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FATS DOMINO GONE AT 89!
October 24th, 2017:
Sadly, we must announce that Antoine "Fats" Domino, one of
the legendary pioneers of
our music,
died today at age 89.
Ain't that
a shame!
Second only to Elvis Presley in record sales in
the 1950s, this humble, gentle, gracious and talented
man with only a fourth grade education left a musical legacy
to our generation and those that have or will come later,
whose value is clearly immeasurable and that will never be
forgotten.
According to
Rolling Stone
(whose memorial tribute to him is among the best of the many
you will find online and the source of much of the content
of this one), "few
artists embodied the innocent release and ecstasy of early
rock 'n' roll like Fats
Domino.
He was the music's first piano wizard and a huge influence
on generations of musicians."
The rolling motion of his body one observed whenever he
performed, coupled with the distinctively rolling rhythms of
his New Orleans style of music, truly put the "roll" in rock
'n' roll more than anyone else. Dion DiMucci (of Dion & the
Belmonts) spoke of the "rolling
sound of his fingers on the piano."
During his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech,
Billy Joel said of Fats, "traditionally,
when people think of rock 'n' roll, they think of the
guitar. I want to thank the man who proved that the piano
was a rock 'n' roll instrument."
In the words of contemporary piano greats of Fats' time (and
ours), Jerry Lee Lewis said, "His
vocals were phenomenal, and he was a great pianist
— he had the best raw
talent,"
and Little Richard said, "I
loved him. I loved his piano playing. I love his music,
period.
...
he could make a piano talk."
Richard said,
"he influenced me as an entertainer, period."
In a
1956 television interview in which he was asked about
the controversy that had developed around
rock 'n' roll
music, Fats Domino said,
"As
far as I know, the music makes people happy." It
certainly did that for us. And over 60 years later, it still
does
—
and always will as long as we live.
So as Fats takes his last walk to join
Chuck
Berry, Elvis and the others waiting in
rock 'n' roll
heaven, we say to him, "You turn to the right; you find a
little bright light."
Click here
to access the full text of
Rolling Stone's comprehensive, online memorial
tribute to Fats Domino. And
another online tribute worth reading appeared on the site of
the
New Orleans Musical News.
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Fats, as we remember him. |
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 LegendARY
ROCK 'N' ROLL PIONEER, CHUCK BERRY, DEAD AT 90!!
March 18, 2017:
It
is with deep sadness that we report the death,
at age 90, of one of the most significant rock 'n' roll
pioneers of the 1950s and of all time, and a hero to our generation,
Chuck Berry.
In December 2000,
the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts gave the now late Chuck Berry, one
our generation's heroes, the highest honor that can be bestowed
upon an entertainer in the USA. We
invite you to focus on his remarkable contribution to
our generational culture by revisiting our
Chuck Berry Kennedy Center Honors page first created in 2000 (when
this site was still fresh and new) upon the occasion of his
receipt of the coveted honor. That page now features a
link to a video of the event.
Click here
for the 2018 Grammys' memorial tribute to Fats Domino and Chuck Berry. |
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BYE,
BYE, PHIL: AN OPEN LETTER TO DON EVERLY
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 January
7, 2014: Ironically, the
sad loss last Friday of your dear brother, Phil, has
brought back happy memories for me of the two of you and
your unique and wonderful blend of brotherly harmonies ─ the sweet side of rock 'n' roll.
I remember
learning to dance with my cousin in 1957 to "Bye, Bye,
Love." I remember one of my closest friends insisting in
1960 that "Till I Kissed Ya" was about his new girlfriend.
I remember later that year when "Cathy's Clown" topped the charts on our
prom night and was still there on graduation day.
 I remember how the lyric of one of
your most popular early hits so closely matched my story of
getting home at 6:30 a.m. from my first date with my
15-year old future wife ─ little Susie! I remember a year
after your 1983 celebrated reunion concert in Royal Albert
Hall watching you performing together on tour in a
theater-in-the-round in Pennsylvania ─ as if your
10-year break-up had never happened. I remember the feeling
of joy and wonderment at how your songbook of familiar
melodies seemed endless. Every time I thought you were
done, there was more. Lastly, I remember thinking how warm
and genuine you two were when you invited fans to shake
your hands stage-side at the end of your show in Las Vegas.
