Syosset Scrapbook Part Six

A Syosset Scrapbook

Part Six

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Look for the signs to see the latest additions, as of May 23, 2007.

Listen to the late Joseph Boslet Jr., interviewed by Isabel Goldenkoff at the Syosset Public Library, as he reminisces about old Syosset. We placed excerpts from this 1991 tape throughout Scrapbook. You may have to temporarily disable your firewall in order to access the sound files.
Look for the signs. If you live in Syosset, visit the library to borrow the entire tape and tapes featuring other longtime Syosset residents. If you wish to listen to the tapes in the library, call the library first to see if they have a tape player; otherwise bring your own.

Click on small pictures below to see larger images.
Then, click the back button or back arrow at the top of your screen to return to this page.

Syosset High School

Local Houses of Worship

Go to Part Eleven

Return to Introduction

Syosset High School

Syosset High School was established in 1955. For the first year, the school consisted of only the 9th grade. Classes were held at the Woodbury (elementary) School (below) while the present Syosset High School on South Woods Road was under construction.

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Syosset High School
Top, under construction
Bottom, the new school, 1956: Left, auditorium entrance;
Right, the lobby
(photos courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

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Left, Meg Glueck boarding the bus to school, Convent Rd, c. 1956
Right, Elaine Flemming, 9th grade, Spring '57
(photos courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

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Left, Mr. Cedar; right, Mr. Hodgson

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Left, Mr. Hueppe; right, Mr. Moreau

Left, Mr. Kupec; right, Mr. Baltz

Mrs. Gereshan with Martin Stickle

Above, teachers '56-'57
(photos courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

Mr. Ronald Barry, c. 1960
Ron retired in 1999 after 42 distinguished years as teacher, mentor, friend and assistant principal.
He passed away June 27, 2006. Long live his memory!

Mrs. Lynn De Rosa

Mrs. Tilda Osojnak

Mr. David Pardoe, Sr.
(image courtesy of Richard De Asla)

Dr. William French
Principal 1956-1960
(image courtesy of Richard De Asla)

The first Syosset High School diploma
Terry Pollock was the only student in the class of 1958; he became Syosset
High School's first graduate. A 1954 graduate of Locust Grove School,
he transferred from Westbury High School in the fall of 1957.
(courtesy of Terry Pollock)

Syosset High School in the 1960s

Syosset High School Student Handbook, 1959
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge;
for a more legible reading, click here: Text of History

National Honor Society pin, 1958

The class of 1960's visit to Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1957
Picture on left, first row: unidentified teacher, Martin Stickle, Barbara Holm, Carole Nymann,
Lenore Boudreau, ?, Vinnie Burns
Second row: ?, ?, Bill Eaton, Bruce Pecheur, Tom Bolk
Picture on right, Bruce Pecheur, Bill McCartney, Bill Eaton, ?, Tom Bolk, ?, Peter Fitzgerald
(images courtesy of Elaine Cattani Federico)

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Class trip to Cold Spring Harbor DNA Laboratory, Spring 1958
(photos courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

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Class trip to Stratford Festival Theater, Connecticut, 1959
(photo courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

Hank Daly, Driver's Education teacher, c. 1958
The driver training car is courtesy of Krebs and Schulz Motors.

Marching band May 1959
[image courtesy of Richard Hicks (shown playing tuba)]

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Football field activity, fall '59
The majorettes and marching band, Edwin "Andy" Netter and brother Willis approaching, the referees preparing
(photo courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

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Indian princesses, fall '59
Dr. William French, principal, and Stephen C. Chess, president of the Syosset Football Braves men's club, look on as the first Indian princess, Barbara Vallary, and the second Indian princess, Shirlee Sarver, share a flower bouquet.
Elinore Abravanel is playing the snare drum; the majorette is probably Debbie Eddy.
(photo courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

Art Department, 1959: Jean Trinkus Mitchell, Lynn De Rosa and John Price, Chairman
(photo courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

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1959 Junior High Awards: left, Second Honors; right, Junior High Chorus and A Capella Choir
From the fall of 1956 to the fall of 1959, Syosset High School was Syosset
Junior-Senior High School. In the fall of 1956, the school opened with grades 7 through 10,
and, in the fall of 1958, grades 7 through 12 were active.

