SEPTEMBER 12, 2025

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Hi Fans of Weequahic Lore,   

Pamela Scott Threets (66) and Scott Heimberg share sad news:

We have lost another alumnus on July 25, 2025. Here is a link to the notice of the passing of Alan Mitchell, Class of 1966 (Link to Obituary for Alan Mitchell). I am requesting any notes of condolence be sent to his wife. Zelena Stewart Mitchell (68) and their children. The address is 900 Cranford Avenue, Linden, NJ 07036. Thank you. Pam

I regret to inform you that our father, Gene Heimberg, passed away in July. He was just five days shy of his 92nd birthday and leaves behind his wife, two sons, four granddaughters, and one great granddaughter. Our father was a true son of Newark having graduated from WHS and Newark Rutgers and then worked his whole career for Prudential retiring as the Chief Investment Officer for the company. Scott 

37th Annual Newark Cemetery Visiting Day:

In furtherance of the Jewish High Holidays tradition of visiingt the gravesites of loved ones, the Jewish Federation has scheduled it’s yearly program of cemetery visits for Sunday, September 28 from 10 AM to 1 PM. Sites on the agenda are Bnai Abraham and Union Field, Grove Street and 20th Street, McClellan Street Cemeteries and Talmud Torah. For more information, contact Karen Auerbach Bocaletti at kbocaletti@jfedgmw.org.

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John Golden (Maple 58, WHS 59/Millburn 62) honors Larry Sosnow on reaching a birthday milestone:

My wife Suzanne and I joined with Larry Sosnow, Class of January 1953 (photo, below), his wife Ellen and their family and friends to celebrate Larry’s 90th birthday this past spring in Florida. Larry has had a successful career in advertising and healthcare and remains very tech savvy! Most recently, he founded the Solomon Leadership Institute to mentor the young leaders of tomorrow. Larry also continues to strike the golf ball regularly over 220 yards down the fairway!

For his birthday, we surprised Larry by giving him a Weequahic brown and orange football jersey with his name and number 42 from his days as an All-City center on our 1951 Weequahic Newark City League championship team and with a football signed by the current team members and coach (photo, below). In securing the gifts, we had help from my friend Vaughan Crowe, a Weequahic grad and football team member of the mid-90s.

I was little kid from Vassar Avenue who went religiously to all Weequahic home games in those days. So, I must have witnessed No. 42 in action. John 

Martin Friendam (1/47) responds to prior commentary in the “WHS Note:”

Jack Lippman’s (50) reminders of the Tavern restaurant, the newspaper pick-ups on Saturday night across from the restaurant on the corner of Meeker and Elizabeth Avenues, the trips "down the shore” to Bradley Beach, and even the obituary of Gail Brody Rose (6/52), were all wonderful. My appreciation to the weekly comments in the “WHS Note.”

Because of the WHS alumni newsletter, our memories from the 1960s live on.

I'm 96 and my memories were from the 1940s and 1950s and still very similar.

What I can add is that the Tavern was around the corner from Sabins and another hot dog restaurant. Both were very popular for those who went to Weequahic Park on Sundays.

The Tavern was too expensive for our family so, instead, our family night special dinners were at the Chinese restaurant on Mulberry Street in Newark or the Jewish restaurant, not Tabachnicks, I think it was on Avon Avenue

and they served only Eastern European style Jewish food. That Newark restaurant was the Romanian on Springfield Avenue. They had great flanken, kasha varnishes (bow ties and buckwheat mix), and matzo ball soup with the little yellow eggies.

The mayor of Newark was the Jewish dentist who Longie Zwillman convinced to run for mayor because he looked good and was an educated man. They both did great things for the Weequahic area of town and for Newark. If there was crime, it was with Prohibition and the Jewish and Irish mobs. I never saw it. I once asked my dad why we never saw anything in the newspapers about the bad guys. His answer was that when the police catch them, they never come back! Apparently, It worked.

Responding to the obituary for Gayle Rosen of a couple of months back, she and Mark Rosen got married and moved to West Orange. She originally lived on Leslie Street and I lived on Wainwright Street. That was in the 40s.

The Weequahic section was an exceptional experience where everyone learned good values for life.  Marty

Daniel Fink (66) responds to prior newsletter comment of Seymour Levine (60) via a “It’s-A Small-Weequahic-World” story and receives a reply:

The sports reportage by Seymour Levine (60) about Hillside athlete Frank Chekorski reminded me of another “Small Weequahic World” story, assuming Seymour is the same person I am thinking of. Please give him my regards and ask him to e-mail me so we can meet for lunch and talk about the old days growing up in Newark.

Like many WHS alumni from long ago, both Seymour and I became physicians. He became an internist and prominent rheumatologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. I became an internist, but also got an MBA from Wharton and spent my career in medical management. In 1993, I was working as the Medical Director at Downey Community Hospital, about a 25-mile drive from my home in West Los Angeles. The traffic wasn’t as bad as it is now, but it was a long commute, especially back home in the evening, especially if it rained. Other than the commute, I was very happy with my job and wasn’t looking to change. My father-in-law, who was in business, was for some reason looking at the Sunday classified ads in the Los Angeles Times and saw that a medical group in the West Los Angeles area was looking for a medical director. He called me and I checked my copy of the LA Times, and there the ad was. 

If I could cut my daily roundtrip commute from 50 miles to 5 miles, that would be a miracle. I sent in a letter with a CV to a PO Box and was invited for an interview at the medical group, Cedars-Sinai Physicians Association. I don’t remember everyone who was there, whether it was just Dr. Levine or also the medical group’s executive director, whom I had previously met at various health care meetings. Dr. Levine looked at my CV and said something like, “I see you were born in Newark. Did you go to Weequahic High School?” “Of course,” I said. “Yes. Class of 1966.” He said, “So did I.”  

He then asked, “Are you related to a Mr. Fink who was a playground supervisor at Hawthorne Avenue School in the late 1950s?” I told him proudly. “Yes, that was my father. Jerome J. Fink.” My father had played basketball as a teenager on the YMHA circuit in New York City, and had been on the city championship YMHA team in 1931. He had a two-handed set shot, and shot foul shots underhanded. 

Dad used to play basketball with the teens on the playground, much to my mother’s chagrin. Sometimes he would come home to our apartment on Edmonds Place (two or three blocks south of Hawthorne Avenue, which I think was wiped out when Route 78 went through Newark) all sweaty. My mother would say harshly “Jerry, you’ve been playing basketball again. You’re going to have a heart attack and leave me a widow with three boys.” My father did have a CABG at age 81 but did well and lived until 90, when he died of prostate cancer. Mom lived almost to 96. May their memories be for a blessing.

My twin brother and I used to be sent by our mother to the playground, saying, “Go to the playground and let your father watch you for a while!” I was 9 in 1958; teens were much older and bigger than me, and that was a long, long time ago.

In any case, Dr. Levine hired me and we worked together for 2 years until I was recruited by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center across the street, where I spent the remainder of my career. Dan

Seymour Levine (60)

Thank you for forwarding the email from Dan Fink. I am the Seymour Levine that he remembers. I was a gym and playground rat at Hawthorne Avenue School and I remember Dan's father quite well. Max Yaney and Jerry Fink were our playground directors whom we respected and looked up to. He and I have shared many memories of Newark and Weequahic. I will plan to get in touch with Dan. Seymour

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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