(I shook yours, Don.) My heartfelt thanks for these
memories.
The
sweet sound of Everly Brothers music will never be
forgotten ─ and it will never be duplicated. May he rest in
peace. So sad. |
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 DICK
CLARK DEAD AT 82!!
April
18, 2012:
The man who gave us
American Bandstand
in 1957 and presented our favorite
rock 'n' roll performers
on TV to entertain us in our own living rooms every
day after school, who was known for most of his
later life as "America's oldest living teenager,"
has died
of a massive heart attack. |
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Check out our own
American Bandstand Page
See if it
isn't the
best Bandstand page on the
web! |
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August 5th, 2007,
marked 50 years
since the late Dick Clark first brought "American Bandstand" and our favorite musical
performers into our Oceanside living rooms every day from
Philadelphia and made national celebrities out of regular kids
like us. |
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 A
VERY SAD REMEMBRANCE:
 February 3,
2009: It was the 50th anniversary of "the day the music died," rock 'n' roll's
first
major (and perhaps most famous) tragedy, the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens
and the Bog Bopper. Of course, among the three, Buddy Holly (whose popularity
lasted only 18 months during his lifetime) was then and remains now, after well over 50 years, the
most revered and remembered of the three, and a major influence on all those who followed.
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ANOTHER SAD REMEMBRANCE:
 February
9, 2006, was the 25th anniversary of the passing of Bill
Haley, clearly the most seminal performer in the development of
our music,
the man who, with his group,
the Comets,
was most responsible for blending the black r&b urban style with country and
western (then called "hillbilly") music, creating the original rock 'n' roll (or
what later became known as "rockabilly" as more varied rock 'n' roll styles
emerged) and who, 52 years earlier, gave us the national (or international)
anthem of our generation. "Rock Around the Clock" has
been featured in 45 movies and sold more copies than any other rock 'n' roll
record ever
―
over 200 million!
Sadly, however, anniversaries of the passing of the
Comets' visionary leader, Bill Haley, a giant of popular culture of our time, go virtually unnoticed
every year by the media.
The Comets became the first rock 'n' roll band ever to be signed to a major
label, the first ever to have a monster hit record, the first ever to have their
song in a feature film, and the first to to appear on a major TV show
―
in fact, the first rock 'n' roll band ever
―
period!
(Click
here to read
more about "Rock Around the Clock.")
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To hear "Rock Around the Clock," go to
"Prom Night."
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Loss of
"The greatest" |
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June 3, 2016: The world mourned the death, and
celebrated the life, of the man who called himself "The
Greatest"
¾ and proved it many
times and in many ways.
Known first as
Cassius Clay, he became Heavyweight Champion of the
World and renamed himself Muhammad Ali because of his
religious convictions. But not satisfied to be merely
the greatest and most charismatic and beloved boxing
champion of all time, he was a remarkable humanitarian
who stood up for the poor and the oppressed, a noted
civil rights leader and a man who gave up the best years
of his incredible career when, amid much criticism, he
refused to be drafted and go to Vietnam and kill poor
people. Ali said: "I
ain’t draft dodging. I ain’t burning no
flag. I ain’t running to Canada. I’m staying
right here. You want to send me to jail?
Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail
for 400 years. I could be there for 4 or 5
more, but I ain’t going no 10,000 miles to
help murder and kill other poor people."
There is a story you
probably won't see in any of the media coverage of
Ali's passing. In 1973, Ali heard a news report about a Jewish old age home in the Bronx
that ran out of money. The elderly residents were about
to be evicted into the snow and cold of winter. So Ali
wrote two checks totaling $450,000 to save those people
from eviction. Ali swore the witness reporter (who
was also his friend) to secrecy so no one would think he
did it for publicity.
We are proud to take note
that, although he went to high school in a city far away
from us, Louisville, Kentucky, this great champion, Muhammad Ali, was also a member of a class of 1960.
Rest in peace, Champ. |
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REMEMBERING
A COMIC GENIUS ̶
A TRIBUTE
TO SID CAESAR
 February 12, 2014: Just about
from the time most of got our first TV set (that's we
called them then, remember?), Sid Caesar, a peerless pioneer
and no less than a comic genius, filled our homes
and our lives weekly with laughter for almost 10
years ̶ and it was all
live! Caesar died at age 91. His innovative sketch
comedy of Your Show of Shows is widely credited
as the progenitor of Saturday Night Live.
