PS 164 Memories

High above the buildings 'round us
Houses by the score
Stands a school we all look up to
P.S. 164!
Education it will give us
Social living too
Good Americans it will make us
Me and you and you!
Lift your voices
Sing your praises
Cheer her evermore
And rejoice that you've attended
P.S. 164!

(These memories were originally submitted to the PS 164 Tribute Site.)

Jim Applebaum  Class of 1952

My rearview lens, now 63 years long, places Kew Gardens Hills at the furthest distance.  One of the prime experiences of those years was Queens Valley School, PS 164.  I was a member of the second graduating class in June 1952 and lived "up the block" on 76th Avenue.

The construction of PS 164 in 1948-49 was a big event.  Previously we played in undeveloped lots all the way to Park Drive East.  But, before there was a PS 164, we shipped out each day for the dismal PS 170 in Jamaica, along the steep Parsons Blvd slope end at Hillside Ave.  Others in the neighborhood went an equal distance to PS 117, so the opening of a new neighborhood school was a welcome occasion.

Living close by, I walked up the block at lunchtime for my mother's customary peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We lined up in the playground in size order: Jimmy Murphy, Ronald Forman, me, Leonard Charney, the two Joans (Sullivan and Robinson), Gary Annar.  The "documents" of principal David Karow became our mantra.  Teachers remembered include Goldie Berkoff and Ethel Rozgold.

Several of my cohorts were Debbie Berg, Deedee Waxberg, Sue Glantz, Eddie Brown, Ken Schwarz, Roy Flackman, Bill Vetter, Lewis Schoenfeld.  My first crushes were the Byer girls, Barbara and Marilyn.   Later on, my two sisters, Jane Applebaum Barry and Amy Applebaum Hutchings, did their own marches down the block to 164.

We were a close knit neighborhood.   The lawns and trees were very green, the curbside strips were planted with tulips.   The sky always seemed blue, with a "silver bird" on its final curving approach to LaGuardia or a yellow Piper Cub inching across the sky to Flushing Airport.

And then, as quickly as it came, 164 departed from our lives.  Some of us went off to Parsons JHS, then to Halsey in Rego Park.  Others went to parochial school.

After Kew Gardens Hills and three years at Forest Hills High School, I attended Washington & Lee University in VA.   I lived, worked and had a family in Manhattan for 17 years, then moved to Washington, DC for an equal length of time.  I earned an M.A. in the graduate writing program at Johns Hopkins University and now teach literature and writing at Mercersburg Academy, a private boarding school (9-12) in central PA.  I recently revisited 76th Ave with my son, age 28.

Nancy Greyson Beckerman  Class of 1954

I lived across the street from the school, on 138th Street, and watched the building going up.  I went to another school for first grade, but when 164 opened, I attended there from second through sixth.  I still remember the documents Dr. Karow made us memorize!

Myron Slobin  Class of 1954

My younger sister, Ellen, sent me your lovely site and I enjoyed re-living my experiences at Public School Number 164. I was in the class of '54. I visited the school about eleven years later and the stairways and the classroom desk/chairs had miraculously shrunk! Amazing!

In reading each recollection on the site, many of my memories parallel those already shared so I'll just add a few of my own and hope they will enhance the memories of others and motivate some to contribute their own.

I lived at 135-10 73rd Terrace, half a block off Park Drive East. We had the perfect location for sitting on the roof of the garage on summer nights and watching the Aquacade fireworks display that closed the show presented on the 1939 World's Fair grounds. Many of our neighbors were family friends. I remember Adolphe and Pauline Loebel, Milton and Helen Stier (I was friendly with Jeff and Lois, their kids), the Sweeders, the Roses (Arthur was my friend), the Hochmans (they had three daughters: Judy was the oldest and in my class), Mac and Helen Braunstein (friends with daughter Merle). My mom and Dad are 91 and 92 respectively. I also hung out with Stanley Sobel (whose little sister, Doreen, hung out with my younger sister), Martin Schneiderman (whose younger sister, Brenda, was the sexiest female and the biggest tease I'd ever known!). Larry Kravitz also comes to mind. I still have First Day Covers with his name on them that were part of trades we made in Mr. Edelson's Stamp Club.

