December 29, 2003
I mentioned previously that those people who were in the class of RHHS'65 should go to site called Classmates.com to find out about the upcoming reunion in '05. There is NO CHARGE to enter your RSVP for the event. You can see who is planning to attend, and you can enter a message. Happy new year to all. See you soon.
Edi Beckler Goldberg
[To contact Edi Beckler Goldberg, click here.]


December 29, 2003
Hello,
Still looking for classmates/teachers of Irene/Michelle Trachtenberg classes of the following years.
    1980-1995
Please email.
Mike
Mike Rodgers



December 28, 2003
    After spending several of the World War II years in a Kent Manor apartment, my parents, Max and Sabine Ein, built a house in 1948-9 at the corner of Beverly Road and 83rd Avenue, 83-03 Beverly Road. We moved in early in 1949 and sold the house in 1964. About 6 years ago I took my son to see the house and meet the people who bought it from us in 1964. According to Mrs. Meisels, the house is still known as the Ein House. I will try to find a good photo to send for your site.
    Directly across the street from us lived the Bohacks, then an elderly couple, who owned a grocery store chain of that name. They would wave at us as we played in the front yard, but would never interact with us. Behind us on 83rd Avenue lived another elderly couple, the Ehlers (spelling?), who owned a coffee company of that name.
    One of the photos of 83rd Ave shows the house of the Ruzows on the left. Steve was my constant playmate for most of elementary school. Further left and cut off the photo was the lovely home of Sam and Bea Teitler and their 3 children. Sam was a lawyer,and then his oldest son joined him in the practice.  One or two houses on the other side of the Ruzow's house were Harry and Rosabelle Lobsenz, an elderly couple who became very close friends of my parents.
    What a treat to walk the street and confirm that Kew Gardens was every bit as "warm and friendly" (as Renee Claridge so eloquently put it) as I remembered it. I am grinning from ear to ear after an evening with these photos!
    Your site is a wonderful source of history that I did not know as I was growing up. Many of the buildings in which I played or learned or visited others had a history of which I was ignorant. Thank you.
Ronald Ein
[To contact Ronald Ein, click here.]


December 27, 2003
WISHING ALL OF MY FRIENDS AND FORMER NEIGHBORS A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON. MAY 2004 BE THE BEST ESPECIALLY THE NEXT REUNION.
The Wiesners in Florida (Linda, Suzanne , Seth and all the inlaws and grandchildren


December 26, 2003
Happy new year to all!Classmates of RHHS'65,.... there will be a 40th reunion in '05. Go to Classmates.com for details. Please reply if you are interested. This time I have engaged the services of a professional company. See you soon.
Edi Beckler Goldberg
[To contact Edi Beckler Goldberg, click here.]


December 24, 2003
Wishing everyone with ties to Kew Gardens the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous New Year.
Franklin J. Goldberg
[To contact Franklin Goldberg, click here.]


December 23, 2003
Merry Christmas / Happy Chanukah
Happy holidays to everyone. I'm taking a few days off to celebrate Christmas with my Aussie family. The next update here will be Friday night, Dec. 26th.


December 23, 2003
Another Queens Courier article on Kew Gardens
Ron Marzlock is one of the owners of QueensPix.com. He also writes a regular column for the local Queens Courier newspaper called "I have often walked" which features photographs and background information about various Queens County locales as they appeared decades ago. His pictures and research are first rate. He tells me that an upcoming column will focus on a locale in Kew Gardens and reveal some interesting facts about our community. If you live in Queens, be sure to pick up a copy of the Queens Courier. It's free.


December 23, 2003
Need your help again
I'm looking to make contact with anyone who served in the New York City Police Department prior to 1965 who might be able to answer some questions for me.


December 23, 2003
At this time, my sister Kim & I wanted 2 send WISHES 2 ALL of OUR "HOMIES" whereever you are....MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, PEACE & most importantly a HEALTHY & HAPPY 2004 NEW YEAR. Take Care & CIAO 4 now :-)
CANDY & KIM HENSCHEL



December 22, 2003
Spam Follow Up
    Editor's Note:  I've checked with my ISP's abuse section. There is nothing they can do about spam being sent between two other ISPs. If you are receiving spam and scam email, what you need to do is to find out the email address for your ISP's abusive email section. Then forward a complete copy of each offensive email there making sure you include "full headers". If you do not know how to include the full headers, your ISP can tell you how.
    A viewer has written in response to my Dec. 21st post titled "Another Anti-Spam Suggestion". She recommends omitting the period and instead simply including some innocuous phrase that everyone but the spam bots will know to omit when emailing. For example, if your email address is [email protected], then I would post it as [email protected]. The viewer says it has worked elsewhere. Another suggestion she makes is that each of you send me the email address for the abusive email desk at your ISP. I would list all of those addresses somewhere on each Guestbook page so that they wind up getting the same stuff we do and save us the trouble of forwarding it. Let me know what you think.


December 21, 2003
To All;
I do not run this site as many of you think from e-mails I receive. I run another site for FHHS.  Joe (my good friend) is the Webmaster here at Old Kew Gardens and a great job he is doing and has done. This is a difficult task to handle and all appreciation for Joe should be directed to him. If any of you attended or graduated FHHS please visit me and my board at the Forest Hills High School Forum.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year!!!!
Bonni the FHHS YENTA



December 21, 2003
Another Anti-Spam Suggestion
Editor's Note:  One viewer has suggested another way to combat our spam problem. She says to include the word "nospam" in your email address. So, for example, if your real email address is [email protected], post it instead as [email protected]. Web site viewers will know enough to omit the ".nospam" when emailing you, but the spammer bots will not. I do not know how effective that would be, but it looks like we have nothing to lose.


