Don Davidson, 1960, lives the good life with his family

"This is the meaning of life," says Don. From left to right: son Ian, wife Phyllis, Don, daughter-in-law Renee, grandchild Sarah and son Richard. The picture was taken on July 4, 2010 in La Jolla, California. Richard and family live in Seattle. Sarah is Don's first grandchild and is extremely intelligent, according to Don.

Cherished memories of some real cool early Levittown dudes

Ann and her brother Jimmy in 1947. He was five-years old and she was two.

By Ann Crescenzo Fazzino, class of 1961

Pete Cybriwski from the class of 1960 was the first boy who ever kissed me. That was a long, long time ago, more than 57 years ago in front of Northside School. I remember going to my first Division Avenue dance and Pete asking me to do a Lindy with him. I thought that I would die. When Pete danced everyone stood around him. Tommy Paturzo (class of 1960) was a good friend of my brother Jimmy's and I remember them doubling at a prom. I recall Jim took MaryAnn McNally (1960) to her junior prom at Division and to his senior prom at Memorial.

Later on Tommy and his sister, Marilyn moved to Florida. Marilyn Paturzo came up during her school break and stayed with me for about a week. I remember very well how popular Pete and Tommy were. And Jimmy definitely held his own. Although Jim went to Levittown Memorial (class of 1959) every girl at Division had a crush on him at one time or another. I know because at least a dozen girls begged me to set them up with him. (LOL) Those were definitely the days.

After school I would take girls home for dinner with me and Jim always brought guys home. My mother would have American Bandstand on our TV and she knew everything that was going on with the regulars from the show like Bob and Justine, and Kenny and Arlene, and Rosalie. Jim and I would practice their new dance steps until we were in sync. Because of that no matter where we went he'd search me down to be his dance partner.

A couple of years later when we went to night clubs on Long Island, girls would get upset with me because my sweet brother would watch over me like a hawk. No guy was ever good enough for his little sister. So, Jim wanted to dance every dance with only me. I finally explained to Jim that we were cramping each others style. Eventually, he and his classmate Ken Chauney went to different night clubs. That's how Jim met his wife Michaele. I was blessed to have had the coolest brother in the entire world.

Editor's note: Jim Crescenzo passed away on January 24, 1988

On the road with Warren Zaretsky in Mill Valley, California

Warren graduated from Division Avenue in 1960 and has survived 50 years of the road not taken. His pathless path has led him to Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco. The following is his email received today.


The Mark Twain line, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" holds. It's gorgeous green to look at, and/but there's fog rolling over the mountains every morning until about 11:00, and the temperatures run about 60-75. Last night I went to the Throckmorton Theatre in downtown Mill Valley and saw the every Tuesday night comedy show, Mark Pitta & Friends, with surprise guest Richard Lewis (the biggies come here to try out new material). 3 out of the 4 comedians were terrific. Lewis's best line about MV and its inhabitants was about how proud the parents were when their child said his first word: Rissoto.
Tonight I have a ticket to see the Met's film production of Franco Zefferelli's production of Puccini's Turandot, at the Sequoia Theatre... around the corner from the central park, anchored by the "Book Depot" coffee bar and flanked by Whole Foods, featuring grayed male chess players, 30-something backgammonites, 50&60-something women apres yoga class discussing their fav' plastic surgeons and bemoaning Obama gone flacid, and a few 18-20-somethings with spiked hair and carefully torn jeans, mellowed out on marijuana and staring into their privileged trust-fund nothingness. In short, a compressed, picture-perfect, year-round, left-wing Hamptons, that god nestled between Muir Woods and Sausalito, just 9 miles across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco. I lived here from 1986-90 and the biggest change I notice today is that pizza has been replaced by flatbread... with goat cheese and fennel sausage.

Linda and Tim, 1963, in living color

Linda Bishop and Tim Lavey at their senior prom in 1963.Tim lives in Montclair, New Jersey and it is reported that Linda lives in Suffolk County.

