Weequahic’s MARQUIS “BO” PORTER, 1990, named new manager of the Houston Astros Major League baseball team

By Brian McTaggert, MLB.com

With the Houston Astros about to embark on a new era that will include a move to the American League, a new color scheme and new uniforms next season, the team on September 27th revealed the man it wants to lead the players into the new frontier. The Astros named Bo Porter to become their 17th manager at a news conference at Minute Maid Park. The 40-year-old Porter, a resident of Houston, was the 3rd base coach for the Nationals in 2012. The chance to manage the Astros is a dream come true for Porter, whose wife, Stacie, grew up in Houston. The family has lived in the area for many years, and Jim Crane, Houston’s President, said he got several recommendations from Houston-area baseball people.

“I'm completely honored,” Porter said in a conference call. “It starts at the top with Jim Crane. He's putting together a great leadership team, and I'm honored to be part of that leadership team. When you look at successful organizations, you have success from the top all the way to the

Continued on page 2

Alumni awards 33 Philip Roth 2012 scholarships is calling it a career for nearly $50,000 By David Daley Isaac Parker & Mariatu Conteh In a recent interview 1 & 2 in the Class of 2012 with a French publi- cation called Les Inrocks, Philip Roth, 79, said he has not written anything new in the last three years, and that he will not write another novel.

‘To tell you the truth, I'm done,” Roth told the magazine, in the most definitive statement he has ever made about his future plans. Ronald G. Stone Fund Phyllis & Donald “Nemesis' will be my last book.” Kalfus Fund Continued on page 17 More scholarship recipients on page 3 Jersey, reaching All-State status in base- PORTER continued from page 1 ball, football and basketball. He attended ALUMNI CALUMET bottom. They did a thorough search and the University of Iowa, where he earned a is a publication of the did a great job doing their due diligence bachelor's degree in communications WHS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION throughout the process, and I'm honored studies and played football and baseball. they decided and were in agreement that Editor, Layout & Design: He hopes all those experiences have I was the man for the job.” Phil Yourish, 1964 prepared him for his biggest challenge yet. Porter, who signed a multi-year contract, Proofreading: had previously interviewed for managerial Dave Lieberfarb, Hal Braff, positions with the Marlins and Pirates. Myrna Jelling Weissman, The Astros had an initial list of 49 candi- 2012-13 Alumni and Zaundria Mapson-Little dates, which they whittled to nine semifi- Contributions Our thanks for articles and nalists and eventually four finalists. photos from The Star-Ledger, of $200 or more NJ.com, NJ Jewish News, NY His career includes stints as a roving Times, our WHS alumni and instructor, coach and player, but his focus Steve & Lauri Dinetz and the friends. with the Nationals was on base running Chancellor Foundation and outfield defense. General Manager, Class of 1943 CONTACT US Jeff Luhnow, said he has no doubts about Class of 1945 Porter's ability to manage a game, but his Class of 1952 WHS Alumni Association communications skills are what set him Class of 1962 P.O. Box 494, apart. Class of 1963 Newark, NJ 07101 Alvin Attles, 1955 (973) 923-3133 Porter takes over an Astros team coming David Beckerman, 1943 (973) 303-5294 off its two worst seasons in its 51-year Marilyn Bobrow [email protected] history with back-to-back 100-plus-loss Steven Bogner, 1966 Hal Braff, 1952 www.weequahicalumni.org campaigns. Under the leadership of Crane Sheldon Bross, 1955 Our office is at Weequahic High and Luhnow, the Astros are rebuilding Dorothy Kurzrock Dorsay, 1958 School, 279 Chancellor Avenue in through the Draft and player development, David Fink, 1966 Newark in the Library/Media Center and they wanted a manager capable of Dena Gittleman Greenstein, 1964 on the 3rd floor. seeing the process through to the end. Melissa Haas - Kalfus Fund COME and VISIT! Tours of the high Gloria Shapiro Hastrieter, 1940 school and neighborhood can be “His style is his biggest asset,” Luhnow Judy Herr, 1964 arranged. said. “He's a natural-born leader. He's Eli Hoffman, 1956 very charismatic. You will get to know David Horace, 1987 him over time, he's a motivational speak- Theodore Jellinek, 1957 A Special Thanks to the er. But he's able to connect individually, Patricia Venokur Kaplan, 1952 Arnold Keller, 1952 connect with groups, gets the best out of CLASS of 1962 Warren Kessler, 1960 people, and that's really what we found Lawrence Kirsch, 1956 for contributing $5,000 the most compelling part of his style. He Arthur Lutzke, 1963 to the Alumni Association has genuine energy.” Masin Family following their 50th Jacqueline Ivers Metzger, 1964 During his playing career, Porter played in Reunion and donating two Melvin Narol Fund projector screens. parts of three seasons in the Major Sherry Ortner, 1958 Leagues as an outfielder for the Cubs Victor Parsonett, 1943 (1999), A's (2000) and Rangers (2001), Stuart Rosenblatt, 1957 Dave Schechner, 1946 appearing in a total of 89 games. He Once again it has been appeared in two playoff games for Oak- Marvin Schlanger, 1965 Nancy Small, 1963 difficult getting the Alumni land in 2000. Originally drafted by the Lawrence Sosnow, 1953 Calumet to you in a timely Cubs in 1993, he hit 113 home runs with David Steiner, 1947 manner. So for your reading 503 RBIs and 236 stolen bases in 10 Marc Tarabour, 1963 pleasure, this issue is 32 Minor League seasons. Michael Weissman, 1957 pages - 12 extra pages of James Wolf, 1968 Weequahic and Newark Porter was an outstanding athlete while at Benjamin Wolfe, 1955 Weequahic High School in Newark, New nostalgia. ENJOY!

2 CLASS OF 2012 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Lindiwe Beckles Tiana Anthony Aquil Bethea Nyasia Blanton Davinah Bryan Antoinette Butler

Ronald Griffin Fund

Reada & Harry Alumni Fund Class of 1963 Fund Alvin Attles Fund Carolyn Parm Fund Jellinek Fund

Frederick Brefo-kesse Brandi Byrd Jumaanah Chase Tyshanna Cohen Laquan Ferguson Shenique Frett

Bert Manhoff Fund

Alvin Attles Fund Alumni Fund Dena Greenstein Walter Swede Masin Fund Fund Hastreiter Fund

Regilio Gibson Shaquille Henry Jaleel Johnson Rashawn McDaniel Zakeyah McFadden Rasheeka Palmer

Class of 1964 Fund

Alvin Attles Fund Marie O’Connor Fund Edwin McLucas Fund Miriam Hample Fund Morey Bobrow Fund

Ashley Payne Samuel Rivera Drusilla Sefa Sharod Selph Katelynn Simmons Rebecca Stricklin

Alvin Attles Fund Alumni Fund Sharon Nicely Alvin Attles Fund Maxine Richard Roberts Fund Boose Fund Boatwright Fund

INVEST IN WEEQUAHIC’S FUTURE Continued on page 4

3 2012 SCHOLARSHIPS A monument to the magic of Olympic Park Continued from page 3 By Mark Di Ionno, Star-Ledger

Eletah Tuah Bianca Turner When Geri Besta was a little girl, she would lie in bed on endless summer nights and listen to the sounds from the magical land across the street: the whirling calliope music of the carousel, the click- clack of the ascending roller coaster followed by shrieks on the descent, the whistle of the miniature train, the shouts of game barkers. Alvin Attles Fund Linda Small Fund She would lie there, trying to sleep, listen- Amenze Regina Williams ing to all those sounds of wonder and fun, Uhunmwangho seeing the reflections of colored lights dancing across her shades. with inlaid etchings of the entrance roller coaster (there were two), the Ferris wheel And every night, at precisely 11 p.m., a and the carousel (which today turns at one-armed former trapeze artist named Disney World with a Cinderella theme) - Bubbles Riccardi would step to the micro- gives a brief history of the park. phone in front of Joe Basile’s orchestra and sing “Smiles,” a song made popular Olympic Park started as a beer garden and by Judy Garland and Jimmy Dorsey. picnic area called Becker’s Woods, back Leo Pearl Fund Sadie Rous Fund when Irvington was a bucolic suburb of And then, in time, the park would grow Newark, with a large German population. Not Pictured quiet and the lights would go off. Renamed Olympic Park after the 1904 Games in St. Louis (the world was Olym- Essence Habibulla pic-crazy back then, too), it quickly grew “There are smiles that make us happy, Hannah Litzky Fund into New Jersey’s largest amusement there are smiles that make us blue,” park. Called “Newark’s Coney Island,” Alkhadir Johnson Besta sang last week in recalling the days the landlocked park compensated for its Alumni Fund of Olympic Park. “You know the song. When I heard Bubbles sing that, I knew lack of ocean with the nation’s largest Jasmine Roberts it was time to go to sleep.” fresh-water swimming pool. Alumni Fund Anything called clean entertainment could “Smile” was the theme at Olympic Park, Scholarship recipients are be found there. Semipro baseball, harness a 40-acre amusement wonderland on the attending the following Irvington-Maplewood border, and from races, motorcycle races, a dance pavilion, colleges and schools: 1887 to 1965, it put smiles on millions an opera house, a daily circus. It was a place of a million lights, when electricity of faces. Berkeley College was just getting its start. College of St. Elizabeth A couple dozen of those faces were on “It really was a magical place,” said Alan Delaware State University hand last week to dedicate a black granite Siegel, an Irvington lawyer who wrote monument to the old park at what today is Essex County College Smile: A Picture History of Olympic Park 990 Chancellor Ave. The monument - Georgian Court University and spoke at the monument unveiling. Iowa Western University Kean University That magic today lives in memories. The Lincoln Technical Institute only evidence of the park’s existence is the Olympic Market, an old Ukrainian Mercy College (NY) meat and specialty shop that has defied the Milford Academy (NY) sweeping demographic changes of the Rowan University area, and Olympic Terrace, a small street Rutgers University - Newark that dead-ended at the park. Rutgers University - New Brunswick University of Kentucky Continued on page 8 Virginia State University Wooster College (Ohio) 4 1970 WHS Grad Wendy Ida Encourages Women To ‘Take Back Your Life’

In November 2012, National award- winning Bodybuilder and Figure Champion, launched her new book, Take Back Your Life - which became an Amazon bestseller within the first week of its release.

After 17 years as a sought after trainer, speaker and health and fitness expert who has earned her nick name as the “Ab Queen, “ Wendy Ida shared her story of how she went from a 180lb overweight fast food junkie to a rock-solid size 4! conditioning coach for the LA Avengers Reason for Living football team. In her book, Take Back Your Life: My No Although Wendy Ida may appear Nonsense Approach to Health, Fitness She is also an 8-time award winning na- “over the top” in her dedication to fitness, and Looking Good Naked, she outlines tional champion of top trophy awards in health and self empowerment, she has not her 90-day plan for women of any age to the NPC Body Building and Figure forgotten her own journey from despair to feel strong and sexy and guides them Championships as well as a magazine triumph. She is a domestic violence to getting the body they want with her advice columnist and frequent guest on survivor who was in poor shape bad program. TV and talk radio. She has achieved health and had low self esteem. international recognition via commercials, Considering that all her life she was four Wendy creates a “no excuse zone” that exercise videos, magazines and dozens of dress sizes larger than she is today, and effectively neutralizes the most com- other appearances on NBC, Fox Sports gained an additional 50 pounds after mon reasons people avoid eating well and Net, ABC News, KCAL(CBS), KTLA having two children back to back, she is exercising, and shows them how to push (CW), San Diego Living - The CW, grateful to have beaten the odds. She through anything from divorce and career Essence and others. didn’t begin her own exercise regime changes to overcoming peer pressure for until age 43, but she has managed to burgers and fries. Guinness World Record and Other Recognitions improve her health, lose 80 pounds and dwindle down to a size 4 and hold onto it She speaks to the needs of women as a grandmother! whose lives have spun out of control As of July 2012, Wendy won the Indie due to the physical changes that occur book award for her best seller, Take Back Your Life, and also set two Guinness It’s no wonder why Wendy feels sharing during midlife and the many major life her self taught approach to mental readi- transitions that hinder weight loss and World Records as (1) Oldest Active Instructor in multiple disciplines and ness, self worth, teaching, preaching and can leave women feeling powerless and inspiring others to live their potential can unattractive. (2) for the most “Burpees” (a calisthenics exercise) 37 in one minute (female). not only change the world, but it is her reason for living. In July 2012, she held a “Take Back Your Wendy’s other credits include Director Life Gala Celebration” at the SLS hotel Wendy has a degree in accounting and of the Obesity Prevention Initiative in Beverly Hills. It benefited Window worked as a corporate accountant for 20 Program (OPI) - sponsored by USC Between Worlds, a nonprofit organization years before turning to health and well- Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, dedicated to using art to help end domes- ness. Now after 17 years of changing Kaiser Permanente, American Bio- tic violence. lives and rocking the worlds of many, the Clinical Laboratories and the Real Men proof is in the pudding. Wendy walks her Cook Foundation; an Award of talk and often says: “The power of About Wendy Recognition for Outstanding Educational fitness can set you free at any age!” Community Service from Dr. Charles Wendy Ida (ee’da) is a 60 year old top Adams - Founder and President; and For more information about Wendy, go Los Angeles, nationally certified master her two time nomination by Who’s to her web site at www.wendyida.com. trainer, coach, nutrition specialist speaker, Who Among Women in Business. author, and former assistant strength and