December 20, 2003
I need your help
Editor's Note:  As many of you know, I have a page on this web site in which I take issue with the popular account of the March 13, 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese. [Click Here.]  The 40th anniversary of her death is approaching, and I'm trying to locate people who were witnesses to any of the events surrounding her murder. Two witnesses in particular that I would like to speak with are Andree Picq (who lived in the Mowbray at the time) and Sophie Farrar (who lived at 82-70 Austin Street). Alternatively, even if you know people who only spoke to any of the witnesses about what they saw and heard that night, I would like to make contact with them as well. Any leads or contacts you could give me would be greatly appreciated.


December 20, 2003
Dear Matthew,
    Thank you so much for those wonderful images of Kew Gardens.  You certainly do remember many details of my family.  No, our house did not cost that much to build -- we sold it for significantly less than that.  Danny is a physician in Washington, D.C.  He is an internist/allergist affiliated with GW.  His wife owns a PR firm in D.C.  He has lived in D.C. since the 60's when he did a stint with NIH.  He still loves music, though it is my younger brother who plays the violin now.  (He plays with two amateur orchestras in Seattle.)  Music was always very much a part of our lives.  My memory of our music teacher (I was forced to play the piano for two years -- until my teacher gave up on me) was his pipe which dribbled on the higher notes of the piano.  My nightmare was having to play those keys.  But my brothers say he was a wonderful teacher.
    I don't think I was aware of all the "important" families on our block.  We left KG when I was thirteen.  A child's world is very limited (at least it was in those days).  I only knew that I loved the neighborhood and the sense of community it had.  It was very difficult for me to leave it behind.  I wonder how many other neighborhoods have a website which attracts the memories that this one does.  It seems so special -- I can't imagine it being too common.
    David, as I read your name, my brain is starting to activate the old cells.  Unfortunately, I can't place you very well.  Can you give me some more information about yourself?  Which class were you in, etc?  Were you in the same class as Johnny?  His relatives live in Jerusalem, as I do.  I run into them once in a while, but I don't really know what happened to him.
    Thank you, to Bonnie and whoever is taking care of this site. It is a great service; I can only imagine how much of your time it takes.
Joyce Ein
[To contact Joyce Ein, click here.]


December 19, 2003
A CHRISTMAS STORY
    It was early in the morning, christmas morning 1945,it must have been seven and there was music, it was beautiful christmas music coming from the alleyway. We jumped out of bed to see who was doing this and to our suprise we saw four men,three were standing and one was sitting in a folding chair in the alleyway in front of our house.  Who were these men ?  One was playing the accordian,another the violin, and a trumpet and the one sitting was playing a trombone. None of my brothers or I had ever seen them before,but there they were on a freezing christmas morning playing christmas carols for us. We, my three brothers and I, watched with amazment as they continued to play, we opened the window and clapped for them after each song. I'll bet they played for an hour. Then, as suddenly as they came, the trombonist got up and was folding his chair and with the others following him they were going out of the alleyway. My father ran out to them, thanked them and gave them a dollar or something and they were gone.
    We asked our father who they were and why they came just to our house,he said he was as suprised as us and that he had never seen them before either. In fact, we asked around and found that these musicians went no where else in the Kew Gardens. It was a great way to start Christmas- and guess what - they returned every year for seven years and then they were gone- but we will never forget them or thier beautiful music. Thanks guys where ever you are. AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL
john mihoulides



Joyce Ein...this is David Tamaki. I remember going to your house. I also played with Johnny, who lived next to you. Do you remember all this??
David Tamakik



December 19, 2003
Editor's Note:  I think I may have a lead on the source of the African business scam emails. For the past year or so, I have received regular guestbook messages, apparently originating in Africa. These messages do not make the OKG guestbook because they contain nothing but gibberish or nonsense. On a hunch, I did a web search on a distinctive word that each message seemed to contain and immediately discovered one web page believes that there is a connection between these African guestbook posts and the influx of African business scam emails.  The guestbook messages which that web page describes is exactly what I have been receiving here. You can read that web page by clicking the link below. Close out the link to return here:

http://www.armyairforces.com/mugu.asp
Now that I have a possible lead, I will see what we might be able to do about it.


December 19, 2003
Editor's Note:  In an attempt to combat the spam problem, I am going to try changing the way the guestbook operates. Effective immediately on an experimental basis, the form used to post messages in the guestbook now has a spam warning at the bottom of the page. There is also another blank box in the form in which guestbook signers must give me permission to publish their email addresses along with their messages otherwise I will not do so. If someone submits their email address, but does not give me permission to publish it, I will keep the email address on file and add a postscript to your guestbook message that anyone wishing to contact you must send an email request to me containing the full name of the requester. I will then forward that email on to the poster with no cc or bcc to the requester. The poster can then choose whether to establish contact.  If the poster chooses not to make contact with the requester, the poster's email address will remain private. If anyone has any objections to this new procedure, now is the time to voice them. If the record keeping and email forwarding turns out to be too much for me, I will have to try something else.