Back in those days, most photography was in black and white. There were no color photos in our yearbooks, unlike what was to come future years. Most of us did not have color televisions in our homes in the early 1960s.

Sandy and Eddie were still going steady . . .

Sandy Adams and the late Eddie Fink at the class of 1960 junior prom in 1959.

1961 classmates at their junior prom, 50 years ago

Classmates Kathy Rees and the late Mike Fitzgibbon before their junior prom in 1960.

They could have danced all night

Kathy Rees, class of 1961 and Ira Selsky, 1960, before a 1959 prom. Ira is an attorney who lives in New York City, while Kathy is a therapist who resides in Connecticut.

Senior prom couple now senior citizens; oh my how time flies

Gary Parker 1962 and Marilyn Monsrud Frese 1963 all dressed up for his senior prom. He was a star athlete, she was a cheerleader. Now they are senior citizens with about 10 grandchildren between them. Marilyn lives in Levittown, Gary in Georgia.

Early Levittown was a baseball-loving boy's field of dreams; we could always find a bunch of boys to choose up sides

Baseball has been my passion since 1951. From birth to age 12, I lived in Forest Hills, NY. Not much baseball was played in that area of Queens because just about the only grass was growing on the front lawns of rich people. We baseball fanatics had no choice but to play softball on the cement playgrounds of the public schools. No wonder I never learned how to slide.

My family moved to Levittown in 1954, about two months into the seventh grade. Among the appeals of my new hometown were the sparkling green baseball fields. The more I rode my bicycle, the more ball fields I found. They appeared behind schools, at village greens and in parks. This place was made for me. No more wearing out my Keds on cement. No more softball. Now I could play the real thing. BASEBALL

Adding to my joy were the dozens of others youngsters like myself who loved to play our national pastime. It was a rare spring or summer day that I could not get into a pickup game. Mostly, I found them at the Azalea Road park, in the shade of the water tower. Also, there was a bunch of guys who hung out at the North Village Green who were always ready for a game. The North Green guys called themselves The Natives. I quickly joined their tribe. The best player in the bunch was a younger kid, Bobby Lombardi who went by the name of Lumpy. The swimming pool was maybe 50 yards from where a ball field had been created by the guys. We used to go for a dip in between games. Truly, I could not have asked for more.

Although it was not baseball, stickball games were great fun. Hundreds, if not thousands of hours, were spent behind Northside School playing the game. Bob Castro, Mal Karman, John Koehler and I spent many a sweaty summer afternoon tossing Spaldings and tennis balls into a chalked box we had drawn again a brick wall behind the school. Our bats were broom handles. John was a great hitter, Bob had a deadly fastball and Mal dreamed that he was Mickey Mantle.

We even imported kids from other parts of Levittown to play stickball against us for money. When you had John Koehler on your team, you expected to win. Truly, he hardly ever struck out. A few years later, he brought the same batting eye to the high school team and earned all-league honors for coach Joe DiMaggio’s the Blue Dragons.

I was too old to play Little League by the time I moved to Levittown, but did sign up for one year of Pony League ball. Classmates Artie Dorrmann, Tom Young (who moved to Roslyn before graduation) and Jay Citrin were teammates. Now I share my Pony League memories with my pal and classmate Don Davidson who fondly recalls getting a hit off of Pete Cybriwski.

I played in Pony League in 1956 and the big star in our age group was Cybriwski, a pitcher whose fastball was legendary throughout Levittown. Pete moved through the halls of Division Avenue like he was Elvis himself. He had an aura, a presence. He was a man, while the most of rest of us were still boys. I remember at parties around Levittown during high school, if the girls heard that Pete was coming, they would swoon. No kidding. The girls still remember him as Levittown's best dancer.

