Update 3-8-11

Hi,

A pleasant mix of subjects.

First, from Marc Jonas:  Speaking of Tress and men's clothing, there was also the Five Towns Cricket Shop in Cedarhurst, for the really big occasion.  Though I'm still haunted at the memory of getting anything sized "husky."
    To Peter Rosen, I remember clam diggers, and I also remember arriving at college with pegged pants and black shoes, only to find that I had landed on a strange planet where the inhabitants wore cuffs and regarded my attire as quite bizarre.

[Rich:  So guys still wore cuffed pants in 1965 Philadelphia?  They wore them in Ohio, too, but, then, they still wore bow ties and hats.]

And Marc diplomatically corrects my impression:  As I recall, the only kid in our neighborhood with vision was Rob Kelman, who sported cuffs and carried an umbrella before we left dear old South.  I tend to recall that Rob had an older brother who may have been his role model.  Most of us looked like Travolta wannabees in Saturday Night Fever.

From Henry Gabbay -- who can, indeed, sing along with the "Car 54" theme: Just a little more trivia.  If I am not mistaken, Neil Simon was a writer for "The Phil Silvers Show."

[Rich:  Confirmed by the often dependable Wikipedia:  "Neil and Danny Simon's revues for Camp Tamiment in Pennsylvania during the early 1950s were noticed by Sid Caesar, who hired the duo for his popular television comedy series "Your Show of Shows."  Neil Simon's work won him two Emmy Award nominations and the appreciation of Phil Silvers, who hired him to write for "Sergeant Bilko" during 1959.]

From Rich's "kid" sister, Marilyn Eisbrouch:  I have a feeling that Barnet Kellman and Gwen Camhi had a lot of company in their shopping misadventures.  I'm surprised that there were any of us "good" kids who were left to shop in our Green Acres.  And I'm interested to know how these same former kids reacted when their own kids repeated the dastardly deed?

From Marc Fishman:  In line with Steve Gootzeit's comments, one of the best surgeons in Montreal asked a group of students what they would say to the parent of a child having a routine appendectomy.  The students all commented on the high success rate and low complication rate for routine appendectomies. 
    The surgeon, said, "That's not what you say. You tell the parent that it's always dangerous when someone goes under the knife.  That there are no guarantees, but that I will do the best I can." 
    This surgeon's complication rate was about 0%, and he had a lot of very happy parents and patients who understood the risks of surgery but also understood that they did well because of the competence of their surgeon.

From Jane Ruzow Tiell:  I do remember Shurry's.  In fact, most of my clothes came from there.  I used to ride my bicycle three miles just to shop when my mother was working as a buyer for Orbach's.
    Shurry's was in Cedarhurst, across from Martin's Jewelry.

From Kay Gallin:  Sherry's I think was the spelling though maybe not, and it was in Cedarhurst, next to Al Steiner's near the railroad.

From Paula Ignatow Cohen:  Please tell Judy Hartstone that Shurry's was on a side street in Cedarhurst.  And it was definitely the place to shop.

Jane Ruzow Tiell also wrote:  All is well with my five grandchildren and two married sons.  I'm living a beautiful life in Florida with my husband of 41 years, and I thank God every night.

Marc Jonas also forwarded some vintage TV Guide images from his mother, but you'll have to ask Marc for them because they were imbedded in his note.

Similarly, Ray Staley sent some "Photos and Pics from the '50 and '60s," which you'll have to ask him for directly. 

Both of their e-mail addresses -- and those of a lot of other people from South -- are available through the link that's almost always at the bottom of these updates.  Mary Ferranti Khan has been doing a terrific job at keeping the list updated.

The South Alumni Association web site lists meetings on the second Thursday each month, so I suspect there's one coming up on March 10th.  Most likely, it's in the school library at 7:15.  But write Emily Kleinman Schreiber to check.

Judy Hartstone wrote:  We should start a thing in the newsletter about phone exchanges.  If I remember correctly, LOcust 1 was replaced by PYramid 1, and possibly LOcust had replaced VAlley Stream 5.  Does anyone recall?

Joanne Shapiro Polner wrote:  My house phone number at Hamilton Avenue was:  VA 5-3846.  I did not remember it because I am not a numbers person, but the minute I saw it in print I recognized it.  It was in my After-I-Got-Married-and-Moved phone book, under my parents' name.

Barbara Blitfield Pech wrote:  VA 5 numberss were changed to PY 1.  Our VA 5-1518 became PY1-8604.  LO 1 numbers did not change because Temple Gates Of Zion is stil LO 1-2308, as it has been since 1956.

From Judy:  I'm remembering that our phone number might possibly have been VA 5-8274 and became -- for a very brief time -- LOcust 1-8274 and then PYramid 1-8274.  But I may be misremembering.  And then in our junior year, I won -- or came in second which was really the better prize -- the magazine selling fundraiser and got my own phone for a year, and that number might have been PY 1-6677 or 6776 or something like that.  I'm pretty sure that Martha Morenstein's number was PY-1 9461, and that Marilyn Horowitz Goldhammer's was LY 9-8339.  Her phone prefix was different because she lived on Piccadilly Downs.  And we really had to dial those numbers -- no push buttons, and certainly no memory.

[Rich:  When we first moved to Green Acres in the summer of 1953, our phone number was Tilden 4-9161, and it was a party line.  Then it got changed to PYramid 1-9161, and then simply to 791-9161.  If you call it, you'll still get my mother.]

Judy:  Of course!  Tilden.  But I still have a vague recollection of LOcust being an interim prefix between Tilden and PYramid.  And since it was Locust Field, that would makes sense.  But if no one else remembers it, I could have made it up.

[Rich:  Green Acres must have had a mix of phone prefixes that started from the 1930s and all got evened out to PYramid 1 in the mid-50s.  I think Jeff Levin's number was VA 5-5225 before it was changed.  And Nancy Garfield's family had two numbers, which might originally have been LO 1-5561 and LO 1-5562.  These numbers coexisted with my Tilden number.  And all of this is totally useless information.]

Barbara:  I remember Diane Fruzetti got a pink princess phone in her room when we were in the 7th grade.  I am still jealous.  But on the same day, we went to see Where The Boys Are at the Valley Stream movie theater on Rockaway Avenue and day-dreamed of Ft. Lauderdale spring breaks.  Well, now I live here in Florida, and Diane is writing about cold winters in Arizona.  So I wonder who's jealous now?

[Rich:  I thought Diane lived in New Mexico, but who knows?  I suppose someone could call.]

The South '65 e-mail addresses:  reunionclass65.blogspot.com

The South '65 photo site:  picasaweb.google.com/SouthHS65 


Rich