December 19, 2003
First I want to express my appreciation to the Editor of this site (whose name I don't know) for responding with such a thorough and useful set of suggestions. Your responsibilty is most commendable!  And you obviously sympathize with those of us who have been barraged of late. By the way, it doesn't matter if you refrain from answering those emails calling for your assistance (there may be some who are gullible and curious enough to reply w/ their bank info) because just getting bombarded is in itself very irritating--I would hate to count the number of key strokes I have made to delete the damn things.  But some of the suggestions may pay off and I also hope the spam dies off on its own.  I want to say hello to Joyce Ein, who I am certain does not know who I am, but I remember her as a very little girl when I visited Danny a few times in the 1950s. I remember the house very well because it was so distinctly modernistic architecture and in stark white no less!  I used to enjoy talking to your brother about music, I was studying piano at the time and he was quite proficient at his violin. I remember his teacher and his rough around the edges, disheveled look with a pipe between his teeth. I remember your father's appearance and his voice, and I know he was a bicycle manufacturer of the Bayard cycle in Belgium. Funny you should come on to this site just now because we have a marine clock on the wall that must be wound quite often and just yesterday I was wondering if its brand label, Bayard, was possibly made by the same company--it is an old clock that my mother-in-law brought here from Nova Scotia a long time ago.  Anyway, once I composed a simple piece for Danny to play and I brought it by to listen to him do that.  I think he was encouraging ,but I really don't think I knew what I was doing very likely re violin composition.  I remember the fantastic wallpaper in the dining room, huge illustrations on it in black and white I think and something to do with Paris, maybe. I have a very weak memory of your mother. I have a stronger memory of what was said (from whom?) about your unique house costing a lot, something like $100,000, which in 1950 was an enormous sum, but that may be idle gossip. Your street Beverly Rd. had many prominent people living on it.  For example, right across from you on the southern corner was the home of the Woolworth's, of five and dime fame, then across the other way on the west corner was the Bohack family (supermarket magnate) , on the fourth corner was the home of a buddy of mine, Richard Polay, whose father owned a clothing manufactory under the label of Quaker Lady Frocks, I think.  Rich's father was one of the first to own a large floor model TV set which was a magnet for the kids to watch baseball and football. One block down the hill from you on Beverly Rd. going west towards the park was a mansion of many rooms with an elevator in it, it stood at the north corner in solid brick. It was owned by one of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer brothers.  Up the 83rd hill a half block away the Perles lived and one son was Richard, who I never got to know very well. But I have always wondered if he is the same Richard Perle of hawkish right wing politics so prominent under Reagan and now again under George W. I once googled the name to see his bio. but it doesn't say where he grew up.  Across the street from him on 83rd was David Waxman, a chubby, mirthful, blonde boy who loved Broadway musicals and sang the lyrics whenever he got together with his friends. I went to his (or was it his sister Ellen's?) sweet 16 party and ate up not only my own plate of roast chicken but all the left over plates of it my tablemates couldn't finish--I was a trim boy but I had a bottomless appetite then.  That neighbourhood was always my walking route whenever I visited KG over the years--my parents lived on Metro off Lefferts--and funny enough my mother and father adopted the Greek diner down the street at Lefferts and Beverly and ate there all the time up till the end of their lives.  I'll stop for now, hope you enjoyed some of these memories. What did Danny wind up doing with himself?  My journey took me from KG to the Lower East Side for a short stint, then on to Berkeley in '59 where I got a PhD, then up to Vancouver, British Columbia where I have lived for nearly 37 years.
Matthew Speier


December 19, 2003
O.K.  I enlarged the photo of the house on Beverly.  It is the Ein house.  I was right about the roof -- it is a new addition, probably to fix a problem that always existed. The roof leaked.  We never found a way to repair it.  I don't think we considered adding a traditional roof.  It is a good idea; however, it does change the character of the house.  I have pictures taken five years ago. But I don't have a scanner.
Joyce Ein


December 18, 2003
    Now I know I belong on this site because I, too, have received these awful e-mails from Africa.
    I can't tell you how much my house in Kew Gardens meant/means to me.  It is amazing that it has significance for other people as well.  The picture you showed does look like it (the bay window is hidden), except for the new addition in the form of a slanted roof.  I have had dreams (literally) about my house since childhood.  Unfortunately, we had to move away in 1965, a few years after my father passed away.  I remembered every nook and corner of that house, including the wine cellar in the basement.  (My father loved good wine and used to bring it home by the case when he traveled on business.)  About five years ago, I took my then 18-year-old daughter for a trip down memory lane.  What a trip it was!  We live in Israel, which made coming to NY even more special.  Mrs. Meisels, who bought the house from us, was still there and let us look around.  She hardly changed anything in the house -- only the basement and the kitchen.  She, in the interim, sold the house. Perhaps that explains the roof?
    We had the house built in about 1950.  My parents came from Belgium in 1940, first moving to Flushing.  They were founding members of the Adath Yeshurun Synagogue.  There was a lot next to our house (on the 83rd Road side, next to the Hakimis) which now has a home built on it, I think.  Many days were spent playing in that empty lot, which we owned.  The rest of my time was spent either at the Hakimis (early childhood), at the Schorr Family (on Beverly across the street) or at the Park.  I would love to find Johnny Hakimi or Franny Schorr.
    My brothers have many more memories of Kew Gardens than I do, having lived there for all of their childhood -- Danny and Ronny Ein.
    Thank you for this website.  I was able to contact one of my old friends from elementary school.
    I am one of those who went to FHHS.  Actually, we moved to Jackson Heights when I was at Sage.  I didn't want to go to Newtown.  Since my brothers went to FHHS (before zoning changes),  I wrangled my way in there as well.  So although I had friends from FHHS, I don't relate to the Classmates website about Forest Hills.
    Hoping to find a solution to the spams I started getting...
Thanks.
Joyce
Joyce Ein
PS I love the class pictures.  I even managed to recognize some of the children. Would love to get more of my years -- got lost in all our moves.  I graduated in 1963, had Mrs. Leider, Ms. Lengl, Ms. Reiss, Mrs. Voulangas, Mrs. Fuller and Mrs. Voulangas.  (She was tops, as was Mrs. Leider.)