Program from the first senior prom, 1959
(courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

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Tickets to graduation exercises
(1959 courtesy of Lynn DeRosa; 1960 courtesy of Bob Swanson)

First and second SHS graduation exercises programs, 1959 and 1960
Board of Education President, William H. McGurk; Vice President,
Mrs. Elisabeth T. Babcock; Superintendent of Schools, Donald K. Phillips; Assistant Superintendent, Frank R. Manarel; Principal, Dr. William C. French

1960: Varsity award; boy's Varsity letter; Varsity Club jacket

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Varsity cheerleader letter, c. '60-'61; vintage t-shirt

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Arlene Luma, cheerleader captain, fall '59
(photo courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

SHS gymsuits were made to last! And they are multi-purpose, too! On the right, an early '60s version still looks brand new when worn at a late '70s Halloween party. (The suit on the left is a cheap Salvation Army imitation.)

Vintage "Braves" t-shirts

GO pin

GO service pin

General Organization cards, 1958-1962

The Pulse, June 24, 1960

The Pulse press card

The first yearbook
(courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

(courtesy of Laurie Koch Misiano)

(courtesy of Janis Wright Mitchell)

(courtesy of Rob Giordano)

(1968, courtesy of Eileen Gersh Isison)

Yearbooks from 1960-1969

Above, yearbooks from 1973, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1997, 1998 and 1999

ken*, the Syosset High School literary magazine, Spring, 1962; second issue

Oklahoma, 1960

The Pajama Game, 1961

South Pacific, 1962

Bye Bye Birdie, 1963

Above: Senior play programs

Couples at the Junior Prom, February 20,1960
The theme was "An Arabian Night."
Click on the above picture for larger version and names.
(photo courtesy of Janet Ellen Lusk)

Rehearsing Oklahoma, 1960 Senior Play
Top: Karen Wolkov, Amy Feldblum, Patricia Lutz, Nancy Kowalski,
Claire Dryfuss, Linda Banvard, Juliet MacNiven
Kneeling over Martin Brody (playing Jud Fry):
Michael Evans, Richard Hicks, Susan Baraban, Bonnie Cole, Gary Eisenstein

The class of 1960's Senior Trip to Washington D.C.
Click on the picture for larger version and names.
(image courtesy of Marie Manning)

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The class of 1960's Junior and Senior Prom programs
(Junior Prom courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King;
Senior Prom courtesy of Sheila Zouderer Strauss)

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After the Senior Prom, May 29th, 1960, at Tobay Beach
Priscilla Thralls is on left in both images.
(photos courtesy of Priscilla Thralls King)

1960 senior prom mug
(donated by Dave Paradine, Wesley Chapel, Florida)

Scene from the Pajama Game, 1961 Senior Play
Don Cearley, Lois Green, Elinore Abravanel, Meg Glueck, Joanne Munson

At the class of '61 Senior Trip
Left to right: Mona Wolfson, Monte Brown, Marsha Wolfson, Jerry Rosenblum,
Paul Weintraub, Debbie Lester, Barbara Wolheim, Ray Orabona, Jack Ketay.
(image courtesy of Lois Green)

Ticket to the jazz concert of March 24, 1961
Slide Hampton, the famed jazz trombonist, was featured.

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Vintage tickets to other functions
Note: the ticket on the right says the location is Syosset Junior High auditorium.

Gerry Horan De Asla, '62, in Project Area A, 1962
Project areas no longer exist; they were filled in with offices and studios.
(image courtesy of Richard De Asla)

SHS Absence Sheet, March 1, 1962
Was this unusually long Absence Sheet a coincidence or...
"Public enthusiasm over the success of the Friendship 7 space flight was illustrated vividly in New York City when the Mercury 7 astronauts arrived there on March 1, 1962 for a ticker tape parade. An estimated four million people turned out in frigid temperatures to cheer John and Annie Glenn as they rode, again in an open automobile with Vice President Johnson, in the procession down Broadway—temporarily named Astronaut Way for the event." from Friendship 7: A 40 Year Legacy

