Favorite Memories
The articles in this category were submitted by Hixnews.com members. Neither Hixnews.com, its affiliates, nor HostM webhosting endorses any of the content contained herein.
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- John Ebbecke, Class of 1972
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Chapter 1 of Tales from the Cage: Growing Up in 60s Suburbia
by, John Ebbecke, Class of 1972
Editor's Note: Thank you to John Ebbecke, Class of 1972, for granting us to permission to publish Chapter 1 of his book, "Tales from the Cage", about growing up near Woodland Avenue. The book talks of his lessons learned from the schoolyard cage where he spent a good amount of time. The book is available on Amazon or B&N Digital.
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- Neal Platt, Class of 1971
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Could Every Town Be Like Hicksville?
by, Neal Platt, Class of 1971
Editor's Note: Neal Platt gave HixNews permission to use his article, which was written in 2012. You may find some of the figures dated, but they certainly don't take away from the content. Enjoy!
When I was a kid in the ‘60's, Hicksville was a middle-class town that was still in the process of being built. Parts of town were giant fields of grass where we could play touch football all day long, and no one would tell us to take ourselves to the public schoolyard. A couple of times, when I was mowing the lawn or having a catch in our sideyard, I nearly tripped over some old horseshoe that had rusted there since the town consisted of nothing but potato farms.
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- Wendy Elkis Girnis, Class of 1977
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Grumman and the Lunar Module
by, Wendy Elkis Girnis, HHS Class of 1977
If you asked your friends where their fathers worked back in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, chances are that they would say one of the aerospace companies on Long Island. Companies like Astrosystems, Hazeltine, Gould, Lambda, Harris, Eaton, Fairchild/Republic, and others employed over 100,000 people. Grumman had the largest workforce of all of them.
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- Various Authors
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Senior Trip Memories
Editors' Note: Last month, we published a story by Ron Wencer about Senior Trips to Washington, D.C., via airplane in the 1950s and we included pictures from the 1956 Comet Yearbook. We asked for more submissions. What follows are those submissions. It's not too late to send more as we can continue this feature into the future if there is interest.
Scott Schutzman, Class of 1977
On the Riverboat I was playing cards [for money] with my crew. Mr. O'Daugherty approached us and asked "who is the best poker player of you degenerates?" He then shuffled the cards for a few minutes and dealt two hands in 5 card draw. I was dealt Kings over 10s, a full house. He drew three cards and was holding 4 aces. We didn't stop talking about that for the rest of the trip. He definitely taught us a lesson. I miss him.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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Hicksville's Appointed Governor of North Dakota
Karl Schweitzer, HHS Class of 1981
The Hicksville community has had its share of celebrities, actors, musicians and others over the years. The most famous of our residents of course is the world-renowned rock star Billy Joel. Then, there is Al Pitrelli, a guitarist who has played with the rock band Alice Cooper and most recently with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra; Denny Dias, the lead guitarist from rock band Steely Dan; The Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo; A true funnyman, Comedian, Jackie “The Joke-Man” Martling; Professional Football player, Larry Eisenhauer from the Boston Patriots (AFL); and from the Hicksville High School Class of 1972 actor Lorraine Bracco who starred in Goodfellas, The Sopranos, and Rizzoli & Isles.
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- Various Authors
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Memories of Sears in Hicksville
The editors put out a call on Facebook for memories of working at the Sears in Hicksville. What follows is a compilation of those memories.
Submitted by Frank Walker, HHS Class of 1985
I worked in the Catalog Department at Sears from 1984-1986.
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- Wendy Elkis Girnis, Class of 1977
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The Building of Suburbia
by, Wendy Elkis Girnis, Class of 1977
From 1941 until 1945, the United States was involved in WWII. It was fought in Europe, as well as in the Pacific. During those years, 16 million Americans served in the Armed Forces. Back at home, life consisted of rubber drives, steel drives, and book drives, as well as the rationing of food and other items. Housing construction had stopped to allocate building supplies to the war effort. In 1944, the Veterans Administration home loan program came into existence. This program had a major impact on the housing market, and led to the growth of suburban areas including Levittown and Hicksville.
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- Phil Girnis (Husband of Wendy (Elkis) Girnis, '77)
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Livin' On the Edge
by Phil Girnis (Husband of Wendy (Elkis) Girnis, '77)
My name is Phil Girnis and I lived in Hicksville on and off for forty years, before leaving Long Island in the 1980s to pursue a job opportunity out of state. My parents moved from Queens to Hicksville in the summer of 1957. I attended East Street School for the 5th and 6th grades and Hicksville Junior High for 7th and 8th. My remembrances of Hicksville life are quite different than most because of one factor: Location. We lived in the easternmost section of Hicksville. Our little development was bounded on the west by New South Rd. (adjoining the Lilco building on Old Country Rd.) and the east by South Oyster Bay Rd. I was within two or three blocks from the borders of Hicksville, Bethpage, and Plainview.