5 because he locked his keys in his, er, gas- Remembering Newark’s Thanksgiving Day Parade powered sled. “The roly-poly figure was By Lisa Rose, Star-Ledger just another pedestrian to some half a million spectators who dashed for cars and buses,” according to The Star-Ledger The sun was shining, the balloons were Over the years, Jersey crowds applauded article. Police helped St. Nick unlock his aloft and kaleidoscope floats rolled down such celebrities as Abbott & Costello, vehicle. city streets, accompanied by a sound track Guy Lombardo, Walter of marching bands and cheers from Winchell, Janet Leigh, Emmett bedazzled spectators. Kelly, Morey Amsterdam and Rin Tin Tin. This Thanksgiving fest didn’t take place amid the canyons of Manhattan. This In 1955, Newark glimmered parade snaked from East Orange to on Thanksgiving Eve, as downtown Newark, home of the flagship Bamberger’s pioneered a Bamberger’s department store. whole new style of parade for an international broadcast on Eighty years ago, the Market Street march CBS and the Voice of made its debut and the tradition continued America network. through 1957, drawing crowds that topped 600,000 when the weather com- Advertised as the “world’s plied. Although Bamberger’s was owned first Thanksgiving Eve parade by Macy’s, the Garden State retailer kept in black light,” the night walk its autonomy on turkey day. showcased rolling panoramas illuminated with flashing “It was a beautiful parade,” says The event moved to Weequahic Park in incandescent and ultraviolet bulbs. Street Catherine Reynolds, 81, of Roseland. 1956, where the blinking behemoths cir- lamps were switched off to enhance the Her late aunt, Geraldyne Gardner was a cled around a trotting track. After two drama of the glow floats, created with a Bamberger’s cosmetologist who rode a years at the park, however, Bamberger’s little help from General Electric. float as snow queen pre-WWII. “In New stepped out of the parade picture. Jersey, Newark was the place for the The procession included an ice cream In 1958, Bamberger’s pulled the plug on parade. I never even heard of Macy’s mountain, a Cinderella montage, a the parade. According to a Newark growing up.” phantasmagoric turkey, a flying carpet Evening News story, attendance declined piloted by actor William Bendix and a During the Bamberger’s boom years, as Jerseyans were gathering around tele- Santa sleigh strewn with Christmas lights. New Jersey occasionally outshined New vision sets instead of packing the park. In 1986, Bamberger’s branches were re- York on Thanksgiving. The Santa sled in The Bamberger’s “blackout” enchanted the 1947 Christmas classic, “Miracle on branded as Macy’s and in 1992, the New- viewers but also caused “one of the worst ark store closed for good. 34th Street” was actually on loan from vehicular tie-ups in the city’s history,” Newark. The film also featured a according to the Newark Evening News. The inaugural Newark event in 1931 was patriotic postwar eagle float made in New Father Christmas himself couldn’t escape a five-mile strut with masquerading Jersey. Both got trucked across the the gridlock, The Star-Ledger reported. buccaneers, ventriloquists, courtiers, George Washington Bridge for the movie A Santa impersonator named Lucky S. gunslingers, a cat herd, a 100-foot dragon shoot, according to the Newark Evening Squire was stranded in his red suit and, of course, Santa. News. There were some technical difficulties with the leading balloon, a 50-foot figure named Major. According to newspaper reports, the helium colossus “became so invigorated by the crisp Thanksgiving day that he soared off long before the proces- sion reached the store. He came to grief in Van Buren Street, was deflated and was flat on his back in the store when the excitement was at its height outside."

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6 Congressman Donald Payne, Sr. Newark’s great statesman memorialized with a statue at the Essex County government complex “Nothing is as powerful as a dream whose time has come.”

This past November, a bronze statue of boy delivering The Star-Ledger to former Rep. Donald Payne Sr., who died Newarkers every morning. Reading the in March 2012 at age 77, was erected in news gave him his first exposure to the Essex County government plaza on national affairs, and it was not long West Market Street in Newark. The before he became a part of the action. plaza was named for him three years ago. Along with the daily paper, Payne began distributing campaign literature for then- The life of U.S. Rep. Peter Rodino. Decades later, Years later, Payne would captivate Donald Payne he would challenge Rodino for the 10th students from his own district with Sr. reads like a Congressional District seat, losing to tales of his meetings and meals with history of the him in primaries in 1980 and again in presidents and world leaders. He battles and 1986. insisted the obstacles that faced him as a triumphs of teenager were as daunting as those faced He eventually won the seat, which African- by children now. represents the city of Newark and parts Americans of Essex, Hudson and Union counties, through the Payne lost his wife, Hazel, in 1963 to when the popular Rodino retired after 20th century. cancer. To support his young family, he 40 years in Congress. It was a long road His impressive began working as an executive for from Newark to Washington and Payne story follows: Prudential Insurance and later became tread it with a tenacity as gentle as it was vice president for Urban Data Systems. unwavering. A Tribute To Donald Payne, Sr. But politics was never far from his A student leader at Barringer High mind. Payne's political career began in By David Giambusso, Star-Ledger School and later at Seton Hall Universi- 1972, when he was elected to the Essex ty, the former South Side High School County Board of Freeholders. In 1982 Born into poverty in 1934, Donald teacher defined his leadership by an un- he was elected to the Newark City Payne, Sr. began life in a cramped assailable commitment to his students, Council as Councilman of the South Newark apartment with no indoor his neighbors and his constituents. Ward and also served as Council Presi- plumbing. His mother died young and dent. But his ambitions often ran ahead his father raised him and two siblings Once chairman of the Congressional of his successes. In 1978, he ran unsuc- alone, working as both a chauffeur and Black Caucus, Payne rarely spent a cessfully for Essex County Executive an elevator operator to support his weekend in Washington, instead return- before making his first unsuccessful run family. ing to spend time with his constituents, for Congress. directing federal power and resources But as black people fought for equality for everything from replacing communi- Once elected, Payne held the seat for nationally, Payne was on the front lines ty pool tables to making college more more than two decades. And though he of historic struggles in his native city. affordable for Newark students. was re-elected by some of the widest As battles raged and rhetoric soared over margins in state history, he never lost his the course of 50 years, the quiet school From his days as the first black president sanguine determination in a fight. teacher slowly evolved into a political of the National Council of YMCAs in force of nature. 1970, to his many trips to Africa as a To commemorate his memory last member of Congress, education was the March, members of the House of Repre- In 1988, Payne became the first African- central issue of Payne's political career. sentatives rose one by one to pay tribute American to represent New Jersey in to their fallen colleague. Rep. Rush Holt the U.S. Congress - an office to which At South Side - now Malcolm X (D-NJ 12th District said the following: he was elected 12 times and held for Shabazz High School - Payne met the 23 years. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when “No one in Congress has been a strong- the civil rights leader came to Newark in er advocate for equality of opportunity Payne's interest in politics began early in 1968, just eight days before he was in education. No one in Congress has life. One of his first jobs was as a paper assassinated. been a greater advocate for children's

Continued on page 8

7 PAYNE continued from page 7 “It was the place,” says Reynolds. architecture and entertainment array from “Nobody needed Macy’s because we had the park’s heyday. services and youth development. No one Bamberger’s. If you lived in Jersey, you has been more knowledgeable about came to Newark for the parade and to “One of my favorite sounds was in Africa. No one has voted more consist- shop.” spring, you would hear the clack-clack- ently for peaceful and non-military reso- clack of the empty roller coaster cars lutions to problems. No one has been being pulled up the steep hill. Every year, more consistent in the fight to respect OLYMPIC PARK they tested it and you knew summer was workers' safety and workers' conditions,” continued from page 4 coming,” Besta said.

Congressman Payne, Sr. is survived by Those sounds, and some smells, are still his brother, former Assemblyman Wil- very much alive for some people. liam Payne, and his sister, Kathryn James; “I remember those waffles they made for a son Donald, Jr., who is currently replac- ice cream sandwiches,” said Fred ing him in Washington, and former presi- Bromborsky. “They smelled so good, but dent of the Newark City Council; two I never had the dime to buy one.” daughters, Wanda and Nicole; four grand- children and a great-grandchild. That was when he was a little kid, walk- ing home from a long day at pool. Later, when he got a job working the game PARADE continued from page 6 stand, he could afford the ice cream waffle sandwich.

“It was a safe place,” said Georgia Schil- Bromborsky’s brother-in-law, Tom Pa- ling, who was a Phys. Ed. teacher in nitch, also worked at the park “I worked Irvington schools. “We would walk down at the Giant Cat game, where you had to from Nesbit Terrace, me and a whole knock down the stuffed cats, and at the group of friends. We were just little kids. booth where you guessed age and weight. We learned to swim there.” I was pretty good at it, but it didn’t matter. Even if I was wrong, people paid Besta’s earliest memories are of the 15 cents and got a 3-cent prize, so the fascination the park held for her. “My park still made 12 cents.” father held me up on his shoulders, watching the fireworks from our yard,” Panitch, an Irvington dentist, put together In 1933, Bamberger’s puppeteer Tony she said. “I must have been 3 years old.” the group that funded the monument. Sarg designed a menagerie of inflated animals wired to “talk.” The oversized She was a teenager when the park closed. “We have an annual Irvington High reun- creatures gobbled, growled, quacked and “I didn’t want to see it end. My heart was ion, and a guy named Herman Hilse said oinked loud enough to be heard for a half- broken,” she said. In the years since, she to me, ‘We ought to do something about mile. The Newark Evening News ran a has collected every postcard and piece of Olympic Park,’” he said. “He was right. preview with the headline, “Twelve-Foot paper memorabilia she can get her hands It was such an important part of growing Duck Will Lay Egg in Street During on. Her scrapbook of daily passes, bro- up here, and there was nothing to remem- Weird Parade.” chures and event bills shows the grand ber it by. And now, we at least have this." During the 1940’s, the storybook stroll featured floats inspired by Mother Goose, Long John Silver and Donald Duck, seat- ed in a rocking chair with a duckling on his lap. A massive Peter Rabbit wiggled its ears and bit “the largest carrot in ex- istence,” according to the Newark Even- ing News.

When Reynolds watches Thanksgiving balloons soar over New York on TV each year, she gets wistful, remembering a time when Newark held its own as a holiday hub.

8 Hal Braff, co-president of the AT THE Weequahic Alumni Associa- tion, said Porter’s life story WIGWAM serves as a powerful example in a city where many youth ON THE HILL feel they have few options. “There are only 30 people in the universe who are Major League Baseball manag- ers....we’re very proud of you, because you’re a person who made it and you’re a symbol to so many kids in this city that they can make it.” Bo Porter, Hal Braff, and Mary Dawkins with framed WHSAA baseball uniform Addressing the young ball players and students at the BO PORTER DAY IN ESSEX lead Weequahic High to two city base- ceremony, Porter said, “You may think ball championships, said his former the cards are stacked against you, but By Paul Milo, Newark Patch coach, Frank Gavin. one thing I can tell you, one thing I Marquis “Bo” Porter remembers the stressed to every owner and GM, is exact instant he decided he could be one Gavin said that for all his skills on the that a lot of people look at where I come of the tiny fraction of high school base- diamond, it was Porter’s character that from and see it as a negative, but with ball players who had a chance of getting made him stand out. He recalls being all the obstacles you overcome, I view to ‘the show.’ able to leave his team unattended with it as a positive. I am behind this city, the young Porter in charge, safe in the I am from this city. This is where my A participant in Project Pride, an knowledge practices would continue heart is.” athletic program for Newark youth, smoothly. “Bo has been a fantastic Porter played in a game against a team leader. Bo, I love you, not just as an Editor’s Note: Bo visited the high in Puerto Rico. That game was arranged athlete, but as a human being,” Gavin school later in the day after the ceremony by Joseph DiVincenzo, who ran the said. with an entourage including Essex Coun- program a quarter-century ago. “I was ty Executive Joe DiVincenzo and was on the plane coming back from Puerto At the University of Iowa, Porter pulled interviewed for a local television Rico, and [DiVincenzo] read off my off the equally impressive feat of star- news station, stats,” said Porter, 40, who grew up in ring in two sports, baseball and football, the South Ward. “It was at that moment drawing inevitable comparisons with Student Council Officers I believed I could play professional another famously versatile “Bo,” Jack- baseball.” son, a professional multisport athlete. Orange & Brown Association When Porter turned pro, however, he DiVincenzo went on to become the Es- stuck to baseball, eventu- sex County Executive. And Porter, as ally playing for the Chica- he suspected he would, made it as a go Cubs, Oakland Athlet- professional baseball player - and ics and Texas Rangers. beyond. In September, he was named manager of the Houston Astros, the first Fellow Weequahic alum Essex County native in the modern his- Sheila Oliver, Speaker of tory of the game to be placed in charge the State Assembly, said of a Major League team. Porter’s achievements are a point of pride and an The two men recently reunited at the inspiration for city youth. Leroy Smith Building, where coaches, “Today it’s about the friends, family, students and alumni orange and brown, it’s from Weequahic High - Porter’s alma about the Weequahic mater - gathered for a ceremony during Indians and it’s about which Porter was given an honorary Weequahic pride,” Oliver In front: Alianijah Slade - Secretary; Quaiesha “Key to Essex County.” said. “You stand as a testament for the young Myers - President; In back: Na’Syia Drayton - The son of a preacher, Porter was a people today.” Vice-President; Dominique Jarrell - Treasurer; three-sport standout at Weequahic, play- Teacher Beverly Russell, and Principal John Tonero ing on the basketball and football teams as well as the baseball squad. He helped Continued on page 10

9 Weequahic’s defense and held to just 49 leave defenses spinning, and the athleti- WIGWAM continued from page 9 yards. But that opened up Naji Johnson cism to just jump over a would-be tackler. for the game-winning score as Carteret Wadley didn’t need many carries to get came back to defeat Weequahic in a his yards. It only took him 105 attempts 2nd successive year heartbreaker, 13-12. to get 1,548 yards and 29 touchdowns - in state title game thats 14.7 yards per carry - and he also Weequahic, which was led by Wadley's caught two TD passes to give him 31 for Excerpts from an article 76 rushing yards and two scores, suffered the season. by James Kratch, Star-Ledger its second straight loss in a state sectional final. It fell to Cedar Grove in the North Sidney Gopre Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 final in 2011. Most Valuable WHS Defensive Player The playoff title is Carteret’s first since 1st Team All-Group 2 - defense 2007, when it won Central Jersey, Group 1st Team All-Essex - defense 2, and is the fourth playoff crown in school history.