Vintage chair
(image courtesy of Steven Becker)

Geraldine Horan and Richard De Asla
Class of 1962's Junior Prom
(image courtesy of Richard De Asla)

Geraldine Horan
Class of 1962's Senior Prom
(images courtesy of Richard De Asla)

(image courtesy of Richard De Asla)

Left, Assistant Principal Nicholas Downes and Principal Oswald Laubenstein are at the dais.
Right, Mr. Edwin Netter is leading the choir.
(images courtesy of Charles Weidig)

SHS 1962 Graduation, held on the SHS field

Catholic seniors at St. Edward's on graduation morning, 1962
Left, lining up for mass: the first girl on the left is Roseann Latuga; the second boy to the left of the lady in the blue dress is Charles Weidig; the man in the black gown is Mr. Martin Stader.
Right, leaving mass: Charles Weidig is in doorway; the smiling blonde girl is Nina Panaseny.
(images courtesy of Charles Weidig)

The September 1962 issue of Seventeen magazine featured several members of the Syosset Braves football team.
Center: Braves, Jim Murray Froelich (#34), George Rosenfeld (#15), Rick Curth (#6)
Right, Visible Braves: Jim Murray Froelich, Alan Heck, ? (#3), Rick Curth (#6)
(images courtesy of David (Bowtie) Froelich)

Senior button and Syosset High School pin

'63 senior trip: Denise Frazer, Marita Gerhardt,
Bonita Bauer, Karen Geoffrey

Noreen Taylor, Barbara Wagner, Marilyn Werblin,
Cheryl Berliant, Angela D'Agostino

Senior Ball souvenirs '63, '64 and '67

Syosset High School diploma, 1963
James F. Redmond, Superintendent of Schools; Oswald H. Laubenstein, Principal
The ceremony was held on the football field; the invitation for the gym was in case of rain.

Annual Art Show 1965: Marie Amatulli (practice teacher) and Ruth Gold
(photo courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

Left, Art teacher and yearbook advisor Lynn DeRosa, Art Department Chairman John Black and Principal William Kupec presenting award to Lindy Tilp, class of 1967; Right, Fashion Design class, 1967
(photos courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

1965 Senior Ring

Art Department, 1975: L. to r., back row: Reginald Fludd, John Kozusko, Barry Lieberman, Paul Ratajczak, Lennie Herman, Hartley Meinzer;
front row: Lynn DeRosa, Peggy Ross, Valerie Holmes, John Black, Chairman
(photo courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

Tape of Robert F. Kennedy's speech at Syosset High School, February 17, 1967
This item was listed on Ebay for $9,999.99 and reduced to $4,999.99 in October, 2005, no bidders yet.

Harvey P. Karp painting and plaque, 1969
(images courtesy of Tom Montalbano)

Vintage cookbook, 1975
by the Syosset High School PTSA
(image courtesy of Warren Mills)

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Class of 1959's 20th Reunion. August 24, 1979
(courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

The 25th graduating class, Class of '83, invites the first graduating class to a celebration; the photo is from Newsday
(courtesy of Lynn DeRosa)

Class of 1963 20th reunion at Norden Lodge, Huntington Station, and ticket

Syosset High in 1998
(photos by Elinore Abravanel Brown)

'99 Graduate Natalie Portman at the Senior Prom
(from People, June 5, 2006)

1999 graduation program

Recent aerial view of Syosset High School

Syosset High graduate Idina Menzel won the Tony award in 2004 for Best Actress for her performance in the Broadway musical, "Wicked."

Return to Top of Page

Local Houses of Worship

St. Edward the Confessor Church

Dedication and History of St. Edward the Confessor Roman Catholic Church on Jackson Ave.
June 12, 1955
(images courtesy of Mary Wencko Gaida)

St. Edward's in the '70s

St. Edward's on August 4, 2000
(photos by Don Jacobsen, Newsday, Aug. 5, 2000)

The new St. Edward's
(image courtesy of Ed Anderson)

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Robert E. Boslet's Knights of Columbus lapel pins
from the Joseph P. Gorman Council at St. Edward's, c. 1960

Mr. Boslet's Knights of Columbus sword and scabbard

Close-ups of the hilt and engraving on the blade

Pam Boslet's First Communion Catechism manual from "Our Lady of Murcy Acadime." The lessons never really took; the actual year was 1953, not "In the year of our Lord I am very glad and I love our Lord."

