Sent by Carlos Alejandro
Top Picture
Howie Silverstein, Jacqueline Lee, Carlos Alejandro
Bottom Picture
Sheldon Austin, Donald Singletary, Billy Owens, Bruce Buell
Howie Silverstein, Carlos Alejandro, Eddie Moy
I think Donald Singletary had a cousin Ronnie Bly who played football for the Giants .. Donald was a great kid, he was like our own Will Smith ...one time he came to my house to play after school and I remember for years the story my Mom used to tell how she felt uncomfortable the time we had a 'girl' cleaning the house and I brought a black friend over to play .. the 'girl' of course was black too ...... Billy Owens was also one of the nicest guys, smiled and laughed a lot ...I played against him in little league, he played for Mariner's Temple which was predominantly if not all black ... one of my favorite little league stories is from a game against Mariner's Temple ... it was Spring of either '62 or '63 and it was a playoff game which meant win the game or the season is over .. I was playing right field, the game was tied in extra innings and they had a runner on 2nd base... on the last play of the game there's a base hit to me in right field, I charged the ball and fired home trying to throw out the runner from 2nd . it was a pretty good throw but the runner still scored ahead of the tag and Mariner's beats us, ending our season ... as I'm walking off the field dejected a tall black priest walks out of their dugout right up to me ... puts a hand on my shoulder and says, "..son, Mohammed himself couldn't have made a better throw .." ... one of those special moments that could only have happened on the LES ..
Howie
a follow up from Carlos
Billy Owens was one of the nicest guys I've ever known. We went on to JHS 22 together. He used to walk from the Smith Houses past my apartments, the LaGuardia Houses, and we would walk to Houston and Columbia Streets together until he got a bus pass. Sometimes he would walk with me to my buildings and then pick up the bus. He and Gary Jones were good friends. Didn't Gary play Little League, too. Does anybody know what happened to any of the other kids like: Rochelle Murphy, Eileen Rivela, Elaine Katz, Jacy ? (from Pearl Street?), Trudy Babits, Eddie Moy, ...
What was the name of the store right across the street from the school? That's where I would get those Ivy League plasticky book covers for my notebooks and or textbooks.
Here's a memory I have: One day at lunch time a bunch of us, a big bunch, decided to go down to Battery Park to see the President's motorcade at South Ferry. John F. Kennedy in a big black Lincoln with the weird doors. When we got back Mrs. Meiers was confused about why we had "cut" class but when she heard she just kinda laughed it off. Anybody else remember that?
from Donald Singletary
KD COBRA said...
FROM DONALD SINGLETARY - WOW! What a great surprise. I lucked up on this blog while "Googling" myself!
That second photo with Billy Owens and Howard Silverstein, etc. -- that's NOT me in the photo. Don't know who it is.
Anyway, I've been putting together some stuff for an LES book of my own. I connected with a writer who used to teach at P.S. 2 -- Leslie Kandell. She has found many of her former students. I also have some old photos I'd love to share. Glad you guys are well. Sadly, Billy died in November 1990. Many others have passed too. Glad you guys are all right. There's a Smith Projects Reunion this weekend on Saturday in the park by the Gym. Many "old-timers" come around.
Would love to keep in touch please email me at:
kdonald53@aol.com
thanks!
Hey, Howie and Carlos.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm a former classmate of yours, too -- Maria Carral (Now known by a combo of that name and my husband's)-- Miss Vigilante had once called me "Madame Lasagna in the Red Hat" --- and Paul Hatchett used to teasingly call me "Toots" among other things (PLEASE -- That was only to try to jog your memory as to who the heck I am! I'd rather concentrate on better "stuff" like my being a spelling "champ" along with Paul H....) I'm still in contact with Elaine Katz after all these years. [It was through her that I found out about this blog.] I now live in Hoboken, NJ, where I currently am a teacher's assistant; though I used to teach preschool in NYC as well as in NJ. (If I'm not mistaken, Norma Kramer also used to teach preschool in NYC.) I have one child, now 21 yrs. old. Elaine Katz still lives on the Lower East Side, and also has one grown-up child. Anyway, good to see that you guys still are "alive & kicking"!
Maria, if you write to me at
ReplyDeletedavidbellel@mac.com
I'll connect you with Carlos and Howie
FROM DONALD SINGLETARY - WOW! What a great surprise. I lucked up on this blog while "Googling" myself!
ReplyDeleteThat second photo with Billy Owens and Howard Silverstein, etc. -- that's NOT me in the photo. Don't know who it is.
Anyway, I've been putting together some stuff for an LES book of my own. I connected with a writer who used to teach at P.S. 2 -- Leslie Kandell. She has found many of her former students. I also have some old photos I'd love to share. Glad you guys are well. Sadly, Billy died in November 1990. Many others have passed too. Glad you guys are all right. There's a Smith Projects Reunion this weekend on Sautrday in the park by the Gym. Many "old-timers" come around.
