Elaine Wodzinski (Fass)

Now a word from the Keasbey folks....we had such a small school that some teachers taught 2 grades.  Mrs. McClusky taught Kindergarten and First Grade in the same room, just different sides....Then we had the principal, Miss Wittneburt for 2nd grade....her office was adjacent to our classroom so we were on our own when she was doing "principal" things.  Then in 3rd grade we had our only young teacher...Miss Kovacs who later became Mrs. Yakobic (sp?)...then for 4th and 5th grades we had Miss Jansan...fourth on one side of the room and 5th on the other...just moved from one side to the next for the next year of school...then for 6th grade we had Mrs. Jordan...now 5th was on one side and 6th on the other.....we had a great stage with velvet curtains and a huge play area (the "court") where we played and learned to dance to songs like How Much is that Doggy in the Window...lined up by height and we moved partners with each song...and we had to listen to Miss Frasier play the violin and heaven forbid that you would even crack a smile at the screeching!  Here we had people like Arnold Olson, Charlie Tarr, Kenneth Zaremba, Patsy Silagyi, Eleanor Sabo, Liz Fogas, Steven Orosz (I think), Louis Egry, somebody with Augustine in his name....Then come 7th grade, they cleaned out all the old furniture, etc., that was upstairs and the Fords, Iselin, and Menlo Park Terrace kids joined us.... in 7th grade Carol Fischer, Marilyn Gonyo,Georgiana Esposito walked over the bridge by Dalina's and joined us as we walked to school...we were the original Walking School Bus....so we Keasbey people held our own before we headed off to Woodbridge HIgh School for 8th grade. So at some point the Fords and Keasbey kids became a "group" of their own.

Robert Kurowsky

Carol Fischer - you're welcome.

I was thinking of posting that photo on the home page, making it easier (I think) to see and identify the players on the stage.

I only hesitate making that happen as our web site is for all of our alumni, regardless of where they resided at graduation time. Not sure if singling out Fords would ruffle any feathers.

If no one objects, I'll post the photo.

Also Peggy Fagyas is a member on our web site. Access her name, send her a note if you're so inclined.

Peggy was at our reunion, hope you and Peg can attend our next one.

Robert Kurowsky

Elaine Wodzinski - what a great write up (and memory!) on your experiences at the Keasbey school! I lived less than a block away from Arnie Olson (me on Liberty St, he on Lawrence St) yet I was never inside the Keasbey school, no less ever attending it. I think Arnie and I started hanging out together when we were around 14, that would place us in the 8th grade time frame - I don't remember Arnie at #7 school at all. Just difficult trying to understand why Arnie would have gone to Keasbey school and I didn't. You also mention Steve Orosz who lived very close to #7 school, why would he go to Keasbey! Arnie doesn't use a PC, but Steve does, and Steve is a member here. Maybe Steve could shed some light on this.

Robert Wcislo '60 (Edison HS)

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

I actually attended 7th grade in #7 school. I rode the bus by Salina's when I was in 11th & 12th grades. However, Georgiana had a car when we were in 12th so there were times when we used her car for school.

I,too, remember  Steven Orosz from #7.Arnie lived in the Crestview(?) development. Some kids from Crestview did go to Keasbey; I don't know if Arnie was ever at #7. Didn't Diane & Johnnie Seyler go to # 14?

I did take the Liberty St.- King GeorgeRd. bus in the earlier years. That one was stuck in the snow on the exit Rd.from rt. 9 to King George Rd. when we were in 8th. grade. Several of us walked home .

I will see if I can reach Peggy. Thanks for the info.

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Elaine, do you remember a Billy Fee ? He wasn't around too long. Wasn't there a Fee's store near Keasbey school? His aunt was principal of Hopelawn school.

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Someone asked about the male phys.ed. teacher from Wildwood Ave. Was it Mr. Dubay?

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Forgive me for not remembering her name.We had a classmate who died at a young age in a swimming accident. I think this might have been the summer between 2nd & 3rd and that she lived near Gail Lund. I think her name was Maryann. I don't know if anyone else recalls.

