradley once or twice. The usual shore visit was a daily one on Sunday because mom and dad spent Monday through Saturday at the two fish stores owned on Spruce Street in Newark. 

As exhausting as the work week was, the Saturday evening before the Sunday trip to Bradley was full of excitement and activity making sure that we were well prepared for an early rise and ride to the shore. Mom dealt with the food prep, boiling potatoes and searing onions and then mixing the two for what always turned out to be a delicious and very filling mid-day repast. And, she even found time to make those salami sandwiches to nibble on as the “side” for the potatoes. I am sure there were desserts thrown in like those delicious cookies that mom home-baked. No doubt though, even with the availability of the baked goodies, the twin Toporeks would make certain that their Sunday at the beach included a cone of refreshing and yummy Koor’s on the boardwalk. Now that I think back, mom was well deserving of praise for her effort, especially, after a full day of work at the fish store.

Dad, probably. with the assist of me and my brother, packed the car and our bags with the family essentials for a day at Bradley. Towels, change of clothes, beach blanket, a couple of chairs (no tents or umbrellas frequently seen on the sand as today), and so forth. I always wondered how did it all fit in dad’s Chevy Impala.

And then the early morning ride with the aggravating bumper to bumper trip south on the Parkway. Not fun for anyone in our car or for anyone else heading from Jersey’s north to Jersey’s south and the shore. Often it was a ride of an hour (if lucky), but usually an hour and a half or, if not so lucky, two hours or more. Passengers praying that there would be no accidents ahead to lengthen the trip and shorten the time spent on the beach. 

Did I get to the day itself at Bradley’s beach, yet? Maybe some other time. Enough to say that for the young twins, it was help with unpacking, finding a spot on the beach (often near to where a family acquaintance sat or a Holocaust survivor friend who shared with my parents that tragic experience) and then immediately thereafter running to the shore line and jumping head first into the briny ocean. What a pleasure to spend 90% of the day in the water and then re-experiencing the waves of the ocean water as we lay in bed at home that evening. Oh ya, also covered with Noxzema (SPF #; anyone knew then, or now?) in those body areas where we were victimized by a broiling sun. A beach Sunday without a burnt red nose and shoulders was a failure. Jac

Going with the flow of Weequahic memories: 

Marc Tarabour (6/63)

Thought our readers might enjoy seeing this yellowing ad, probably cut from the Star Ledger, Newark News or our own house paper, the “Calumet.” Definitely a most frequented spot for the Weequahic faithful, yet, it, too, is now a very fond memory. Marc

Nate Himelstein (South Side 1/55)

As a young boy, every time I passed the Krueger Brewery when my dad was driving on Belmont Avenue, I always looked forward to viewing the statue of the King. And, the other treat was also smelling the aroma from Fisher Bakery located on the same street. So, thanks to Carl Wilson (6/64) for posting the King’s photo a few weeks ago. Nate

The WHS NOTE is emailed to you by the WEEQUAHIC HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION for the CLASS OF 1963 ASSOCIATION and editor, Jacob Toporek.



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