The irony of the day came from Naji Sidney, a 6-1, Johnson who scored the winning 210-pound junior touchdown: linebacker, had the instincts and “I’ve got a bunch of family down there speed to rack up (Newark),” Johnson said. “After the 132 tackles and game, I shook hands with the five sacks. The Weequahic High School football (Weequahic) coaches. They know my team, with a 9-3, record made it to the father (Quinton Johnson), they know my state sectional finals for the second year uncle (Ronald Shuler, who played half- in a row. The gridiron contest between back for the school), they know my whole the Indians and Carteret High School took family. My grandma’s house is on the place once again at Met Life Stadium in same block (as the school). I’ve got a the Jersey Meadowlands with a large couple bragging rights for Brick City throng of student and alumni boosters right now.” Kadar Clark present - distinguished by their orange Quarterback and brown colors and their upbeat Football Recognition Most Valuable WHS demeanor. Offensive Player Akrum Wadley 5’9, 160-pounds Historically, Carteret was 2-1 against Junior Weequahic. They won 25-0 in 1937 and Most Valuable WHS Player 18-12 in 1938. Weequahic won 3-0 in Essex County Player of the Year 1978. 2nd team All-State - offense 1st Team All Group 2 - offense This game turned out to be a tale 1st Team All-Essex - offense of two halves. University of Iowa

In the 1st half, Weequahic had all the fire, Nate Jackson passion and momentum as they dominat- ed on offense and defense. Star running Running Back back, Akrum Wadley, scored two touch- Leadership downs on an 84-yard punt return and a Award 35-yard blast. As a result, the Indians Linebacker took a 12-0 lead into the locker room at 5’10, 180-pounds halftime - and with a little luck they could Senior have had two more touchdowns.

In the 2nd half, it was all Carteret. They Stephen Morris asserted themselves offensively and after Rookie of the Year gaining 71 yards in the first half, they Running Back finished with 232 for the game, thanks to According to The Star-Ledger, the 5-10, Defensive Back the passing of Tyler Rodriguez (10-of-16, 175-pound senior running back has the 5’7, 190-pounds 157 yards) and the running of all-time speed to leave defenders in his tracks, the Freshman school rushing leader Jerod Johnson, power to throw a shoulder down and who was marked the entire day by barrel his way through, the moves to Continued on page 11

10 ALUMNI VOICES WIGWAM continued from page10 George Brandmeyer, Cheerleaders Win Essex Championship Jan. 1951 - Texas

About Frank Heilenday, Jan. 1945

Frank W. Heilenday, valedictorian of the class of January, 1945, and a distinguished aeronautical engineer, passed away at age 83 on October 13, 2011.

Frank was born in Jersey City on December 31, 1927 where his father practiced law. The family moved to Newark in the 1930’s.

Frank and his sister Clair were both graduates of Weequahic. An older sister, Helma, taught business courses at Weequahic during and after World War II. Frank’s wife, and my sister, Joan Hilda Annan, Shanice Bancroft, Dajah Bell, Makya Bembry, Nettia Conyers, Kearah Brandmeyer Heilenday, was also a mem- Cook, Jabrie Dwight, Assata Edwards, Zydasha Ford, Raionna Gordon, Quanasia ber of the class of January 1945. Hall-Finney, Precious Harris, Kahasia Hartfield, Tiaonna Holloway, Laquanda McIver, Keyocia Muhammad, Faiza Onque, Anari Ormond, Brianna Ramos, Tanasia Ransom, After spending the early years of his career Madelen Soto, Asyah Strothers, An’na Stroud, Valerie White, Jada Velez, Naadirah in private industry, Frank worked for the Williams, Alexus Wheeler and Coach Shanea Dandridge Eighth Air Force where he served as Chief of Operational Analysis. Later, he was Chief of Applied Research with the Strate- A letter to our Athletic Director gic Air Command (SAC), serving a total of twenty-nine years at SAC and retiring at a on Weequahic sportsmanship civilian grade equivalent to Brigadier General. Dear Gary Westberry, Frank was also the author of the text, Principles of Air Defense and Air Vehicle On behalf of Delran High School (in Burlington County) and Penetration. The volume is renowned for the entire Delran community, I want to congratulate you its lively discussion of lessons learned and and your school community on a well deserved victory on lingering myths left over from World War Friday night. I’m sure you are very proud. II air combat.

More importantly, the Weequahic athletes, coaches, admin- Through its pages the reader visits the Nazi V-1 Missile attacks on Great Britain, the istration, and fans were a pleasure to host. The display of Luftwaffe vs. RAF Battle of Britain, night sportsmanship and mutual respect from both teams was one raids by the British Command, and day- that should be highlighted across the state. You have an light raids by the U.S. Eighth Air Force. excellent team that played outstanding football on Friday night and we wish you the best of luck in the finals this Once retired from SAC, Frank and Joan moved from Omaha to Olympia, Washing- weekend. ton, where he continued working as a consultant for the RAND Corporation and If you ever need anything, please let us know. taught several courses at George Washing- Congratulations and best of luck! ton University on aspects of air defense. He was living in Olympia when he Andrew Estrada, Athletic Director succumbed to an infection while awaiting hip replacement surgery.

11 We'll offer a celebratory drink to the ALUMNI VOICES Alumni Association Board of Trustees who deserve high praise for sustaining all From Irving Newman and alumni activities. We urge strong and Dr. Milton Luria, 1939 diligent attention to sponsor successful class reunions - and maybe best of all, Milt and I will offer money and support Buddies to the end and for scholarship funding. their Ode to Weequahic The years literally fly by. Viewpoints and From 1935-1939, Milt Luria and myself Irv Newman Milt Luria attitudes constantly change, but the were classmates at Weequahic High and solidity and tradition of Weequahic High teammates on Coach Art Lustig's football School is an indestructible asset for the teams. Milt was the star center (football our own for as long as you live. Your rest of your lives. scholarship to University of Maryland) interpretation of your Weequahic years and I was an inadequate substitute scrub have a uniqueness hard to match (college From Jack Feins, 1944, Florida quarterback. and other associations don't measure up). If the imperative of education holds true, Hoops in the early 40’s At the time, victories were few and Weequahic will have shown you a path to precious but few players exceeded the success. I remember when the camaraderie that prevailed on the team. annual Thanksgiving Win or lose (more losses than victories) If you are wise enough to put the stuff of football game was we hung together like bonded brothers. the Weequahic years in its proper place with Hillside High. It was the time we wore leather helmets you will have enriched your everlasting We had the worst and there never was discussion about soul for a long time. Fail this recognition football teams concussions. Equipment wasn't the best and you will have fluffed a precious gift because our wonder- but everyone made do. of great durability. ful Jewish mothers wouldn't allow us to We carried our equipment on a two mile Milt and I will assume you meet the play since we might walk to Irvington Park which was our irrefutable challenge and necessity of a get hurt. So we played basketball and had practice field (no Untermann Field good education. It didn't materialize by a few good seasons. then). Dedication and team loyalty accident. It was your dedication, attitude, surpassed the number of victories we application and determination plus the Henry Donn was my coach at the time chalked up. committed teachers that helped you own and we had so much talent in 1942-43 that that education degree. Around that valua- we actually used a two team system. I Milt and I have (loosely) logged 90 years ble degree you built your own treasury of was a forward and was tall for those days - connected in body, mind and spirit and memories and accomplishments at 6’ 2” inches. affection for our respective families. In addition, Milt provided superlative treat- One of the supreme joys of our I made the all-city and all-county teams ment as advisor and doctor to my family. Weequahic education can be summed up that year. We had a great team which We both remain competitive and now it’s in one word - it's called FRIENDSHIP. only lost to Thomas Jefferson (the only about who has more aches and pains. What Milt and I have worked on success- regular season loss that year) and then fully for 90 years is available to every beat them in the State Group 4 Section 2 Jogging (make that strolling) down Weequahic student. Working out the de- tournament. memory lane can encompass all the sweet tails depends upon the individuals. Good stuff we experienced as students at luck at that wonderful objective. Friend- My granddaughter now has my gold Weequahic. We acquired an excellent ship doesn't solidify unless diligent and basketball that we were awarded. We lost education and four years of mostly deli- intelligent effort is expended. to the Power Memorial in West N.Y in cious memories - recollections Milt and I the semis for the championship. (and other classmates) bring up at appro- The 'ol guys are just about finished with priate times. And this reservoir is inesti- their brief journey down sentimental Not that I'm bragging, but I held the team mable in value. It covers (with us) a lane. There are considerations and record at 23 points and I only played half ninety year lifetime and still counting. gifts to be offered to complete the little of the game. In fact I broke Hesh saga. We, of course, will continue sub- Cohen’s record of 21 while he was keep- My last scribbling seems timely since this scribing to the Calumet newsletter under ing score at the game. Loved it. is gift giving time. Milt and I want to the editorship of talented Phil Yourish. endow the graduated Weequahicers with We'll continue to praise the 20+ page I don't know if you remember anything an incalculable heirloom. You will never alumni bulletin printed a number of times about those years but they were fun years forget Weequahic. You will have it as during the year. for me in high school. Would like to see more about those years.

12 through Weequahic Park, with the lake and golf course on Class of 1962 - 50th Reunion either side, memories of sledding down the snowy hills and By Doris Spector walking along the green paths of our younger days came to mind. Then out of the park, up Chancellor Avenue, past the old “Y” building, onward to Weequahic High School, with Chancellor Avenue School looming nearby. We entered Weequahic through the new Ronald G. Stone Com- munity Gymnasium on Goldsmith Avenue and into the Coach Les Fein Arena, where the cheerleaders and drum line per- formed and slides of Weequahic’s past were shown. Alumni director Phil Yourish, alumni co-president Hal Braff, and facul- ty led us through the halls of Weequahic in smaller groups. We marveled at the historic mural in the lobby, sat in the auditori- um (on the same wooden seats), went into the old boys gymna- sium, visited some open classrooms, and gathered in the Library/Media Center, which was the cafeteria in our day.

