Update 3-21-06

Hi,

As promised, more from South's 50th Anniversary celebration:
   
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  March 11th came and went, and now my diminished energy has to go in another direction -- setting up a complete alumni  database.  Meanwhile, those who attended the party had a wonderful time.  There were at least three hundred people there, and everything went smoothly.  I also appreciated the many e-mails I received from happy alumni.
        The crowd for my speech was so responsive that it was almost like there was a team playing out on the gym floor.  What a fantastic bunch of people, who all share a common set of traditions, experiences, teachers, textbooks, and bathrooms.  I wanted Dr. Lando to open the gates to the bridge so the former Green Acres kids could cross over, but he couldn't for safety reasons.  I lived on Columbine Lane, right alongside the path, and it's sad to see that the weeping willows are gone.  One day, I went back there to walk the path, and there were bagels and a shopping cart floating in the water.  Sad!
        I've received so many wonderful e-messages yesterday and today, and I really appreciate them.  Our alumni association has been busy planning for months, and at the last meeting, people were even willing to sit at a few tables in the library cutting out and then gluing pictures of the teachers from yearbook copies onto a chart where I listed their starting and ending years.  Not all the yearbooks were available to me, but I did the best I could.  Karen Grimm '64 even made a little float centerpiece.  People also brought in homemade cookies and pastries for the alumni reception -- and so many coffee urns.  So much discussion had centered around those coffee urns that it was driving some of us crazy.  But, yes, there was more than enough coffee.
        Between seventy and ninety new members signed up -- only Dennis Shapiro knows for sure -- and they happily paid their fifteen dollars and received their memory journals.  Everyone who has paid their alumni association dues will get one eventually, via US mail.  We ordered one hundred-and-forty-four mugs, and there are only thirty-six left, and Irwin Kotcher will bring the remaining ones to the next meeting.
        This is longer than I planned, and there is so much more to tell.  But I'm sure that others have brought you up to date on the concert, the rededication, and the ribbon cutting.  I missed the last because I was busy chatting with someone, something Mr. Hurley once sent me to Mr. Budde for doing.  And then there's still the silent auction, the tours of the school, hanging out at Goldie's after leaving South, and who knows what else?  Oh yes -- lots of hugs, kisses, and some tears.
        Also, although our next alumni association meeting was scheduled for April 6th, I had to change that because I had a conflict with that date.  The meeting is now scheduled for Thursday, March 30th.  It should be a celebration meeting since everyone was so loyal, wonderful, and enthusiastic about making March 11th such a great success.  When I received all those thank you messages, it was all of you they were thanking.  The meetings after March 30th will be May 4th and June 1st.  I hope to see many of you there.
   
    From Joanne Shapiro Polner '59:  Here's some more I forgot to tell you about South's birthday party.  There was red ribbon-cutting moment symbolizing the reopening of the newly rededicated South High School.  In attendance were former and present teachers and students and principal Dr. Stephen Lando, former principal Christine Cutting, and the superintendent of schools, Dr. Marc F. Bernstein.  Dr. Bernstein may have been the one to cut the ribbon, as his name is listed next to that part of the day in the program booklet.  The president of the Board of Education Dr. Frank Chiachiere and his honored guest Melissa Fiondella were also there.  Melissa Fiondella  is the granddaughter of Dr. J. James Bergen, the first principal of South.  The class of 2007 representative Andrew Karp, assistant principals Gregory Peddle and Lori Tintella may also have been there along with the mayor of Valley Stream Edward Cahill.  He was certainly in the library at lunchtime.  The painter of the new pictures of South High, Edward Lee, was recognized during the rededication ceremony, and a rededication plaque was also unveiled.
        In separate news:  I found Judy DeGennaro, but I haven't spoken with her yet.  I have left several messages.  Someone in my class told me that Judy had married into the Cox plumbing family in Valley Stream, so I called the company and spoke with Jim Cox, South alumni from the class of '74, and also with his sister Jackie, who presently has a child at South High.  Judy and her husband Bob were in Virginia, but I hope to hear from them soon.
        Also, I am looking for information about Robert Nelson '59, who was a speed-skater in his high school years.  His brother may be Ronald Nelson '65.  Robert is named in one place on the Internet as Bob Nelson, who met speed-skater Rusty Smith when the 2002 bronze medalist was twelve-years-old.  Here is part of an article from The Orange County Register:  "Not long after Smith showed up at a Long Beach rink, he caught the attention of Bob Nelson, a former speed-skater.  "How long have you been skating?" Nelson asked.  "About a half-hour," Smith replied.  It was his first time on ice-skates.  Nelson suggested that Smith try speed-skating, and three years later, two days past his fifteenth birthday, Smith was on his way to upstate New York and a spot in the Olympic development program."  Where is Bob Nelson, speed-skater now?  Where is Ronald?
   
    From Ray Staley:  I am just a bit curious to know how Goldie's Restaurant in Gibson is.  I see that Paul DeMartino and others went there for drinks and dinner.  I ask this because Ron O'Hal and myself worked there as bus boys, um, back in late '63 or maybe early '64.  I don't remember a lot from back then, but that sticks with me.  I even remember that the bartender / manager who hired us was a guy named Tony.  I would assume the place has changed ownership many times over the years.  Hard to believe it's still there.
   
    And something that may help answer Ray, from Claire Brush Reinhardt:  Goldie's Restaurant at the Gibson Railroad Station is still owed and operated by Pattie Occhuizzo Giggians' dad.
   
    And from Pattie Occhuizzo Giggians:  Hello from Los Angeles.  So sorry I can't be there Saturday and see so many of you!  Seeing all these names from my past has given me a huge attack of nostalgia, and I will certainly miss reuniting with you all.  I have fond memories of all of you, and the older I get the fonder they get.  Have a great time at Goldie's.  I'm sure my dad will take good care of y'all.
   