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Pam Boslet's "Remembrance of First Holy Communion" and Pam, May 23, 1953

St. Bedes Episcopal Church

St. Bede's Episcopal Church on Berry Hill Road

Faith Lutheran Church

Faith Lutheran Church on Jackson Avenue, 2001
(photos by Robert L. Harrison)

St. Sergius Russian Orthodox Church

St. Sergius Russian Orthodox Church on Route 25A

2002
The Miracle-working Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God;
Service of Thanksgiving before the icon in Saint Sergius Chapel

Community Church of Syosset

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The Community Church was established in 1860.
It was originally named the Free Church, then the Union Church.
"Syosset has...a free church edifice, standing on a one-acre lot, donated by S.W. Cheshire.
This church was built in 1860, under the direction of five inhabitants of the place, who became
trustees. It cost about $1,300. The free church building is open to all denominations
of Christians, and various clergymen have officiated from time to time.
A Sunday- school of 50 or 60 scholars is maintained, with a corps of
efficient teachers of both sexes. John Cook is the superintendent." from History of Queens County,
New York: W.W. Munsell & Co.; 1882.

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Left, cover of the Annual Statistical Report of the Sunday Schools in Nassau and Queens County, 1905.
Right, the detail for the Union Church in Syosset (later the Community Church) shows 9 teachers and 61 students with 15 dollars contributed for the year.

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Memorabilia
"Mrs. John Pennington was my Sunday school teacher (1928). The little folding chairs were the same type we sat in, in a circle down in front. My class was next to the railing where the Minister used to preach from. Mrs. Pennington taught from these Beginners Stories. My mother, Violet Budd, was born May 28, 1904, and raised on Devine Ave., the next house from Ralph Kaiser. She used this little purse around the early 1900’s when she was a little girl. Around 1910, each Sunday she had five pennies in the little purse to give at Sunday school." Virginia Budd Vail Hofstad
(images courtesy of Virginia Budd Vail Hofstad))

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March 1, 1931, 8 P.M. Worship Service program
Rev. Alfred J. Penney, Pastor
Mrs. George Carnes, Organist

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Easter 1941
(from Mildred Knettel Vanstane's album,
image courtesy of Diane Vanstane Oley)

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c. 1940s
"Here's the church where Forrest & I were married. It's the only church in town so we are quite proud of it." Mildred Knettel Vanstane
(postcard courtesy of Diane Oley)

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Marriage of Mildred Knettel and Sgt. Forrest Vanstane, August 5, 1944
Left, the wedding party: usher Jerome Suydam, best man Glenn Cook, Sgt. Vanstane, Mrs. Vanstane, matron of honor Mrs. Thomas Taylor (formerly Leone Knettel) and usher Robert Boslet.
Right, "Mildred Knettel, Bride of Sergeant Forrest Vanstane" in the Chillicothe Constitution Tribune (Missouri), August 24, 1944.

VIDEO CLIP!

Click here: Reception

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Click here: Reception

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Video clip of Mildred and Forrest Vanstane's wedding reception, August 5, 1944,
at the home of Mildred's parents, William and Laura Smith Knettel
On the bride's right is Glenn Cook, best man.
On the groom's left is Leone Knettel Taylor, matron of honor.
On her left is Bob Boslet, usher, and next to him is Edith "Poncey" Webb, the bride's cousin.
Also in the video are William and Laura Smith Knettel, Carrie "Gram" Smith, the bride's grandmother, and Harry Webb, "Poncey"'s father.
(video courtesy of Diane Oley)

c. 1950s
(photo courtesy of Diane Oley)
'

Rear wing, 1953

Interior, 1953

                                                        (photos courtesy of The Library of Congress,
                                          Prints and Photographs Division, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection:
                                                        left, LC-G613-63601; right, LC-G613-63602)

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