After leaving Weequahic, we traveled by Maple Avenue School, down Lyons Avenue, past Beth Israel Hospital, along Bergen Street, past Peshine Avenue and Bergen Street schools, through Downtown Newark to Hobby’s Deli for a delicious lunch. Before heading back to the hotel, we traveled through The Weequahic High School, class of 1962, celebrated its 50th the Ironbound section of the city on the other side of Penn Reunion on the weekend of October 6th. It was truly an amaz- Station. Some folks didn’t know that this area is populated by ing event. Many classmates came from in-state, but others many Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian families and is well came from afar - including Canada, California, Oregon, Florida known for its tasty restaurants. and places in between. 250 classmates, spouses, and friends gathered again on Satur- A special attraction of the weekend was a bus and van tour of day evening for a terrific Reunion at the Renaissance Hotel in Newark. About 80 alumni participated. Our tour guide, Liz Edison - featuring a cocktail hour, hugs, kisses, pats on the Del Tufo, pointed out landmarks, synagogues which are now back, pictures, buffet dinner, and dancing. Our old friends and churches, and many sights of old that are still in our memories. new friends celebrating our high school years. Two slide Along the way, we viewed new homes and gardens that are shows showed yearbook pictures of students in the class of ‘62 sprouting up all over the city. We saw that Newark is trying to and snapshots highlighting the memories of our youth. rebuild itself and that it is succeeding, with the new and refur- bished office buildings - and educational, housing, and retail Praise and kudos to Marty Powers for recruiting a committee developments. NJPAC and the Prudential Center are today’s of hard workers and for graciously guiding, encouraging, great venues for entertainment and sports. inspiring and leading us during the two years it took to make this 50th year reunion a wonderful success. To the delight of all Traveling along Elizabeth Avenue, we went past the sites of the who attended, it was a great weekend! Weequahic Diner and the Tavern Restaurant. As we rode

40th Reunion

Class of 1972

November 24, 2012

The Manor in West Orange

13 matter anymore. The BURNEY ADAMS players walked Adams to the field house, the place football coach honored where he spent many by the former players he hours as coach. helped become men Tears welled up in his eyes again when the tarp By Barry Carter, Star-Ledger was taken off the build- ing. Adams’ name was Burney Adams showed up late one day written in big, bold letters: to football practice at Untermann Field Coach Burney L. Adams in Newark. This was something that Field House. never happened with Adams, a discipli- narian and workhorse. But the coach “I’m so proud of these made no excuses when he had his play- guys,” said Adams, who ers from Weequahic High School hud- coached 34 years at dle up around him. What he did next The tribute to Adams occurred during Weequahic before retiring at the end of said so much more to show them he was halftime at the "Soul Bowl," the annual the 2001 season. “This is special be- accountable for being tardy. Thanksgiving Day game between cause of what they did.” They listened Weequahic and Malcolm X Shabazz to their coach, who drilled into their Adams began running laps around the high schools. The announcer’s voice heads that football was a way to get an track like he made his players do when- echoed across the stadium, calling all education and to do something with ever they were late. Adams ran full tilt, alumni, players and friends to follow their lives. pumping hard like a madman until he Adams to midfield. had run a mile, diving across the finish After a 13-year career on four National line when he was done. The players They came from across the country - Football League teams, Baker owns a couldn’t believe it, their eyes wide from places like Memphis, Denver, well-known barbecue spot right outside open, looking as the coach seemed to Florida and Kentucky - to honor the of Cleveland. Vaughn Crowe, class of nearly kill himself to drive home a man they look to as a mentor and father 1998, is a program officer with the MCJ point. figure. “I wouldn’t have missed this for Amelior Foundation. Leon Baptiste the world,” said Wilder Lee, a middle owns a company that designs, installs “He was showing us that he was no school dean in Memphis who played and maintains electrical and solar sys- better than us,” said Al "Bubba" Baker, quarterback for Adams in 1985. “He tems. The list goes on and on. a former offensive lineman, who re- saved my life.” called the story. “That was the ultimate “Those are some good young people, commitment to us.” When they reached the 50-yard line, man,” Adams said. “They were kids Adams, 75, was in the middle of the where some people said they would This story is nearly 40 years old, but it circle, standing strong as ever. He never make it, but a lot of them made still resonates as one of many lessons drove from Savannah, Ga., for this it.” Adams used to teach young boys from moment. Players called his name, Newark how to be men. Well, the men shouted that he was a great man. Many Adams’ toughness had something to do are grown now and they came back to scrambled to be next to him and take with that. He was an Army paratrooper Untermann Field this past Thanksgiving pictures. and a hard-nosed lineman at Florida Day to thank the coach for teaching A&M University, which recently them about more than just wins and “Somebody’s going to carry him inducted him into the school’s hall losses. They represent a brotherhood of today,” said someone in the crowd. of fame. gridiron success. Some are doctors and And they did, hoisting Adams onto their lawyers, educators and bankers, former shoulders for a few seconds. He During his time at Weequahic, Adams professional athletes and law enforce- pumped his fist, trying to hold back the also got involved off the field. He knew ment officers. tears underneath his glasses. The game his players’ class schedules. He’d roam for bragging rights didn’t seem to the halls, too. Teenage hangouts after school and parties were off limits to the team. Adams would not let his players be with undesirables or do anything less than their potential. There was a curfew and Adams enforced it by riding around town to see if the players had snuck out the night before a game.

Continued on page 15

14 ADAMS continued from page 14

“That’s when he kicked my butt,” said Robert Hockaday Robinson, a Newark city carpenter who once got caught violating curfew. “If he saw you with a bad group of people, he would tell you to get off the corner, get your butt home, and I would do it.”

In the summer, Adams took his kids on college tours, showing them the country beyond Newark. They ate lunch with congressional leaders and visited military academies. It was all about exposure and another way of life from city streets. Newark Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts “What he’s done speaks louder than any Ernie Barron, 1968, and the kind of trophy or naming of a field after him,” said Hassan Arbubakrr, a Weequa- 1962 State Championship Basketball Team hic defensive end who went on to play for two NFL teams and the Canadian Football League.

Adams did what some believe is missing in society today. He filled a void, he invested time. He did what needed to be done.

He turned boys into men.

First State Basketball Championship in the country with a batting average of The first one is always very special! Ernest Barron, 1968 .418. In June 1972, he was named College Athlete of the Month, appearing When Weequahic, 23-3, led by Chris WHS Football and Baseball Star in Black Sports magazine. Upon com- Pervall, beat Westfield, 55-52, for the pletion of college, he played semi-pro Group IV state basketball title in 1962, it baseball for 15 years with the Rookie Ernie “Bulldog” was the first state championship for the Cardinals and Newark Dodgers in the Barron, an All- high school. Since then, there have been Stan Musial League, Brooklyn Division. City and All- four more in 1966, 1967, 1973, and 2001. County football Ernie, an educator in the Newark school and baseball Below are the names of the players and system, taught physical education at player at coaches on the 1962 team: Hawkins Street School, Clinton Place Jr. Weequahic in the High School, and West Side High Ernie Bethea, Steve Bleier, late 1960’s was School. Currently, he is the glove man Joe Daniels, Allen Friedman, inducted this past for the Golden Gloves Association of Ken Jones, Larry Koonce, October into the New Jersey. He also enjoys deep-sea Larry Layton, Lenny Levine, Newark Athletic fishing and attends many sports events. Frank Marshall, Charles Meyers, Hall of Fame in Chris Pervall, Elliot Ponchick, the class of 2012 at a ceremony at the He states: “I have to give all my praise Robert Russell, Les Schofferman, Robert Treat Hotel in Newark. to my parents, Ernest and Cora, for my Alan Simkowitz, Larry Stewart, accomplishments and becoming the man Kenny Thompson, and Danny At the college level, he attended Florida I am today. My father encouraged me to Wuensch. The head coach was A&M, where he excelled in baseball. He excel in sports and instilled the tools to Les Fein and the assistant coach was the captain of the team and played being a better man. He was and is there was Hal Ginsburg. catcher, 3rd base, and left field. In his for me always and is an excellent role Junior year he was the 7th leading hitter model”

15 After 42 years, And don’t forget to taste the chicken livers dripping in gravy. It’s the kind of Harry Sutton, owner of cultural fare you crave when you don’t Je’s famous soul food want to cook, the kind you can’t bear to see go away. restaurant, is retiring Stacey Christmas and Cassandra Haith By Barry Carter, Star-Ledger have been at Je’s every week for the past month since they heard the end was near. "It broke my heart, but it’s good to know that it’s going to be open," Haith said.

Je’s began as a coffee shop, where Sutton’s wife was a waitress, on William Street and Treat Place. She took over the Good, hardworking people are how the business in 1970 after the owner, Laszlo Suttons are thought of in this town. It’s de Jezierski, promised to sell it to her. another reason everybody comes to Je’s, When she and Harry needed more space, from ordinary folk to politicians, enter- they moved Je’s one block in 1980 to tainers to celebrities. You just don’t get where it is now, at William and Halsey soul food, customers say. You’re treated streets. Her name is on the street sign, to friendly service from waitresses who too, as a tribute to all that she’s done. remember what you like to eat and chefs Not bad for a sharecropper’s daughter, The news hit customers hard: make everything to order. Any day of the who turned a Polish coffee shop into a "Get the hell out of here," said Rudy week is like this, but Sundays are prime must-visit destination. Graddy, a regular. Yes, soul food time, when the line is out the door. friends, Harry Sutton, owner of Je’s, “She had a down-home personality.” is retiring. Nobody could blame Sutton “Je’s has a very special feel to it,” said Sutton said. “She touched people and for wanting to chuck it in. He’s been at it Clement Price, a Rutgers history profes- she was always doing something 42 years and kept the place going after sor. “When you step into Je’s, you know different.” Diane sang “Happy Birth- the heart and soul of the business died in you are not only in a black-owned busi- day” to customers, or she’d give them a 2001. Her name was Diane, his late wife ness but a black-owned business that slice of cake or a serving of peach cob- and high school sweetheart. The news hit caters to the taste and fellowship and bler on the house. Harry got into the act customers hard: cuisine and memory of black Newark.” sometimes, playing the blues on his harmonica while somebody else played As word spread about his departure, But Sutton says it’s time to go. The non- piano in the corner. people have packed Je’s more than usual stop daily grind has worn him down. for grub that’ll make you kiss your When he’s not shopping for food and Their three sons helped out as well, mak- mama. Some teared up talking about it, making deliveries, Sutton is in and out of ing it a true family business. The South- upset that another slice of Newark history the kitchen bagging orders, working the ern hospitality they spread was the same was disappearing. Others implored him cash register. The waitresses buzz past for catered events and whenever Je’s to stay, wondering where they would get him, grabbing plates from the pickup slot. prepared food on a moment’s notice. a good, home-cooked meal if he left. They cradle two in one arm and their free “You remember that, Harry,” the Rev. One lady flat-out cried after taking a hand balances glasses filled with tasty John Baker said. Without reservation, picture with him. Uptowns. That’s Je’s special brew: lem- Baker said Sutton hustled dinner to a onade and iced tea topped with a lemon Newark church years ago to feed 70 visi- Sutton expected disappointment, but wedge. he had no idea people would be so tors from Washington, D.C. “And I had to make him take the money,” distraught. The emotional backlash, he Barbara Anderson, the senior said, made him lift the cloud hanging waitress, has been here 29 years over the soul food universe. But hold on and wasn’t worried at all about now: Je’s is not closing, folks. It’s Sutton Je’s closing. “What did I tell that’s hanging it up. “I’m working with you?” she said. “I wasn’t some people who are really interested in giving up until he (Sutton) tells keeping it open,” he said. me I can’t come through the door anymore.” So Merry Christmas, everyone. Now pass the oxtails and short ribs. Order slabs of bacon and eggs with a side dish Welcome back, Je’s, and of fluffy biscuits and hearty grits you can thank you, Mr. Sutton. pick up with a fork. Smell those smoth- ered turkey wings, fried corn and okra.

16 ROTH continued from page 1 Waldo Winchester Roth said that at 74, realizing he was running out of years, he reread all his favorite novels, and then This popular column first appeared reread all his books in reverse chronological order. in the CALUMET in 1950 “I wanted to see if I had wasted my time writing,” he said. “And I thought it was rather successful. At the end of his life, the boxer Joe Louis said: 'I did the best I could with what I had.' This is ex- Vincent Herbert, actly what I would say of my work: I did the best I 1988, is a behind-the- could with what I had.” scenes music industry giant who has come into “And after that, I decided that I was done with the public eyes since the fiction. I do not want to read, to write more,” he reality show, Tamar & said. “I have dedicated my life to the novel: I stud- Vince, with his wife ied, I taught, I wrote and I read. With the exclu- Tamar Braxton, which sion of almost everything else. Enough is enough! premiered on the WE I no longer feel this fanaticism to write that I have Network. experienced in my life.” Born on New Year’s Eve in 1969 in Newark, the writer, producer, founder and President of Streamline Record has contributed to the success of everyone from Destiny’s Child, Michael Jackson, Jo Jo, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton, Bobbi Brown, Aaliyah to Lady Gaga. He has a huge commitment and interest in music, which he Krim Family Tragedy successfully channels into hit song after hit song.

On October 25th, Bill Krim, a 1955 graduate, and his La-Rome H. Talley, the son of Charles and Diana wife, Karen, lost two of their grandchildren, Lulu, 6, Talley, 1966, was inducted into the 2012 class of the Newark and Leo, 2, when the children were killed by their Athletic Hall of Fame - joining his father who was inducted in 2004 nanny in their NYC apartment. and his late Uncle Dwain, WHS ‘71, inducted in 2005. La-Rome was born in Newark and attended The parents of the children, Kevin and Marina Krim, Maple Avenue School. He graduated from who also have a three-year-old daughter, Nessie, Plainfield High School in 1984, where he have set up a web site to raise funds to "celebrate the excelled in basketball (no surprise) and his beautiful lives of Lulu and Leo.” One way they're team (like his father’s team in 1966) won hoping to do so is with the recently launched the state basketball title. Lulu & Leo Fund, which will bring art programs to underprivileged kids. He attended Mansfield University in Penn- sylvania and Florida A&M University on a Kevin and Marina state: “The Fund will support basketball scholarship. He graduated from participatory art and science education for young FAMU in 1989 and began working for one children in schools, museums, and other community of the Big Eight accounting firms, where institutions. Lulu’s art classes provided some of her he had the opportunity to gain experience most joyful and enriching moments. We’d like to in business, world travel, and community help other children obtain access to similarly great outreach. experiences. Please join our family in supporting art In 1998, La-Rome earned his MBA in Finance from the and science programs for youth.” New York University Stern School of Business and accepted a position with Wacoal, one of the largest global intimate apparel You can make a donation at the web site, manufacturers. He is currently Vice-President of Finance and http//:lululeofund.org/donate Corporate Comptroller - the youngest and the first African- American executive in the company’s history. Donate by check: Checks may be made payable to Lulu & Leo Fund / FJC and mailed to: During the past couple of years, La-Rome’s company has made large donations of sports apparel to Weequahic High School for its athletic FJC - Lulu & Leo Fund teams. 520 8th Avenue, 20th Floor His family includes his wife, Tiffanie Sterling-Talley and three New York, NY 10018 children, Autumn, Romey and Skylar.