    From Robin Feit Baker:  Some of us plan to attend the reunion of the classes of '61- '63 this October.  We thought maybe we could manage one table of our classmates since several upper classmates supported us last August.  They are really a fun group that have remained close and we've become friends of a sort.  The party will be at the Knights of Colombus in Oceanside.  I've been there for numerous occasions over the years, cost is reasonable and they do a lovely job.
   
    From Lynn Nudelman Villagran:  Booker, I heard through that you received a very moving  and long standing ovation at South's 50th anniversary celebration this past weekend.   I wish I could have been there to share in it.  I know it is well deserved.   With best regards and  affection.
   
    Finally, an article by Nicole Falco about the party, from the online Long Island Herald:
    South High School marked its golden anniversary last Saturday, inviting all current and former members of its family back for an afternoon retrospective and a celebration of its fifty-year history.  The day's events began at 11 AM with an alumni reunion in the school library. A rededication ceremony was held at noon in the gym, immediately followed by a luncheon in the library.  A benefit concert by students, current and former faculty members, and alumni, and a silent auction capped the day's activities.  Building tours were also offered throughout the afternoon.
        "The soul of this institution springs from the people and the community who bring it to life," said South Principal Dr. Stephen Lando in his opening remarks during the rededication ceremony.  The depth of the school's soul was evidenced by the standing-room-only crowd gathered in the gym for the rededication.  Lando welcomed guests including much-loved former faculty and staff members like his predecessor Christine Cutting, music teacher Booker T. Gibson, biology teacher Irving Saffrin, Melissa Fiondella, granddaughter of South's founding principal, community leaders Mayor Edward Cahill, Senator Dean Skelos, and Assemblyman Bob Barra, and Board of Education trustees Dr. Frank Chiachiere, Bill Stris, Anthony Iadevaio, and Paul DePace.
        Lando, who became principal in 1998, compared the school to a "brilliant living diamond" that is continually polished and passed from generation to generation.  As a representative of a past generation, Fiondella, whose grandfather, J. James Bergen, was South's first principal, was invited to unveil the first of two paintings -- one of South as it looked in 1955, and one of the school today -- both by Edward Lee.  Bergen served as principal of South until his retirement in 1977, when he was succeeded by Dr. Steven R. Goldberg.  Prior to coming to South, Bergen taught at Central High School and served as assistant principal there.
        "I'm sure some of you knew my grandfather Mr. J. James Bergen," Fiondella said before unveiling the artwork.  "He was so proud of South High School -- the students, the faculty who are part of this institution -- and I am honored to be here today."
        Later in the ceremony, Cutting, who served as principal from 1984 to 1998 and, prior to that, taught science, unveiled the second painting.  She praised Bergen and the newly formed South High School Alumni Association.  Representing the association, which held its first meeting last fall, was the group's president, Emily Kleinman Schreiber, class of '61.  She who read a poem she wrote called "On South's Golden Anniversary," and went on to recall the school's past -- cardigans worn backward, saddle shoes, the notorious rivalry with North High School, and some former teachers, including Gibson, who was in the audience and received a standing ovation.  Clara Hoogenboom, who became the first female teacher at the school to trade skirts for slacks in the 1970s, and Irv Saffrin were also remembered. Kleinman Schreiber brought two biology notebooks filled with notes she took as a student in Saffrin's class.  Following her presentation, the Long Island Connection and the Wind Ensemble performed South's alma mater, "Valiant Falcons."
        Chiachiere was invited to celebrate the present and Andrew Karp, a member of the class of 2007, looked toward the future.  Incorporating the themes of "opportunity, unity, trust, honor and service," Chiachiere applauded the school's more recent achievements, including being honored with a community service award in 1998 and raising $20,000 for tsunami relief.  He noted that the anniversary concert and silent auction scheduled for later that afternoon were fund-raisers for hurricane relief and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Karp noted how students prepare for their future on a daily basis.  "Every step of our preparation for adulthood and reality, we experience at South," he said.  "All you have to do is look at the alumni who are back today to know that [South] will always be a part of our future," Karp also said.
        Concluding the ceremony, Superintendent Marc Bernstein unveiled a rededication plaque and cut a ribbon heralding the school's next 50 years.  He also recognized the alumni in attendance, and the men and women of the 50th Anniversary Committee who planned the celebration.  Many of the same people who gathered for the rededication continued the anniversary celebration at the luncheon and benefit concert.  During the luncheon, guests had the opportunity to preview an oral history video created by members of the school's Falcon Report and produced by advisor Ross Lipsky and students Peter Olson and Nicholas Thideau.  The video was on sale that afternoon.
        Guests also had the opportunity to reminisce and reconnect, like class of '66 graduates Ann Massa Garofalo and Arlene Ainbinder Lynn of Valley Stream, Bob Lieberman of Rockland, and Dr. Maria Levada, who practices in Valley Stream.  "It's brought back a lot of nice memories," Levada said of the day.  Another member of the class of '66 traveled from Florida for the occasion.  "I think it's a beautiful thing that they are doing," said Marilyn Kugler Weiner. "I thought it would be interesting to see people I haven't seen in a really long time."  Dick Bentley, class of '58, traveled from Atlanta.  For Bentley, a self-described history buff, the trip was well worth it, but he said he would have liked to see more of his classmates there.  He did reconnect with at least one, Cindy Raitano Slater of Hampton Bays, whose grandchildren attend North High School.  "It's great to be back," Slater said, adding that she played '50s music during the car ride over to get into the spirit.