About Dr Karow: his first name was David. A nickname one of the students gave him was "Dr. Decay" (get it? D.K.?) I also remember his presentation of the need for every person to carry a handkerchief with them at all times. He told us that it was so important to catch a sneeze that , in case he was unable to grab his handkerchief from one pocket in time to prevent its capture, he could reach for ANOTHER one in any one of the other pockets in his clothing and proceeded to demonstrate strategic handkerchief placement in EVERY pocket of his clothing! I, too, remember the documents we had to learn. I still recite many of them. Remember a distinction between "principle" and "principal" because he told us he (the principal) was our "pal."

Many contributors remember the white shirt for our assemblies. I also remember the red tie.

I had Mr. Goldmacher in the Fifth Grade. He was also my Head Counselor at Camp Brydon Lake where I went for the summer starting in 1953. It was located in the Catskills. I attended school there from the fourth grade until graduation, then went to Parsons for two years (skipped the eighth grade - "Special Progress" was the term for the program. We called ourselves "S.P. kids.") Graduated from Forest Hills H.S. in '59 and Lehigh University in '63. Married to Mary Ann for 32 years and have three children, the youngest of whom is a senior in high school.

If you read this, are an old friend, and don't see your name here, be kind! It's only been 50+ years!

Thanks for the opportunity to relive those days. It has been a lot of fun!

Marty Olinick  Class of 1955

I would love to get in touch with anyone from my class! 

Fred Cantor!  If you see this, please email me.

Paul Rubinfeld  Class of 1956

Ernie Stock, class of 1960 and a fellow Queens College alum, informed me of this site.

My family moved to Kew Gardens Hills in February, 1950 and I was immediately enrolled in kindergarten at P.S. 164. I joined the first class to attend the school from kindergarten through 6th grade graduation. The neighborhood population was growing rapidly and we went split session, either morning or afternoon, until 5th grade.

Many years later I learned that most elementary school students had no idea who Patrick Henry, that the Articles of Confederation preceded the Constitution and many other facts that came along with the memorization of the documents. The interest in learning developed at P.S. 164 has served me well .

I remember all of my teachers, first through sixth grade.

- 1st & 2nd grade, Mrs. Bromberg. I think it was her first teaching assignment. I recall liking her and my parents enjoyed meeting her on open school night.

- 3rd grade, Mrs. Sarek. I have no specific recollection of her. The highlight of that year was the opening of library on Vleigh Place in the basement of the QC Savings Bank.My older sister helped get a library card and it was wonderful to have destination that I enjoyed and my parents never questioned.

- 4th grade, Mrs. Goldman. I was a kid who was tagged as "lacking self control." Mrs. Goldman had little patience with me and I dreaded going to school.

- 5th grade, Mrs. Morrissey. More trouble, 50+ years later I still believe my 4th and 5th grade teachers should have pursued other professions.

- 6th grade, Mrs. Giordano. My best friend Steve Robbins had been at YMCA camp with her son, liked him and we assumed we had a teacher who we could look forward to seeing every school day. It was a wonderful year. She was a great teacher who understood 11 year old boys. Our class won the softball tournament and we all looked forward to graduation.

My family lived on 72nd Drive around the corner from the Main St movie theater. I often wonder how I was able to go home for lunch and get back to school on time. I recall that in when I was in 2nd grade, in 1952, our teacher taught Christmas Carols. My class was almost 100% Jewish and when we told our parents, many of whom were immigrants or 1st generation Americans, it was a big deal. Rabbi Kirshblum, Jewish Center of KGH, was in Mr. Karrow's office the next day and that was the end of anything but secular holiday singing.

Next stop Parsons Junior High. I didn't realize that I would miss my friends who would be going to Campbell, which had just opened. I also didn't know that Parsons was run by a principal, Dr. Antell, vice-principal Mr. Piser, who must have trained in the New York correctional system. Belatedly I came to appreciate Mr. Karrow who was a genuinely nice guy.

Fast forward many years. I have lived in San Francisco since 1975. A few years ago I was at a party and was talking with a young woman who informed me that her grandmother had taught elementary school in Queens. She did know that Simon & Garfunkel attended the school her grandmother had taught. When I found out her family name My jaw became tight and I was suddenly back in time, almost 50 years, in the 5th grade classroom of Mrs. Morrissey. Now more than 50 years later I am convinced that while there were many fine teachers at P.S. 164, there were teachers, such as Mrs. Morrissey and Mrs. Goldman, who should have pursued another profession. I was fortunate to have Mrs. Giordano as my 6th grade teacher and graduated on a positive note. Our class won the softball tournament.

