JUNE 21, 2024

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

Hi Articulators of the Weequahic Message,

Passing, but not forgotten:

Barbara Bierman Schrob (6/64)

It is with heartfelt sadness to report the passing of my beloved husband Irv Schrob on 6/2/2024 after a battle with cancer. Irv graduated Weequahic in January 1963. He was a proud alumnus of Rutgers University and went on to have a full career in the building industry. He leaves behind 4 children and 7 grandchildren and his twin brother David and his spouse Marsha Glucksman Schrob (6/64). His obituary appears at Obituary for Irwin Schrob. Barbara

Tom Boose (1/59)

To his many classmates and friends, past and present, I sadly inform you of the passing of our beloved friend, Fred Milton Dale (1/60). Fred died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of June 9, 2024. He had resided these past 14 plus years in Florida, outside of Fort Lauderdale. 

Born and raised in Newark, Fred was a graduate of Howard University in Washington DC. Fred was never married and had no children. He spent most of his adult life working and supervising teenagers and young adults with drug and alcohol dependencies! Rest in peace dear friend. Tom

The WHS Alumni Association announces Class of 2024 inductees to the Weequahic High School Hall of Distinction:

IRWIN LEE BRODY, 1944 – Inventor and leader in telephone communications for hearing impaired

JEROME WALDOR, 1945 – Air Force Major General and active in Jewish community

MORTON (SUCKNO) STEVENS, 1947 – Musical composer and arranger

ARNOLD KANTROWITZ, 1958 – LGBT activist, educator and author

MARSHALL COOPER, 1969 – Civil servant and community advocate

PATRICIA HORTON BROWN, 1982 - Faith leader, community service, and artist

ARTHUR SCHECHNER, 1949 – Community leader and philanthropist

RAYMOND DRAKE, 1950 – Attorney and healthcare advocate

DR. NOAH CHIVIAN, 1952 – Established dental health center at Beth Israel

DR. SHERRY ORTNER, 1958 – Anthropologist and educator

DR. LEON OSTERWEIL, 1961 – Software engineer and researcher

DR. WARREN MELAMED, 1963 – Dentist and philanthropist

KOMOZI WOODARD, 1967 – Educator and author

WILBUR ROSS, 1973 – Athlete and non-profit founder

JOAN (HOLMES) NAJAHULLAH, 1974 – Community leader and entrepreneur

DOUGLAS FREEMAN, 1990 – Founder of Weequahic Park Sports Authority

INDUCTION CEREMONY AND ADDITIONAL PROGRAM DETAILS WILL BE FORTHCOMING

The WHSAA is a 501(c)3 and donations are tax-exempt to the extent allowable by law.

The Weequahic High School Alumni Association is not, either directly or indirectly, associated with the Weequahic High School Hall of Fame.

Mark Sarver (Maple 65/WHS 66) extends again a reunion invite:

The Maple Avenue School Class of 1965 will hold its 60^th Reunion Weekend with cocktails, dinner and dancing on Saturday, October 26 and a buffet brunch on Sunday, October 27, 2024. The reunion will be at the APA Hotel Woodbridge, 120 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, NJ 08830. This will be an extraordinary regathering of childhood friends and classmates. For information, please contact me at 202-302-7059 or mark.sarver7@gmail.com.  Mark

Sara Friedman Fishkin (6/60) shares photo of her (on left) and WHS classmates Don Benedik and Lois Blumenfeld Gilbert enjoying mini-reunion lunch in Florida:

Greg Tannenbaum (“Tank 2) has a compelling suggestion for WHS reunion committees:

My dad was Jerome "Tank" Tannenbaum. All my life until his unfortunate death at 59, he spoke highly about WHS and his many friends and teammates he cherished. As I read the comments in the alumni paper, I see people whom passed away and thought maybe it would be nice for the reunions to consider inviting the children of WHS graduates like my father. Extending us an invite would help keep the tradition going.

Thank you for allowing me to read about so many of my father's classmates who have had such remarkable backgrounds and continue to inspire because of these shared memories. Greg  

Teachers at WHS receive a nostalgic update:

Steve Epstein (6/63)

In response to the mention of Weequahic Math teachers, I recall Mr. Egeth. Not sure if he taught Algebra or Geometry. Only recall he was very helpful and a kind teacher. As a teacher, Egeth was a good role model. He was very inspirational in wanting you to learn. Steve

Alan Berlin (6)

I remember my Trigonometry teacher, J. Jerome Schlosser as the quite eccentric math genius that he was. At the end of class, he’d ask several students at random to recite two three-digit numbers which he’d multiply in his head and immediately give the right answer. We students would be doing the calculations using paper and pencil in those pre-calculator days to confirm the accuracy of his answers. He also told us that he had a room in his house that was entirely wallpapered in road maps arranged to match up perfectly with each other. I never could master very well the sines, cosines, and tangents of Trigonometry. But I found Mr. Schlosser to be an entertaining marvel. Alan