December 18, 2003
This type of scam and many others have been around a long time. It's amazing that anyone with a gram of brain matter would fall for it. If you get an e-mail with a name and/or subject in the subject line you don't recognize, DON'T OPEN IT!!!  Not only will your e-mail be inundated with even more spam, there could be viruses in them. Anyone who actually responds to scam and spam deserves what they get. That may sound cruel, but people responding to these things only perpetuates it and ruins e-mail for everyone. By the way, the house pictured on Park Lane S., designed by Ernest Flagg is the Marks' house. My brother Ronnie, sister Ricky and myself grew up next door directly to the right. I miss walking around the most peaceful neighborhood in the city.
Ben Roubin



December 17, 2003
    Editor's Note:  I've been looking into what we can do to alleviate the influx of spam and scam email everyone is receiving. First, let's be clear as to what the cause is. No one is going to get unwanted emails simply by visiting this site. It will happen if you post your email address here. As I understand it, spammers and others who are up to no good have special programs called "bots" which comb the web looking for email addresses to collect. Their targets of choice are message boards and guestbooks where the most email addresses are likely to be found. So, Matt Speier is probably 100% right that this site has been targeted.  It is also likely to become an increasingly favorite target for these bots because, unlike many other message boards, I do not remove guestbook entries after so many days. That means that the guestbook continues to grow with more and more email addresses being added, thus becoming a fatter and fatter target.
    Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet that will eliminate the problem. It is one that is bedeviling ISPs as well as Congress, and no one has yet found a solution. There is simply no way to stop people from harvesting email addresses off of publicly accessible web pages, and then bombarding them with all sorts of junk. Anti-spam software - whether installed in your own computer or included as part of your ISP's email service - costs extra and is not 100% effective.  It can also block wanted as well as unwanted emails. You can complain to your ISP about spam and scam email, but there is little that the ISPs can do about them.
    As I see it, we might be able to minimize the problem, but not entirely solve it. Here are some possibilities. Maybe you can think of others:
    1. I can try to make the guestbook password protected so that anyone wishing to access it must first register and be approved by me. There are several problems with this approach. First, I have no way of knowing whether someone asking for a password is a potential spammer. Second, if I have to set up a separate password for everyone, this site will become a real problem for me to administer. Third, whether everyone gets the same password or separate passwords, there is no way for me to stop people giving out their password to others. Finally, password protection would cut down on the number of people who post messages since not everyone would take the time to sign up. (I'd also have to educate myself on how to do this since my technical proficiency is limited.)
    2. Another alternative is to make the guestbook a smaller target by removing all messages after 30 days or so.  The downside is that newcomers may miss out connecting with people whose messages no longer appear here. Furthermore. I cannot guarantee that the bots or spammers would leave us alone just because there are fewer email addresses to be found.
    3. A third possibility is to remove all email addresses from the guestbook.  Anyone wishing to contact a name appearing in the guestbook would have to get permission such as by emailing me and having me forward the request on to the poster.  That could also wind up being very time consuming for me to administer, but it sounds easier than the password thing and I'm willing to take a crack at it.
    4. A fourth possibility is to keep the guestbook as it is, but have all posters open free email accounts at Yahoo or Hotmail so that all spam and other junk email goes there and not to their real email address. (I know that Yahoo furnishes a spam filter which works well but not perfectly.)  If the influx of unwanted emails becomes too great, then simply delete that account and open a new one.
    Sad to say, there is nothing I can do to protect email addresses that are already being subjected to these spam and scam emails. I've gotten that same stuff sent to me and, if it's any consolation, the amount of incoming seems eventually to decrease over time if you don't answer any of them - although they never disappear entirely.
    Please - if anyone has any thoughts, comments or criticisms - feel free to email me. I will keep all such emails private unless you ask me to post them here.


December 17, 2003
I want to thank David Silfen for posting our P.S.99 5th grade class picture, it was good to see and remember so many familiar faces,I am able to help out with two of the name in the picture, in the 3rd row Mark Dittmars name is really Mark King and the girl between Merna Pagen and Peter Hess is Cathy Pearl. Thanks for the memories
Mark King
or



December 17, 2003
Yes, spam is not exclusively the result of visiting this site, but the fact of the matter is that I never received this specific kind of spam before signing on here at KG, and now I'm getting them a dozen a day, as are others who also signed on to this site. This site has been targeted. I'm still hoping someone has a suggestion on how to stop it, short of changing my email address. Perhaps the organizer of the KG site can look into this problem. This invasion is undermining the joy of discovering this fine site.
Matthew Speier


December 17, 2003
R.Zhang


December 16, 2003
    I would really hate for this website to be hurt by some dumb spam that everybody gets no matter where they go on the web.
    I know people getting almost the identical solicitations and they have never been to the KG website.  There have even been warnings about these foreign emails on my local news, and I live in Texas. So, I do not believe they have anything directly to do with the KG website, as much as they have to do with just using the Internet, period
    By the way...Happy Holidays to everybody!  And, thanks to Joe for continuing to keep this site updated while he is on his extended vacation.
Barbara
[To contact Barbara, click here.]