Opening day of Pony League, Pete is pitching for the Exchange Club again my team. During warm ups, we focused on Cybriwski, marveled at his size, the speed of his fastball, his charisma. Our manager gathered our team together and said not to be afraid of Cybriwski. Easy for him, he did not have to face this monster. Then he announced our batting order. “Barning, you’re leading off,” he said. “Take a couple of pitches. Let’s see what this kid has.”

The umpire yelled “Play ball.” I walked to the plate, took two strikes, swung and missed the third pitch and trotted back to the bench. Overall I struck out all three times, but did foul off two pitches. That day, I realized for the first time, that there were levels of the game.

Levittown was a great place for a baseball-loving boy to grow up. There were so many guys my age that it wasn't difficult to find a choose-up game. When he weather turned cold, there was the court under the Azalea Road water tower to play basketball. We even shoveled snow off the court when necessary. Levittown was a wonderland, hardly ever a dull moment, but I do wonder what the girls did in the summer to keep busy besides going to one of our wonderful swimming pools.

Photo: Frank Barning in 1958

The Pied Piper of Woodstock: Artie Kornfeld, class of 1960

Artie, who lives in Florida, is still rocking and promoting his various enterprises. Yes, he was the co-creator and promoter of Woodstock and the writer of hit songs such as the Cowsills' classic The Rain, the Park and Other Things, and Jan and Dean's Deadman's Curve, among others. Artie and your blogger were friends and teammates in high school and have kept in touch over the years.

His song The Rain, the Park and Other Things is still awesome. See link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3809453614493997014#

For his bio, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artie_Kornfeld

Who's the leader of the club . . . .Cliff Fromm, class of 1960

Cliff Fromm, an early Levittowner. The lad should have been on the Mickey Mouse Club. "Hello, I'm Cliffy." He commented, "I really dug Annette." His wife Marilyn is not jealous of Annette and she thinks Cliff is still cute.

Grease is no longer the word for Steve Mohr, class of 1960

Steve Mohr is retired and lives in Southern California. He spent most of his high school leisure time working at Charlie's Garage on Newbridge Road, developed skills repairing cars and built a career and business in Southern California as a result. The shot of young Steve was taken when he was eight-years old.

In a December 2004 class newsletter published by Frank Barning, Steve Mohr wrote....

Levittown was a magical, special place in time that we all were so fortunate to have been a part. My family moved from the Bronx in 1950 to 103 Kingfisher Road, 1949 ranch. My two older sisters and myself attended Northside School as did most all of us, 4th through 6th. Mr. Henabry, Mr. Marassa, Mr. Donavan. I also recall Mr. Miranda and Miss Stahman.

One of the great memories of that time was the scout troop that some of us belonged to. It would meet each Friday night in the school basement. There were several patrols within the troop, each with a patrol leader. My patrol leader was none other than Tommy Paturzo. I see from his photo that he still is one, and very good at it I'm sure. I wonder if he remembers the Panther patrol of troop 322 or the night while standing at attention for a long time on a hot summer night, passing out and splitting his chin open on the basement floor STILL at attention. Thanks to his unselfish sacrifice, we all got to sit down.

The next 6 years at DAHS has to be the greatest time of my life. The best teachers, namely Mr Chenevey who said to me when we first met, “You have a lot to live up to Mohr.” He had my sisters before me and they were smart. Anyway I stayed in his classes all throughout and did well, thanks to Lilette Levy doing my homework. Mr. Keating and Miss Eisenhauer also played a big part in hammering things into my thick skull.

As graduation neared I learned that I was accepted at Cornell, but in my great wisdom I thought it better to stay with my girlfriend and continue to work at Charlie’s gas station on Newbridge Road. What a genius. I can still see the disbelief on the guidance counselor's face, although he tried little to change my mind. Can't remember his name though.

Senior year was most memorable and our lunch table was one for the record. There was Arnie Mark, Kenny Ganim, crazy Warren Zaretsky and myself. One day we dared Warren to throw a milk container at the teacher in charge, not sure but I think it was Mr. Simes. Naturally after giving it a great deal of thought, he did it. I don't know how we never got arrested. Those were some great times and went by far to fast.