Marty Kaliski  Class of 1957

I lived across the street in the garden apartment complex and remember my mother taking me to the school when it was under construction.

I remember having Miss Ford, who married and became Mrs. Paris, and Mrs. Silverblatt.  Mr. Karow was the principal and I remember lining up for the Salk polio vaccine in the gymnasium.  I even have a vague memory of Paul Simon being a student there.

As for the "documents", I am disturbed that my own children do not have to learn these things.  They still remain with me today.

Now, if only I could find someone to play stickball with in San Luis Obispo, CA!

Estelle Ansorge  Class of 1958

I lived at 141-39 73rd Avenue, right around the corner from the Main St. Theater, a block from the Independence Hall library by Vleigh Place.  My older brother Norman had gone to PS 117.

We were told to call the principal "Doctor" Karow, and I think we all were expecting him to wear a stethoscope.

Like others who have written, I remember lining up at the gym for the Salk polio vaccine experiment.  I was one of the first because my last name began with A.  Later on it turned out I'd received the placebo.

My teachers were:

1st grade:  Mrs. Riccio (so young and sweet) 

We did a show of Cinderella and I played Cinderella.  My mother cut down her wedding dress to make my ball gown, and I wore a bathrobe over it for the pre-ball sequence.  Mrs. Riccio used to give us stick-on stars for good behavior.

2nd grade:  Mrs. Riccio

3rd grade:  Mrs. Emeric

She was a tough cookie, made us line up for inspection like at a prison.  She'd look at our nails, our hair, inside our mouths... kind of creepy.  And she'd give out demerits if you looked the wrong way.  When she got angry she'd shout "non compus mentus!!", and no one knew what it meant.  My mother got furious one day and went to complain to Dr. Karow.  I don't think anyone liked Mrs. Emeric.

4th grade:  Mrs. Bromberg

The glee club where I learned to appreciate music (which has become my life).  We put on a production of My Fair Lady.  I always remember her flaming red hair, fuzzy cashmere sweaters, horn-rimmed glasses and generous face.

5th grade:  Miss Schmit (or Schmidt or Schmitt)

I'd never known a middle-aged lady called Miss.  She was kindly and had a big bosom.

6th grade:  Mr. Goldmacher

Undulating white hair, round shape.  I felt grown-up having a man teacher.

I also remember Mr. Edelson because he ran the stamp club I belonged to, and Mrs. Hoffman ran the sewing club where I learned the combination stitch.

I remember when Mr. (Dr.) Karow's wife wrote the school anthem and we all had to learn it....  I think it began like this but I can't remember the rest:

High above the buildings round us
big and straight and tall
stands the school we all look up to
PS 164

The "documents" were fantastic.  Every Monday a new one, and Dr. Karow's voice coming out of the box on the wall explaining what it all meant.  To this day I have a fantastic memory, and I attribute it to the mental workout we got for three years.  I can still recite the Patrick Henry speech, my favorite, and some of the Gettysburg Address.  Those were the two that made the biggest impression on me.  When Dr. Karow came around every Friday I used to be so proud because I was one of the best when we had to recite the text.   That program expanded our vocabulary exponentially and gave us self-confidence for speaking in public.

One more anecdote about Dr. Karow.  He said he always had trouble remembering how to spell "separate", but he finally learned "there's a rat in separate."

Please email me where there's a reunion and thank you for the memories!

Paula Cohn  Class of 1958

I lived around the corner from Vleigh Place, across from the old "Independence Hall" library.  As a "baby boomer", I went directly into the first grade. (I was born before the May cut-off date; those born after went into kindergarten since there were so many post-war babies.)

I had Mrs. Kazerman for first and second grades, followed by Mrs.Goldberg, Mrs. Rittner, Mrs. Morrisey, and Mr. Goldmacher. Dr. David Karow was the Principal and I can still remember him coming into the classroom to test us on our "documents" and related spelling words.