December 16, 2003
To All Participants On This Site:
We are being inundated daily by scam emails asking for assistance to move huge sums of money out of Africa and elsewhere.  It is very irritating to have a dozen or so clogging the works every day.  Is there something we can do to block this stuff--here we are enjoying this site and extolling the rediscovery of a community of old-time KGers who can talk to each other and share precious memories, and then we have been victims of email abuse. Anyone care to suggest a way to remedy this situation?  Is that possible?
Matthew Speier


December 16, 2003
Dan,
I get those messages all the time. One time I got one of those you've won messages and thought it might be true. So I replied and got the name of a lawyer. But when I contacted the email address I received no answer. After that I was inundated with those kind of messages. I just delete them all now without reading them. I think it's a problem when you go to any website. I did get more after I went to this website, because they addressed me with the name I used here and nowhere else. Something should be done about all of these spam messages. I think it's interesting that most of them originate in Nigeria or South Africa.
Barbara Ehrentreu



December 16, 2003
Recently I visited Vietnam.  While I was there I met a motorcycle taxi driver who introduced me to an old Viet Cong soldier.  He showed me his "treasures" from American Soldiers captured or killed.  Amongst them was 9 class rings.  One of them was from Richmond Hill High School, class of 69.  Would like to hear from anyone who could tell me who the ring might have belonged to.  I am not in this to profit nor sell this ring to a collector.  Want to find its' rightful owner or family.
robb geesen



December 15, 2003
I take great comfort in knowing that I am not alone in that by accessing this site for the past few weeks, I have been privileged to receive about six variations of the following message every day:

"Dear Friend, I am the first son of the late JOSEPH (DESIRE) MOBUTU, the former President of the ZAIRE now democratic republic of congo . I am presently on political asylum in Republic of Benin (Cotonou) . I got your contact over the internet during my search for a assistance in this mutual transaction.this became neccessary as i do not want anybody known to me to be associated with this money. I want you to note that this business will benefit both of us and that it is 100% risk free. However, you must confirm your ability to handle this because it involves a large amount of money. The funds EIGHTEEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($18 million)is my share of my father's estate. I boxed and shipped the money to a security company abroad at the peak of the a political uprising that rocked my country few years ago. Now the crisis has ended , I need a trustworthy person like you to proceed to the place of the security company in order to clear the fund and afterwards,i will come to your country for us to start a joint business venture as i do not have the intention of bringing the funds back to africa for a very long time. Note that I will send to you the relevant documents that will enable you take possession of the fund for onward investment for our mutual benefit. All I need from you is as follows:
1. Your confirmation of your ability to handle this.
2. Your word that you will keep this business as confidential as possible at all times until we conclude this business.
3. Your telephone and fax numbers for communication.
4. Your full permanent address.
As soon as I get the above information from you, I will disclose to you the name and the country of the security company. i will also forward to you the contact of the diplomat that i have hired to assist us in this business.i will also forward your name and particulars to the security company to enable them contact you accordingly. As we make progress,i will also send to you a LETTER OF AUTHORITY and AGREEMENT LETTER to enable you clear the fund on my behalf. Note that this is a very safe transaction as this funds is my share of my father's estate. I am waiting for your response to enable us proceed.
Regards,
Nzanga JOSEPH (DESIRE) MOBUTU"

Dan Simpson



December 15, 2003
Not sure that's the house on 83rd and Beverly. The Ein's was at the top of the hill from Lefferts on the right hand corner before you crossed 83rd...I think it was 83rd. The road ran up from Grenfell and Lefferts. The one pictured doesn't seem to have a round front and I am certain there was a round wall. The garage also was under the house and there was a steep drive to enter it...from 83rd.
Marianne Lods
[To contact Marianne Lods, click here.]

December 15, 2003
Editor's Note:  OK, I know the house you mean. It's located diagonally across the street from the one in the picture. I don't remember posting any images of it. I do have two very nice photographs of the Ein house, unfortunately, the photos are back in Kew Gardens and I am in Australia. I'll see what I can do for you, though.


December 15, 2003
Yes, Right after I signed the guestbook I started getting mail about getting money out of different countries. Also, my brother got a few virus from the old kew gardens message board but his anti-virus caught it right away so make sure you're protected.
Barbara Broun Ulus



December 14, 2003
    "Brevort Street south of Cuthbert" has a link in the discription which is something like Anglo-Asian Mansion. Yes folk the haunted house has beeen majorly restored.
    Ever since I posted my e-mail I have been innundated with requests from gafrica to help them get their money out...so. Any suggestions?
    A month or so ago there was a picture posted of a house on Beverley and 83rd. It was in my childhood a white modern home with a circular facade that faced onto Beverly. The house was on the corner. The Ein family either built it or were the first to move into it. Any one remember where that picture was?
    The house pictured on Brevort corner of Cuthbert was owned by the Spett family, Eva was my age. She had a brother Michael and sister Gabby. The belonged to the Orthodox Synagogue. The house had a detached garage with a flat roof and stairs up to a deck where there was for a while a ping-pong table.
Thanks again for all the many memories.
Marianne Lods
Born 43, lived Cuthbert Road
[To contact Marianne Lods, click here.]


December 14, 2003
    I have seached again for the Ein house.
    I have a very good memory for where the streets were and the contour of the community but can not remember the names of streets. My great aunts lived in a home on Grenfel. A wonderful white stucco. It was half a block up from Union Tpk. There was another single home west of theirs and then an apartment. There was an apartment behind them. They had a white screen porch across the front. If there's anyone who lives in Kew Garden who could take a photo of this house I would be grateful.
    There was a man called Gene who drove a private cab/limo. He was very generous. At Haloween I discovered the mechants on Lefferts were quite prepared to give me money instead of candy. And Gene would empty his pocket of pennies for me.
    As a small child we used the services of a pediatrician on Beverly Road just est of the alley that ran between Beveley and Cuthbert. Her name was Dr. Nusbaum, I believe. I also have very vague memories of an incident at the where the police and ambulance were involvced. My memory was that a man swollowed glass. I was very young when this happened. It is a horribly memory which has no details. I did not see or the man or know him. His appartment was on the Brevort side of the Beverly House.
Marianne Lods
[To contact Marianne Lods, click here.]