Would love to keep in touch please email me at:
kdonald53@aol.com
thanks!
Also: Ronnie Bly IS NOT my cousin. His parents and my parents were friendly and his brother, Carl, who's my age, went to 177 and JHS 12. He married Yvette Lopez, also from the Smith. I saw a comment by her in Classmates.com several years ago. they were still happily married and grandparents.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donald for sending this to me. I remember Bruce Bueller from JHS 65. I didn't go to PS 177, I went to PS 42 on Hester ST. The school was so old they said Lincoln made a speech there. Probably true. In the picture there's a Carlos Alejandro. I knew a Carlos Alejandro Felix in Seward, does anyone know if it's the same person? Carlos if it's you, you were in the Morrow with Gaylord, Morty Katz & Bryan Blank. I've actually been in touch with all of them recently. I'd love to hear from you or anyone else who knew me. You can e mail me at marsha52@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteI remember Elinor Birnbaum from IGC 6 in 177. And also is "Jane" Babits the former Trudy Babits?
ReplyDeleteDonald
PS: I'll bet 177 was older than 42!
Ok maybe Lincoln didn't speak in PS 42 but it was a very old building. I think it's still there. I lived on Essex St, over Haber's. My mom actually worked in Habers, a pretty short commute. My parents moved into the Seward coop my last year in high school, my mom's still living there. If anyone hasn't been in the old neighborhood for a while, you're in for a big shock, it's changed a lot.
ReplyDeleteAny one of you guys who is on Facebook, please "friend" me. Would especially like to hear from the IGC 5/6 gang.
ReplyDeleteDonald Singletary
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWow!! Frank Shih, Donald Singletary, Marsha Algranati, Maria "The killer speller" Carral.
ReplyDeleteAnybody remember Miss Ponger? After Mrs. Perrins went on permanent leave and before Miss VIGILANTE. How about Constance____ something like Verazano? Sari Rabchinok(spelling)?
Maybe it's Calvin Cheeks in the photo, not Donald Singletary. I can send a photo from JHS 22, ninth grade. Many had left for Brooklyn Tech, only Susanne and I, I think remained.
Could be Calvin Cheeks -- but he went to P.S.1. Where was this photo taken? He later went one year to JHS 22, then transferred to 65.
ReplyDeleteMiss Ponger? Wow! Can't remember her at all. Do you remember Miss Vigilante thought we had no sprirt, no spunk! like her kids from that L.I. school she came from? She gave us all pen pals frmo there. Mine was George Balderesse (sp?) a nice kid. First time I ever saw blue eyes in real life!! We took a field trip to the school to meet her previous class. They had a ball field that look like the ones in college. No wonder they had SPUNK!!!
From Frank Skih
ReplyDeleteFrank Shih said...
Donald Singletary sent me this blog. This is incredible. I was in Vigilante's IGC class. Was that fourth grade? I went to P.S.2 for the second half of fifth grade, I think. I went on to JHS 12. I remember Carlos and Bruce the most. I also remember a Maria who was unstoppable in the spelling bee. Other names are familiar as well--Rochelle Murphy, Eddie Moy.
Billy Owens and I were really close at one point. We both lived in the Smith Projects and our parents even met once. Though we went to separate JHS and HS we were friendly through high school. I tracked down his brother (Isaac) several years ago and learned of Billy's (and his parent's death). Billy was married and had a child.
If some of you went to fifth grade in P.S.2 a teacher there--Leslie Kandell--that Donald mentioned has tracked down most of her class (including me). Go here to see the picture of the class and the article she wrote for the NY Times: http://home.earthlink.net/~nycmagic/PS2_Reunion.htm. I'm the one in the top row, third from right.
Would love to be in touch.
Rochelle Murphy, Eileen Rivela, Elaine Katz, Jacy ? (from Pearl Street?), Trudy Babits, Eddie Moy...Go Alfred E. Smith on Face Book some will see the names and give u feed back...Millie Soto
ReplyDeleteTo all out there know that there is a Charles Sumner J.H.S.65 Pg. on Face-book....Yearbooks and pictures, we are still looking for yr books ...Thanks Millie Soto..
ReplyDeleteThis is Fred. I was the tallest kid in 6th grade (and all previous grades) next to Mrs. Meirs. I was among those who attended JHS 22 upon graduation
ReplyDeleteFreddie Ng? I have a photo with you in it, somewhere.
ReplyDeleteHello out there. I graduated fron=m PS177 in 1962. I was in the IGC6 class with Mr. Dasher. Currently I am a Special Ed. Teacher in Florida. I remember punch ball, Gregory Williams, Charles Corteguerra, Nina Hodges, Vincent Lee, Allen Fong,Juanita, and several others who went to JHS 22 also.
ReplyDeleteAngel