The
internet now abounds with tributes and accolades for
this fallen giant of early television such that there
is not much we could add here. In one
article, Richard Corliss, an entertainment reporter for
TIME,capsulizes what
Corliss calls "A great comedian's choicest
work ̶
60 years old
and still brilliantly fresh" and provides access to
YouTube videos of seven of Caesar's sketches "chosen
by someone who as a kid found them ingeniously funny
and who, 60 years later, can’t stop laughing."
For us, I have chosen to highlight one of
them by providing a direct
link to
a
sketch that aired (live, of course) on Caesar's
Hour (the successor to Your Show of Shows)
on April 25, 1955. At that time, according to
Corliss, "TV types didn't know how to treat rock 'n
roll, except with contempt." So Caesar and two
of his crew (Carl Reiner and Howie Morris)
created a classic
̶
The 3 Haircuts (click here)
̶
a brilliant
parody of our music. |
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TWO OF OUR CLASSMATES WIN
PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS, AND A THIRD THIRD SPEAKS AT AN
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN BULGARIA
 April 16,
2015:
Sabin Danziger was honored by his alma mater, Dartmouth
College, in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel where he
was inducted into its Stephen F. Mandel ’52 Society as
its sole 2015 honoree. Sabin was chosen for his “dedication,
generosity and visionary leadership to Dartmouth College and
his other philanthropic and mentoring endeavors.” The
presenter stated that Sabin “exemplified the BEST
in volunteering leadership.” Sabin was surrounded
by his family and about 500 alumni and members of their
families from around the country. His name will be on a
permanent plaque in Dartmouth College’s library. Sabin is an
executive in the New York City office of Gilbert Tweed
International, a
global, executive search firm where he specializes in
financial personnel (i.e.,
Wall Street types).
 April 19 2015: Our own "Lotus Blossom' in
"Teahouse of the August Moon,"the
former
Sue Schleshinger (now, Suzanne
Lasky-Gerard), was honored by the Jewish Museum of
Florida and presented with one of its 2015 Breaking
the Glass Ceiling Awards
for her career achievements in television production and a
lifetime of service to the local, national and international
Jewish communities. Suzanne said
her greatest source of pride is her
Emmy award-winning documentary, "The March of the Living,"
which also received several other national awards.
The
annual Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award for
Jewish women in Florida who have broken the proverbial glass
ceiling in professional fields that are normally dominated
by men was established by the Museum 1995. Nominees are also
judged based upon activities in the Jewish and civic
communities and serving as role models for other women.
Historically, outstanding honorees have been from such a
wide variety of fields as medicine, banking, accounting,
academia, politics, law, aviation, journalism, sports and
entertainment.
 April
27, 2015: Dan Nussbaum was a featured panel
member speaking at the "East-West Defence & Security
Co-operation Conference" (EWDSC) in Sofia, Bugaria. The
EWDSC is an annual 3-day, high-level, international
conference for the defense, security and aerospace sectors
of business and government. It brings together key
decision-makers and influencers from industry, government,
academia, and international organizations all over the
world. Dan represented our country as an expert primarily on
the subject of cost estimating in support of the US
Department of Defense.
Dan is a PhD in Mathematics
(Michigan State University) and Professor of Operations
Research at the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey,
California, where he chairs its Energy Academic Group, and
provides leadership to the Secretary of the Navy's Executive
Energy Education program. Among other things, he also
teaches courses in Cost Estimating and Analysis, provides
Cost Estimating and Business Case Analyses for the US
Department of Navy, Department of Air Force, Department of
Army, and the Secretary of Defense. He recently completed
co-authoring a soon-to-be published textbook with a
colleague entitled Cost Estimation: Methods and
Tools. Previously, Dan was Director, of the US Naval
Center for Cost Analysis, Office of the Assistant Secretary
of Navy, in Washington, DC. In that role, among other
duties, he was the chief advisor to the Secretary on all
aspects of cost and schedule estimating and control and
single Navy point of contact for guiding, directing and
strengthening cost estimating and analysis throughout the
Department of Navy. (Sorry, folks, I condensed this as
much as I could.)