December 14, 2003
Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
Editor's Note: The house on Beverly Road and 83rd Avenue is now pictured in the sidebar.  It had been on the "What's New" page, but I rotate the photographs on that and a few of the other pages every month, so it was removed several weeks ago. I was told by one long time knowledgeable Kew Gardens resident that the property on which the house now stands was owned by the Ehler Family (of coffee fame). When the house that used to stand there burned down, the Ehlers moved to another house further down 83rd Avenue.  As to your great aunt's house, I am in Australia until mid-February. If by that time you have not been able to get a photo of it, let me know and I will take one for you and send you a jpeg image of it with my compliments.


Unfortunately I lost my entire inbox with over 200 messages in it. Some were from this site that I had saved to respond to this weekend. So, If I have not responded please send back , I'm connected again.
Jules Garfunkel

P.S. any one else getting scam funding or charity letters from Africa or Europe along with responses? I am.


December 13, 2003
hello jules garfunkel, yes i remember the haunted house-i wish i had the money that house would be worth now. i lived in the alleyway behind lefferts that ran from beverly to cuthbert. my father was a shoemaker,we lived behind the shoe store. that house(flischman house) sure was scary bck then. i remember during ww2 ther was a broken power line that used to feed that house and it was live and it used to jump around and spark. it's really a wonder it never killed any of us. but i have a question for you- now i am going back to 1942 when we first moved there. i was in second grade and there was this guy who had no legs, he was proped up on a platform which traveled be virtue of swivel wheels on each corner. he had a stick in each hand which he used to propell himself around town. we called him frenchy, he pushed himself everywhere on that platform. he lived in a shack about 1/4 mile behind the austin theater a little bit off the railroad tracks. the story was, he was always a bum and he drank alot. one day while drunk he wandered onto the tracks where he was hit and his legs were cut off. the lirr in payment of some kind allowed him to stay in his shack where he lived alone until his death. when he was discovered, he was half eaten by rats. strangley enough, the thankgiving eve lirr accident occured right accross the tracks from where frenchy lived. do you remember him jules ?
john mihoulides



December 13, 2003
My brother's friend Andy told me about this site several months ago and ever since I have become addicted. I always felt that growing up in Kew Gardens was a gift. I was surrounded by family and friends and had the best time. I lived in Kent Manor, went to PS99, Russell Sage and Jamica High School. I am fortunate that I still have close friendships with many of the people I grew up with and am hoping to reconnect with many of the people I have seen pass through this website. I still get back to Kew Gardens periodically and it is still home even though it has been many years since I lived there. To all responsible for this website, thank you and keep going!
Cathy Schleifman Goodfriend



December 13, 2003
Happy Anniversary to oldkewgardens.com. I have only been reading this site for about half a year, but it's been a great experience. I love learning more about the place that I lived. Let's hope it continues for another 2 years.
Barbara
Barbara Ehrentreu



December 13, 2003
Old Kew Gardens [.com] is two years old today.  Thanks to everyone of you for making this web site such a pleasant experience for me.


December 11, 2003
Hello Jules Garfunkel. Today I emailed to your stated address and the email was returned undelivered. Nice long message too!  Anything wrong with your server? RSVP
Matthew Speier



December 10, 2003
    Who among us remembers the "haunted House" on Beverly Rd." Across from the Beverly House or Doc Baer sitting in his drug store doorway om the NE corner of Metro. and Lefferts where the kids were welcome to sit and listen to the ballgame or whatever was on radio?  Sam was the man at King George who gave me slices of american cheese. Johnnies Steak House and of course the Kew Gardens Hofbrau.
    I've been here since 1947, First in The Kew Towers 119-21 Metro then The Texas on Austin and now Hampton Court, Park Lane So. and Metro. I'd be happy to discuss or answer any questions I can with all.
Jules Garfunkel



December 10, 2003
If most of us went to Sage, I am sure that in the back of a closet, someone must have a copy of the Sagebrush from 1957. Would love to see a pic of myself back then. Please let me know if you have one and can send me a picture. I would also love to have pictures of some of my friends.
Thank you in advance.
Linda Widder Wiesner



December 9, 2003
I would like to hear from any of my old freinds. Any one remember Stickball in the P.S.99 yard or Whiffel "Baseball" in the Roger Williams playground?  I still live in this great neighborhood.
Jules garfunkel



December 8, 2003
Editor's Note:  Within the past few days, many of you may have received an email from the Kew Gardens Council for Recreation &The Arts offering to sell copies of Barry Lewis's book on the history of Kew Gardens. Although the book is an excellent one (I own 2 copies) and the Council is a worthwhile not-for-profit venture that benefits the entire Kew Gardens community, I did not give my permission or consent to the email. There was no intent to deceive on the part of the email sender who has worked very hard for the community over the past 25 years. Rather, this looks like a bad case of miscommunication. Just to set the record straight, I do not consider that I have the right to give permission or consent as to what other people receive in their email boxes.