After graduation life shot past faster than a speeding bullet, and I'm sure I am not alone in that reflection. After a brief tumultuous marriage, the light finally went on, although dimly. I relocated in California where my family had moved years earlier, met and married the most wonderful, giving, "patient" girl, and for 37 years have known how and what a marriage is supposed to be. We have raised 4 great kids who all live within 100 miles or so. Close but not too close, if you know what I mean.

In the middle of all this I earned a commercial pilots certificate, bought a small plane and did some free lance commercial flying. Got interested in sailing and built a 55ft. ketch cruising yacht in our back yard. After 7 years, we launched “The Linda Marie”. We lived aboard her for more than a decade and sailed to Hawaii and around the Pacific for almost a year. When we returned home we had 20,000 miles under her keel. Sadly we sold her some 10 years ago, but it was time.

We now have a beautiful home overlooking the ocean and Catalina Island, and the time has come to wash these hands and hang up the tools one last time. The shop is sold and at the end of this year, I will sit down for the first time in 45 years, to spend the rest of my days with my “Linda Marie” wrapped in my arms while watching those magnificent sunsets. Thanks for the memories.

Alan Lerner, class of 1960, hit the jackpot in several ways

Alan Lerner and his wife Marie hit for $11,000 on a slot machine at the Empire City casino in Yonkers. The machine is called Quick Pay. The Lerners live in The Bronx and Alan reports that "I am retired and very happy."

Renaissance person Larry Bory, class of 1960

Larry Bory is a lawyer and lobbyist who has lived and worked in the Washington, DC area for about 45 years. The recent photo of Larry in the colorful chapeau was taken at a Renaissance Festival and the black and white shot is from 1958 when he ran track for Division Avenue High School. He was being timed by track coach Cy Madanick. He graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut and now lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

Division Avenue's leading sister act...the Rees gals

Kathy '61 and Ellen Rees '60 are difficult to forget because of their various achievements in high school. The photo on the right was taken at Ellen's graduation from Division Avenue.

Pat Stanley Share, class of 1962

Here is Pat with her grandson Finbarr. She lives in the Key West, Florida area and is encouraging old DAHS grads to come on down for a February 2011 reunion. A few hotel rooms have been reserved at a favorable rate. Pat's big brother is Bill Stanley, class of 1960.

Girls, girls, girls.....the vivacious Villatores

Susan Rutkin Villatore '62 and her grand daughters Sarah, 14, Rebecca 21 and Erin 22. Missing from picture is their sister Jillian who is 16. Ernie Villatore '61 is their proud grand dad.

Marilyn Monsrud Frese, 1963, and the grandkids

Marilyn Monsrud Frese and her grandkids on Mother's Day 2010. She has a son and a daughter and for many years worked at our old high school. She still lives in Levittown.

Photographs and memories...from an old scapbook

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end. Top photo Diane Sexton and the late Bruce Garabrant '60. Below, Debbie Cooper and Susan Kilbride '62. From our carefree days in Levittown, circa 1958. Sock hops, American Bandstand and football games were what mattered, and the United States was not fighting a war. Korea was a few years behind us and Vietnam was a county we had never heard of. Photos provided by Sandra Findlay.

A marriage made in Levittown....Susan and Ernie Villatore

Susan Rutkin, class of 1962, and Ernie Villatore (1961) were high school sweethearts. According to Susan, "Ernie and I have been married for 46 years. We have two daughters and six amazing grandchildren, ages 3-23. We live on L.I. in the summer and east coast Florida in the winter. Life is good." The photo is of Sue and Ernie from 1968 with their oldest daughter Nancy who has four grown daughters. Time marches on.

Happy Birthday to Arnie Galeota, class of 1961

Today is Arnie's 67th birthday and he is celebrating it in his new home town, Panama City, Panama. The guy still knows how to party and his plans are exciting. The photo was taken in 1969 with his son Tony.