Congratulations to our distinguished Sailors!
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DORIS
WALKER, SUCCUMBS TO BRAIN CANCER AFTER LONG POST-SURGERY
STRUGGLE
 May 3, 2015:
After reporting earlier that
one of our classmates, Doris Walker (now Bailey), was
recovering from a brain tumor after surgery in February
last year, we learned that she lost her long battle
early this morning and passed on. We know from her
brother-in-law, Charlie Thuren (OHS, '57),
that
Doris has been enjoying cards, letters,
etc., from
her OHS classmates after her surgery was
announced on this page.
Doris
was hoping to be able to attend our reunion
in September. May she rest in
peace.
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MEMORY OF OUR PRINCIPAL HONORED
BACK HOME
 October
19, 2013: The
memory of our late principal, Charles Mosback, was
honored by the Oceanside School District
when, during halftime
ceremonies at a varsity football game, the Oceanside
High School athletic field was rededicated
as the Charles R. Mosback Memorial Field. This took
place 40 years after the field was originally named for
him following his passing in 1973. Mosback’s
daughter, our classmate, Ruth Ann Mosback,
was present and participated in the rededication.
Read what Ruth Ann wrote about her dad
and more here. |
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ANOTHER TRAGIC LOSS FOR
OUR CLASS ─
STEVE
FIRSTENBERG |
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  An unfortunately anonymous, early respondent to
our class survey reported the passing of
Steve Firstenberg. We checked it out online and
found that he passed on January 30, 2013.
Steve
earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Yeshiva
University, and in all his personal and
professional relationships, he demonstrated a
lifelong dedication to both learning and
teaching. For more
than 20years, he led the international sales division of
Kichler Lighting in Cleveland. A former Eagle Scout,
he was a world traveler, golfer and devoted husband and
father. Steve was loved dearly by his friends, co-workers
and business associates and will be remembered for his
infectious smile, his thirst for adventure and his commitment
to bettering the lives of those around
him.
I had a long
and pleasant telephone conversation with Steve last October
when he was just out of a hospital. He was cheerful and
enthusiastic; I thought he was going to be OK, but we never
spoke again.
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| OHS BASKETBALL LEGEND,
ART HEYMAN (CLASS OF '59), DEAD AT 71 |
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 Art
Heyman, who led our own basketball Sailors
to the Nassau County Championship in 1959, died
August 27, 2012, in Florida. Art was
71.
"He
could do anything on the court," popular Oceanside High
School Coach Jan (Frank
Januszewski), 84, told
Newsday. "He was a
very good shooter, an outstanding rebounder and he
drove very well to the basket. What I liked most
was that he always followed his shots. He was very
dominating." According to
Newsday's Bob Herzog, "he was
also one of the elite players in Long Island high
school basketball history."
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The 1959 Nassau County Champions Sailors
varsity basketball
team. | |
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Coach Jan told Aaron Axelson of
the Oceanside Herald, “He was an outstanding player.
He was probably the best on Long Island. He was a hell of
a soccer player, too. I think he could have played
anything.”
Axelson
wrote, "Heyman made a name for himself as one of
Oceanside's greatest athletes, and he is still described
that way 50 years later. ...His senior year average of 29.1
points per game remains a school record ... and [he] also
holds OHS records for rebounds in a season (396) and free
throws in a single game (19)."
Like
Coach Jan said, Artie (as we knew
him) was an all-around athlete. Besides basketball, he also
was on our OHS varsity tennis team and was All-Scholastic on
our 1958-'59 Sailors' County Championship soccer team. He
had a great sense of humor and lots of friends at
OHS.
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Scoring the
winning point against Baldwin
for
the 1959 County
championship
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Posed with other '58-'59 Sailor
All-Scholastic soccer champions,
(l. to r.) H. Kitt, Heyman, (the now late) C. Knorr and T.