December 8, 2003
I scrolled down the December guestbook page and saw the Roger Williams playground picture. That is taken from the building that was next to the other side of the playground. From 1977-1986 we lived next to that playground. Our windows are shown in the picture. Both my kids played in that playground and I tried for the whole time I lived in The Roger Williams, which became a coop, to upgrade that playground. I researched playground facilities and tried to get people interested in changing it. I remember seeing kids fall off of that monkey bars regularly. I wouldn't let my daughters climb to the top because of my fear of seeing them fall. Seeing it so refurbished makes me happy that at least someone cared about the safety of kids. I might have a picture of the old playground. If I do I'll send it.
Barbara
Barbara Ehrentreu



December 8, 2003
On the What's New page the picture of the Chinese restaurant on the corner of 84th Rd and 125th Street,( at the end of Talbot Street too ) is the old Gussie's. They did have the best egg creams in Kew Gardens until they closed. But that first Chinese restaurant that was built a few years after Gussie's closed was also a little unusual. We used to go there in the 80's with our very young children and they would give them each a little book each time we came. I thought that was unique.
Barbara
Barbara Ehrentreu



December 7, 2003
Thank you to everyone who emailed me about my message in the guestbook. The 6th grade teacher was Miss Wahl.
Linda Widder Wiesner



December 7, 2003
Editor's Note:  Efforts are being made to down zone both Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill in order to prevent overdevelopment.. You can read a news account of the story by clicking here. Close out the window to return here.


December 6, 2003
I think I have opened a can of worms. I have gotten info about a Miss Wall who was a 6th grade teacher at 99. Carol has given me the name of Miss Seabury. I think she was the 7th grade teacher that began classes at 99 and then went to Russell Sage. Please correct me if I am wrong. I remember that the 7th grade teachers came to the elemmentary school at the beginning fo the year (before Sage opened) and we had classes there. Some students went to PS 101 in Forest Hills Gardens.
Linda Widder Wiesner



December 6, 2003
Great to see some of our old memories come back to life. I would love to hear from any of my old friends.
Ronnie
Ronnie Roubin



December 5, 2003
    Thanks to Larry Stein for the PS99 photos. Although he and I were never in the same class, we were in the same grade and graduating class, but never knew each other. His pictures fill-in some empty holes where memories used to be.
    Larry and I met at the Nov. 15th reunion, forty-five years after graduation.
    The PS99 Class of '58 is planning a reunion for the Fall of 2004. If I have not already been in touch with you, please let me know where you are and how to get in touch. I love you all.
Frank
Franklin J. Goldberg
[To contact Franklin Goldberg, click here.]


December 5, 2003
The name of the third 6th grade teacher was Ms. Seabury. I believe she went to Russell Sage with the class and continued to teach.
Carol(Tunick)Maxfield



December 4, 2003
In 1954 there were three 6th grade classes that went to Sage. Mr. Ellenport, Mrs DeAzoff and WHO????  Can anyone remember the other teacher's name?
Linda Widder Wiesner



December 4, 2003
Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
I've attached a picture of another childhood landmark. This is the Roger Williams Playground, where during the late 50's and 60's fierce, competitive whiffle ball games took place. One regular participatant was Jerry Springer. The current planters, benches, children's play things and no trespassing sign did not exist. Instead, in the left back corner were Monkey Bars, that served as the jail in games of Ringolevio. There was a slide in the back right corner. Both served to assist whiffle ball hitters. Local glassmakers got a hefty business replacing windows in the building in the back from shots from whiffle ball heavy hitters. The building walls on the left side were used for games of Off the Wall, while the wall in the back right sides served games of handball.
Larry Gross



December 4, 2003
Editor's Note:  Kew Gardens has become the new home of the Queens County Board of Elections. You can read the story by clicking here. Close out the window to return here.


December 4, 2003
Living here near Baltimore Maryland.  I have 2 children and have been married for 26 years.
steve silfen
Email: foodman22451


December 3, 2003
In addition to the message from Lynn Trevas Berman, who was my playpen partner (our parents were close friends), I too have wonderful memories...alot of them shared with her and the people she mentioned. Kew Gardens was a wonderful place to grow up...a small town in the City. I agree it is wonderful that so many people feel the same way we do and have great memories. I remember never locking the door of the house, or the car doors in the driveway. I remember walking home alone at night from the Lefferts Blvd. bus stop when in High School after visiting friends, with no thought of fear. I remember Mildred Rogers Dance School and all the shops on "the bridge" (Lefferts Blvd.) as have been mentioned by previous writers. Our lives revolved around Dani's pizza, the Austin Theater (before porno), Mimi's candy shop, Bohack, etc. Those were surely the good old days. I too was on the committee for the FHHS reunion and it was wonderful to renew old friendships. I moved to LA 17 years ago and found Sally Weisbarth Weldon and Arlene Auerhan Nord and her sister Carol. We have become best friends. Greetings to all my old friends in New York. Best for the holidays and the new year.
Carol Widder Rubinoff
[To contact Carol Widder Rubinoff, click here.]


