IMPORTANT DATES

WHAT'S IN A PHOTO?
POSTED 1/2/15

Carol and Ross Herzog
     Last month we posted an article about some archived photos that we added to our General Album on the Photo Gallery Page. These were photos that Dorothy Zuckerman had kept in her office at NYSUT. We received a note from Ross Herzog with a history behind one of the photos. We thought we would share it with you.
      "I recall that this photo was an earlier version of a "selfie." This was taken on a tripod with a time release, in our apartment in Bohemia, shortly after Carol and I were married. Carol looks fine, but the chair had square patterns in a variety of shades of orange. It was the ugliest piece of furniture we ever bought. If it was in Dottie's collection it was probably taken for the COMPACT newsletter which the BTA published as we approached negotiations. It was meant to provide to the community a positive image of the District's teachers. I did the interviews and Carol did the layouts. I recall that we only published it for one year. However, it was an early indication of Carol's commitment to serving and supporting the BTA for her entire career
(delegate, committees, Executive Board)"
     Please check out the entire collection of photos, and if you can identify any of the missing names, please contact us so we can label them correctly. Thank you.
 Check out Archived Photos

SAD SHARING
POSTED 1/23/15
     Miriam Massucci, who retired from Sonderling HS in 1987, passed away Thursday morning. The wake will be next Wednesday & Thursday, 1/28 & 1/29, at Overton Funeral Home, 172 Main St, Islip, from 2-4:30 & 7-9. Funeral mass Friday, 1/30, at 10am @ St. Patrick's RC Church, Bay Shore.

---

Chris Veech
English

     Chris entered the world on a September 11 in 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first President she would come to know was in his first term leading the country out of the worst depression it had ever seen. She was born in Brooklyn, NY of Norwegian immigrant parents. Her mother was a book keeper and ardent feminist, her father a conscientious cabinet maker. Planning to return home to Norway after coming to America to make a living and finding it difficult, they became trapped by the depression and moved to several different places in Brooklyn. One of her earliest memories was being alone in a crib, climbing over the side and then out a window to the fire escape after first removing the small collapsible window screen at its base. The iron bars of that fire escape saved her from falling to the street. Thankfully she was rescued by the person who discovered her situation. It was little wonder that she remained fearful of heights for most of her life. She spoke of two materiel possessions of her grandparents she retained. One, the ancestral home in Norway which she visits every summer and the other were censored letters she received during the Nazi occupation of Norway during WWII.
     Chris was an only child and expressed a strong, assertive presence from childhood on. Her parents had always maintained that one day she would attend college. She started Kindergarten at McKinley across from McKinley Park on 7th Ave. She attended Bay Ridge High School choosing an Academic Program rather than the General, or Commercial Diplomas that were also offered. Columbia University was next and then Teachers College. She first attended and graduated from St. Olaf College, in Northfield, MN, where she began her teaching career in 1955 earning $3,400. It was where she got her first real taste of classroom teaching and met interesting people, among them the renowned Garrison Keeler of (PBS) and Prairie Home Companion fame who she had as a student. It was during her first teaching assignment that she met and married her husband Bob with whom they would have two children, who both became teachers: Gregory went into Special Education and Rondi Casey, Physical Education. Living in their beautiful home in Commack they’ve become Grandparents five times.
      She obtained a Masters degree in Theatre Arts, and working at the time with Bob actually had a raised stage in her classroom and just like in the motion picture Mr. Holland’s Opus, lived the idealized version of that movie even before coming to Long Island. Once here she taught first in Syosset during pre-NYSUT days where she pushed for the formation of a union prior to having tenure, and then taught in Commack before coming to Brentwood in 1975. Prior to accepting a position in the district Chris had become politically active campaigning for a run to the NY State Senate and running for the Smithtown Council. She had been an Educational Coordinator of Planned Parenthood for Nassau & Suffolk County at the time she was interviewed by Gilda Mantin and Dave Martz. Jobs were hard to get in 75. As happened to so many others during those times, she was let go the next year 1976 – 1977 but was eventually rehired and taught English in the Ross Building. She also became an adjunct for Syracuse University teaching as part of Project Advance for several years. She also taught Social Studies at the 10th Grade Center where she had 10th, 11th, 12th grade classes. She remembered enjoying ten week sessions offered as a Drama Elective. Then a traumatic event associated with her last year in the High School made her reevaluate her personal priorities and prompted her retirement in 1991, earlier than planned.
     Chris soon became involved with (ROBS) the Brentwood Retirement Association which was in the process of being formed. She became Communications Coordinators of both RC21 and ROBS prior to participating in the Writers Group which composed, collected and published volumes of stories about the Brentwood experience for Collections in the Islip and Brentwood Public Libraries. Chris made major contributions to all three and was awarded many certificates from NYSUT and the AFT where her Journalism was Recognized in annual Competitions.

The Town Crier" was set up a number of years ago so that the retirees of the Brentwood School District could have an email center to stay in touch. Since I began to send out all sorts of information, retirees from all over the country have sent me their email addresses. Some have asked, "Do you have any idea where so and so is?" Others have sent proud news of their accomplishments, their family news, photos,etc. and sadly, we often get bad news. Many retirees whom I have never met write me to thank me for keeping this connection going, as everyone remembers the Brentwood years with warm feelings.

---

SAD SHARING
POSTED 1/7/15
     It is with sadness the Registration Office announces the passing of Rev. Jose Manuel Benitez, father of Cris Benitez (Coordinator of Census and Attendance)
     Wake will be at:
O'Shea's Funeral Home
63 Carleton Ave, East Islip
(between Sunrise Hwy and and Main Street)
      Wednesday and Thursday, 2-4pm and 7-9pm (both days) 1/7- 1/8

Funeral Service will be at The Faith Alive Church, 17 W Suffolk Ave, Central Islip
     Friday, January 9 at 11am
(Church is next to McDonald's and across the street from Taco Bell)