I look forward to reading updates on this site, and hope one day that I'll see the names of some of my old classmates.

Ernest Stock  Class of 1960

I couldn't pass up this chance to write something about the old days and the old neighborhood.  P.S. 164 is the one school out of all the others (Parsons, Jamaica, Queens College) that I want to return to for a visit to meet the administrators and reminisce and maybe take a peek into the auditorium.   I've lived in the San Francisco bay area for the last 27 years and tell everyone what a great education I got in New York.  It made me chuckle when reading other memories of the "documents."  We had to memorize those famous speeches and passages and recite them in front of Mr. Karow from 4th through 6th grade.  I can still recite some parts today and still have copies of the handouts.

I remember the name of every teacher I had at P.S. 164 starting with:

K - Mrs. Mead & Mrs. Zobler
1 - Mrs. Riccio
2 - Miss Benson (but she left early in the year and was replaced by Mrs. Weintraub)
3 - Mrs. Goldblatt (We were afraid of her)
4 - Mrs. Rosenberg (She introduced us to opera)
5 - Mr. Edelson
6 - Mr. Goldmacher (He actually made a house call to talk to my parents about my sister's education.  She was the class of '57.  Also I'll never forget the time we were playing softball in the schoolyard and he took a few swings and hit one over the fence.)

Occasionally we would have Mrs. Simon (Paul Simon's mother) as a substitute.  She was over my house a few times and said you probably know my son's records under the name of Tom and Jerry.

I was in the Glee Club in 6th grade and had a small part in that year's production of "South Pacific".

Thanks for the opportunity.

Ernie Stock and for my sister Vivian

Joy Arenstein Glucksman  Class of 1961

I found your web site on a cold evening searching through the web. I am a 1961 graduate of 164 with many memories. I had Mrs. Emeric, Mrs. Berkoff, Mrs.Simon and Mr. Goldmach. Mrs. Simon was filling in for a teacher on maternity leave and we loved her so much we asked our parents to write a petition to make her a permanent teacher!

Our Principal was Dr. Karrow and our Assistant Principal was Mrs. Miller. We were required to learn all the words to documents like Patrick Henry's speech and the Gettysburg Address. That was serious stuff for elementary school!

We had assembly every Friday wearing our white shirts and singing songs like The House I Live In and reciting things like Oh Captain, My Captain. We played punchball in the yard, heard Tom & Jerry (Simon & Garfunkel) sing at our holiday parties and we never brought tuna fish sandwiches into Mrs. Emeric's class.

I am married for 28 years to Randy Gluckman and my children are way past elementary school.  Marc is 25 and Lauren is 22.  We live in Rockland County.  I have often gone back to Kew Gardens Hills and my childhood!

Rick Hendra  Class of 1961

I happened to dream last night that I was wandering the hallways of PS 164 and woke up with, "High above the buildings round us", running through my head. I still have the lyrics stored up there (along with snatches of dozens of "documents". So, on a whim, I did a search online and was tickled to find this website!

I grew up around the corner, on 141 St., almost at Vleigh Place.  Queens Valley and its playground was the social center of my life until I went off to college at SUNY Buffalo.

Besides the 7 years I spent in class there, I played stickball against its back wall, learned basketball on its half-court hoops, regularly borrowed the chess set from the "parkie", and so on. After going away to college and getting married, we moved back to the neighborhood across the street from my parents, while I went to grad school at Columbia.  And I went right back to hanging around the schoolyard, playing basketball after homework and dinner.

I had many wonderful teachers: Mrs. Zobler for kindergarten and Mrs. Reville for first grade - she played "The Tennessee Waltz" everyday while we practiced our penmanship till I couldn't stand the song. I had Mrs. Silverblatt for second grade, but we didn't get along and I didn't do well. But then I had Mrs. Reville's sister, Mrs. Schmidt, for third grade and I guess they talked about my difficulties, because she took me under her wing, cut me some slack, and I blossomed in her class. We exchanged Christmas cards for years afterward. Mr. Gulkin (?) was our science teacher - the only male teacher I can recall and a good one.