December 2, 2003
    I too, am astounded and thrilled that so many of the incredibly nurturing and fond memories I have of Kew Gardens dwell in the hearts and souls of others as well.  I was born into Kew Gardens in 1938 and my Dad lives there still.  (68 years for him).  My father is a founder of the Anshe Sholom Temple and is active in the community to this day.
    We first lived in the Devonshire, 118-80 Metropolitan Ave, next to King George Grocery, and the butcher shop where they gave the kids the free slices of baloney and the corner was, of course, Razlers.  On the infrequent days my Mom could not be home for my lunch, she would set it up to I could have a sandwich and milk at Razlers.  Around the corner, heading down towards Richmond Hill was a beauty salon where my friend Donald Tendler's mother worked (or owned..I was too young to tell).  Carol Widder Rubinoff (lives in California now, and we have been friends our entire lives....) and her sister Linda lived across the street from it, on Lefferts.
    In the Devonshire, was a herd of youngsters: Rosalie Weisslitz, (still lives in Kew Gardens, married, in Dale Gardens), Marjorie Heller (deceased), Dickie Levits...lives in California, Carol Brown, Herbie Reiss and the Hilzenraths.  I lived on the first floor and used to climb out my parents bedroom window to play in the big empty lot between our building and the ones further west...where Alan & Bob Goldberg lived.  Across the street Neva Datz lived (Datzenko) and Donald Wertheimer.  We all went to PS 99 until graduation 1952.  You remember, all class lines were double line, by size.  So I was partners either with Herbie Reiss or Donald Tender my grade school life!)
    I had moved to 80th Rd @ age 10 1/2, up the street from the hospital and therefore, went to FHHS.  Used to see Alan Linsky there each morning playing bus dispatcher for an uncle of his.  My brother Jeff went first to Russell Sage, then FHHS.  I was graduated from high school in 1956 and helped run our 45th Reunion on Long Island 2 years ago.  It is so totally amazing how connected we all have stayed coming from this neighborhood and then the expanded one of Forest Hills.  We have constructed our own website, just for the class of '56 FHHS & friends and our next reunion will be in Florida in '06 (50th ya'know):

www.foresthillshigh56.com/

This site has been reconstructed but originated in the mid 90s.  It is a terrific resource for FHHSers and for Kew Gardeners as well.  JUST FROM A MEMORY TEST, CLASS OF '52 GRADUATION FROM PS 99 OR WENT TO JUNIOR HIGH (MASPETH OR RUSSEL SAGE) THEN FHHS/RICHMOND HILL:  We all were born around 1938-39 and grew up together, birthdays parties, bar mitzvahs, hanging out in the big park...
BEVERLY ACKERMAN
AUDREY BABCOCK
MARILYLN DUBIN
SUSAN ETTINGER
MARJORIE HELLER
TERESA LAROCCA (TWIN)
LYNN LOPIN
GAIL MANDELL
SHEILA MARKS
ADELE MINTZ
EVELYIN SPRINGER (JERRY'S SISTER)
TANA STERN
(ETH)LYNN TREVAS
CAROL WIDDER
MARTINE WIELL (LIVES IN KEW - PARK LANE SO)
ROSALIE WEISSLITZ (LIVES IN KEW - DALE GARDENS)
MICHAEL FEIGEN
ROBERT FOOTE
PETER FREEDBERGER
ROBER LAROCCA (TWIN)
PETER LANE
ROBERT LIBBY
ALAN LINSKY
LARRY MARCUS
PHILIP MOSS
HERBIE REISS
LOUIS SCHENNA
DONALD TENDER
OTTO VERDONER
TOM WALDECK
DONALD WERTHEIMER
    I am wrung out with memories...more another time. It is cleared to me than yesterday, but that I imagine, is a factor of age...
(Eth)lynn Trevas Berman
[To contact Lynn Trevas Berman, click here.]


December 2, 2003
I found My class pictures from those great days in PS 99 and they have been added to the class photographs section.
1948 First grade class 1-2
1954 Sixth grade class 6-3
If you are in either photo please email me & tell me which one is You, so I can update my files. Ain't this FUN !!!
Jack
Jack Carlson



December 1, 2003
thanks to David Silfen for posting the class picture - mine is practically distroyed - all the faces looked familiar but I couldn't remember all the names either - just one correction though...the blond girl listed as Margaret Wolf is really Karin Wolf (from the famous Kew Cozy Restaurant) this site has been so much fun to browse....thanks again.
Peggy Cella Flefleh



December 1, 2003
I lived in KG 1952 thru 1971, attended RHHS 1953-56. Anyone recall my friends from that era, Hank Diers, Bob Foote, Sandy Greenfield, Lou Schenna, Helene Shlomowitz, Al Nichols?  Hank lived at 83-26 Lefferts Blvd, Bob Foote lived in the building on n/w corner of Austin St & Lefferts, Al Nichols on Austin St, me & Sandy Greenfield down the hill from Queens Blvd at 135-30 Grand Central Pkwy, Helene Shlomowitz on the north side of Metropolitan Avenue, yellow brick apartment building her father owned, between Lefferts & 118th St. Spent quite a bit of time in Duffy's & Lefferts Cafe during the 1960s.
Nick Garrett



December 1, 2003
Hello,
I am the editor of a french magazine involved in high fidelity from 1953. I am actually writing an article about Saul B. Marantz life. I have noted that Saul B. Marantz (1911-1987) home was located on 81st Avenue at the corner of Austin Street. I have a lot of information about him except one : what is his second second name mentonned everywhere "B." ?
Jean Hiraga



December 1, 2003
If anyone has PS 90 pics for the first grade during the 1956/57 school year, I would love to see it posted, as I may be in the picture. Also, As I posted in the past, If anyone knows the location of a store(no longer in business) named Katzmans Dry Goods, please post it. I know there are new viewers each month to this site, So I keep trying to get that info.
Thanks,
Howard


November 1, 2003
Ed.'s Note: The reason each guest book posting does not appear here immediately is that I review each message individually before posting to eliminate spam or unwanted adult content. Email me if you want to make a correction to a message you have already posted or if you would like a message removed.




How to contact Guestbook signers

Some Guestbook signers choose not to publish their email addresses. If you wish to contact one of them, send me an email identifying the guestbook signer you wish to contact and giving me the date his or her message was posted. Your email to me must contain your full name, and may also include anything else you wish to tell the signer. I will forward your email to the Guestbook signer you wish to contact, but with no cc or bcc to you. It will be the signer's decision whether or not to make contact with you. Any emails which contain spam, adult content, or appear suspect for any other reason will not be forwarded. ~The Editor.