Lewis Carroll School PS 179
1965 - 1972

I scanned some of the school newsletter: The Lewis Carroll Courier

My autograph album

PS 179 class mini-reunion: 20-Nov-2010

PS 179 class reunion 12-June-2010

a few photos

Fresh Meadows neighborhood photos and history

1965-1966: PM kindergarten
	I was in the afternoon kindergarden session with Adele Goldstein and Rose Podell. Yes, I was the kid with cowlick in his hair. It was not intentional, but perhaps a precursor to Calvin & Hobbes when he spiked his hair like Astro-Boy! I briefly attended The Alfred Zimberg School PS Q 002 for a few months before moving to Fresh Meadows. I mostly remember the red lollypops I got as a farewell gift, and arts-n-crafts spray-painting the wagon-wheel pasta we glued onto cardboard cutouts.
1966-1967: class 1-111
	First grade was Mrs. Yolanda Townsend I can barely remember a thing from that year, just the bright colored gears on the toy clock (I sat in the front row on the left side). This seems to be the only photo where I have a crew cut, and why I hated them. It makes my ears really stick out :-(
1967-1968: class 2-105
	Lillie Koeppel was my 2nd grade teacher. I still have angel wing begonias cultivated from the one she gave me. I acknowledged her in my masters’ thesis for being the first to focus my creativity and honor my curiousity. Larry Firestone and I seem to be the only boys without ties! Marc Deas wins the award for best expression! Sadly, he died around 8th grade. All the names, according to FaceBook top row: Lisa Liebowitz, Julie (Weinberg) Merrits, Ilene Fern, ?, Mrs. Lillie Koeppel, Amy Feldhun, Andrea Cousins, Victoria Hill, Barbara Randall standing: Jeffrey Moss, Ralph Sebastian, Stewart Rauchman, Kurt Levy, Andrew Wahl, Marc Deas, Roy Cohen, Warren Bograd, Jeffrey Jonas seated: Stacy Parker-Lurie, Barb Goldman Polman, Karen Levine, Rochelle Geshgoren, Marci Stepman, Jennifer Selwyn, Roslyn Stone, Marci Mechanic front row: Larry Firestone, Miles Fisher, Eric Fleischman, Scott Janko Here's the other class: 2-109 Mrs. Gertrude Gittleman (thanks to Gennia Holder on Facebook).
1968-1969: class 3-213
	Third grade was Mrs. Ethel Arkin. She was severely strict about everything. Her diction was so perfect that she was always the one to administer the spelling bee. I detested the chart of "gold stars" on the wall, causing everyone to complete for perfect test scores, participation, etc. This is the only time the Andrea & Jill Cousins twins were in the same class. I seem to be wearing the same shirt from 2nd grade but with a tie this time, leaving Larry Firestone as the only boy without a tie! Karen Levine wins for "best pose". Here's Mrs. Hawkins' other 3rd grade class (thanks to Gennia Holder on Facebook).
	I already knew enough about electricity to enter the science fair.
1969-1970: class 4-207
	I had Mrs. Anna Bailowitz for 4th grade. She was such a sweetie! Later, I had her husband for music in Ryan Jr high! Mrs. Shoots was the assistant teacher. top row: Jeffrey Jonas, Warren Bograd, Luke Melton, Simeon Goldman, David Lorbar, Jerry Kimmery, Andrew Whal, Marc Deas center: Mrs. Bailowitz, Larry Firestone, Gary Fogel, Mitsuko Asama, James D'arly, Victoria Hill, Jill Cousins, Ilene Fern, Marci Stepman, Lisa Liebowitz, Robert Marmer, Jeffrey Weiner, Mrs. Shoots front row: Jill Weinberg, Gennia Holder, Cristein Blake, Barbara Goldman, Barbara Randall, Cassandra Mormon, Roslyn Stone, Amy Beers, Clarice Bowman
	Clarinet was the instrument of the year
	I was always in the science fair
	Calling it the Senior Chorus is silly since it's all grades
1970-1971: class 5-206
	5th grade was hard for me. I dearly loved having Mr. Sidney Lerner as a teacher since he started my love of science (my college degrees are in engineering). But we were deprived of him over half the year as he required eye surgery. Those were years of national turmoil with protests and riots in the news. After a series of incompetant substitute teachers, we had a mini-riot, showering each other with black eyed-peas (there were boxes of it in the classroom). Years later, a neighbor suffered a similar fate: after getting to love Mr. Lerner as a teacher, he had another medical leave and the replacement could not fill his shoes. top row: Warren Bograd, Alberto Walters, ?, Simeon Goldman, Marc Deas, Stuart Rauchman center: Darren Leacock, Jeffrey Jonas, Roy Cohen, Lisa Goldberg, ?, Laurie Spector, Robert Marmer, Gary Fogel, ? front row: Jill Weinberg, Christine Blake, Ellen Black, Cassandra Mormon, Jamie Marie D'Arcy, ?, Lisa Liebowitz, Barbra Randall, Roslyn Stone, Marci Mechanic Here's 5-213, the other class, (thanks to Gennia Holder on Facebook).
	The usual science honors
	What did I do for art?
1971-1972: class 6-204
	Mrs. Golde Wolkoff was my 6th grade teacher. top row: Gary Fogel, Stuart Singer, Tony Smith, Luke Melton, Marc Deas, Larry Firestone center: Mrs. Golde Wolkoff, Jeffrey Jonas, Warren Bograd, Lisa Goldberg, Julie Weinberg, Rochelle Geshgoren, Darren Leacock, Eric Fleischman front row: Amy Beers, Lori Gross, Darlene Oakman, Ellen Black, Clarice Bowerman, Roslyn Stone, Christine Blake, Stacey Parker, Jill Weinberg
	Always in the science fair
	School service: the pin's on my collar in the class photo
	And on to Ryan Jr. Jigh School!
memorabilia
	All the GO (General Organization) pins and my Service Squad button
The other classes, from Facebook
	Kindergarten AM class 1965-66 In this photo: Barbara Randall, Marci Stepman, Marcy Mechanic, Gary Fogel, Julie Merrits, Scott Janco, Andrew Wuhl, Kurt Levy, Karen Levine, Jamie D'Arcy, Warren Bograd, Amy Beers Resnik, Ellen Black While we were at PS179, all grades were split into 2 classes. Even kindergarden (AM, PM). We were not always together in the same class year to year. Photo courtesy of Marcy Mechanic.
missing!	1966-1967: the other grade 1 with Mrs. Marma
	1967-68: 2-109 Mrs. Gertrude Gittleman (thanks to Gennia Holder on Facebook)
	1968-69: Mrs. Hawkins' 3rd grade class (thanks to Gennia Holder on Facebook).
	1969-70: 4-212 Mrs. Clara Donow In this photo: Stuart Singer, Geoffrey Aldrich, Ellen Black, Timothy Bennett, Andrew Accardi, Karen Levine, Julie Merrits, Stewart Rauschman, Andrea Cousins, Debbie Kaminsky, Kurt Levy, Lisa Goldberg, Lori Gross, Roy Cohen, Laurie Spector, Marci Schneider(?), Darren Leacock, Stacy Parker-Lurie, Eric Fleischman, Wendy Seelig, Clara Donow Photo courtesy of Marcy Mechanic, who was sick or camera shy that day...!
	1970-71: class 5-213, (thanks to Gennia Holder on Facebook.) top row: Jeffrey Weiner, ?, ?, Kurt Levy, Andrew Accardi, Larry Firestone center row: Eric Fleishman, ?, Marci Stepman, ?, Victoria Hill, ?, ?, Greg Blum, Stewart Singer front row: ?, ?, ?, Barb Goldman Polman, Debbie Kaminsky Kampel-Miller, Rochelle Geshgoren, ?, Stacy Parker-Lurie, Amy Beers Resnik, Gennia Holder
missing!	1971-1972: Gloria Fursmidt's 6th grade class
	The main entrance on the far left, between the auditorium and administrative offices. I believe we usually used the doors closer to the classrooms, or the rear entrance from the yard.
	Pedro J. Rodriguez: profiled in the Lewis Carroll Courier, with Georgina
Where Are They Now?
	Gary Fogel is a jazz drummer, happily retired from teaching music at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Check out his youtube videos Even Mr. Zakin was into that!

