5.10.07

Class of 1960 Reunion

Let's make this the best 50 year reunion in school history. I am heading the group to put this party together. If you are interested in attending a reunion in the spring of 2010, please get in touch with me at visioncarecarole@aol.com. At present we have a short list of attendees (about 35) since we just started recruiting through Classmates.com. Please give my email address to anyone else you know from our class. I think it will be great to see everyone again. I look at our yearbook and remember so many people and good times. Please spread the word and get in touch with me.
Thanks, Carole Clifford Schreier

 

3.16.04

Class 0f 1984 Reunion

Scheduled for Saturday, July 24th, 2004 in Manhattan. Teachers and alumni wishing to attend please contact the reunion committee at meugandjag@yahoo.com or call Mary Ellen at 201-915-7689.
Thanks so much for your help.

1.14.04::
Reader Is Proud Of Her Ridgewood Heritage, Grover Cleveland Years

We have an interesting letter from Louisa Simpson (nee Assimus) of Bricktown, New Jersey, a former resident of our neighborhood who writes: "After reading all the wonderful letters from your readers, especially Violet C. Weichlein, I feel compelled to share my recollections of growing up in Ridgewood. "For a few years, we lived on Woodbine Street right next to P.S. 93. At that time, there were three-six family houses there. We lived in the middle one at 2006 Woodbine Street. These houses were eventually torn down to enlarge the school grounds. From there, we moved to 1934 Palmetto Street right next to Cohn's Drug Store. My father, Herman Assimus, was the German shoemaker across Fairview Avenue directly opposite Cohn's Drug Store. He retired in 1970 and died in 1983. My mother, Mathilde, is now 101 years old and resides in a nursing home in New Jersey. Most of my friends lived on Woodbine Street. Delores Machol (now Delores Anderson) has been living in Florida for the past five years. We have been best friends for 65 years. Our good friend Kitty Boyle lived on Madison Street. She married George Schacht and was killed in a terrible auto accident, leaving four children motherless.

"Starting from Moskowitz's Grocery Store [formerly Taub's] at the corner of Woodbine Street and Fairview Avenue and going up toward Forest Avenue, the three Titone Brothers lived in the first house, followed by Catherine Thiel, Howie Baird, Joe and Harry Pritting, Doris Powell, Eileen Brown, Delores and Bill Machol, the Shandel family, the Toth family, Elanor and Reinie Moll, Joe and John Rubsam, Louise Rebham and Billy Ziegelmeyer. Elizabeth Bendele (now Elizabeth Hegenbart) lived on Forest Avenue. She and I went all through School together and worked at the Guaranty Trust Company after graduating from Grover Cleveland High School. We are still close friends after all these years. Roy, Bob, Eddie and Teddy Johnson lived on Fairview Avenues. Jack Gimpel lived at 2004 Woodbine Street. He belonged to the Sea Scouts of America which Kitty and I joined for a few years. Earl Reidel, Al Miller, Willie Schnibbe and George Kolleggs also hung out on Woodbine Street. Sometimes I often wonder where they all are now.

"My parents owned the six-family house we lived in on Palmetto Street and every Saturday morning it was my job to vacuum the halls on all three floors and dust the stairs, step by step. While I did this, my mother scrubbed the stoop and bestibule and swept the sidewalk and gutter from the corner to our house.

"I went to P.S. 93 from 1940 to 1943. Mr. Goldstein was the principal and some of my teachers were: Miss True, Mrs. Behringer, Miss Young (a great art teacher), Miss Dost, Miss Hoerig and Mr. Johnson, who devoted every spare minute to English, which was his favorite subject.

"For years I sang with Mr. Hellinghausen's Brooklyn Boys and Girls Chorus which rehearsed every Saturday at the Gottscheer clubhouse on Fairview Avenue. We sang convert for Christmas and other occasions at the Schwaben Hall and Brooklyn Labor Lyceum.

"During July and August, we attended summer school at P.S. 93. We played punch ball and ran races, had an arts and crafts class, went to the zoo and Luna Park in Coney Island with Mr. Motaroto, a very kind and patient man. My brother, Arthur, is four years younger than I and he always came along these trips.

