Hi,
First, from a very happy and excited Tom McPartland: 3 days to go until the class of '64 reunion. 76 people coming, with checks still coming in. Further checks will be accepted at the door. And there's still room for 30 more people.
If anyone needs a room, please let me know as soon as possible. Also, does anyone have e-mail addresses for Irene Sundal and Karen Mahoney Chapman?
The latest party-goers confirming: Kathy Berg (Kathryn Smerling), Nick Velmachos, Paul Casey, and Dan Millheiser
The Reunion Agenda
Thursday
We've reserved a reception room from 5-8 PM to meet and greet alumni who are coming in on Thursday. Once you check in, you can break away for dinner. There is a restaurant in the hotel.
Friday
10:30 Golf - Booked 3 foursomes
Rental Clubs $50. Round of Golf is $60 per person. I also moved up the Tee times on Friday.
This will allow us to get 18 holes in before the reunion. Tee Times: 10:30, 10:40, & 10:50
5:45 Check in available for event
6:00 Cocktail Reception -- Cash Bar
7-11 Buffet Dinner
Saturday
7-11:30 Hotel Breakfast/Brunch
9:40 Golf -- booked 3 foursomes
HYATT REGENCY LONG ISLAND AT WIND WATCH GOLF CLUB
1717 MOTOR PARKWAY
HAUPPAUGE, NY 11788
HAUPPAUGE, NY 11788
Telephone: (631) 784-1234
Dress Code Casual
Reunion Cost $70 per person. All checks should be made payable to Ken Silver
Committee telephone numbers:
Tom McPartland Cell (201) 787 6587/Home (570) 223 2577
Ken Silver (631) 463-2217
Bette Silver (631) 463-2216
On the other coast, only 3 more weeks to see Paul Zegler in the latest play he's doing in Los Angeles. This one's called The Face In The Reeds. As he noted it might be in early September, the play's run has been extended a month to November 2nd. Again, shows are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 and Sunday matinees at 2:00. Tickets can be purchased at ruskingrouptheatre . com (please remove the spaces)
A note about her forthcoming book, from Mary Sipp Green: Thank you for the book plug last week. I'm very excited about the publication.
Again, the book is called Every Hour of the Light, and it's scheduled to be published in late October. But it can be pre-ordered from Amazon and other sources.
Two more notes about that Green Acres pizza place:
From Les Glasser to Joan Arnay: The pizza place was called Pizza Supreme. And it was the best if you didn't care for the real doughy stuff.
From Barbara Blitfield Pech: As mentioned last week, it was first called Golden Crust. Later, the name was changed to California Pizza.
Barbara also thanks Amy Kassak Bentley for this link -- vsvny . org (again, please remove the spaces). This takes people to the web site of the Village of Valley Stream.
Among other things, you can learn that Sunrise Highway is going to be repaved, starting in Spring 2015. The work will extend from the city line to Broadway in the Town of Hempstead.
Also, Mayor Edwin Fare is happy to announce the kick off of a village-wide project that will make our streets safer and reduce energy costs, saving taxpayer dollars. The project, which has already begun, includes the replacement of nearly 3,000 street lights with light-emitting diode (LED) street lights. Additional energy improvements will be made at the Village Hall, Department of Public Works and the Village pool. A Solar Photovoltaic system will be installed on the band shell at The Village Green as well.
Finally, a short article about the temporary closing of Nathan's Famous in Oceanside. You can see pictures online at the Long Island Herald site.
by Tim Jordan October 6, 2014
They came from near and far, but mostly from near, to say goodbye to Nathan’s Famous last Saturday night, as the iconic hot dog stand had its going-away party after more than a half-century in Oceanside.
Nathan’s celebrated its arrival in Oceanside on June 4, 1959, by handing out hundreds of free hot dogs. Nathan’s Roadside Rest, as it was called then, was overseen by Murray Handwerker. His father, Nathan, had opened the world-famous Nathan’s in Coney Island in 1916, but was hesitant about turning it into a chain franchise. The junior Handwerker proved that such an enterprise could work by opening a shop on Long Beach Road, ensuring that the restaurant would attract locals as well as motorists on their way to Long Beach.
The restaurant sold a little of everything: pizza, corn-on-the-cob, seafood, frogs’ legs and, of course, its signature hot dogs and French fries. It also included an amusement park, Kiddie Land, and an outdoor dance floor. A Yonkers location opened in 1965. By 2001 there were more than 1,400 Nathan’s, in all 50 states. The Handwerkers sold the franchise in 1987.
Oceanside’s Nathan’s downsized in 1976, but remained a staple of the community. The amusement park and dance area were scrapped. The original restaurant was demolished and a smaller version replaced it.
For the farewell last Saturday, management ordered 1,000 extra dogs, and sold almost all of them. It was mostly business as usual throughout the day, but starting at about 6 p.m., longtime customers came streaming in for a final taste of nostalgia. By 9 p.m., more than 700 visitors had passed through the doors. Some came on their own, while some turned the event into an impromptu reunion.