Millot) | |
After OHS, Art went on to Duke
University where he was All-American three times and, in
1963, he was named NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding
Player, and he won the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Heyman
was also voted 1963
college basketball Player
of the Year by the
Associated Press, the ACC and The Sporting
News. He became, and still is, one of
Duke's most revered players of all time. Duke honored
Heyman in 1990 by retiring his jersey number. "Heyman not
only was one of the greatest players in ACC basketball history
but also one of its greatest characters," said sports
columnist for The State (South Carolina's largest
newspaper) and contributor to the Charlotte
Observer, Ron Morris. "He was the ACC’s first bad boy.
... Beneath his veneer of bombast, I often found a man with
a big heart."
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Sports
Illustrated, October 26, 1963
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Just after Duke, he became the
only number one NBA draft pick ever from Long Island when
he began his pro career with the New York Knicks; then,
he
briefly joined the Cincinnati Royals followed by the
Philadelphia 76ers. In 1967, Heyman moved from the NBA to the
then newly formed ABA where he led his team to a league
championship in 1968 and finally retired from the game in
1970. He was among the first four basketball inductees
ever into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
following its founding in 1993.
According to Axelson's report in
the Oceanside Herald, "Heyman never forgot about his
beginnings in Oceanside. He returned often to attend
games." "He really had Oceanside in his heart." according
to Jeff Risener, the Oceanside School District's current
director of physical education, health and athletics. And
our friend, author and OHS teacher, Richie Woods, said that Heyman's
interest in OHS sports had grown in recent years. According
to Richie, "He would give pep talks to the basketball team.
You just love to see that a man like him was, at that point
in his life, really caring about other people and the
school that he came from." District Superintendent, Dr. Herb
Brown, said, "He never gave up his relationship or his love
of Oceanside. He was a celebrity; he was the real
deal."
Information
about Art Heyman is all over the internet; one of the best
sources is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Heyman. |
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LOSS OF A HISTORIC HOMETOWN HERO:
 We
sadly reported on May 14th, 2011, that, Murray Handwerker, the man who rescued our beloved
Roadside Rest in 1956 and in 1959, turned it into Nathan's Famous for
all our pleasure, passed away that day in Florida at age 89. After
Oceanside, Murray grew the company into a national franchise and made
Nathan's hot dogs a household word by bringing them to malls, airports
and supermarkets everywhere for all to enjoy.
The
OHS Class of 1960 would like the entire Handwerker
family to know how much we appreciate the many, many hours of
pleasure over 20 years and incredible memories that Murray gave to the people of our hometown and the surrounding Long Island area by saving our beloved Roadside
Rest and turning it into a Nathan's. We will always treasure those
memories.
According to a
death notice placed in the New York Times by his family, "He
will be remembered for bringing love, happiness and fond memories to so
many people."
His loving wife of
67 years,
Dorothy, had passed away almost two years earlier in June 2009. May they
rest in peace together. The only online
obituary found for Murray that mentioned our cherished
Nathan's Roadside Rest
in
our little town,
Oceanside, is in a web-based column
(which is also linked to our site) called
"The Eulogizer" of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
that highlights the life
accomplishments of famous and not-so-famous Jews who have passed away.
Click
here for what is likely the only
online interview
(2004) of Murray available. |
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1960 SAILORS ASSOCIATION HELPS WIDOW WITH MUCH NEEDED
FUNDING FOR FINAL EXPENSES OF DECEASED CLASSMATE
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April 18, 2017: We learned from a Facebook
posting of the then recent passing of Bruce Winkler, a
resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, who was a a popular
member of our class but only during our
junior high
years. It's been 60 years, but many will surely remember
him.
After helping his father grow the family business,
Belwin Music (in Rockville Centre, NY), one of the
largest music publishing companies in the U.S., Bruce
went into the souvenir business. According to Heidi, he
was a wonderful father, was kind to everyone he met,
loved his dogs, and he loved to travel. He was a black
belt in karate, a single engine pilot, and he once was a
volunteer fireman and served in the U.S. Army.