Warren Sommer (6/58)

The best Math teachers were Mrs. Bingham (Bessie) and Dr. Ranucci. Warren

Stu Schnitzer (60)

Don't forget Phillip Egeth and Wallach for Math; Walter Eisenberg, Chemistry; Florence Misurell in French; Martin Green taught Economics. Hannah Litzky and Hilda Lutzke, English; and more. Stu

Barry Gruber (1/54)

I was channel surfing today and came across “Leave it to Beaver.” And there was Hugh Beaumont, the Beaver’s dad. I kept on and came to the Lone Ranger and Tonto and there was Hugh Beaumont as a town preacher. Does anyone remember in our senior year, our History teacher was Hugh Beaumont’s sister. Each week she would write a reminder on the blackboard to watch “Leave it to Beaver” that night? Barry

Bob Lombardo (1/63)

My Physics teacher, Mr. Selzer was a major reason I chose engineering as a career. His class was informative and enlightening. Explaining physics by showing us experiments that proved the concepts written in our books impressed me so much. Bob

Margie Bauman (60)

A resident Alaska historian, who writes for the Anchorage Daily News, recently had an article about Weequahic English teacher Hannah Litzky’s legendary nephew, Allen Ginsberg, visiting Alaska in July of 1956. At the time Allen was a sailor working his way around Alaska and about to publish his first standalone work, “Siesta in Xbalba.” Here’s the link to the article for alumni who might find it interesting: Link to Alan Ginsberg Article. Margie 

References to athletics in the Weequahood: 

Howard Melamed (6/60)

To Bill Foster (60), WHS had terrific basketball teams when I attended.

Jerry Greenspan, Dan Enzer and Tom Boose led the way followed by Art Woliansky, Bill Fruchter, and others. WHS got destroyed by the “Camden 5” twice in the NJ state finals in 1959 and 1960. But the path to the NJ State finals each year was loads of fun. Les Fein coached WHS successfully for many years. Howard

Clark Lissner (6/63)

In reply to Larry Sharpe as to sports at Peshine Avenue School, Clark Lissner (6/63), your letter brought back some memories for me of playing basketball (and baseball) with a Peshine and WHS classmate named John Sharpe. We first played together on a Newark Schools recreation league team, representing Peshine. Not being very good at basketball, I was the "6th man" on the team. However, the other fine kids were awesome 8th graders and we won the city championship in 1959. Our team consisted of the legendary Beasley brothers at guard(s), John Sharpe at forward, Lenny Levine at center, and I can't recall the other forward. 

Two season highlights were beating Chancellor 65--12, and winning the championship game at Avon. Unfortunately, on the day of that game, I awakened with a temperature of 102. Despite my crying and pleading, my mom refused to let me attend school and play the game. But we did get nice trophies. 

John was also a very good 3rd baseman, and a terrific kid. Although I thought that he transferred to South Side, I was reminded by my long-time friend and classmate Jac Toporek that John’s photo is our June 1963 WHS yearbook. John made good use of the friendly nature, communication and people to people skills evidenced during our Weequahic years as an ordained minister. Rev. Sharpe, unfortunately, passed away a number of years ago.  Clark

Larry Sharpe

To Clark Lissner, although glad to be associated with such a fine man, I am not related to John Sharpe. But forgot to mention in my past note referencing my friend Jon Feldman I forgot to mention that Jon (Jewish dad, Italian mom) scored 42 points in that game and West scored 37. I played baseball for Bragaw Avenue School. In my last year before, unfortunately, moving to Maplewood, we beat both Chancellor and Maple and they were good teams. Larry

Jac Toporek (6/63)

The exchange between Clark Lissner and Larry Sharpe brought to mind another very good 8^th grade athlete in my Peshine graduating class (6/59), Clary Beckwith. Like John Sharpe mentioned by Clark, Clary was a great kid and terrific at sports. When our Meeker-Elizabeth Avenue group played tackle football at Weequahic Park against some Watson Avenue neighborhood kids, I recall always fearing that Clary would join them. Quite a challenge to keep up with his speed and skills.

My twin brother Nor reminded me that Clary could climb the gym’s hanging ropes in a few seconds from a sitting position without using his feet. That feat (no pun intended) made him a real favorite of Peshine’s legendary and disciplinarian Gym teacher, John J. O'Sullivan. I don't believe he went to Weequahic after Peshine. Actually, never heard of Clary or came across him after graduating Peshine. Jac