The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 267Correction: Wheatley Opened its Doors in 1956; The Class of 1976 50th-Year Reunion; The Mayor of Wheatley's Corner (Parts 1 and 2); Andy Devine; Susan Shapiro; Dane Tessler
Dear Wheatley Wildcats and Other Interested Persons, Welcome to the Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 267, Correction - Wheatley Opened its Doors in 1956Ellen Genat Hoffman correctly pointed this out as follows; “Wheatley’s doors opened in September 1956, not 1958. The first graduating class graduated in June 1958. The class arrived as juniors, and spent two years as the oldest class. The first couple of classes had only approximately 80 students in them. There were a lot of unused classrooms. After the North Side School fire, the 4th, 5th and 6th grades from there moved to the junior high wing.” (((I apologize for my “senior moment.” - Art)))
Class of 1976 50th-Year ReunionThe Wheatley School Class of 1976 50th-Year Reunion has been scheduled for October 17th, 2026. Anyone interested can contact Charlie Cassely at ccassely@yahoo.com for details. (((Art writes - This is the same day as the Class of 1966’s 60th-Year Reunion. Great Minds Think Alike. Make sure that you don’t go to the wrong reunion.))) The Mayor of Wheatley’s Corner - Part 1Donna Kenton (1963) Writes - “Art, I’m so glad that you wrote why you do this. We all know that it takes a very long time. So I want you to know that I know you, respect you, and greatly appreciate you. I’m not the envying kind, but there’s much about you and the life you’ve created to envy. My goodness, you became a New York State Supreme Court Justice! I often tell people that I’m friends with more people from high school now than I ever was in high school, being the incredibly shy girl that I was. It’s because of two things, first, being on my class reunion committee, and second, being friends with you. I’m certainly grateful that you’re the Mayor of Wheatley, and I will definitely take credit for naming you that. 😊” Gerry Gersh (1969) Writes - “So, Art, it took you 265 publications to tell us what we all wondered about?!! Why does Art put all the work in for us - lucky Wheatley grads? Your answer did not disappoint. ‘I like making people happy.’ And that makes your ‘glory’ glorious! None of us can truly fathom the time and effort you put in, but many have speculated. You knitted a tapestry none of us expected, but we treasure it, and it helped jog our memories about somethings called ‘youth,’ ‘innocence,’ ‘dreams.’ We all thank and love you, Art, for running on that treadmill. When do we throw you the party?!” MBDE Writes - “After having read many Wheatley Alumni Newsletters, what strikes me about them is how they perfectly illustrate that creating connections is foundational work, almost a vocation, a mission. In addition to nostalgia, they provide generational anchoring; they transform an alumni network into a truly living, structured community, sustained over decades. Behind the sometimes light tone (“hamster on the wheel”), I perceive a more demanding reality: the patient construction of a collective memory and a gentle social influence, where everyone still exists in the eyes of others, and I find that beautiful.” Graduates1966 - Steve Hanft - In the previous issue (# 266), Steve asked if anyone could name the device that Andy Devine often asked ‘Froggy’ to ‘plunk’ on the Saturday morning TV show ‘Andy’s Gang.’ The correct answer, ‘Magic Twanger’ (as in ‘Plunk your Magic Twanger, Froggy’) came from Robert Eastman (1966), Steve Shakin (1966), Art Engoron (1967), Howard Kirchick (1967), and Bruce Artim (1971). Art Adds - My research, confirming my memory, came up with the following expanded version : “I’ve gotta gang You’ve gotta gang Everybody’s gotta have a gang But there’s only one real gang for me, Good old Andy’s gang! Pump your magic twanger Froggy! Hiya kids! Hiya, hiya, hiya!” 1969 - Susan Shapiro - “I've never seen any theater production of ‘Death of a
Salesman,” but Nathan Lane being in the current
Broadway production drew my interest. My mom still remembers seeing ‘Death of
a Salesman’ in 1949, when she was dating my dad. That surprises me, as I
always thought that they only saw musicals.