• assembly every Friday
  • The dress code for for girls: white blouse, dark blue skirt.
    For boys: red tie, white shirt, dark blue pants. The teachers had spare red ties in the closet.
  • Did every grade have to put on a play, or only the older grades?
  • Sometimes we sang songs, sometimes we saw a movie.
    I remember a few performers such as the NY ballet, the local librarian,
    and Mr. Bullet playing the Doumbek (drums that looked like huge vases).
  • All our guests were impressed with the opening ceremonies:
    • We'd all line up in the halls, by class, double-row, in size order, skipping anyone who was absent
    • We'd march in to the precessional piano music by Mrs. Clara Donow,
      taking our assigned seats (established at the start of every semester)
    • The captain of the color guard would
      • call for the flag of the CITY of New York (which marched down the aisle from the back of the auditorium with a team of 3)
      • call for the flag of the STATE of New York (which marched down the other aisle with a team of 3)
      • call for the flag of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (which marched down the aisle with a team of 5)
      • lead us in the Pledge Of Allegiance (and America?)
      • "the flag of the City of New York, take your position!" (the flag bearer put the flag into the holder to the left side of the auditorium)
      • "the flag of the State of New York, take your position!" (the flag bearer put the flag into the holder)
      • the US flag was then silently placed into the holder, saluted, and the bearer returned to position
      • all the color guard marched out to the music
        [real trivia: what music did Donow usually play for each flag?]
• the annual dance festival
  • It was held in the baseball field beyond the kindergarden playground (now named Holy Cow Playground) always on a terribly hot day near the end of the semester.
  • Everyone had to make their own seat: newspaper wrapped in a paper bag (remember, this is waaaay before plastic bags were common). I remember having a really nice orange paisley Bloomingdale's bag.
  • What were the class colors? I remember making crepe paper flowers and bow ties for that in the 3rd grade.
  • The June 1964 Lewis Carroll Courier lists the dances that all grades performed on Friday May 22, 1964.
    I thought kindergarteners usually did the "shoemaker's dance". The 6th grade traditionally did the maypole dance as the grand finale, but my class was denied that pleasure.
  • One year we had a song contest.
    What year was that and why? I guess we learned that everyone can dance (this was before "equal access") but not everyone can sing.