17 Weequahic Sweethearts By Marc Little and Zaundria Mapson-Little

This is a tale of how two people with Weequahic connections discover each other by chance 45 years later – and how this serendipitous opportunity leads to friendship, a meaningful relationship, and a wonderful marriage.

Zaundria Mapson and Marc Little were brought up in For additional information or to mail your check for $85: two vastly different worlds, yet they lived less than two miles from each other in Newark. Although, they both Len Alpert, 6600 Blvd East, #16D, (201) 868-7135 attended Weequahic, they weren’t at the high school at West New York, NJ 07093 the same time.

Zaundria graduated in 1964 and completed her college studies at Glassboro State College and Montclair State The “Walk” Makes a Huge College. She became an educator (teacher and literacy coordinator) with The Newark Public Schools. Impact on The Valerie Fund! Marc left Newark after he graduated in 1969, attended college in Los Angeles, established a career in mass com- Founded by Ed Goldstein, WHS 1951, and his wife Sue munications, and became a spiritual author, inspirational speaker, and social media evangelist. Zaundria stayed The Valerie Fund home in New Jersey. Marc ended up living in Jackson- relies on the dollars ville, Florida for 38 years. raised to help the children who live in Marc: Last year I was working at the Alumni Office as our community. membership coordinator for the Weequahic High School Alumni Association with Phil Yourish, the Executive The Walk and Director. Phil knew that I previously lived in Jackson- ville, Florida and he mentioned that he had a 1964 friend 5K Run will and classmate who was living there named Zaundria take place on Mapson May. Phil urged me to give her a courtesy call Saturday, June 15, 2013 at Verona Park. while I was in Jacksonville during the Christmas holiday of 2011. And that’s all I meant to do. It will support our mission to provide comprehensive health care for children with cancer and blood disorders. Every Zaundria: I retired as an educator for The Newark Pub- step you walk or run and every dollar you raise helps at The lic Schools after 34 years. I decided to move to Jackson- Valerie Fund Centers. Our philosophy is that to truly heal ville to be with my parents, the Reverend and Mrs. J. the children with whose care we are entrusted, we must treat Wendell Mapson, who retired there in 1998 - and to help take care of my father, who passed away in 2007. When them emotionally, socially, and developmentally, as well as I arrived, I conducted an exhaustive search for a church medically. to attend, finally uniting with Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in January 2010. I had visited Shiloh a number For more information, to sign up, or to sponsor a team, go to of times and I felt it was the place for me. the Valerie Fund web site at http://www.thevaleriefund.org

Continued on page 19 18 Sweethearts continued from page 18 1948 Weequahic grad Zaundria: Though Marc sang in the choir and was well known at the church, I never met him. God showed Ed Segall’s Sunset Salute Marc to me when I attended the church’s Christmas concert on December 21, 2011, almost two years after The Jersey Shore is I became a member. He was the narrator and I saw him dotted with legendary bars - speaking from the pulpit. I had no idea that I would Martell’s in Point Pleasant receive a telephone call from him the very next day. Beach, the Sawmill in Sea- side Park, the Sea Shell on Marc: I was making plans to leave Jacksonville to Long Beach Island, the return to New Jersey just as Zaundria was getting C-View Inn in Cape May, acclimated to worshipping at Shiloh. But God was among many others - but no assigning me to a new mission. My mother passed one does sunset quite like away in March 2009 and my father was having a diffi- the rambling cedar-shingled cult time adjusting. He and I talked quite a bit during bar on Sandy Hook. that year and he asked me to come back home. So the chance that I would meet Zaundria was practically “Good evening, ladies and impossible. Little did I know! gentlemen,” says the bald- headed, bushy-mustached It was my intention to call Zaundria when I arrived, man on the upstairs deck at but then I was asked to substitute teach at a high school, Sea Gulls’ Nest. “Let me have downstairs until we’re finished,” work at the gospel radio station for a couple of weeks, your attention, please. How he says. It’s Ed Segall’s show, and rehearse for a Christmas concert. Thus, I was very many are here for the first time?” and you’d better conduct yourself busy when I hit town and did not make the call. After Ed Segall looks into the distance. properly. The 84-year-old, born things became less hectic, I called Zaundria and left a “That sunset is probably the and raised in Newark, was one of message with her mother. When I didn’t hear from her, greatest on the East Coast.” I concluded that she wasn’t going to call. Plus, since four brothers who served in World War II and its aftermath. her last name was different from her parents, I figured The “ceremony” Segall has she was married. As it turned out, Zaundria wasn’t conducted every business night Segall’s brother, Seymour, was married, but she was deeply involved with caring for for nearly 25 years is not about killed in the invasion of Norman- her mother. the Technicolor sunset visible dy. Segall served in the occupa- from Sea Gulls’ Nest, poised tion force in Japan from 1946-48. Zaundria: I had decided that I would make the best of spectacularly between Sandy A Golden Gloves fighter, he was my time with my mother, get involved with church Hook Bay and the Atlantic a boxing instructor for the 187th activities, and enjoy retired life. On the day Marc Ocean. Glider Infantry Regiment. called, I had been running errands and I was exhausted. Nonetheless, my mother greeted me with a number of It’s about pride and patriotism, He had operated an ice cream messages when I returned home. One of them was from and appreciation for those who truck while in college; after the Marc Little. Since I didn’t recognize his name, I wasn’t have served in the armed forces. war, he ran concessions at several going to return the call. After my mother kept remind- And it’s about all those who have Jersey state parks - Liberty, ing me to call Marc, I relented. “worn a badge” or “put their life Cheesequake, High Point. In on the line” - policemen, fire- 1962, he won concession rights at Marc: Zaundria and I broke the ice by speaking about men, and FBI and DEA agents, Sandy Hook, operating snack mutual acquaintances from Newark, that she was care- among others. stands out of shipping containers giver for her mother, which of course interested me, and in several parking areas. Sea we also found out that we were both members of Shiloh. “The freedom you have did not Gulls’ Nest - a play on his last We talked for a while, and then we made arrangements come free,” Segall continues, name - was built in 1996. to have lunch the next week to continue the conversa- citing the hundreds of thousands Five years earlier, Ed Segall tion in person. of Americans killed in wars from almost died. A propane tank World War II on. Zaundria: He came to our home with a copy of his exploded at a festival; Segall suffered second-and third-degree latest book and other gifts. He talked with my mother At the beginning of the burns on 30 percent of his body. and me about the mission from God to take care of his ceremony, he asks everyone to “They gave me a 7 percent father in New Jersey. It was Marc’s spirituality and stand up, take off their hats and chance of surviving,” he says, surrender to God’s Word that attracted me more than hold hands. anything else in the beginning. After he left, I went to sitting at a table overlooking the bar’s bay side. his web site and researched him on Google. I must What happens, he is asked later, admit, I was impressed. if someone refuses to stand up? “Those who don’t want to stand, Continued on page 20 Continued on page 20 I ask them to please leave and go

19 Sweethearts continued from page 19 SEGALL continued from military flags: Marines, Seals, page 19 Coast Guard, POW/MIA and Marc: Our conversation over lunch was refreshing others. because I felt I could relate to the challenge Zaundria He survived, but required grafts faced as a caregiver to her mother. Since I was doing on his back, legs and hands and “When I travel, all I do is praise the same for my father that stoked my interest. As I had to wear a protective rubber America,” Segall says. Even listened to her, I could feel a spiritual bond beginning suit for two months. He praised “with all the trouble we’re having to form between us. the staff at Saint Barnabas Medi- in this country, no one’s leaving. cal Center, where he was treated, If anyone wants to leave, I’ll write Zaundria: After lunch, the two of us visited a and later formed the Sandy Hook them a check so they can do it. bookstore at Marc’s request. That suggestion just blew Friends of the Saint Barnabas No one’s taken me up on the me away. I thought ‘not only does he carry himself Burn Foundation, which has offer.” well, but he’s interested in something intellectual.’ raised $300,000 to date for the I wanted to know more. Marc was days away from foundation, according to Segall. His nightly “speech” is followed ending his visit, and he was making some last-minute by ”God Bless America,” sung by visits and calls to friends. “I was lucky to get through that Daniel Rodriguez, “the singing one,” he says of the harrowing policeman.” In the ceremony’s Marc: I knew I had to leave Jacksonville, but my brief incident. To this day, he requires early years, Segall played Kate encounter with Zaundria continued to bring a smile to that all his vendors and friends Smith’s version. my face and a pleasant feeling in my soul, something buy advertising space in that I had not felt in many, many years. I was not will- an annual program printed ing to give this up, but I had to be realistic about the as a foundation fund- chances that we would be anything more than friends. raiser. “I’m not going to tolerate friends or Zaundria: We had one more conversation before Marc vendors turning me left Jacksonville. It happened to be on the night that his down,” he says. beloved NY Giants were playing the Dallas Cowboys for the division title on television. I offered to get off He may come off a bit the phone, but he urged me to talk while the game was blustery, but he’s the kind on. He paid more attention to me than he did to the of guy who commands game. That was unbelievable to me! respect and admiration around the Sea Gulls’ Marc: I wanted to talk to her no matter what, though it Nest. A woman - whose was okay because the Giants were whipping up on the boyfriend had thrown Cowboys. I probably would have had a different gasoline on her and then attitude if the Giants had lost. lit a match - stopped in the bar several weeks ago Zaundria: Though he was preparing to depart and had to thank Segall for his no idea if he would be returning any time soon, we charity work. He throws decided we would stay in touch. Little did we know we a party at the Sea Gulls’ were beginning a series of telephone calls and e-mails Nest every June for Saint that would take up more than 500 hours and thousands Barnabas employees, and of words between us over a span of just 60 days, during sends young burn victims which we realized that our common interests were based to summer camps. on a strong belief in God. What happens when he passes On the wall in the office are on? Will the ceremony continue? Marc: The more I talked to Zaundria, the more she letters from and photos of various “They have no choice,” he says, reminded me of my late mother, Clara Little. It was dignitaries who have made the smiling, of his daughter, Tina, then that I said to God that I knew I had no control over trip to the Nest. There’s also an and son, Scott, who run the busi- whether another marriage was in my future. When I autographed photo of the late ness. “In my memory alone, went down the checklist that I had asked God to review, Baltimore Orioles manager Earl they’ll have to do it.” I realized that God had sent Zaundria to me. Weaver, Segall’s card-playing buddy in Florida. Later, he walks around the bar, Zaundria: Circumstances surrounding the care greeting patrons. “Every time he for his father dramatically changed when Marc There are mousetraps on the bar; does it, I cry,” says Amy returned to New Jersey in early January. It turned out they’re used not for rodents but to Schaeffer of Oceanport. “He that after he exhausted all possibilities to remain in hold down checks. A sign adver- does a wonderful service to the New Jersey or move elsewhere, Marc would be going tises the Sandy Hooker, a piña community and to those who are back to Jacksonville. I still remember the day he told colada with Blue Curaçao and fighting.” Malibu. On the ceiling are Continued on page 21 Continued on page 21

20 Sweethearts continued from page 20 SEGALL continued from page 20

Michele Panfile of Budd Lake Several years ago, two World War walks up and thanks Segall “for II veterans in wheelchairs were on making so many of our evenings hand. At the end of “God Bless memorable.” America,” one lowered his head and started to cry. Segall put his “I don’t do the ceremony to get arm around him. a big crowd. I’m not trying to promote anything,” Segall “I told him all these people here explains. “I don’t do this to love you and appreciate what you make money. We had these did,” he recalled. The vet lifted his crowds before I started making head up, wiped the tears from his these speeches.” eyes, and said, “This is the first me he was coming back. As much as I wanted to time anybody said thanks.” see him again, I was not sure if I could handle having him close to me on a day-to-day basis.

Marc: I knew we wouldn’t be living together relationship. She helped edit my latest novel, Magnificent Redemption, because that was not close to being considered by and her presence - albeit more than a thousand miles away - stabilized either of us, but there was also a question of how my mood during a very difficult time for me when I returned to New much time we would be spending together. I was Jersey. I gave it all to God and He moved this relationship to its going to have to be working odd hours of the day current state. There was nothing Zaundria and I did. It was all due to and night, and I would be living with relatives far the Lord. from where Zaundria and her mother lived. But once again God made the impossible possible and Since September 9th, the day of their marriage, Marc and it was worked out. With careful scheduling and Zaundria Little have enjoyed each other’s company every day. sacrifice, I spent a lot of time with Zaundria over Zaundria, with Marc’s help, is operating MLPR, a company that the next several months. During that time, I asked assists self-published authors in the areas of merchandising, her to marry me. marketing, web site design, book cover design and editing. Zaundria is also managing Marc’s new career as an author, Zaundria: Marc had hinted about marriage a working on book sales and his public appearances. number of times while he was in New Jersey, but I didn’t think he was serious. After all, we had They are a team, in both marriage and life. They call them- only seen each other one time and that was for only about three hours. But he kept talking about selves magnificently redeemed with a loving formula that they the possibility, and when he asked, I accepted his feel will endure for however long God will leave them on Earth. proposal. All of this from a simple suggestion by Phil Yourish - the unintended matchmaker - who brought them together. Marc: I must admit that when I first met Zaundria I had a strong notion that ours would be a special

55th Reunion

Class of June 1957

October 14, 2012

Cedar Hill Country Club In Livingston

21 'The Smith Tapes' Howard Smith, 1955, releases his celebrity interviews

By Ben Sisario, NY Times

John and Yoko are there, talking for hours and hours - during a bed-in, at a “happening,” listening to the Beatles at home.

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, just back from Cannes in June 1969, rap John Lennon and Yoko Ono are interviewed by Howard Smith in 1969 about their new movie, “Easy Rider.” Lennon-Ono interviews in the collection The tapes were uncovered in 2000 when Eric Clapton, between shows at the lasts two hours. one of his sons, the architect Cass Calder Fillmore East in 1970, struggles with a Smith, helped his father move to a new sense of responsibility for his new band, "This is not someone talking about the apartment. Cass Smith spent several Derek and the Dominos. time; this is the time," said Ezra Book- years sorting and digitizing the tapes and stein, a documentarian who delayed his sold a few before he met Bookstein, and Those are among more than 100 inter- film projects for a year to prepare the they decided to collaborate. views with rock stars, artists and assort- interviews for release. If some subjects ed radicals recorded from 1969 to 1972 are familiar stars who by now have been “This stuff was of no value to anybody by Howard Smith, a longtime writer for interviewed ad nauseam, their appear- boxed up and hidden,” Cass Smith said. The Village Voice. They have now been ances on "The Smith Tapes" often “I want to get the story out there, and cataloged and packaged for the digital capture them before their current icono- also for Howard, to get his story out era as "The Smith Tapes" and will be graphy had been set. there.” released in monthly batches over the next year. The first, with John Lennon Lou Reed, interviewed in March 1969, Bookstein, 40, in a cramped editing and Yoko Ono, Lou Reed, Frank Zappa, makes an unpersuasive case for his new- room in his Midtown Manhattan office, Eric Clapton and others, is already out in found sobriety. (“I think anybody that where he has sorted through hundreds of Amazon’s MP3 store and on iTunes. distracts themselves from reality is hours of the tapes, said he was struck by cheating themselves from what really the quality and intimacy of the conversa- At a time when rock 'n' roll, the sexual exists,”) he says. Smith sounds skepti- tions, and instead of making a film de- revolution and the antiwar countercul- cal, noting that Reed's band, the Velvet cided to prepare them for full release. ture all intersected, Smith spoke to Underground, was known as a “big bad “They were just people hanging out. seemingly every boldface name for dope group.” They didn't know what kind of icons "Scenes," his influential column in The they'd be,” he said. Voice. He also had a knack for being in Smith was a prominent name at The precisely the right place at the right time. Voice during what is often considered Each collection, with about half a dozen In one of his most famous columns, the paper's golden age. His column ran interviews, will sell on iTunes and Ama- from the summer of 1969, he described from the late 1960s into the '80s and was zon for $13. Bookstein is also raising being trapped with the police inside the structured as free-form vignettes chroni- money on Kickstarter for a CD boxed Stonewall Inn as the famous riot raged cling pop culture and groovy urban life. set of some of the collection's highlights, outside. He even won an Oscar, for “Marjoe,” with deluxe packaging by Masaki Koike, his 1972 documentary about the young a Grammy Award-winning designer. "The Smith Tapes," drawn primarily evangelist Marjoe Gortner. from interviews for his Voice column Smith said that listening to the inter- and a radio program he had at the time Smith, now 76 and by his own views today he was surprised by the on WABC-FM (which became WPLJ), description laid low by cancer, said he flow of the conversations. “They gain a feature many of these people at pivotal kept the tapes at his downtown loft with certain other kind of value over time,” moments in pop culture and in their own a vague notion of someday using them he said. “They were heard differently lives, speaking candidly and often at for his memoirs. Over the years, though, then than they will be heard now.” unusual length. One of the five they became buried under piles of detritus.

22 Downtown Newark’s Downtown Newark plans to anchor a NEWARK NEWS Newest Hotel massive redevelopment project, complete with apartments, restaurants, and stores, (the following are excerpts from By Eliot Caroom, Star-Ledger around a group seldom associated with articles in the Star-Ledger) economic development (or disposable income, for that matter): teachers. ROLLING STONES at the ROCK Over the next year, eight new buildings - five of them designed by the renowned By Tris McCall, Star-Ledger architect Richard Meier (who grew up in Newark) - will start to rise on three square blocks (Halsey and William streets) of the city, at a cost of about $150 million. The development, called Teachers Village, will include affordable housing for teach- A 150-room Marriott has opened in ers, three charter schools in which some downtown Newark - the first new hotel in of them will teach, a day care center, and the city in the past 40 years. The Court- retail stores. yard by Marriott hotel is located on the corner of Broad and Lafayette Streets The city expects the concept - part educa- behind the Prudential Center. The $35 tional development, part economic devel- million project by Illinois-based Tucker opment - to be a win for everyone: Teach- On December 13 and 15, the Rolling Development also has 14,000 square feet ers who can’t afford to live well in New- Stones were in Newark, for sold-out per- of street-level storefronts to rent. ark finally will be able to (and hopefully formances at the Prudential Center (The will want to), local schools will benefit Rock), while declaring that this was the The hotel planted at the heart of the Pru- from the greater investment of those last stop on their 50 and Counting Tour - dential Center development area is New- teachers in the community (currently, just celebrating their 50th Anniversary. To ark’s first new downtown hotel in dec- 17 % of teachers in the Newark school the delight of all those fortunate enough ades, though there is a cluster of relatively district live in Newark), and the down- to get a ticket for Saturday’s finale, Bruce new hotels by the airport. There are also town will start to come alive again. Springstein and Lady Gaga were the long-tenured hotels in the city like the surprise guests, singing with Mick Jagger Best Western Robert Treat Hotel by Mili- and the group on stage. tary Park and the Newark Penn Station A Makeover of Hilton. Other hotels may soon follow: Newark’s Four Corners The show was broadcast live on a pay- there are plans for a 110-room Hotel Indi- per-view special and the band was in high go a block away at Broad Street and Edi- By Tom De Poto, Star-Ledger gear, The group was tight, tough and son Place, and there are plans to redo the shrewd, balancing its trademark reckless- Carlton Hotel’s 110 rooms near Public ness with poise befitting showmen - and Service Enterprise Group headquarters. the black-clad Jagger was in a feisty mood. With no need to hold anything More than 30 percent of the project’s back, the Stones went hard from the out- construction workers were hired from set, opening with “Get Off of My Cloud” Newark and the hires so far for the hotel and “The Last Time.” Then They served jobs exceed 50 percent of Newark resi- up FM radio standards like “It’s Only dents with more jobs still to come when Rock and Roll (But I like It)” and “Miss the property’s retail space is rented out. You” with a healthy pinch of spice. Teachers Village Project During the performance, the Stones were also joined by young blues rockers, Gary By Emily Badger, Star-Ledger Clark, Jr., John Mayer, the Black Keys, and former Stone Mick Taylor. A project that would transform Broad and Market Street - once known as the busiest More than three hours before the Stones cross streets in the nation - into a residen- were actually due on stage, fans lined up tial and retail neighborhood is being pro- outside the Prudential Center wearing posed by the RBH Group - the developers their tongue shirts and bomber jackets. of a nearby Teacher Village project. Few were from New Jersey, many com- ing from hours and thousands of miles away. Some came on the slight chance Continued on page 24 this final 50 and Counting Tour actually would be the last Stone show ever.

23 Association named Campbell its New NEWARK NEWS Jersey Athlete of the Century. He was also inducted into the New Jersey Hall FOUR CORNERS continued of Fame. from page 23 In the early 70’s, the Milt Campbell Community Center was established on Bergen Street in Newark.

announced that it was shutting down its Sam Brummer, owner of business and selling its breads and snack Hobby’s Deli, honored at cakes. Recently, Hostess picked the mak- veterans event er of Little Debbie as the lead bidder to buy its Drake's cakes.

So even though Hostess Twinkies are gone, Drakes cakes may continue to survive for another generation. At an estimated $410 million, the Four Corners Millennium Project would be Milt Campbell Passes Away among the most expensive developments in Newark history. The vision is to con- 1956 Olympic Decathlon vert empty office and warehouse space in Gold Medal Winner several buildings into 827 apartment units Sam with his two sons and a 130-room hotel. It also calls for Milt Campbell, 150,000 square feet of street-level retail who became the It’s hard to miss the signs of patriotism space. Four of the buildings are designat- first African- when you walk into Hobby’s Delicates- ed as historic. American to win sen and Restaurant. That’s because the the Olympic heart and soul behind the famed corned The 1.25 million square-foot project will decathlon in beef and pastrami sandwiches that transform a four-block area of mostly 1956 and went beckon celebrities and locals alike is vacant office spaces into a modern urban on to play pro WWII Army veteran Samuel Brummer, neighborhood with a mix of residential football and who bought the eatery in 1962. and retail. become a moti- vational speaker, American flags hang inside and The project is a part of the city’s Living died at 78. outside the landmark kosher-style deli Downtown Plan, which calls for turning on Branford Place and Halsey Street. the upper floors of downtown buildings A native of Plainfield, N.J., Campbell Stacks of boxes stamped "Operation into residences. The first apartments in was a rising high school senior when he Salami Drop" line the back of the dining the neighborhood opened in the Bowers won the silver medal in the decathlon at area. Those mark a project that’s shipped Building on Market Street. Recently, 22 the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, finish- 30 tons of salami to armed service mem- loft-style apartments at Rock Plaza Lofts ing second to Bob Mathias. The Ameri- bers deployed overseas since 2005. above the new Dinosaur Bar-B-Que also cans swept the decathlon that year. opened on Market Street. Four years later, Campbell won gold at Last November, the man behind Hobby’s the Olympic Games in Melbourne, was honored at Essex County’s annual At the dawn of the automotive age, the Australia. Veterans Day event. Brummer, 89, was Four Corners was called the busiest inter- presented with a ceremonial key to the section in the United States. A traffic The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Campbell, county before a crowd of about 150 study made in 1926 tallied 30,596 who attended Indiana University, people at the county’s Veterans vehicles, including taxi cabs, busses, was drafted in 1957 by the Cleveland Memorial Park. passenger cars and 121 horse-drawn Browns, where he played one season carriages in one day. in the same backfield as Jim Brown. Drafted into the Army, Brummer told of Campbell then played for various teams fighting on the beaches of Normandy on Drake’s Cakes May Live On in the Canadian Football League until D-Day, June 6, 1944. His voice filled his football career ended in 1964. with emotion, the white-haired North Drake’s cakes, the makers of Devil Dogs, Caldwell resident recalled memories of Yankee Doodles, Ring Dings, Funny Campbell was inducted into the Nation- fighting on a blood-soaked beach. Bones, Yodels, etc., was once located on al Track and Field Hall of Fame in “Somehow, I survived,” he said. Lyons Avenue in Irvington near the New- 1999 and was honored this year by the ark border. This past November, Hostess International Swimming Hall of Fame. Brands Inc., its mother company, Continued on page 25 In 2000, the New Jersey Sportswriters

24 Landmark Teachers NEWARK NEWS Contract Includes Merit Pay

BRUMMER continued from page 24 In a landmark vote, the Newark Teachers Union in November ratified the state’s first teacher contract to provide bonus pay Brummer, with his mother and sister, had based on classroom performance. emigrated five years earlier from his birthplace, Grazlowa, Poland, to flee the The three-year deal, which sparked strong rise of Nazi Germany. opinions on both sides, will be the first in Even after three open-heart surgeries and the state and one of the first in the nation a devastating fire in 1992, that shuttered to base teacher pay on classroom perfor- the deli for nine months, Brummer can mance, including student progress. still be found there several days a week Newark was at a fever pitch. Good The contract will cost the district $100 greeting patrons while his wife Rona barbecue is nearly impossible to find in million, half of which will come from handles payroll. Their two sons, Michael North or Central Jersey - go South, young private donors, including Facebook and Mark, co-own Hobby’s and manage man - so a barbecue icon opening in the founder Mark Zuckerberg. its daily operations. state’s biggest city is big news on the Editor’s Note: Sam’s wife, Rona Lalinga barbecue front. Author Barbara Kukla Brummer, is a 1951 Weequahic grad). writes her memoirs The spacious restaurant, located in a for- mer hardware store/chandelier factory, is Author, journalist, and West Orange 2012 Dodge Poetry Festival a slap shot away from the Rock. Sal- resident Barbara J. Kukla has written vaged material and vintage signs provide Newark Inside my Soul - a memoir of a décor that is both down-home and retro. her experiences of writing in and about Any restroom with stills from "The Hot Newark. Box," "Psycho a Go-Go" and "House of 1000 Dolls" is my kind of restroom. She is the former editor of the “Newark This Week” column in the Star- Ledger and the author of three previously In October, Newark once again hosted the published books: Dodge Poetry Festival - the largest in North America, attracting visitors from Swing City: Newark Nightlife 1925-50 throughout the world to hear great works of poetry in some of Newark’s most im- Defying the Odds: Triumphant Black portant cultural and historical locations. Women of Newark

With the NJ Performing Arts Center at Sounds of Music: The Dolores Collins the hub, the festival’s readings, perfor- Benjamin Story mances, and conversations took place in a “Poetry Village” throughout the city. During the festival, more than ten stages offered events for audiences from 100 to 2,000 people. John Stage and two partners started Dinosaur as a mobile concession unit in Featured speakers included Newark 1983 with a 55-gallon drum cut in half. native C.K. Williams; Pulitzer Prize- The first restaurant opened in Syracuse; winning poet Philip Levine, Poet Laureate locations in Rochester, Harlem and Troy, of the United States; poet-musician Kurtis N.Y., followed. And now Newark. Lamkin; and Eavan Boland, Ireland’s leading woman poet. There was a healthy crowd on both early Dinosaur BBQ Debut afternoon stops. The big question, of course, is whether Dinosaur will attract By Peter Genovese, Star-Ledger evening patrons to downtown Newark - when there isn’t anything going on at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que - which opened its Rock. A year or so from now, we’ll first Jersey location in Newark - gets it. know. In the meantime, grab some of I usually wait several months before those ribs. Good barbecue in North Jer- reviewing a new restaurant, but the antici- sey is off the extinction list, thanks to this Continued on page 26 pation surrounding Dinosaur’s arrival in Dinosaur.