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- John Maniec, Class of 1964
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Providing Quality Counseling Services to Combat
Drug Abuse among Hicksville Adolescents & Adults
Submitted by John Maniec, Class of 1964
Hicksville Against Drugs, Inc. (H.A.D., Inc.) which was also known as Help-Aid-Direction (H.A.D.) was started in the late 1960s by various Hicksville residents to deal with the growth of drug abuse among Hicksville community youth and young adults.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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I walked into CVS the other day to pick up some prescriptions. We all know those golden days aren’t so golden. Anyway, this is not about aging or prescription drugs. It’s about looking back 55 years ago.
As I walked past a woman to get on the long line at the pharmacy, something struck me about her. She looked awfully familiar. It didn’t take long to realize why. I turned to my wife and said, “That’s my kindergarten teacher, Miss McCormack.”
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- Hope Cedar Dagan, Class of 1980
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Calda Pizza
Submitted by Hope Cedar Dagan, Class of 1980
The year was 1972. Richard Nixon was president. The Godfather was the top grossing movie, and Calda pizza opened its doors in Hicksville, where it still stands today . Calda is a family owned business, started by Greg and Theodora Vlasopoulos, and now owned and operated by their son, Christopher Vlasopoulos.
Calda was a big part of my childhood, and even though I moved to Florida over 30 years ago, I still visit Calda when I’m in NY.
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- Pete Foster, Class of 1957
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WAVY LINES
Submitted by Pete Foster, Class of 1957
Looking back on my youth and growing up literally next to potato farms in Hicksville, on Elm Street, in the 1940s & 1950s was uncomplicated and a sheer pleasure.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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Holiday HFD Open House/ Tree Lighting / Popcorn Ball Fun
Submitted by Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
As noted in some earlier articles, Hicksville has been our home for many years. It was a place where the middle class made their home. The population boom of the 1950s doubled, then tripled Hicksville's population. The sense of community grew in popularity during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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Hicksville Pubs Past and Present
Submitted by Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
Bars, pubs and taverns have dotted the landscape of Hicksville for more than 160 years. A quick recollection of an old memory can turn into a marathon night of conversation with nostalgic memories of “the good old days”. Recently, while attending a wedding, I found myself in an unplanned game of “Name that Bar." A conversation that started between my brother and me, expanded to include half the party. It literally went on for hours and it was the impetus for this article.
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- Wendy Elkis Girnis, Class of 1977
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1959 was a busy year; Fidel Castro came into power, the Barbie doll was launched, Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states respectively, most of my classmates, the class of '77, were born, and Wetson's Hamburgers began.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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Mid-Island Plaza was more than just an assortment of stores. It was a place where people could shop for a variety of goods and services in one area. Gone were Huettners and Spiros Department Stores, and the widening of downtown Hicksville was on the horizon. Malls and shopping plazas were designed as social hubs, places where people could come together, spend time, and, of course, shop.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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Hicksville Hotels were the end of the line for the Railroad and a Boom for the Hicksville Community.
Hicksville was a place where the middle class made their home and it was the population boom of the 1950s that doubled, then tripled its population. Schools were built faster than anywhere on Long Island.
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- Karl Schweitzer, Class of 1981
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In the field of amateur sports, one has reached a fine point of development on Long Island and one rarely reported as a sport. For over 81 years, the Hicksville Fire Department hosted the Invitational Parade and Drill on Labor Day weekend, which has become the most watched event across New York State. The Hicksville community can claim distinction as the oldest hosting community across the entire state, with a larger spectator attendance than the statewide competition. However, it was more than just a competition between volunteer firefighters.
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- Susan Schuler Nolan, Class of 1977
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One of my favorite places growing up as a child in Hicksville was the Farmer’s Market.
It meant time spent riding the carousel, mugging in the Fun House mirror, and watching “The Three Stooges” with my older sister. All while our parents would shop. It meant eating fresh grapes, chocolate pops, and cinnamon babka. All were surrounded by the sights and smells of fresh vegetables, sawdust, and barrels of pickles. It was an exotic place where you could meet neighbors and friends on a Friday night. A true suburban bazaar.
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- Susan Schuler Nolan, Class of 1977
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What’s there now: There is still shopping taking place on that large site in Bethpage. Just not as eclectic and exciting as it used to be.
The site of the former Nassau Farmer's Market, which burned down in 1987. Now it is a Lowe's Hardware Store.
