MAY 17, 2024

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Hi Harvesters of the Crop of Weequahic Memories,

Seeking info on WHS alumni:

Barry Reiss (1/54)

I am looking for Max Kusnetz, Chuck Unterman, and Jody Volk. Can anyone help me find them? Any leads can be shared with me at 480-247-6200 or via e-mail to barryreissaz@gmail.com. Barry

Ernie Schuster (Irvington 55) 

My late wife, Naomi Geltzeiler (Class of 58?), lived at 89 Aldine Street. Any remembrances of her would be personally appreciated. My e-mail address is ernieschu11@comcast.net. Ernie

In anticipation of Memorial Day, attention drawn to Weequahic heroes:

 

Arnold Cohen (65)

My daughter, who works in the NJ room of the Newark Public Library, found the attached article in the Newark News which was recently digitized (www.digital.NPL.org). I think the article might be of interest to others who might see a relative in combat in WWII named here (LINK TO PDF). Arnold

Enid Hinkes (60)

I have updated the list of fallen WHS alumni whose memory and heroism we honor on Memorial Day. To access the list, please click on the LINK TO PDF. Enid  

Mark Sarver (Maple 65/WHS 66) extends 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

Jeff Golden’s (6/63) received additional responses to the “koch alayn” inquiry:

Phyllis Dubrow Klein (6/57)

My grandmother owned one of the celebrated 15 room houses at 207 LaReine Avenue where mothers and kids spent the entire summer with fathers’ arriving Friday night for the weekend. Somehow, Grandma Ruby got possession of a huge hotel-sized refrigerator so each one of her ladies had a shelf for groceries. I always wondered how ten ladies were able to cook together so amiably in such tight quarters. Of course, most knew each other quite well returning summer after summer. With amazing cooperation, they took turns washing and drying the dishes which belonged to the house. Mrs. Ruby ran a tight ship, so her rules were obeyed.  

Every Saturday night there was a big poker game in the dining room where folks came from other houses to play. I sat right next to my grandmother and kept her money in neat stacks. That’s how I learned to count! I loved Labor Day Weekend the most. The ladies cooked all the food that was left in the refrigerator for a communal dinner on Saturday night followed by the poker game, of course. The families all left on Sunday; as each family departed in their automobiles (mostly Buicks, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles), they were treated to the banging of pots and pans until only our family was left to bid farewell to the last one to leave. Phyllis

Fran Garfinkel Engler (6/58)

The summer rentals in Bradley were exactly as Jeff Golden described, except sometimes food in your own space in the refrigerator mysteriously disappeared, much to the chagrin of my dear mother. But whom could you accuse? Maybe my brother Eddie Garfinkel, with the slippery hands?

My girlfriends and I used to dance at the pavilion with the Syrian boys, who ditched us at the end of our stay in Bradley Beach. Ah, to return to those simpler days. Fran

Sheila Feldblum Kaufman (1/53)

My family stayed in a rooming house in Belmar on 7th Avenue. I stayed there for summers during high school and would go to Asbury Park to skate in the roller derby with the players. I also had an aunt that had a rooming house called the Brinley Rest on Brinley Avenue. Mike and Lou’s was our hangout. Sheila

Marvin Kaleky (Hillside 55)

In Bradley Beach, we had a very strong relationship with the Weequahic and Hillside crowd. In 1945, my father and his sister, Goldie Belfer, bought the former Mayflower Hotel on Park Place Avenue. They promptly remodeled the kitchens by converting them from hotel style to koch-aleyn style. We hosted many families from the Newark and Hillside

The partnership ended after the first year, but my family continued on with the New Mayflower Villa. In 1949, we added a 16-inch TV set to the lobby where it was a very big hit. The place was finally sold in 1965. A few years afterwards fire destroyed it, and today there is a modern single-family home on the property. 

The memories can never be destroyed. I'm sure many of your readers will remember the days spent at Kaleky's Mayflower. Some of the old-time guests have gone on to being very well known. Several people met their future spouses at our Mayflower including my cousin Seymour Levitch and his wife Charlotte. Seymour was a pharmacist at Rubin Bros on Chancellor Avenue. All the great memories will live on. Marvin

W-Sports related notes:

Martin Shapiro (54)

Boys High played Weequahic at Upsala College. I was there and Boys High was crushed. Marty

Dany Enzer (59)

I remember as a freshman pitching for the Weequahic varsity baseball team at Memorial Stadium where the Newark Bears played. Standing on the mound was I ever nervous and my adrenaline was through the roof. But my catcher that day was a senior named Buddy Bing, who was “All City.” Buddy took me under his wing and instilled all the confidence I needed. Thank you so much Buddy wherever you are. Danny

Steve Bogner (66)

To Rick Friedman (65), the game against Brooklyn’s Boys High School was played in a Christmas tournament at Upsala College in East Orange. Steve

Marc Little (69)

Reading about the Boys High game and the discussion among alumni, I got caught up in the moment about that great team (of which I was a student manager as a 10th-grader and an eyewitness to history) and then I realized it was the 1966 ECAC Holiday Tournament final at Upsala. Anyway, I have attached several articles about that magic moment in my life including pre-game hype and morning after report (LINK TO PDF). Marc

Jack Lippman (6/50)

I recall seeing Antonina Rocca “wrestle” during one summer down the shore at the Asbury Park Armory. He put on a great show, and also drew full houses at the Garden in NYC. The stuff we see on TV today is all descendent from him. Jack

Barry Muster (6/64)

Life is too short; enjoy, now. Nowadays, I think the years I spent with y’all  makes life more tolerable now. I am crippled and experience pain. I think of my Weequahic days often, I look forward to the weekly memories I receive through the alumni newsletter.

My WHS thoughts include being a member of the school’s soccer team. Watching twin brothers Jac and Norbert Toporek (6/63) playing soccer comes to mind. I think Norbert was a great scorer. How many goals? Did he set school records? Barry

Jac Toporek (6/63)

To Barry Muster (6/64), thanks for remembering the soccer field exploits of Nor and myself. Personal recall is that Nor scored 9 goals in his junior year and 14 in his senior year. He had a leg as strong as a tree; Nor scored from midfield, 1 of 5 he netted against Hillside as a junior. Soccer being a minor sport at WHS, records probably were never kept. Not sure of any records, although the 5 in one game may well have been, and may still be, for Weequahic soccer (even if they still field a team).

I recall you and your brother Eddie (6/60) as teammates. Both of your play on the field was always welcome and helpful to any success of the team. I sincerely hope that you find strength and comfort to meet your health challenges. Jac

Myron Borden (1/52)

The information about Laurel Gardens brought to mind that Monroe Kurtz, a graduate of Weequahic HS, and a professional boxer, had a number of fights there before he became a teacher at Bergen Street School. He was Vice-President of the Newark Teachers Union during the Newark teacher strike of 1970, for which he served a 30-day term at the Caldwell Correctional Center for disobeying an injunction issued to the teachers. 

Luckily, I served only a 10-day sentence as did 200 others, some of which were teaching at Weequahic at the time. The Newark teachers, however, as a result received the best contract they ever had. Myron