25 From the Huff Post, New York “In July, we’re packing out 100 pounds NEWARK NEWS (of hot dogs) a minute, all day,” co- When Ed Koch was mayor, it seemed as owner Rich Dolinko says. Where’s the if all of New York was being run by a beef? It’s right here; Best Provision, deli counterman. Koch was funny, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, irritable, opinionated, often rude and is the food icon most Jerseyans have prone to yelling. And it worked, for a never heard of. The company doesn’t while at least. produce chicken, pork or any other meat; it’s hot dogs, pastrami, corned beef, roast With a Bronx-born combination of beef and brisket - all beef, all the time. chutzpah and humor, Koch steered New York back from the brink of financial Best may be “America’s #1 manufacturer ruin and infused the city with new energy of private label cooked beef products” - and optimism in the 1970s and `80s while clients include ShopRite, Stop & Shop, racing around town, startling ordinary Wegman’s, Wal-Mart, Smashburger and Former NYC Mayor, but others - but it keeps a famously low pro- a South Side High Grad New Yorkers by asking, "How'm I do- ing?" Koch died this month of conges- file. Best also supplies franks to scores tive heart failure at age 88. of hot dog storefronts, trucks and carts in By Jason Grant, Star-Ledger and beyond New Jersey - but the opera- tion itself is shrouded in CIA-worthy He was Mayor of New York City for It was the height of the Great Depression secrecy. when a young Ed Koch, who one day three terms from 1978 to 1989. He grad- would become one of the best known and uated from New York University law most irrepressible mayors in New York school and then entered politics locally, City history, moved with his struggling first in Greenwich Village when he was immigrant-parents to Spruce Street in elected to the City Council. From 1969 Newark. to 1977, he served in the House of Representatives. His father’s fur business had plummeted. But his uncle, across the river in New Best Provisions Jersey, owned a catering hall that ran celebrates 75 years dances and plays and offered Ed’s father, Best Provisions hot dogs on the rack Louis, the coat-check portion of the Leonard Karp, WHS ‘51 grad, business. was former co-owner In 1938, Karp’s grandfather, Saul Karp, It wasn’t much but it was living. Ed was opened a wholesale and retail deli on just 6 or 7 then, his sister, Pat Thaler, said By Pete Genovese, Star-Ledger William Street with Joe Wolfiler and Paul recently from her home in Pompton For the retail operation, Dolinko. “Started as a butcher shop,” Plains, And a few years later, young Ed such as it is, of Best says Rich Dolinko, Paul’s grandson, who was assigned the job of “hat-check boy” Provision in Newark, oversees Best’s production side. Over at the coatroom. park in front of the for- the years, we kept adding on.” midable-looking brick Thaler also recalled that Koch enjoyed building on Jelliff Ave- And the secret to this family-owned busi- his days at Newark’s South Side High nue, scamper up the ness staying in business and in Newark School. He was studious and often quiet, loading dock and mus- for three-quarters of a century? “We’re she said - quite different than he was as cle aside the heavy gray here because of the water,” co-owner New York’s tenacious mayor. swinging door. Kevin Karp says, smiling. “Newark Leonard Karp water is the best water in the country.” Vegetarians, beware. The 80,000-square- foot plant - one giant refrigerator, with There are no plans to move or expand; temperatures at 40 degrees or cooler - is Karp and Dolinko like the old brick fragrant with the earthy, funky aroma of building on Jelliff Avenue just fine. raw and cooked meat. Workers operate “We’re neighborhood, We’re here 75 machines with oddly poetic names - years. Must be doing something right.” choppers, shrink tunnels and the Frank-a- Karp says. Matic, which stuffs, shapes and sizes hot dogs. A shiny space-capsule-like con- Editor’s Note: In 2012, Best Provisions traption is used for brine distribution. donated hot dogs and rolls for Weequahic’s Men’s Day activities.

26 UPCOMINGEVENTS May 18, 2013 March 17, 2013 Coach Burney Adams ĞůĞďƌĂƟŽŶ ŝŶŶĞƌZĞƐĐŚĞĚƵůĞĚ

at Weequahic’s Ronald G. Stone Community Gymnasium / Les Fein Arena

Jane Statlander-Slote, 1961, Buffet Dinner / Music by to debut Philip Roth documentary at  ĞǀĞƩ ĞZ ŽƐƐͬdŝĐŬĞƚƐ͗ΨϭϬϬ the Jewish Historical Society of NJ Contact: Selvin White at (973) 986-4589 The Jewish Historical Society [email protected] of New Jersey will present a program celebrating the 80th birthday of Pulitzer Prize winning author Philip Roth.

Immediately following the film June 17, 2013 there will be a talk and discus- sion of the film and Mr. Roth’s work led by the film’s writer and director, Jane Statlander-Slote.

Out of Newark - written, produced and directed by Jane Statlander-Slote - featuring Roth scholars Jeffrey Berman, State University of N.Y. Albany; Peter Rudnysky, Florida State University; Miriam Jaffee Foger, Rutgers University; Aimee Pozorski, Connecticut State University; Victoria Aarons, Trinity College; Mark Shechner, Independent Scholar; James Duban, University of Texas; Daniel Walden, Pennsylvania State University. The film is free for members and $10 for non-members. RSVP to Linda Forgosh at (973) 929-2994 or [email protected].

The film will also be shown at The Newark Public Library on March 19th at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

27 Creative and enterprising, he loved to Seymour Tabatchnick explore his interests and ideas, many Deli and frozen soup pioneer of which were way ahead of his time, family members said. “He thought out of the box,” said Rita. Twenty by Lori Silberman Brauner years ago, she said, he predicted NJJN Staff Writer supermarket home food delivery and the arrival of club stores, superstores Seymour Tabatchnick of Basking Ridge, that will have everything.” who brought Jewish deli-style cooking into American homes through a nationally “He really was a visionary” who had distributed brand of frozen kosher soups, his hand on the “pulse of what was died this past September at age 91. going to be,” Rita said. Born in Newark, Tabatchnick was a Rita Tabatchnick said her father-in- World War II veteran of the U.S. Army law was also involved with the found- Signal Corps when he returned home to ing of the Rabbinical College of learn the smoked fish business at his fam- America in Morristown, the Chabad- ily’s appetizer store, which was owned by Lubavitch seminary. “He just loved his father, Joseph - who had inherited the education,” she said. business from Seymour’s grandparents, Louis and Sarah, who started it in 1905. Seymour with son Ben “He worked hard for the community,” said Rabbi Mendy Herson of Chabad Seymour would go on to open 12 delica- Jewish-style delicacies, Smoky Joes Jewish Center of Basking Ridge, noting tessens, three deli restaurants, a manufac- (triple-decker sandwiches made of that Tabatchnick was an early supporter turing plant for meat provisions, and a smoked fish) and Sloppy Joes (the triple- of the RCA and had been an honorary frozen soup factory, with some 24 decker rye bread sandwich made up of trustee in addition to being a synagogue varieties of soup, including New York layers of sliced deli meat, coleslaw, and member. “He was a giving person; he Style Chicken Broth and Barley & Mush- Russian dressing. was a friend,” said Herson of Tabatch- room. Although all the delis have closed nick, whose funeral he officiated at. (Tabatchnick’s Smoke House made way Health issues were also important to for a Staples at the Millburn Mall in Tabatchnick, who suffered a heart attack Union in 2009), his founding of the At his father’s funeral, Ben Tabatchnick in his 40s, Rita said. His frozen macaroni quoted Seymour as saying, “I never look Tabatchnick soup business in 1972 and cheese, for example, is made with remains his lasting legacy. at my feet; if you look at your feet you skim milk. could stumble. I look at the mountain in the distance and put one foot in front of “I’m not aware of any [other] frozen “The world has changed so much since the other till I reach the mountain.” soup in the supermarket,” said Tabatch- the days when he smoked fish,” said Rita, nick’s daughter-in-law Rita, noting that who with her husband Ben now owns the Seymour Tabatchnick is survived by his he came up with the concept as a way to business. “It’s really a lost art.” naturally maintain the freshness of vege- wife, Isabel; four sons and their wives, tables without using preservatives. While Justin and Norma of Pollack Pines, Calif., soup giants like Campbell’s eventually Tabatchnick’s work ethic was steadfast. Ben and Rita of Randolph, Larry (whose “He worked to the day he died,” Rita followed suit in selling frozen soup in wife, Debbie, is deceased) of Fayetteville, pouches, his family also credits Tabatch- said. “He always was working on some NC, and Joe and Lin of Millburn; a sister, nick for inventing kippered salmon project.” Beatrice Seagull of New Paltz, NY; spread, whitefish spread, and the famous 12 grandchildren; and two great-grand children.

Philip Roth Lectures and 80th Birthday Party in Newark - March 18-19, 2013

Organized by the Philip Roth Society and the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee, a series of events will take place on Monday, March 18 and Tuesday, March 19. They will include a photographic exhibit of Roth at The Newark Public Library; a Roth Academic Symposium at the Robert Treat Hotel; a Roth Bus Tour of Newark; an afternoon reception at the Newark Museum; a lecture at the Museum featuring speakers discussing Roth’s works; and an 80th birthday celebration at the Museum. Admission to most of these events are by invitation only. There may be a limited number of tickets available for the birthday celebration. The Philip Roth photo exhibit at the Library will extend through gust 2013. Also, on March 29, the documentary, Philip Roth Unmasked, will air on PBS at 9 pm. 28 the Superior Court of Essex County. After becoming the first director of the In Loving Memory He sat on the bench from 1992 to 2001, JCHC, she encouraged Jewish residents handling many complex cases. of the public Seth Boyden Housing Pro- Jack Kirsten, 1949 ject in Newark to relocate to the JCHC Judge Kirsten is survived by his wife, houses in West Orange and Irvington. Attorney & Judge Marcia (Yecies) Kirsten; two daughters, Amy and Maurice Cohen and Abbe and “They provided food, housekeeping ser- Honorable Jack B. Cory Schiffman; six grandchildren, vices, and everything needed to help peo- Kirsten, a retired Lindsay and Gregory Perelman, Buzzy ple - particularly Jewish people - grow Superior Court judge and Elisha Cohen, Esther Schiffman, old gracefully,” said her brother, Daniel of Essex County, Sam Schiffman, and one great- Jonas of West Orange. died on Nov. 7, 2012. grandchild, Benjamin Perelman. He was 81. Judge Kirsten was born in In addition to Jonas, Klein is survived Newark, N.J., on Francine Jonas Klein, 1955 by her husband, Joseph Klein of Oct. 20, 1931, and Senior Housing Director ‹†‰‡ϐ‹‡Ž†ǡŠ‡”†ƒ—‰Š–‡”•ǡ‹•ƒ‡–‘ graduated from Weequahic High School and Marcy Thilow, and seven grand- in the Class of 1949. Francine Klein, children. who served as Judge Kirsten was recognized as one of executive director Edward Brenner, 1944 of the MetroWest New Jersey's leading attorneys in public Owned desk company in Newark utility law. He was appointed public Jewish Community utility rate counsel by the New Jersey Housing Corpora- Edward F. Brenner, attorney general from 1970 to 1974 and tion from its incep- 86, of Short Hills, NJ had served as special counsel to the Vir- tion in 1980 until and Boca Raton, Fla., gin Islands Public Services Commission. her retirement in passed away on De- 2004, died of can- cember 27. Born in He received his B.S. degree from New cer Sept. 12 at the Ridgefield Crossings Newark, he was a York University in 1953 and his LL.B. senior living facility in Ridgefield, Conn. devoted husband, from Harvard Law School in 1956. She was 75. father, grandfather, Judge Kirsten had been a co-adjunct successful business- professor at Rutgers University Graduate As the head of JCHC, she supervised man, and generous benefactor to charita- School of Business and had lectured over 600 housing units for senior citizens ble organizations. extensively in rate making and public living in Essex and Morris counties. Her utility regulation at programs of the tenure coincided with a period of wide As a student at Weequahic High School, National Association of Regulatory expansion for the agency, a partner agen- he was the editor-in-chief of The Utility Commissioners. cy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Calumet, the school newspaper, and a MetroWest NJ. school sports reporter for the Newark Judge Kirsten was a partner in the law Evening News. He graduated from firm Kirsten Friedman and Cherin for 20 “Fran was there from the very beginning Cornell University in 1948 with a degree years. He became of counsel to Jersey and played a key role in seeing all five of in electrical engineering Central Power and Light and during that the JCHC’s independent living and as- time he was one of the lead attorneys for sisted living apartment buildings com- His father, Joseph, then asked him to the Three Mile Island accident. He also pleted,” said Harold Colton-Max, who spend six months working at the family represented New Jersey Bell and Public succeeded Klein and is currently the business, Brenner Desk, because two Service Electric and Gas. He was a JCHC’s chief executive officer. employees left. The six months lasted member of the Essex County, NJ State, 37 years until 1983 when he sold the Federal Energy, American and Federal Over these past 30 years, more than business. Under the leadership of Ed and bar associations, the American Judicature 10,000 senior residents have had a roof his brother Robert, Brenner Desk became Society, and American Arbitration Asso- over their heads and a better quality of one of the largest contract office furni- ciation's National Panel of Arbitrators. life due to her dedicated efforts at the ture businesses in the state. JCHC. These are major accomplish- Judge Kirsten was also chairman of the ments on the path to tikun olam. Predeceased by his first wife, Judith section on Administration Law of the “Hopefully, her legacy will bring some Horowitz, he is survived by his wife of New Jersey Bar Association from 1967 level of comfort to her family during this 30 years, Dr. Lee Brenner; brother, to 1969 and a member of the Essex Robert; children, Jeffrey Brenner, Julies County Bar Association Judiciary difficult time,” Colton-Max added. Brenner, Howard O’Desky, Dr. Gary Committee from 1970 to 1973. He was Brenner, Dr. Ilyse O’Desky, and Dr. appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Klein was born in Newark. After gradu- Grant Brenner; and eight grandchildren. Court to the Essex County Ethics Com- ating from Weequahic High School, she mittee from 1974 to 1977. In 1992 Gov- began a career in personnel at the now- ernor Florio appointed Judge Kirsten to defunct Good Deal supermarket chain. 29 MEMBERSHIP / MERCHANDISE / SCHOLARSHIP FORM

