BILL STANLEY'S MEMENTO FROM A REUNION 30 YEARS AGO

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By Frank Barning
Many wonderful photos were taken at the Division Avenue High School's 50th reunion in August. I have posted 86 of them in Facebook. One of my favorites is of my classmate Bill Stanley holding a shirt from our 20th reunion in 1980. Retired since 2001, he was a Nassau County Sheriffs Department lieutenant.

Since that 1980 reunion, I have moved from Glen Cove on Long Island, to San Diego in 1982 and in 2005 to Las Vegas. When we were planning our move to San Diego, Vivian and I decided to unload old junk as well as good stuff we might never use again. Most of us love our "stuff" and it is difficult to part with items you think are important. A major reason for our stuff removal was the cost of shipping things approximately 3,000 miles in a moving van. We never regretted the decision as to what was left behind.

Twenty-three years later, we bought a house in Las Vegas. And again, decisions had to be made about what stuff would come with us. The move would be only about 350 miles, so it was not about money. We had a lot of old furniture from our Long Island days, items that were out of date. So we donated about half of our furniture to various charities, and gave hundreds of books to the library and to neighbors. Very little that did not come with us to Las Vegas has been missed.

But one item that survived both moves was my 1980 shirt from the 20th reunion. It is a treasure, not quite up there with my 1960 yearbook, but nevertheless an important memory. So when I saw Bill Stanley holding his reunion shirt, it really struck a chord with me. I wonder how many of those shirts have survived the years and the various moves of other classmates.

Under photos in Facebook, comments may be posted. I wrote, "Does it still fit, Bill? Mine looks like it shrunk in the wash, but I still have it after all these years."

Ten minutes later, smarty-pants Louise Nicolosi Hayn, jumped in and commented, "I have mine and it fits."

An hour later, here is what Bill had to say. "Not even close. They must have given me the wrong size at the 20th or maybe...."

Comments concerning the Class of 1960's 50th reunion

Lilette Levy Bagwin, 1960
I had a great time. It was fantastic to see everyone and to hear about what people are doing and thinking. It was great being with people all our age. Nobody could criticize a senior moment since we all had them.

I was especially excited to see Karen Judge and Joan Lucas. They were my sorority sisters. It was also fantastic to talk to Dewain Lanfear about teaching. I loved talking to Geoffrey Eisenbarth, Don Davidson, Susan Eisenberg Zwerling, Peter File and Cliff Fromm. It brought back so many memories.

I loved the Levittown Museum visit. I felt like I was back at home in my kitchen as there was a full size model of a Levittown ranch kitchen with the stainless steel cabinets and sink. There was even a refrigerator with the little freezer door inside. The TV in the wall was something I had forgotten about and then I saw it.

Cliff Fromm, 1960
At the DAHS reunion I was thrilled to see Jay Citrin. His parents and grandmother and my parents were good friends. Jay and I went to Hebrew School together and were active in the youth group. Both of us joined the Navy right out of high school. I think this is the first reunion he went to as I looked for him at the earlier ones. My sister, Michelle, attended the reunion and she was as happy to see Jay as I was. We all gave each other a big hug.

I was also very happy to see Susan Zwerling. It's a small world as Stephen Zwerling's mother and my mother were friends when they were young girls back in the Brooklyn days. I can't leave out Don Davidson. He's such a nice guy that you can't help but feel good when he's around.

Wally Linder, 1961
There was a football reunion in the Spring of this year, and many members of the class of 1961 went to that reunion. As a result many people were missing. Anyway this reunion was poorly attended by the class of '61, so I was kinda disappointed. I was thrilled to see some of the guys that I grew up with, in the old neighborhood, but there were still too many missing.

Pat Stanley Share, 1962
The reunion was pretty special, I was delighted to see some who have not been to other reunions, Jane Patten was one, she was a beautiful girl and has grown into a lovely woman and I was so glad to spend time with her, we were both thinking her brother Ross might surprise us but he was unable to make it.

It was fun talking with Tom Dubose and George Fox, George has had an interesting life, working in Washington DC as an adviser to big wigs! Also seeing my cousin Evie who is married to Dave Winters is always nice, Chez became the table bartender, he is such a sweet guy. And, in general, just seeing so many, get together, there must have been close to 200 from different classes.
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Several class of 1963 graduates got together at the Milleridge Inn during the reunion weekend in August. Len Sandok provides his thoughts......
The occasion of a 47-year high school reunion is probably reason enough to look back and reflect on your life. I did just that over the last the past few weeks. I have to say that I am a very lucky person. There are many small things and a few big things that I regret and that I would do differently if I had the chance. (No, I’m not going to go into them here and now.) For the most part I am satisfied with my life. However, after the reunion weekend, I know that I would have made the effort to get to know all of you better in high school and stayed in touch for the last 47 years.

I pondered the question of why I felt so strongly the friendship we experienced at the reunion, after all – we had just reconnected. Was it because we have a similar background? No, there are many with similar backgrounds with whom I would not care to spend five minutes. I wondered if it was because we all hold similar political beliefs. I decided that was not the reason either. I am not sure if that statement is true and there are times when I enjoy being around people who believe differently than I do and I like discussing thing with them because I learn from them.

So what was it that drew us together? The answer is “friendship”! I believe that you can not pick your friends. There is a non-tangible amorphous something that makes friends -friends. I don’t know what it is, but it was felt by my wife Ellen and me. It was there, I felt it. While my life was rich, I cannot help but feel as if it would have been richer had we seen each other from time to time.

Division Avenue High class of 1960 held 50th reunion

Approximately 200 people attended the reunion. This photo, provided by Cliff Fromm, was snapped at a special gathering at the Levittown Library on August 6. Among those in the picture are; Lilette Levy, Beth Cummings, Karen Judge, Sharon Dumas, Joan Lucas McDermott, Pat Stanley, Bill Stanley, Pete File, Cliff Fromm, Kathy Donlin Eisenbarth, Geoff Eisenbarth and Rich Glaski.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.