Don Davidson, 1960, and delicious grandchild Rachel

Here are two adorable people, Don Davidson and his little Rachel. The photo is from 2008. Don lives in La Jolla, California (near San Diego) and Rachel and her parents reside in the State of Washington. Expect to see lots of photos of Don in this blog because he is my best friend and virtually a brother. Currently he is recuperating from rotator cuff surgery, but Rachel's recent visit cheered up the old boy.

Class of 1962 alumni hold Long Island celebration

Over the past few years, 1962 alumni have met frequently on Long Island. Susan Rutkin Villatore has been a wonderful organizer, and has kept her people together. There should be more like her. This photo is from this summer and the gathering was held at Phil Cheifetz' home. Pictured are..Front row: Bonnie Green, Phil Cheifetz, Robert/Bobby/Bob Gifford; Back row: Pat Raynor, Margie Pearl, Geri Robson Burtt, Vicky March True, Susan Rutkin Villatore. Bonnie lives in California and this was a celebration of her visit.

Busy grandmother, Lillian Smith Handleman, class of 1962

This is a March 2009 photo of Lillian and husband Joe's beautiful family. Included are three of their four kids and six of nine grandchildren. Seven of the grandkids are boys. Lillian, who lives in South Windsor, Connecticut, earned a BA in music education from Fredonia SUNY with courses at Hartt School of Music, Hartford. She taught for one year and had jobs in inside and outside sales. If you remember Lillian from school, she was the girl often seen toting her precious violin.

1962-63 Blue Dragons cheerleaders

1957 Levittown Pony League All Stars

1957 Levittown Pony League All-Stars. . .
Front row: Dewain Lanfear, Tom Krustangel, Jimmy Judson, coach Popetti, Ernie Villatore, Dick Cleere, Gary Parker
Back row: Frannie Kolb, John Fitzsimmons, Jerry Reichert, x, coach Jack McDonald, Joe Forte, Ted Popetti, Bobby Lombardi, Neal Manley, coach x
Photo courtesy of Susan Rutkin Villatore

Twelve 1960 grads gathered for 2010 mini-reunion in Las Vegas

Twelve members of the pioneer class of 1960 gathered in Las Vegas for a 50th reunion in April 2010. They were in the first graduating class of Division Avenue High School. Pictured here are Don Davidson, Bob Castro, Ron Firestone, Cliff Fromm, John Gentleman, Dewain Lanfear, Larry Bory, Heidi Perlmutter, Green Green, Frank Barning, Ken Plass and Luther (call me Lou) Kuhlman. A few of the guys played golf, some emptied a few bottles of adult liquid refreshment and our wives got together to play the famous Las Vegas slot machines. A highlight of the gathering was a dinner held at the Paris Hotel & Casino buffet, at which the group photo was taken and Don Davidson was elected class president. A next reunion was informally discussed and it was agreed that we should not wait until a 60th reunion when most of us will be approaching 80 years of age. Division grads from other classes will be included in any future events. Unfortunately, they were not invited to Vegas.

Small reunion in Vegas in 2008

True, it was only four of us, but it was a special time for four class of 1960 dudes. From left to right are Frank Barning, Don Davidson, Ken Plass and Dewain Lanfear. A journey begins with a single step and the inital step was the Los Angeles gathering in 2005. The good times here were the inspiration for the April 2010 mini reunion, also in Vegas. Twelve members of the class of 1960 attended, including a real live woman, Heidi Perlmutter.

Good old boys from Levittown held a reunion in Los Angeles in 2005

Back in March of 2005, a one-day mini reunion was held in Los Angeles. Why it was all guys is hard to say, but we had a wonderful time renewing old friendships. Pictured here are Front Row: Dr. Jeff Lincer and Russ Green; Back row: Ed Gifford, Jim Anton, Larry Bory, Don Davidson, Dr. John Stalberg and Frank Barning. Also in attendance were Dr. Tony Ciervo and Rich Humbert. The good vibes felt here led to a pair of gatherings in Las Vegas in 2008 and 2010.