Mail: WHS Alumni Association, P.O. Box 494, Newark, NJ 07101 / Call: (973) 923-3133

Please print clearly: Date______Total Amount $______

2 Payment Choices: 1. __ CREDIT CARD __MC __VISA __ AMEX __ DISC. - Amount ______Credit Card #: ______Exp. Date: ______Signature: ______Zip Code ______2. __ CHECK: Make out check to WHSAA - Amount $______

5 MEMBERSHIP CHOICES: ___check if change in postal address __$25 Alumni __$50 Orange & Brown __$100 Ergo __$500 Sagamore __$1000 Legend Class (Month & Year): ______Current or Past Occupation: ______Name: ______Last name at WHS: ______Street: ______Town: ______State: ____ Zip:______Home Phone: ( )______Cell Phone: ( )______E-mail address:______

8 MERCHANDISE CHOICES: (add $5.00 for shipping & handling / Circle your size and color / Larger sizes can be special ordered)

 ___ $5.00 ALUMNI PIN: - (in orange & brown in the shape of the WHS logo)

 ___$5.00 TOTE BAG: - (in orange or brown with logo)

 ___ $10.00 KNIT CAP: - (one size fits all in orange with brown “W” on front)

 ___ $12.00 T-SHIRT: - (sizes S, M, L, XL, 2XL - (dark brown or orange with WHS logo)

 ___ $15.00 HAT: -(one size fits all in khaki or dark brown with Weequahic alumni lettering)

 ___ $25.00 SWEATSHIRT: - (sizes S, M, L, XL, 2XL - dark brown or orange with WHS logo)

 ___ $20.00 GOLF SHIRT: - (sizes S, M, L, XL, 2XL - orange with Indian Head WHS alumni lettering)

 ___ $40.00 HOODED SWEATSHIRTS: - (sizes M, L, XL, 2XL - dark brown or orange with WHS logo)

26 SCHOLARSHIP CHOICES: 11. $__ MiriamHample Fund * 22. $ __ Carolyn Parm Fund * 12. $__ Walter Hastreiter Fund * 23. $ __ Leo Pearl Fund * 1. $__ Alvin Attles Fund 13. $__ General Alumni Fund 24. $ __ Richard Roberts Fund 2. $__ Maxine Boatwright Fund * 3. $__ Morey Bobrow Fund * 14. $__ Reada & Harry Jellinek Fund* 25. $ __ Sadie Rous Fund * 4. $__ Sharon Nicely Boose Fund * 15. $__ Phyllis & Donald Kalfus Fund 26. $ __ Linda Marcia Small Fund * 5. $__ Class of 1952 Fund 16. $ __ Hannah Litzky Fund * 27. $ __ Ronald G. Stone Fund * 6. $__ Class of June 1960 Fund 17. $ __ Bert Manhoff Fund * * In Memory 7. $__ Class of 1963 Fund 18. $ __ Seymour Swede Masin Fund * 8. $__ Class of 1964 Fund 19. $ __ Edwin McLucas Fund Non-Scholarship Funds 9. $__ Dena Gittleman Greenstein Fund 20. $___Melvin Narol Fund *  $__ Les & Ceil Fein Fund 10. $__ Ronald Griffin Fund * 21. $ __ Marie O’Connor Fund *  $__ Class of 1945 Fund

30 principled, but down-to-earth teacher who cared deeply about In Loving Memory his family and the world in which he lived.

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1977, Dr. Robert Lowenstein, he turned to writing poetry and had more than 100 of his renowned Weequahic and Newark poems published in small magazines such as California educator, passes away at 105 Quarterly, International Poetry Review, and Parnassus Literary Journal.

Dr. Robert Lowenstein, 105, of Dr. Lowenstein is survived by his children, Amy West Orange, died peacefully at Lowenstein and her husband, Daniel Schwarzkopf, of home on Jan. 7, 2013. A memo- Yardley, Pa.; Martha Lowenstein Rennie and her husband, rial service will be held in the Eric, of Cromwell, Conn.; and James Lowenstein and his spring. He lived most of his life wife, Hadassah, of Fair Lawn, N.J.; four beloved grandsons, in Newark where he was born on Matthew and Aaron Rennie, and Ben and Luis Lowenstein, July 13, 1907, before moving to and great-grand daughter, Alexandra Lee Rennie; his sister- West Orange in 1973. He was in-law, Florence L. Fayer, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; and predeceased by the love of his numerous cherished nieces and nephews. life and wife of 64 years, Zelda Lewis Lowenstein, in 2005. In addition to his beloved wife, Zelda, he was predeceased by his brother, Dr. Aaron Lowenstein, and sisters Ida Penn, Eleanor Zoob, Evelyn Bernstein, and Jean Dorison. Dr. Lowenstein was a courageous and stalwart progressive whose intellect, warmth, and profound integrity made him an inspiration to his family and generations of students, colleagues, and friends. He was a scholar, teacher, and In Loving Memory published poet who helped found the Newark Teachers Union in the 1930s. ALUMNI: In 2008, he was among the first group of inductees into the Weequahic High School Hall of Fame, where he was honored Harriet Menkes Alpert, 1940; Lenore Yavner Baer, 1953; for his exemplary teaching and chairmanship of the foreign Dorothy Daniels Bergman, 1945; Harold Blinder, 1943; languages department over a long career. Selma Rosenstock Cohen, 1943; Susan Reimer Davidson, He graduated from Newark's South Side High School and 1964; Kenneth Dollinger, 1942; Renee Abramson Eisenberg, received a bachelor's degree in classical languages from 1945; Morey Ershow, 1945; Susan Manchyk Friedman, 1963; Rutgers University in 1928, a master's degree in English from Jack Gesten, 1941; Ronald Goffman, 1956; Allan Goldblatt; the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in French from the Johns Hopkins University with a thesis on Voltaire. He Michael Goldman, 1960; Rose Reider Handler, 1939; taught at a boys' high school in France for a year, forming life- Richard Hersh, 1961; Larry Hockaday, 1969; Madelyn long friendships with some of his students. Hollander, 1951; Martin Jacobs, 1960: Philip Koplin, 1966; After earning his doctorate, he began his teaching career in Muriel Friedman Ladoux, 1945; Beverly Greenfeder Levine, Trenton, N.J. before coming to Newark, where he taught 1953; Beverly Witkowsky Liebeskind, 1949; Lucille Meisel, romance languages at Weequahic, South Side, and Barringer High Schools. Dr. Lowenstein was a decorated World War II 1937; Brenda Skuratofsky Pickholtz, 1960; Michael Prince, veteran honored for his service as a Master Sergeant in the 1960; Betty Reiss Ram, 1945; Jerome Reinfeld; Fredda Rich, Army Air Corps in North Africa, Italy, and Yugoslavia. 1966; Steven Schachner, 1964; Elana Golden Schipper, 1945; In 1955, Dr. Lowenstein was one of three Newark teachers Janice Bruck Schofel, 1948; Robert Schram, 1963; fired during the McCarthy era, when the House Un-American Lillian Margulies Singer, 1939; Harvey Sinins, 1964; Activities Committee came to Newark. He lost his job for six years, with his case going twice to the New Jersey Supreme Elaine Werner Smith-Koenig, 1949; Rosalind Pollack Strauss, Court before he was completely vindicated and reinstated in 1939; Roslyn Schneider Trunsky, 1945; Henry Vogel, 1937; 1961. Robert Wallad; Myrna Gilule Wasserman, 1958; Among the many students with whom he maintained decades- Stanley Wertheimer, 1961; Donald Zadoff, 1944. long friendships was Philip Roth, who used him as a model for the main character's brother Murray, an English teacher, in his FACULTY: Frank Fiorito, English teacher novel, I Married a Communist. Like Murray, he was a wise,

31 2013 REUNIONS Weequahic High School Alumni Association P.O. Box 494, Newark, N.J. 07101 Friday, May 24, 2013 Class of June 1948 65th Reunion McLoone’s Boathouse West Orange, NJ Contact Ron Lauer at 973-243-2622 or email at [email protected]

Sunday, June 2, 2013 ALUMNI STORE WHS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Class of June 1953 The WHS Alumni Association is 60th Reunion, 11:30 a.m. T-SHIRTS, TOTE BAGS a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in New Jersey in 2001 McLoone’s Boathouse GOLF STYLE SHIRTS West Orange, NJ REGULAR SWEATSHIRTS Phil Yourish, 1964, Executive Director Contact Barbara Klein Schneiderman Board of Trustees: at (973) 422-0001 or e-mail at HOODED SWEATSHIRTS [email protected] Hal Braff, 1952, Co-President ALUMNI HAT, KNIT HATS Mary Brown Dawkins, 1971, Co-President ALUMNI PIN Myrna Jelling Weissman, 1953, Treasurer Sunday, June 2, 2013 Order ge 30 Arthur Lutzke, 1963, Secretary Class of Jan. & June 1943 on pa Tharien Karim Arnold, 1984 Brian Logan, 1982 70th Reunion OUR LOCAL VENDORS: Ruby Baskerville, 1961 Adilah Quddus, 1971 IL Vicolo Restaurant Judy Bennett, 1972 Gerald Russell, 1974 Livingston, NJ All Star Sporting Goods - West Orange Sheldon Bross, 1955 Keith Salter, 1985 Awards Trophy - Hillside Marshall Cooper, 1969 David Schechner, 1946 Contact Sheldon Denburg at Bragman’s Deli - Newark (973) 515-6949 or Sarah Doppelt Budget Print Center - Bloomfield Vaughn Crowe, 1998 Charles Talley, 1966 at (973) 992-7488 Dominick’s Pizza - Hillside Harold Edwards, 1966 Marc Tarabour, 1963 EM Leather Varsity Jackets - Nutley Arnold Keller, 1952 Pamela Scott Threets, 1966 FYI Food Service - East Rutherford John Tonero, Principal Sunday, Sep. 22, 2013 Hobby’s Deli - Newark MPI Mailing Service - Belleville Class of June 1958 Printing Delight - East Orange High School to Board Liaison Robert L. Horn Accounting - Clark Yolanda Cassidy-Bogan, 1987 - Counselor 55th Reunion Schechner Lifson Insurance - Summit Crestmont Country Club West Orange, NJ Contact Charlotte Golum Cohen at [email protected]

Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 Class of 1963 & Jan. 1964 50th Reunion, 7 p.m. Woodbridge Renaissance Edison, NJ 1939 Calumet newspaper staff Contact Jac Toporek at (732) 986-4498 or e-mail at [email protected]

32