Robert Kurowsky

Carol, it was Mary Ann Yuhas (sp?) a real nice person, who drowned back then.

Dan Witkowsky

I didn't think anybody else remembered her.  Thanks, Carol and Bob, for remembering Mary Ann by name.

Concerning Fords No. 7, wasn't the "boys' side" of the school paved (for teachers' parking), while the "girls' side" was gravel?  I remember bouncing those "pink pet" balls off the brick walls until the balls eventually split in half.  When that happened, we always saved the halves to throw at each other when we waited in lines.

Any of you guys remember making a cutting board for your mom as your first-ever shop project?  The shop teacher always enjoyed smashing the boards that weren't glued according to his instructions (I think the wood grain had to be in the length-direction for strength, not in the weaker width-direction).

I remember crossing through the gym to get to shop classes.  I also recall the dances we had in that gym.  Anybody remember our classmate who always wore a black leather motorcycle jacket, just like the ones worn by the Fonz on tv and by Marlo Brando in The Wild One (1954)?  I still remember him coming to one dance in that jacket, a white tee-shirt, jeans with rolled-pant-cuffs, and motorcycle boots, and strutting across the gym floor to the left, far-corner as you entered the gym.  Since he wasn't "dressed in the proper attire for a dance," one of the principals promptly escorted him up the ramp to the door on the "boys' side" of the school.  I don't think he attended another dance.   

Stephen Orosz

Bob Kurowsky...."HAT" goes off to you for this website....great job and I'm sure your classmates appreciate it!!   Was a student at Keasbey school till the 6th grade...parents moved to Fords (Beech St) across from #7 School.   That's when I became a 'Fords' guy taking the #71 (I think) bus from the corner of Liberty St and King Georges Rd.  Tom Koch, John Both, Marty Goetz along with Jack Colye, VInce Farrington, Ron Ondeyko, Joe Kutcher, Arnie Olsen......saying hi to Elaine Wodzinski, Judy Zigre the Della Pietros, Carol Fischer and many many more....   Remember the bus getting stuck in the snow in Hopelawn...also remember one of the last days of one of our 5 years at WHS.....the bus was leaving WHS we threw loads of papers out of the windows onto the road.....well the bus continued around the circle and stopped in front of the school..  We had the pick up every piece of paper and caught 'HELL'!    But as someone posted.....you knew the kids on your bus and the kids in your homeroom and classes.....BUT FOR THE REST (hard to remember)  .....WE WERE A HUGE CLASS.....WITH CLASS.    STEVE O.

Nancy Hull (Merritt)

Steve O,

What memories you brought back with all those names.  Can remember talking to Ronnie Ondeyko for hours on the phone, we were good friends.

Love hearing everyone's thoughts and memories, keep it up!

Robert Kurowsky

Thanks for the compliments Steve, I appreciate that and really feel good that more and more of our classmates are accessing our web site.

Also thanks for letting me know you  attended Keasbey school.

Yes, #71 was our school bus number, and I totally remember the bus getting stuck in deep snow by the girls vo-tech school, and how we had to trek home in deep snow. Walking in the house after that never felt so good!

At some point in our Junior year I rode to school with Butchy Horvath. For our Senior year I drove to school almost every day,parking in the Log Cabin parking lot.

So I missed the paper throwing from the bus incident you mentioned.

But I do remember one day when the bus pulled up (I think it was during our Junior year), Joey Marcus (sp?) stomped off the bus's right front tire valve, that started leaking air very quickly. The bus driver hearing the hissing of the escaping air, left the bus, found a twig on the ground, jamming it into the broken air valve stem, then driving us to WHS! Us guys thought for sure that Joey's action would have prevented that bus trip. The driver reproted the incident, was eventually chewed out for not considering how unsafe his actions were. Many of us on the bus had to meet with Jake the Snake Devaney who grilled us wanting to know who broke off the bus's valve stem. None of the guys snitched, but one of the girls did (I'm not sayin' who!). Poor ol Joey was suspended for I don't know how long. Maybe this was during our Sophmore year, cause I know Joey didn't graduate with us, and I can't remember if he was in our Junior class. If another reader knows what happened to Joey, please respond. I haven't seen Joey since we graduated.