"My years at Grover Cleveland High School were wonderful. I sang with Miss Brown's Senior Chorus for four years and I met my future husband at the age of 15. We will celebrate our 54th wedding anniversary in September. We will never forget Miss Brown, who instilled in us a great appreciation of good music. She also conducted an excellent orchestra. Ann Kepic, who lived on Fairview Avenue and also graduated from Grover Cleveland High School, was chosen to sing 'O Holy Night' in the radio City Music Hall Christmas Show one year. Julius LaRosa also sang in the Senior Chorus and was in my graduation class. He attended our 45th class reunion and we've seen him perform at the Garden State Art Center and Atlantic City.

"One morning before classes began, I was caught by Miss Fink, the Dean of Girls, with my hair up in pin curls. For my punishment I had to go to three homerooms and speak why girls should not come to school in this way. I was in Miss Cooney's homeroom all through high school. Many of my classmates from P.S. 93, among them Alma and Anna Kolar, were also in that class. Mr. Weisbuck, who was my senior year English teacher, was one of my favorite teachers. He got the whole class enthused about Hamlet. After, graduation as noted, I worked for Guaranty Trust Company for three years. Then left, and raised three children.

We shopped on Myrtle Avenue, which was a beautiful, classy area at that time. Wolf's Urdang's, Lobel's, Kesselman's and Jay Rose is still there on Fresh Pond Road. There were six or seven shoe stores on one block on Myrtle Avenue and three 5 & 10 cents stores. Now they are a thing of the past. I miss them. You could buy almost anything you needed there. I remember going to Rustman's Bakery, which was in the basement of a two-family house on Silver Street after Mass on Sunday morning. I would bring home fresh-baked, right-out-of-the-oven bread and rolls. My mother often sent me to one of the great German pork stores for fresh sauerkraut right out of the barrel. Delores and I always ate a little of the sauerkraut on the way home. Stahl's, Brown's, Rudy's and Menninger's were excellent bakeries. Anna's Restaurant on Fresh Pond Road had especially good food at very reasonable prices.

"The Grandview Theater was fondly called 'The Dumps.' We spent many a Saturday afternoon there. For a dime we saw a newsreel, a superhero serial, coming attractions, a B movie, and the main attraction. During the warm weather, we watched the movie out in the open-air theater, sitting on very hard seats. After a movie at the RKO Keith's Theater on Hillside Avenue in Richmond Hill, we always went to Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor. I can still picture the big fellow behind the counter putting together the specialty of the house, 'The Kitchen Sink,' which was enough for 10 people. Kollety's and the ice cream parlors next to the Ridgewood and Madison Theaters were also good.

"We went roller skating at the Ridgewood Grove, Hillside, Queens and World's Fair rinks. A five-cent trolley ride took us all over. Every Wednesday evening my boyfriend, Joe, and I walked up to Highland Park around the reservoir and back home without fear.

"Our seven grandchildren (ages 15 to 31) love to hear about the 'good old days.' I feel fortunate to have grown up in Ridgewood. In 1956, we moved to 85th street in Glendale, where we lived for 30 years before retiring to Bricktown, New Jersey 17 years ago."

Old Timer's Note-The photograph of two of Ridgewood's beautiful girls was taken in 1944 in front of the Ridgewood branch of the Queens Borough Public Library on Madison Street with Delores Machol on the left and Louisa Assimus on the right.

It should be noted that several months ago, we received a surge of letters from our readers. As a result, we had a delay in responding to some of them. Louisa Simpson in her letter mentioned her 54th wedding anniversary which was forthcoming in September. Her letter was written prior to September. We hope she and her husband had a pleasant anniversary and enjoy many more in the future.

Mrs. Simpson stated that her years at Grover Cleveland High School were wonderful. We thought it appropriate to mention some of the details on this fine school which has educated much of the youth of Ridgewood and vicinity.

In the early 1900s, when all the houses and elementary schools were being built in Ridgewood, the need for a high school in Ridgewood became apparent. For 15 years the civic associations in Ridgewood and Glendale lobbied the NYC Board of Education to build a high school in Ridgewood. Finally in the depth of the depression the decision was made to build Grover Cleveland High School which was the name selected for the new school. It was a duplicate of John Adams High School in Ozone Park and of Samuel Tilden High School in Brooklyn.