Wandering Warren Zaretsky, the class of 1960's King of the Road

World traveler Warren Zaretsky is among the most creative and humorous people this blogger has ever known. First we see Warren at age eight and then in a recent photo. Early in this century, he taught English in China for two years. I wish he would write an autobiography. Note: Please check out Warren's comments that appear below.

Dewain Lanfear, Class of 1960, still most likely to . . .

Scholar, varsity athlete, Army veteran, long-time Levittown English teacher, Dewain Lanfear has had an interesting and varied life. Now retired, he lives in South Carolina with his wife Marti who was a Levittown physical education teacher. Dewain was shown as Most Likely to Succeed in the 1960 yearbook. The photo at the top was snapped in Las Vegas in 2008.

The 1957 Division Avenue High School cheerleaders had terrific pom-poms

Front row: Becky Compton, Sue Dennis, Phyllis Cotter, Carol Klass
Middle row: Louise Nicolosi, Marion Wetzel, Sue Abbott, Marjorie, Margaret Johansson, Ellen Rees, Diane Sinatra
Back row: Maryann McNally, Margie Matthewson, Franne Newman, Joni Allibone, Penny Stone, Diane White, Bonnie Ramsey, Joyita Stovall, Lynda Reed

Not all of these cheerleaders graduated from Division. Some transferred to Levittown Memorial to be closer to their mommies.

Louise Nicolosi Hayn, class of 1960

The black and white photo is Louise's high school graduation shot. The lady in red is Louise as she approached 40, and a year later she gave up smoking. She and husband Bob live in Belleview, Florida.

Skip McCarthy, class of 1962

Skip (front row with grandkids on his lap) lives in Marion, Indiana.

Jane Patten Malphurs, class of 1963

Jane, a Florida resident for more than 40 years, hauled in this gigantic grouper. Her brother Ross Patten was in the class of 1962.

Class of 1961 friends at a 1981 reunion

At their 20th class reunion were old friends (left to right) Mickey Thomas, Iris Ornstein, Kathy Rees and Pat Calderwood. Kathy, who lives in Connecticut, provided this wonderful photo.

Roberta Landry Bremmer, class of 1961, DAHS's contribution to the medical world

This is Roberta Landry Bremmer's graduation photo from Mt Sinai Hospital School of Nursing 1964. Roberta wrote: "I live in Guilford, Vermont, am retired and widowed. I live with my 27-year old son Stephen and my two dogs Daisy and Ginger." It's a pity that we never had a school nurse who looked like Roberta.

The Meadowbrook Theatre on Hempstead Turnpike

This photo was snapped in 1953 as Levittowners lined up for a Saturday matinee. Nearby were our roller skating rink and the ever popular Jahn's ice cream parlor with its famous Kitchen Sink.

Mays on Hempstead Turnpike in 1959; we could have danced all night

We shopped there, some of us worked at Mays and some even danced in front of the popular store and hangout. It was a short walk from the high school, a focal-point in our teenage years.

There was also something fishy about Gary Parker and Bill Stanley

Gary Parker (left) was in the class of 1962 and Bill Stanley was class of 1960. They were among the most popular boys at DAHS and were baseball and football teammates. Gary lives in Georgia and Bill has remained in Levittown and is still an avid fisherman.

Mr. James Amen, a beloved teacher and coach, 1914-2001

Many graduates of Division Avenue High School's early classes often remember Mr. Amen as their favorite staff member. A physical education teacher and master baseball coach, he is fondly remembered by many of the "girls" in our classes because he reached out to just about everyone. To some of the athletes he coached in basketball, football and baseball, he was like a second father. A memorial garden has been erected in his honor behind the school with funds raised by some of his former students..