The school at Peck and 64th Avenue was built as PS 179 (also known as "The Lewis Carroll School"). It was opened in September 1955, and at some point during the late 1970s went out of service as a city public school, due to low population. In 1980 the building was taken over by a Japanese institute which operated it as a school for Japanese children all over NY. In 1990, the Japanese {institute's} 10-year lease was up, and he's not sure when the Highland School took it over.

• blog 1
• blog 2
• blog 3

This playground honors the Yankee shortstop and later radio and TV broadcaster
who made famous the phrase Holy Cow, Phil Rizzuto

Originally named P.S. 179 Playground, Holy Cow Playground was renamed Peck Playground in 1985
by Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern, reflecting the street which it boarders.
Peck Avenue is named in honor of longtime Flushing resident and property owner Isaac Peck (1824-1894). In 1847 Peck settled in Flushing.
Owning most of the property, Isaac Peck built a three-story department store along Clinton Street …
In 1998 the playgrounds name was changed to Holy Cow in honor of Queens resident Phil Rizzuto after a $400,000 reconstruction of the playground …

There are other Phil Rizzuto Parks

• Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park in Queens
• Phil Rizzuto Park in Union, NJ

The NYC Parks Department is really clever, with historical signs about the community
and witty, clever park names such as the Quick Brown Fox Triangle that is located in Maspeth, Queens.

PS 179 fostered a caring environment where the teachers
really tracked all the students from grade to grade.

We had many principals: Murray Sussman (went to PS26), Helen S. Corcoran.
Thelma Kanter (the librarian) was acting principal for a while.

Since my mom volunteered at the library
and many of us were members of Hillcrest Jewish center, I was placed in the "gentler" class
for most grades (grades 1-6 all had 2 classes with a permanent teacher for the entire year).

Mrs. Clara Donow taught music.
Clarinet was the instrument of the year, so I played clarinet from grades 4-9.

Art and library were on a sparse schedule.
Thelma Kanter was the librarian,
Mrs. Helen Styles was the art teacher.
I wish she had really taught me how
to use pen and ink since I had to wait for college to take
calligraphy and finally learn how to handle the nib correctly.

Mrs. Dorothy Baltman taught French and Special Ed.
I was in French only for the 6th grade when my reading scores improved.

Pedro and Georgina were so cool.  It didn't matter that they were officially the janitors,
we were the kids in their castle and they were our gracious hosts.
They were nice good honest friendly folks.


	THE ARMORED CAR
The Jamaica Savings Bank let us open accounts to save our allowance,
so every Friday we'd put the passbook and deposit into an envelope
and the armored car picked them up. We got the passbooks back a few days later
with the deposit credited and new total.


	BOOK FAIRS
I remember buying books and stamp collections
at the book fair in the lobby.


	LUNCH TIME!
There was a huge metal flip-top refrigerator for milk in the cafeteria.
The rest we brought from home.
I don't remember ever seeing the kitchen in use.

There was a map with "the circle".
Those inside the circle could walk home for lunch.
I lived outside the circle, but I was sometimes allowed
to go to lunch with someone inside the circle.

Around 1971, Fresh Meadows Pizzeria opened.
It was inside the circle, so we were allowed to go there for lunch.
We had to run like mad to beat the PS 26 kids there
(they were across the street from it!)

	No carpool, no bus
Most of us walked to and from school,
even in the rain or snow.
No soccer moms for us!

my teachers were:

These teachers taught other classes over the years: