JULY 21, 2023

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

Hi Gleaners of O & B Fields of W-Dreams, 

Avis Dresdner Weeks (1/52) has a new email address, avisweeks7@gmail.com.

Anita Wasserman Banks (55) advises of passing of her brother:

It is with great sadness that I am sharing the news that my brother, Burt Wasserman, Class of January 1961, died on July 14. He was a sensitive and caring person and loved by many people. He turned 80 in February. Messages and thoughts can be left at Burt’s obituary page: Burt Wasserman Obituary.  Anita

Correction:

Omitted from news last week of the passing of Ben Wolfe (6/55), member of the WHS Alumni Association Board, was this link to the Star Ledger obituary; Benjamin Wolfe Obituary. 

WHS PSAs:

For anyone interested in reading back copies (dating from November 2021) of the “WHS Note,” the WHS Alumni Association has archived them at Link to WHSAA Website - WHS NOTE. Also listed are WHSAA Bulletins dating form 2021-preesent.

Thanks to the generosity of many of our weekly readers, another $1,000 will shortly be sent to the WHS Alumni Association in support of the Weequahic Class of 1963 Scholarship Fund (The Fund) bringing the total amount contributed to since 1998 to over $63,000. As a follow up to the request made a number of weeks ago, to those who have, yet, to respond, please lend your individual support by filling out the attached form (Link to PDF) and committing in 2023 to keep The Fund a difference-maker in furthering the future of WHS students and helping the “WHS Note” keep us connected every week.

Linda Stamato (child of WHS graduate) highlights WHS alumnus with significant honors and accomplishments:

Sanford M. Jaffe (Sandy), a proud graduate of the Weequahic Class of 1949) and of Rutgers Newark, having attended its “night school,” as he refers to it. Barely literate, he would tell you, he was challenged to do more by teachers at Weequahic and faculty at Rutgers, whom he recalls fondly. He pleased them, no doubt, by graduating from Harvard Law School and going on to clerk for Chief Justice Weintraub of the New Jersey Supreme Court!

He served his time in the U.S. Army, followed by stints in the Essex County’s Prosecutor’s Office under future New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne. He moved then on to the federal Justice Department under Attorney General Robert Kennedy. NJ Governor Richard Hughes tapped him to lead the investigation into the disorders in Newark, referred to by others as the riots, and his group issued a consequential report that helped guide the Brick City into a promising future. From there Sandy accepted a position at the Ford Foundation in New York and served as its Program Officer in charge of Government and Law. His greatest accomplishment while there, he believes, was the development of and ten+ years commitment to sustaining, public interest law.

After leaving Ford, Sandy joined colleagues to create a center for negotiation and conflict resolution, initially located at Rutgers in Newark, and now in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers (Link to Rutgers Article) where he is also a Senior Fellow in the school’s New Jersey State Policy Lab.

Sandy has been pleased to help support the WHS Alumni Association’s scholarship fund over the years and considers it a privilege, and a necessity, as he was the beneficiary of support over the years and understands how critical support is for students in need.

He is the author of numerous publications, two examples of which I share with you, one more recent, and the other tied to Sandy’s work as a federal prosecutor (when he called upon Jimmy Hoffa as a witness for the government) that he thought others would enjoy.

NJ.COM opinion piece by S.Jaffe

NJ.COM second opinion piece by S. Jaffe. Linda

Lew Wymisner (6/64) points to some third generational WHS pride:

Below is the link to a short article about Daniel Edelman, grandson of Hannah (WHS 63/WO Mountain 65)) and the late Stu Edelman (6/64). Daniel is a member of the NY Red Bulls soccer team and the US Under-20 National Team: Link to Article on Daniel Edelman.   Lew

Alan Ginter (64/65) continues the discussion on the “Weequahic Lifestyle,” focusing on a Weequahic family and the “work ethic:”

As I noted in a previous comment, I play bass and sing in a terrific quartet every Friday at a Ballroom Dance with folks of all ages who know how to dance. The Quartet’s leader is Ken Meyers, a Brooklyn-born pianist who vacationed in the Catskills in the 1940s and played there in the 50s and 60s. I vacationed there in the 50s and played there the 60s and early 70s. We talk endlessly about the times; we played for a lot of the same entertainers (we like to say that if you saw them on Ed Sullivan, one or both of us likely played them) at the same bungalow colonies and hotels, small and large, and for some of the same bandleaders. I naively thought it would last forever and it saddens me that it didn't. 