The new school cost $2 million and it occupied two square blocks. It was built on land that had been a farm, the Grandview Dairy. It was a granite building with yellow brick facings and 106 classrooms. On the first floor is an auditorium with a balcony with an organ and motion picture projector with sound. The auditorium seats 1,300. The school had a capacity of 3960 students, and had a number of special rooms such as labs, typewriter room, cooking room, sewing room and a cafeteria. In June 1931, when the school was still under construction, it was announced that Charles A. Tonsor, Jr., currently an administrative assistant at Boys High School in Brooklyn, would be the principal. Shortly thereafter 30 teachers were appointed to the staff of the school.

The school opened on September 29, 1931 with about 2,500 students registered that included 125 transfers from Richmond Hill High School and some transfers from Newtown High School and Jamaica High School. It was expected that there would be heavy enrollment in February 1932 and in preparation for this, the top floor classrooms at P.S. 71 on Forest Avenue near Metropolitan Avenue in Ridgewood were kept vacant to be used as an annex for Grover Cleveland High School.

By October 1931 the enrollment had increased to 2,700 students. Also in October the widow of Grover Cleveland announced that she intended to pay a visit to the school in the near future.

On November 12, 1931 the school was dedicated before 2,000 persons.

Principal Charles Tonsor required that all students remain in the school for lunch. He was accused of doing so to make a profit for some outside interest by selling the food at high prices and serving food that was not fit to eat. To refute these charges, Mr. Tonsor appeared before the Evergreen Civic Association at their meeting in early December, 1931 at the Over There Club in 327 Dill Place (61st Street) in Glendale.

The principal reported that the cafeteria was operated with student funds and there were no outside interests. The cafeteria had 21 employees with a monthly payroll of $1,100. The school still lacked equipment for the cafeteria, causing it to borrow some equipment from other schools. A half-pint of Grade A milk in bottles was sold for 5 cents. Vegetables were prepared daily, with soups made from fresh material and not from scraps.

As Mr. Tonsor maintained, the reason the students were not permitted to leave the school during lunch was due to the fact that they were under his personal supervision. To his knowledge, there were at least four speakeasies within close proximity to the school. (Prohibition was the federal law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. It was an unpopular law and there were a number of speakeasies in Ridgewood.) During the previous week, it was advised, a "coke" peddler posing as a candy merchant had been trying to sell cocaine. He was run out of the neighborhood.

It was noted that needy children who could not afford the price of lunch were given the necessary funds.

Charles Tonsor was an excellent principal and a respected businessman who in later years served for a number of years in the Board of Trustees of the Ridgewood Savings Bank.

For those students who are currently attending Grover Cleveland High School, here is our trivia question: What was Mr. Cleveland's first name? See bottom line in this article for the answer. He was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837. He served as Governor of New York State in 1883 and 1884. He resigned on January 6, 1885 and he had been elected the 22nd President of the United States to serve from 1885 to 1888. He ran for re-election in 1888 against Benjamin Harrison and was defeated although he had the plurality of the popular vote. In 1892 Cleveland ran for president against Benjamin Harrison and was elected for a second term as president from 1893 to 1896. Some historians say he was the 24th president for this term and others say he was the 22nd President for two terms. He died in Princeton, New Jersey on June 24, 1908. Mrs. Simpson mentioned Miss Fink, Dean of Girls at Grover Cleveland High School. Miss Fink had a reputation of being a strict disciplinarian. The photograph of the Grover Cleveland Marching Band was taken on Columbus Day, October 12, 1945 outside the school. They were preparing to go to Manhattan to march in a parade. The band was under the supervision of Ralph Davis, who was a music teacher at Grover Cleveland High School. He was known affectionately as "Uncle Ralph" by his band members. He lived in Brooklyn and passed away about 1986. The correct answer to the trivia question: Stephen Grover Cleveland. A wrong answer but a clever guess, for those thinking we had devised a trick question, would be Grover Cleveland Alexander (1887-1950), a Hall of Fame pitcher who was played by a future president, Ronald Reagan, in a Hollywood biography. Not many people live to see a building named in their honor when they have no role in its construction. Of those who do, we wonder how many succeed in outliving a building that carries their name. Such was the case with Gertrude Ederle, who, in 1926, became the first woman to swim the English Channel. She was referred to as "Our Trudy" in newspaper headlines and her feat earned the native New Yorker a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan. Before she died on November 30 at the age of 98, Miss Ederle had survived a Queens building dedicated in her honor-the amphitheater on Fountain Lake in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Originally built on stage Billy Rose's Aquacade-a water show extravaganza designed to showcase the aquatic skills of famous swimmer Eleanor Holm (Mrs. Rose)-during the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, the structure seated 10,000 people. It was used again during the 1964-65 New York World's Fair for a water-ski show sponsored by the Florida Citrus Commission. At other times, the pool was open to the public and some of our readers may remember swimming there, during the period between the two World's Fairs. Unfortunately, the building was allowed to fall into disrepair over the decades that followed, until its 1997 demolition was deemed necessary.
Old Timer's Note-If you have any remembrances or old photographs which you would like to share with our readers, write ("regular" mail, please; no email) to
Old Timer, P.O. Box 860299, Ridgewood, New York 11386-0299. All photographs will be carefully returned to you.

