Update 4-5-11

Hi,

Light letter-writing week.  I guess we've kind of figured out where everything was in 1960.

The business report.  We added an additional $125 in the third week of quiet fundraising for this year's Booker Gibson / Vince Tampio scholarships.  Added to the $700 we already had, that brings us to $825 and leaves $175 to go.
    If you'd like to help, please send your check to me, Rich Eisbrouch, at:  23030 Dolorosa Street, Woodland Hills, California  91367.  And please indicate in the bottom left corner of the check which scholarship you'd like to support, or if you'd like your money split between them.  I'll let you know as soon as the goals have been reached.  Thanks.

A name correction:  The Awards Assembly coordinator at South is Liz King Giordano, not Gagliano, as mentioned  last week.  Frank Gagliano is a playwright, and I had playwrights on my mind because Lanford Wilson had just died.
    I keep thinking these people are my age because I feel like the younger edge of their generation.  Then it turns out they're 10 years older and dying relatively young.
    In any case, Liz was kind enough to accept the apology I quickly sent to her, and she wrote back:

From Liz King Giordano:  At least, I'm in good company.

Also about names, from Ed Albrecht:  Thanks for sharing my story last week; however, Earl's last name was Wetinson, not Westinson, thus Wetson's for short.  If I typoed, my apologies.

More from Ed:  On further investigation, my memory has faded some.  It was Karl Wetanson, not Earl.  Again apologies.

To complicate matters further, this is part of the entry about Wetson's from Wikipedia:
    Wetson's was an American fast food hamburger chain that existed from 1959 to 1975.  At its peak, Wetson's had approximately 70 locations in the greater New York metropolitan area, including Staten Island.
    The chain was known for its signature burger, the "Big W", for 15-cent burgers,10-cent fries, and the slogans "Look for the Orange Circles" and "Buy them by the bagfull."  These were similar to McDonald's slogan "Look for the Golden Arches" and White Castle's "Buy 'em by the sack."  Wetson's also had two clown mascots in the style of McDonald's Ronald McDonald, named Wetty (female) and Sonny (male).
    Wetson's was founded in 1959 by Harold Norbitz and Carl Wetanson.  The pair had visited a McDonald's during a trip to Chicago's suburbs in the mid-50s and were impressed by the concept -- cheap food and fast service.  According to Norbitz, they "basically duplicated" the McDonald's concept at a time when there were no McDonald's in the metropolitan New York area.  Carl Wetanson's older son Herb expanded the franchise.
    By 1975, McDonald's and Burger King were battling for dominance in the New York market, and Wetson's could no longer compete.  That year, the chain was purchased by Nathan's Famous and converted to small Nathan's restaurants.

A related story I think we've already heard from Robert Fiveson.  But it's a nice story and worth repeating:
    A hamburger story.  I moved in for a while with my aunt and uncle in Plainview and got a job at Wetson's out there.  The manager told me to mop the floor, I was eager to please, and I thought I would clean that floor better than anyone ever had before.  I was mopping and my eyes wouldn't stop watering.  The manager ran over to me and yelled in a panicky way, "What are you doing!??"
    I smiled and said proudly, "Mopping the floor!"
    He looked at me funny and said, "With what!?"
    I told him I had mixed bleach and ammonia to get the floor "extra clean."  The fire department was called, and they evacuated the place and put in big fans everywhere.  Apparently, that mix makes a deadly gas.      
    That ended my career in food services.  True.

More seriously, from Ellen Epstein Silver:   I want to express my sincere condolences to Roz Minsky Bobrow Hahn, Judy Peters Sylvan, and Zelda White Nichols.  We are at the age when losing our parents is "sooner" rather than "later," and all of a sudden, we are the elder generation   That's a little hard to digest since I don't feel any older -- just wiser -- than when we were all together, growing up in Long Island.  Except then, you could just drive to see your relatives for a Sunday dinner, and now we are all scattered over the United States and have to make reservations for the plane to get from point "A" to point "B", and it takes all day to get there.   
    I also had my cataract surgery in January and opted for the multi focal IOL, and I'm just loving it.  If anyone is interested, I will gladly tell them the benefits I have found in going with this procedure, rather than the single focal. 

A favor, from Amy Miller:  I am trying to update the e-mail list for the class of 1963.  Could you put something like the following in a future weekly reader -- your class update I am now calling My Weekly Reader -- remember that?
    If you know  the e-mail addresses of any folks from the South High class of 1963, or any of their friends, siblings, or friends of friends, please write Amy Miller at:  ymarellim@aol.com.  So far, I have 52 names or e-mail addresses out of  the 230-or-so people in the class.  Thanks

[Rich -- Finally, the introductions Linda Tobin Kettering made to give out the Booker Gibson and Vince Tampio scholarships last year.  I've been holding onto these till an appropriate time.  And I'm hoping Linda will be kind enough to present the awards again this year, but I have to get organized enough to ask.}

    The Booker Gibson Award
    In the past four years, this student has demonstrated a true love and dedication for music.  In Concert Band she is an outstanding performer who can always be counted on to set a positive example for her classmates, and take on extra responsibilities.  She is President of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and also performed with the select Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and Pit Orchestra.  She was also selected to perform in the District Concert Band and Orchestra for numerous years.  As a student, she is simply the finest we have.  She is always prompt, reliable, ready to get to work, always helpful and always ready to make our groups succeed.  She is respectful, professional and helpful to her peers and ready to take on new challenges.  She is a leader in band, and through her various activities she brings honor and recognition to our school.  It is my honor to present the Booker Gibson Music Award to Amy Ryan.

    The Vince Tampio  Award
    The recipient of this year’s Vince Tampio Theater Award has been seen on the South Stage throughout all his years at South High School. He has been in his class One-Act Plays, dramatic productions and musicals since junior high school.  He has had leading roles in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Boyfriend, Once Upon a Mattress, and Grease.  He has been a member of the South High School Chorus since seventh grade and has been selected to District Music Festival and All County Chorus.  I am pleased to present the Vince Tampio Theater Award  to Christopher Alonzo.

[Rich -- We've now given these awards to 14 people.  Vanessa Spica and Paul Ianiello, the students who received the first pair of awards, are probably now 25 and well into their careers.]

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

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


Rich