That leads me nicely to my experiences with the "Weequahic Lifestyle." The work ethic was very much a central part of the lives of my family and everybody I knew. Both our parents worked before my older brother, Fred (61) and I started Chancellor Avenue School. Once Freddy went to school full-time, Mommy stayed at home until I graduated Chancellor, January 1961. Then she went right back to work for her brother, our Uncle George Teitelbaum (father of Hal 65) at his Belmont Avenue (later Roselle Park) photo developing plant.

My father worked at Reliable Electrical Supply Co. 305-307 Springfield Avenue since shortly after they were married in 1938. While I was at Weequahic, my father changed from Reliable to Gamarel Electrical Supply Company on Chancellor Avenue. across the street from the 2^nd Watson Bagel in Irvington. Everyone we knew worked. My Uncle Abe "Rusty" and Aunt Evelin Feldman (parents of Frances 61 and Susan 66) lived in the downstairs flat on Schley Street (we were upstairs). Uncle Rusty was a painter for the City of Newark and Aunt Evelin was a Newark substitute teacher until she got her credential while I was at Chancellor. They got the down payment for our 2-family Schley Street house (272, the 7^th house up from Margie's) from our grandfather, Louis Teitelbaum, who lived with us. 

Back in the day, my grandfather used to deliver the Forward Newspaper with a horse and wagon in the harsh winters wearing a vest made out of newspapers. before we moved to Schley St., my Mother, Uncle George, and Aunt Evelin grew up in a six-family house in front of a horse stable, thus the tale of my grandpa delivering the Forward by horse and wagon. He was forced to retire as a delivery driver for Pechter's Bakery when he became too ill to drive. All five cousins I mentioned above either went to work right after high school (Fred joined the Air Force and then worked) or went to college and then worked. 

Fortunately, I made all my spending money since I was 13 from playing music. I started with Denny Lohman (6/63) on piano, Ritchie Mintz (6/63) on sax, and my best friend Jeff Davis (64) on drums. We were so resourceful that we worked at least two gigs practically every weekend. After Bobby Keil (6/63) on accordion and later Alan Brown on piano replaced Denny, we were able to play the Catskills every summer and school vacation. Once I (the youngest member) started college, we all worked during the week and played Catskills’ bungalow colonies on the weekends. While I was at Trenton State, my mother started working for Essex County running a giant photostat machine with two other women in the basement of the courthouse. By the way, the parents of all the band members also worked. So yes, the "Weequahic Lifestyle" involved a healthy dose of work ethic. 

I have more to say about Route 22 and the various Weequahic doctors but I'll save it. My wife, Valerie (Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Brooklyn, 1966), says I can talk to a brick wall for 20 minutes before I realize it's a one-sided conversation. Until next time.... Alan

Sharing the W-memories:  

Mel Rubin (56)

I can definitely say that the bowling alley was in Irvington, near the AABC Temple. Being an avid bowler, my friends and I bowled there frequently. Does anyone recall the bowling alley at the intersection of Elizabeth and Avon Avenues? It was owned by Moose Skowron, the Yankees’ first baseman. They had handset pins that would scatter all over when you would throw the ball hard. Of course, we always did.

Then there were the lanes owned by Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto at the intersection of the Parkway and Route 3. The ball players were paid “bupkas” (very little) then. Several Yankees worked off-season at American Shops located both on Broad Street and at the Flagship site on Rt 22. I know there was a thorough discussion of that locale several issues ago and I hope I am not reviving that discussion.

I started bowling at the Y on High Street in grade school. Do you remember that uphill walk from the bus stop on Elizabeth Avenue near the Riviera Hotel? I did it every Sunday. What a great building! I never had the opportunity to visit the new location next to Weequahic High. We used the house below Clinton Place for our meetings. Enough rambling for now. Mel

Rick Friedman (65)

I remember pronouncing our school’s name the same as the Wiki article. But, when lazy or tired; the good, reliable “WeekWake.” Rick.

Brenda Allen O’Neill (64)

The gas station that was in between Peddie and Hawthorne Avenues was where my dad used wash cars and also pump gas. I remember we kept his dog Prince for the weekend, a big boxer. He also had a black bird that use to say Hey Sam what do you know or whistle. Sam was my Dad's nickname. (Elijah Allen).  

Shirley Sarasohn Birnholz (1/49)

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful alumni who have such vivid recollections of growing up in the Weequahic neighborhood. I was so fortunate to have attended Maple Avenue School, then Chancellor Avenue and Weequahic. My late husband Jack Birnholz and I graduated from WHS in January, 1949 and cherished our shared memories of a wonderful school. Every time someone recalls something from the past it triggers a special memory for me. Thanks for the memories. Shirley