Dad took my brother
Mitch's (1970) son, Steven, to play golf, and Joe was there. In those days,
Steven, then approximately 11-12 years old, was playing baseball back in
Smithtown. Joe asked Steven, ‘What position do you play?’ Steven replied,
‘Catcher.’ Joe asked, ‘Do you want to grow up to be like Yogi Berra?’ 1974 - Dane Tessler - Colorado Host The Mayor of Wheatley’s Corner - Part III print the following, somewhat reluctantly, under the rubric of “a point of personal privilege.” Richard Friedman (1967) wrote it in the 72nd year of our fast friendship (we met in 1954, as North Side School kindergarten students): Art, In your essay
explaining why you publish The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter,
you wrote in part: I was doing it because being in contact with everyone and throwing parties is fun.’ Agreed! ‘I was doing it because people appreciated it, and I like making people happy.’ Agreed! ‘And I was doing it for “the glory.” I couldn’t redo high school; and my college career was mostly miserable; but I could become a somebody. I could stand out from the crowd. People would know me, respect me, appreciate me, and might possibly envy me. Even after all these years, I still have difficulty defining “the glory,” but I still feel it. And to quote the Gershwin Brothers, “They can’t take that away from me.” Art, I appreciate your sincerity, openness, and ability to be vulnerable. Nobody could be more insightful about yourself than you. I admire that in you. “I sense there is a ‘but’ coming.” Yes, and here it is. How I disagree with you about yourself might be more indicative of your personality than one might think. “But I could become a somebody.” Art, you have always been a somebody. From the very beginning, going all the way back to your earliest days at North Side. You started off as a ‘little shrimp sickly’ person, yes. But everything you took on you excelled at! You may not have been the best, but you were always way above average at all you took on. You were the best at chess, though. I cannot possibly fashion myself as a psychiatrist here, so I could be very wrong. But, since you said that you wanted to ‘become a somebody,’ and I say that you have always been quite a ‘somebody,’ maybe there is/was a feeling of inferiority here, though from my perspective, for the adult AFE, that should not be the case. “I could stand out from the crowd.” Same kind of thinking. You have always stood out from the crowd. Perhaps you did not realize or appreciate it. In high school, between your academic achievements and your participation in many of the top echelon activities, you most definitely stood out. I always thought so. Why didn’t you? Different perspectives, perhaps. “People would know me, respect me, appreciate me, and might possibly envy me.” More recently, since being a judge at the levels you were at, I think you achieved the status of people knowing, respecting, appreciating and possibly envying you. But in this case, it appears that you wanted this to apply to the graduates of the school of your youth, as you have had these distinctions in your professional life. Most people would be very happy for this to be the case in their graduating class. I don’t know if its true, or if it applies to you that you want this to apply for the 10,000 Wheatley graduates to know you, etc. Perhaps I find that hard to believe, as most of these people you will never know, other than as a statistic. Feeling the “glory” from what you do is the quality that I can definitely confidently attribute to you for what you have been doing. It feels good to bask in the glow in the glory of doing something that is a significant accomplishment and is recognized by so many people. This is something that I can buy into, Art. It comes from the very positive feedback you have received from hundreds, if not thousands, of people who appreciate the hard work and hours of your time that you have put into this. Something that you never had to do, but yet you do it and do not ask for anything in return. This is your labor of love, and instead of getting tired or burnt out in doing it, you only get better and have expanded from your original concept. There is no argument as to whether or not I am correct or not. This is my opinion of your opinion! Is something like that permissible? “How can I submit a critique or opinion on your opinion? That is your opinion, to which you are entitled. But, in looking back as to what I wrote, it’s possible that I have a higher opinion of you than you do! Thus, that is how I disagree with your opinion about yourself. I am not questioning your integrity. I am not questioning your being vulnerable. But, from my perspective, I guess I see something different than you do from my perspective, which continues to develop even as it approaches 72 years. Fan MailFaculty (Karen Bartscherer) - ❤️ 1960 (David Eastman) - “Way to go and thank you.”❤️ 1964 (Ellen Genat Hoffman) - “Reading why you publish the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter was great. The work sounds very fulfilling.” 1964 (Richard Ilsley) - ❤️ 1965 (Barry Gordon) - “Thank you for the history of the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter! What can I say? You’re a mensch! Thank you for all you do for us Wildcats!” 1965 (Bob Halper) - “A very good essay, Art. Nice and honest. Well-written to boot.” 1965 (Louise Kampa Triano) - “Art, as usual, you are a joy! I laughed and cried at your “Why I do the Newsletter” story. I know I speak for everyone when I say, ‘thank you’ for keeping us together. I don’t think the Class of 1965’s reunion last October would have been the success it was without ‘Art’s Newsletter.’ You are making a lot of people happy.”❤️ 1966 (Suzanne Stone) - “We are blessed that you found your calling as OUR MAYOR - whatever the reason....thank you, thank you, thank you!!!❤️” 1967 (Michael Cave) - “As you wrote in your essay, you found a way to develop a tremendous community with your Newsletters. You have touched many hearts and souls, and you continue to bring people together with special memories of their lives.” 1967 (Barbara Smith Stanisic) - ❤️ 1969 (Maddy Nathanson) - ❤️ 1969 (Paula Panzeca Foresto) - ❤️ 1972 (Arlene Acker) - ❤️ 1974 (Melanie Artim) - ❤️ 1974 (Marla Romash) - ❤️ 1974 (SuZanne L. Zenker-Gilbride) - ❤️ 1977 (Linda Watnick Lebowitz) - ❤️ 1981 (Rob Walzer) - “Life hasn’t been the same without your Newsletter.” ???? (Elias Croft) - ❤️ Non-Wheatley (MBDE) - ❤️ The Usual Words of WisdomAll underlined text is a link-to-a-link or a link-to-an-email-address. Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the text that pops up will get you to your on-line destination or will address an email. Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 266 Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at our website: The Wheatley School Alumni Association Website Also thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material. I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a New Yorker style Fact-Checking Department. We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, performed, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967 ClosingThat’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 267. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
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