Although he was a nonsmoker, Bruce was diagnosed with
lung cancer that metastasized so aggressively that he
was caused to suffer a painful death only two months
after his initial diagnosis. |
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1955 (8th grade, age 13)
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When we learned of his passing, we also learned that
since his passing, Bruce's widow, Heidi, was experiencing
substantial bureaucratic resistance trying to collect life
and medical insurance benefits and was using "GoFundMe"
through Facebook to attempt to raise much needed funds to
help pay his final expenses. Because Bruce was one of us,
and we are the Class of 1960
— and because fellowship is what we are
about —
our Association's
Board of
Directors approved a significant (and greatly
appreciated) expenditure from our treasury, consistent with
our
mission, to help Heidi pay those final expenses. |
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REUNITED AFTER 47 YEARS:
Inspired and facilitated by this
website, a classmate,
Tom Castoldi (now deceased), who provided the piano
accompaniment for our 1960 OHS production of
Bells Are Ringing, paid
a visit to, and therefore was reunited after 47 years with, our
music director, Allan Segal, in
his home in San Marcos (near San Diego), California, on May 14th,
2007. Tom (left), who lives in San Marcos, Texas, was attending a
conference in Los Angeles and took the time to drive down the
crowded freeway to visit Allan.
Just
another example of the magic of the internet
―
and of this website. |
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In July 2008, our class
association came into possession of the only pristine condition,
unsigned 1960 edition of Spindrift known to exist that is not
maintained under lock and key at the
Oceanside Public Library.
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WE HAVE ARRIVED!
Finally, after eight years on the
internet (it's now more
over 17), our popular "Our
Little Town" page was listed as a reference on, and linked from,
Wikipedia's
"Oceanside, New York," page. Our
Nathan's Roadside Rest page is also linked from
Wikipedia's
"Nathan's Famous" page and from a Seeking Alpha
July 2, 2008, report on Nathan's Famous stock (click on "tribute
pages" in the second paragraph). |
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COOLNEWS
FROM HOME:
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CLASS OF 1960 LEAVES ITS MARK ONCE AGAIN
IN OUR HOMETOWN
 A new
branch of
Community National Bank,
a
Long Island-based, independent, full service,
commercial bank,
has just been erected across the street to the north
from Nathan's on the site of
the old Oceanside Shell gas station that was
recently demolished. The bank opened in
December 2007 and just inside its entrance, it displays an enlarged (4'
x
2') photo of the
triangle taken circa 1955-'56 and obtained
with permission from our association. Though you
can barely see it in the lower
right corner of the photo, the legend, "Photo
courtesy of the
1960
Sailors Association Inc." is clearly visible on the
display.
And the bank manager told me that MANY
bank
 customers have inquired about it and
were then directed to
this website.
This is the third time in recent years that our class has obtained recognition
through our association for,
and effectively "immortalized," itself in
our little
town. In 2005, we placed an inscribed "Memory
Lane brick" commemorating our class in
perpetuity at the
Oceanside Education Foundation's Schoolhouse
Green on the former site of School No. 1.
And in 2003, our class association partnered with the
Oceanside
Chamber of Commerce and presented Nathan's with a
plaque documenting Nathan's/
Roadside Rest's history in Oceanside,
with content taken from our
Nathan's/Roadside Rest
web
page. The plaque has been displayed at Nathan's Oceanside location ever since. |
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OUR OCEANSIDE TRIANGLE:
LIBERTY LIGHTHOUSE
—
AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS
COME |
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The
beautification of the
Oceanside triangle has been completed.
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 Our
little town is sporting its nautical image in
grand style,
with a 25-foot lighthouse (MOST appropriate,
in my opinion)
now completed on the central triangle.
Built in
May 2006, ceremoniously dedicated June 16th, 2007,
and named "Liberty Lighthouse," it has beautiful stonework at
its 4-foot base with pilings, and it has a flagpole and a fishing boat
that doubles as a planter. Various engraved monuments are
placed around the base honoring local victims of
the September 11th terrorist attacks and
other fallen firefighters, police and war veterans.
Liberty Lighthouse is
an attractive and prominent symbol of community
pride and a landmark letting
residents, "past, present and future," and visitors alike know when they enter
Oceanside that they "have arrived."
It should've been there decades ago (when we were).
Very classy!
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For more
photos of Liberty Lighthouse,
click here. |
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Notice to all
visitors: Our
site has now been completely re-engineered to work
substantially the same (and equally well) with popular
non-Microsoft, alternative browsers, Google
Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, as it
does with Internet Explorer (IE) or any
IE-based browser (such as Maxthon or
Avant). All of our sound files should now play in
all three browsers, although you may receive
a pop-up message telling you to install a media player
plug-in in your alternative browser.