1.13.04::

Hello, My name is Jerome J. Libassi, class of '49. Sorry for my use of pencil, etc., but my right hand and arm don't work too well these days-I use borth hands at the same time now. After graduation, I went to Fordham University, took ROTC, spent 21 years as an army artillery officer, worked 2 years for a Washington D.C. "Beltway Bandit," then 10 years as the logistician for a 414 bed hospital in Northern VA. I got married while in college, we had 5 children; after the last one finished college, my wife convinced me to buy a 100 year old farm house to take apart and put back together with baths, closets, electricity, etc., about 50 mi. east of Colonial Williamsburg. My number 4 daughter -in- law convinced me to help her with her geneaology project; we found my Libassi grandparents who lived during the days of Columbus. With more work and a trip to Sicily, I found about 25 living relatives on my mother's side of the family -nice people- and 30+ on my father's side of the family a days drive from my mother's family. I have kept up a "coversation" with one of the kids I grew up with and found another via him They say "she's dead", "he's dead" when I ask about others. That brings me to you -can you put me in contact with any of my H.S. classmates? Do they have reunions? Etc. I need help. Names, addresses, telephone numbers -anything. I usually visit my 2 old friends once a year and maybe I can meet my H.S. chums now too. As you can see my "writing" is getting worse -my arm/hand are hurting so I'll have to quit.

Sincerely, Thankfully and Respectfully,

Jerome L. Libassi Lt. Cul-USA-Ret

P.S. I never became a dentist-but had a wonderful military career, but its not for everyone.

Mr. And Mrs. J. Libassi
HC 75 Box 9460
Cardinal, VA 23025-9700
(804) 725-9563
 

11.01.02:: Captain Paul Grossgold in charge of the 17,000-employee Naval Base Ventura County in California

   The 48-year-old graduate of Grover Cleveland High School and Queens College is now in charge of two recently consolidated naval bases-Point Nugu and Port Hueneme-that employ more than 17,000 military and civilian workers. Among other action, NBVC provided airfield, seaport and base support service to fleet operating forces and shore activities.

   Captain Grossgold's success-and his career choice- come as no surprise to those who knew him when he was growing up on Pleasantview Street.

   "He was always a leader," said Glendale resident Anthony Ferina, a childhood friend."He was very responsible and we always felt comfortable whenever we went out and he was driving"

In his installation speech, Captain Grossgold traced his desire to join the military to a day as a child when his father let him site in the cockpit of an uncle's fighter jet at Floyd Bennett Field.

   "Looking at all those bells, whistles, switches and dials, that's when the sparks started," he said

   After completeing Aviation officer candidate school in pensacola florada, Captain Grossgold was commissioned an ensign in November 1979. He then went to Naval Flight Officer training before beign deployed twice to the Indian Ocean aborad the USS America.

   He was also deployed twice in the mediterranean Sea abroad the USS Saratoga and in command of the USS John F. Kennedy. In October 1994, Captain Grossgold was deployed to the Atlantic Sea aborad the USS Thoedore Roosevelt and flew combat missions in support of Operation Deliberate Force.

   Captain Grossgold has held various command positions, including leading the joint Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization Interoperability Branch in Washinton D.C.

   He also has a Masters Degree in National Securityand Foreign Affairs from the Naval War College in Newport. Rhode Island.

   The son of Barbara and the late Murray, Captain Grossgold is married to the former Margaret Hunsinger, who also hails from Middle Village. They have a son, Erik, and a daughter, Emily.