Robert Kurowsky

Hey Danny Witkowsky - I remember wood shop, pretty much disliked that experience.

Why?

I never liked working with wood, and the shop teacher would not let me use any of the power tools like the belt sanders.

I had to do everything by hand while the other students used the power tools.

For the entire school year we had  to complete two project; the breadboard and a bird house. 

Taking my time making the bread board, it wasn't done till half the school year had passed.

The bird house went quicker cause I enjoyed making that better.Also stained it dark brown, was told bright colors scare birds away.

Came out kinda lop sided, but my uncle installed the bird house fairly high up in a large cherry tree in our back yard. Gees, it lasted many, many years, which surprised me. 

Damn, I can't remember that shop teachers name.

I still dislike working with wood, working with metal, just the opposite. Give me a lathe, milling machine, etc. and something useful will be produced.

Judy Amos (Leverknight)

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Dan, was the Marlon Brando motorcycle boy the Domonges brother,not Frank, from Fairfield Ave.?

Joe, thanks for suggestion of Mr. Bartha.The name is familiar.

Robert Wcislo '60 (Edison HS)

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Judy, that is something I  look forward to doing.

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Robert Wcislo '60 (Edison HS)

Carol Fischer (Mullins)

Robert Kurowsky

Guess I should add to this, regarding Bob Dominguez.

I need to start by saying I didn't get married till I was 39.

From Dec of '69 to around Apr of '81 I worked the afternoon shift (4pm - Midnight) for AT&T's Treasury Dept. in IT. Have always been a night owl, so this was my choice, for over 11 years.

After work most often I would stop at Planko's Tavern (New Brunswick Ave/Liberty St) consuming X number of beers befoe driving to any of the night spots on Rt 35 in Sayreville. Art Stocks Playpen Lounge, Mels Lounge, The Brothers Three and many more. Quite often instead of heading to Sayreville, I'd drive to NYC - the bars close at 4am every night.

Most of the time when at Planko's,Bob Dominguez was either there or would arrive shortly after I did. I can't tell you how many laughs we had together. Bob never had a car. Sometimes when I went to Sayreville, Bob would come with me, especially if I was going to the Playpen Lounge.

Sometimes, very rarely, Frank Dominguez would show up at Planko's as well. We had many good conversations together. During the summer when Frank wasn't teaching, he worked at the Costa's Ice Cream plant on US1 by the Cloverleaf. If not there, he worked as a Longshoreman in Newark, as did Bod and their father.

In '77 I had a home built in Somerset, moved there in the beginning of '78. The AT&T facility I worked at was in Piscataway, so driving to Fords was done very infrequently after I moved.

I lost touch with many of my adventurous cohorts, but every now and then I'd risk getting stopped by the police to hoist a few at Planko's and other watering holes in the Fords area. Sam's Bar had the best sandwiches, but I'm digressing.

In '83 I was transferred to Fl but kept in touch with some of the Joisey boyz, learning that Bob D. wound up a serious alcoholic, often sleeping in the hobo camps behind Pathmark in Hopelawn with other serious drinkers.

I was saddened when I learned of Bob's passing, we had so many good times together.

Here's a photo of Bob at Planko's, with LInda and John Planko in the background around 1971 or so.

I thank God for memories!

Dorothy Lepinsky (Lane)

Bob, I have enjoyed reading all these memories of fun times in our youth!!  I have been to the Playpen Loung a few times in the very late '60's, all I remember is how crowded it was!!  I also lived for a short time in Somerset, I really liked it there....I can't remember the name of the subdivision, I lived on Sweetbriar Lane.....then we sold the house and moved to Georgia...Those surely were the "good old days".