(CLICK
HERE for
help.) (Our audio has been confirmed to work on an
Apple Mac with Safari but not on an iPhone;
if you use Google Chrome with a Mac
or IPad, who knows?) The site is best viewed in the
"Full Screen" mode with a screen resolution
of 1024 X 768 pixels in 16 or 32 bit ("true")
color. | |
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1960 SAILORS SUPPORT SANDY
RELIEF/RECOVERY EFFORTS BACK HOME
─
Click
here for
details. | |
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THE "CIRCLE
OF PRIDE": |
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The first three "Circle of Pride"
dinners and induction ceremonies were held in our home town
in
2003, 2004 and 2005, They honored great OHS coaches and athletes and
benefited the
OHS Athletic
Hall of Fame, which was conceived in 1960 by one of
the initial honorees,
none other than our own Coach Jan,
Frank Januszewski.
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(Click on the "Circle of Pride" logo at left to
read the initial induction announcement,
and to see how many
familiar names were honored in it first three years.) |
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 WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OUR
HOMETOWN HOT ROD KING?
 TM
was recently contacted by Andy Southard, Jr., OHS class
of '51 (whose father, Andrew, Sr., was on the Oceanside
School Board for 32 years ending with his passing in 1968).
Andy, Jr. became widely known in and around our little town in
his late teens and early 20s for his incredible work pinstriping
intricate designs on hot rods and custom cars. He then went on
to central California from where his reputation for pinstriping
and his photography spread nationally throughout hot rodding and
custom car circles. After being managing editor of
Rod & Custom magazine, and contributing photos and articles to that
and a number of other hot rodding and custom car magazines, in
the 1990s, Andy authored and published five books featuring
photos of these magnificent cars and related stories (all of
which are now out of print after runs of up to 12 years, and
used copies sell online for around $100). |
One of Andys' early books
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Click here to view the wonderful
photos of Oceanside in the 1950s that Andy, now living in
Salinas, California, contributed to 1960sailors.net for all of
us to enjoy.
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JACK IS BACK! |
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After losing both of his legs in a construction accident shortly
after our 40-year reunion in 2000, Jack trained rigorously for
the last 18 months so he could inspire other amputees to race.
LI Newsday reported in 2004 that our own Jack Beaulieu won first
place in the 26.2-mile men's hand-crank wheelchair competition
with a time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 10 seconds.his first time
in the Long Island Marathon held on Sunday, May 3, 2004.
Several of his competitors were as much as 21 years younger than
Jack.
Newsday quoted
Jack as follows: "It's no longer difficult for me. It's
difficult only if you don't fill your life with productive
endeavors."
Way to go, Jack!
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Jack Beaulieu at our reunion in 2000
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Apparently, Jack competed again in July 2004 in
Alaska, according to the
accompanying online report of an Anchorage TV station about Jack and
another old-timer wheelchair racer found for us by Rick Von Brook. |
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IS YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS MONTH? |
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THE GREAT |
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IS NOW OVER 70
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Click here for a special
birthday greeting to all of us,
a
list of known classmates' birthdays and
a brief history of the world as we have
known it.
(If your birthday is not listed on
the
class birthday card page, let
us know now.) |
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Do
you remember the Sailor's
Handbook?
In
the late 1950s, the Sailor's
Handbook was
given to every OHS student at the beginning of the
school year. It contained mostly school rules but has a
lot of interesting historical information in it and,
thanks to classmate, Marta Watts, we have obtained
access to all
three editions
that were distributed while we were in high school. There
is stuff from the Handbook
now all over the
"Our School"
page (including the floor plan of our high school
building as it was when we were there) and on the "Sports
Page" (sample cheers used in the late 1950s).
And
a special page was added containing IAQs
(infrequently asked questions) created by classmate,
Ed Chilton
(now deceased), from information about our school found in
these three editions of the
Handbook.
Some of them will surprise you, and many should make you laugh.
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l
Howie's nostalgic reunion speeches
over the last 30+ years now feature
AUDIO!!
1980
1990
2000
2005
AND FOR
OUR 50-YEAR GRAND
REUNION IN 2010,
VIDEO!!