Among the visitors were Glen and Diane China, lifelong Oceanside residents who went on their first dates at Nathan’s in 1978, often after working at the Oceanside pool. They shared a booth with another couple, Greg and Andrea Johnson, and enjoyed a double date, just as they used to 36 years ago.
“My favorite Nathan’s memory is Giants Night,” Glen China recalled. “On Monday nights in the 1970s, they used to show the highlights from the Giants game on a screen, and then they’d have one of the players here.”
Greg Johnson remembered Nathan’s’ picnic tables and its swami-style fortune teller. He also recalled that there were separate lines for each type of food. “You’d get there and everybody would have a job. ‘You stand in line for the hot dogs, you get the fries, you get the drinks.’”
Amy Lubliner, who graduated from Oceanside High School in 1988, came with a group of her former classmates. “We wanted to say goodbye to this iconic place,” she said.
An era has passed, but Nathan’s is not gone for good. A flier handed out to customers read, “We appreciate and thank our loyal patrons for their unwavering support. Definitive plans have yet to be concluded. However, it is very likely that our Nathan’s restaurant will be relocated a short distance away in a brand new facility at 2807 Long Beach Road.”
The Town of Hempstead Zoning Board approved a request for variances from the Basser Kaufman Development Company, the new owner, in July. The variance was needed because the proposed new location, at the corner of Long Beach Road and Merle Avenue, does not have the requisite 55 parking spaces. Basser Kaufman also asked for variances to install a rear-yard Dumpster and a double-faced, illuminated sign projecting over the roofline. Despite some local protests, the board approved the application, with provisions, on July 9.
No date has been set for the reopening.
Nathan’s celebrated its arrival in Oceanside on June 4, 1959, by handing out hundreds of free hot dogs. Nathan’s Roadside Rest, as it was called then, was overseen by Murray Handwerker. His father, Nathan, had opened the world-famous Nathan’s in Coney Island in 1916, but was hesitant about turning it into a chain franchise. The junior Handwerker proved that such an enterprise could work by opening a shop on Long Beach Road, ensuring that the restaurant would attract locals as well as motorists on their way to Long Beach.
The restaurant sold a little of everything: pizza, corn-on-the-cob, seafood, frogs’ legs and, of course, its signature hot dogs and French fries. It also included an amusement park, Kiddie Land, and an outdoor dance floor. A Yonkers location opened in 1965. By 2001 there were more than 1,400 Nathan’s, in all 50 states. The Handwerkers sold the franchise in 1987.
Oceanside’s Nathan’s downsized in 1976, but remained a staple of the community. The amusement park and dance area were scrapped. The original restaurant was demolished and a smaller version replaced it.
For the farewell last Saturday, management ordered 1,000 extra dogs, and sold almost all of them. It was mostly business as usual throughout the day, but starting at about 6 p.m., longtime customers came streaming in for a final taste of nostalgia. By 9 p.m., more than 700 visitors had passed through the doors. Some came on their own, while some turned the event into an impromptu reunion.
Among the visitors were Glen and Diane China, lifelong Oceanside residents who went on their first dates at Nathan’s in 1978, often after working at the Oceanside pool. They shared a booth with another couple, Greg and Andrea Johnson, and enjoyed a double date, just as they used to 36 years ago.
“My favorite Nathan’s memory is Giants Night,” Glen China recalled. “On Monday nights in the 1970s, they used to show the highlights from the Giants game on a screen, and then they’d have one of the players here.”
Greg Johnson remembered Nathan’s’ picnic tables and its swami-style fortune teller. He also recalled that there were separate lines for each type of food. “You’d get there and everybody would have a job. ‘You stand in line for the hot dogs, you get the fries, you get the drinks.’”
Amy Lubliner, who graduated from Oceanside High School in 1988, came with a group of her former classmates. “We wanted to say goodbye to this iconic place,” she said.
An era has passed, but Nathan’s is not gone for good. A flier handed out to customers read, “We appreciate and thank our loyal patrons for their unwavering support. Definitive plans have yet to be concluded. However, it is very likely that our Nathan’s restaurant will be relocated a short distance away in a brand new facility at 2807 Long Beach Road.”
The Town of Hempstead Zoning Board approved a request for variances from the Basser Kaufman Development Company, the new owner, in July. The variance was needed because the proposed new location, at the corner of Long Beach Road and Merle Avenue, does not have the requisite 55 parking spaces. Basser Kaufman also asked for variances to install a rear-yard Dumpster and a double-faced, illuminated sign projecting over the roofline. Despite some local protests, the board approved the application, with provisions, on July 9.
No date has been set for the reopening.
The repeated upcoming reunion information:
The class of '65 50th Reunion: April 24 through April 26, 2015, Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge.
The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com (please remove the spaces)
The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com/SouthHS65 (ditto)
Rich
The class of '65 50th Reunion: April 24 through April 26, 2015, Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge.
The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com (please remove the spaces)
The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com/SouthHS65 (ditto)
Rich
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