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If you haven't
taken a tour of
"Our Little Town"
yet,
go there. You'll find lots of
1950s Oceanside history obtained from, among
other sources, the 1957-'60 pages of
 , old
photos and photos of
present day Oceanside, too.
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Peter's Clam Bar, circa
1950
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CHECK
OUT THE OLD PHOTOS
of
our town triangle, the Rainbow Diner,
Nathan's Roadside Rest,
C&J Bowling,
Peter's Clam Bar, Carvel, churches and synagogues,Oil City, Bristol Motors, South Nassau
Communities Hospital and more
at
Our Little Town
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AND
YOU CAN REVISIT |
| THE
ORIGINAL |
| NATHAN'S
ROADSIDE REST! |
| OUR
LITTLE TOWN'S MOST FAMOUS LANDMARK |
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on
our IMPROVED
ROADSIDE
REST page
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that has been substantially "beefed up"
(all beef, of course); that is, it
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has
grown larger, more complete and more interesting with "new"
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pictures and added history. (Even the
song has gotten cooler!)
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And
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(FYI, this panel is supposed to be the color of
sauerkraut.)
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According to a remarkably accurate report by
 :
"The huge building with picnic-style
tables became a destination: to go after high-school
football games, after a day at the beach, to
celebrate when you first got your drivers'
license, or just to people-watch and meet kids from
other towns."
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CLASS
OF 1960 "IMMORTALIZED"
AT NATHAN'S OCEANSIDE
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Substantially
all of the contents of our
Roadside Rest
page, in a beautifully framed, printed edition was presented June 28, 2003, on behalf of our class
together with the Oceanside
Chamber of Commerce,
who then declared June to be "
Month in Oceanside, New York." Our tribute
is
now hanging permanently in the Oceanside,
"immortalizing" the Class of 1960 in our little town. Click here for details
and photos, here for
Nathan's Famous letter of
acknowledgement of our award, or here for the Chamber's
Newsletter covering the event. (Our class is mentioned
four
times in the article.)
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This Site |
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Now Featuring |
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After 48 Years! |
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Selected LIVE RECORDINGS
made onstage at
OHS,
March 15, 1958,
featuring the
OHS
orchestra and the voices of our classmates, in
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became
available
to us in 2006
courtesy of our
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popular teacher, musical
director and conductor,
Allan Segal. |
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The
audio quality is not the best, But the memories are real. and they are
SPECTACULAR!!
Thanks to you,
Allan (Click here
for an
update on Allan Segal.)
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Visit the page honoring
the memory of my personal favorite teacher,
jr.
high music teacher,
Ed Taylor
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Don' t forget the
ATTACK ON
OUR HOMELAND
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Click
on one of the photos at left for our special page about the tragedy.
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REmemBEring
September 11th
—
one year later
with
the words of a 14-year old Oceanside
high school
freshman,
Denise Huertas, Class of 2006
"I learned that life can change in a heartbeat."
Click
here for a report of the memorial
ceremony
held in Oceanside,
September 11, 2002
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 Go to our
 page to find out
about our class theatre party we had,
May 11th, 2001,
at the
of our senior year spring musical
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Very
rare
group
photos of all of us
as
the
OJHS Graduating Class of
1957 |
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Our
Guys
Our
Girls |
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NOW ENLARGED
2.5 X the size of the Originals!!
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READ
ALL ABOUT THE 1959
COUNTY
CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL GAME
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SAILORS
71, BALDWIN
70
(IN NAIL-BITING
OVERTIME !)
AS
TOLD ON THE PAGES OF
WITH
LOTS
OF
OTHER OHS SPORTS STUFF
FROM OUR TIME |
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AND SPEAKING OF SPORTS,
REMEMBER THIS? |
Were you a baseball fan when you were a kid?
How about a trip back to the ballpark in the days the Dodgers
were still in Brooklyn (and you could still pronounce all the
players' names) -- a trip to Yankee Stadium for game seven of
the 1955 World Series, October 4, 1955, when the beloved
Brooklyn Bums finally beat the Bronx Bombers, as reported the
next day in the
 and
the
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(Click on the Dodgers' logo at left.) |
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WHAT A MEMORY!! |
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Copyright
© 2000-2020 by Howard B. Levy and
1960 Sailors
Association
Inc. All rights reserved.
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