I had Mrs. Bromberg, who ran the Glee Club, for 5th and 6th grade. She was wonderful and the class stayed pretty much together those two years and we all became very tight. I was sorry to miss out on Mrs. Simon, but we still got to enjoy Tom and Jerry at the annual Peanut Festivals. The teacher who made the biggest impact on me was Mrs. Bromberg's best friend, my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Rosenberg. They both loved the opera (our tryout song for the Glee Club was "Celeste Aida") and went to the Metropolitan regularly. Mrs. R. loved Mario DelMonaco and would play his arias for us and rhapsodize about him ("Stop everyone! Listen to this...") while we painted. She failed me in penmanship every marking period, because I refused to put tails on my letters (I became a calligrapher in later years). And she sat me in the corner, at my own desk, for most of the year because I wouldn't stop talking. But I loved her. She was the most enthusiastic teacher I ever had and we got swept up in her enthusiasm. She ran clubs around her special interests during the lunch hour, and I joined every one: the Opera Club, the Rock Club, and the Birdwatchers Club. I remember the class going with her on a nature walk through Alley Pond Park, amazed at her observational skills and her ability to identify everything.  She loved learning, so I loved learning too.

I wound up teaching at the University of Massachusetts, and I truly believe I owe it all to her. These were the years before feminism, when the best and brightest women had few professional careers open to them outside of teaching and nursing. There were clearly some remarkable women among our teachers at PS 164, most of them coming from a Jewish culture that prized intellectual attainment and valued the arts. Today, they would have been teaching at the college level.

It wasn't till I got to college that I began to realize that other schools didn't learn the "documents", that this was Mr. Karow's peculiar and absorbing passion. I sometimes talk about this with friends and they're amazed to hear that we spent virtually all of every Monday (or was it Tuesday?) morning listening to him on the PA system read a document, explain its importance, and go over the vocabulary words; that we then memorized that document and practiced it in class, adding feeling and histrionics (like clasping our wrists together as we recited Patrick Henry's, "Our chains are forged, their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston"); so that the principal could come around to every 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom (at least 9 different classes), every Friday, and listen to every kid recite that document and let us know if we did it well. We averaged 25 to 30 kids a class then, I recall. His endurance was remarkable, his commitment to that program unbending. I can still recite snatches of many of those documents, speeches, poems, and so forth (it would be fun for us all to put together a list, if only to impress our kids!)

I remember the Salk vaccine too, and huddling in the hallways on fire drills away from any glass doors, "in case of a nuclear blast", thinking even then that this was pointless and that I'd bolt for home and my folks if ever the unthinkable should happen.

I remember field trips to the library and the bank (both in the same building on Main St., where we got our first library cards and passbook accounts. I remember the huge reproduction paintings on the bank's walls, one of the signing of the Declaration, the other of Washington crossing the Delaware.

Other folks have mentioned the Friday assemblies and some of the songs we sang. The songs that most moved me came out of the Civil Rights movement, made popular by Paul Robeson, like "Go Down Moses" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

I'm glad someone mentioned Mrs. Emeric and her screaming antipathy to tuna fish sandwiches. I liked tuna, thought she was a witch, and started going home for lunch soon as my parents would let me.

I have so many good memories of the school and the neighborhood and it's a pleasure to share them. I've dragged my wife and kids back there several times over the years to revisit the neighborhood. It's still a beautiful neighborhood and the garden apartments I grew up in have those big grassy courtyards, stately trees, and brick archways between the buildings that give them unusual charm.  The school looks much the same though I haven't seen all the stickball players and basketball players that I used to.

Hope to hear from more folks from the class of "61"!

Arlene Gelman Maimin  Class of 1962

Shinichiro Sekido  Class of 1962

The other day when I was searching "PS 164" through GOOGLE, I came across your home page introducing PS 164.  I was expecting to find anything official on PS 164 but there wasn't, and instead I reached your home page, to my pleasure.

The reason I searched "PS 164" was that I saw a TV program here in Japan introducing Simon & Garfunkel.   In the program, I was surprised to know they were graduates of PS 164.   Thinking of their age, I thought they must be my senior, but I couldn't find their graduation year.  When I entered "Class Pictures" I found the photo of Art Garfunkel in the year 1953. 

I lived at 75-20 Vleigh Place.   In front of my house was the library, bank and A&P.  It took five minutes to walk from my house to PS 164.  After graduation, I went to Parsons Junior High for one year.

Since I returned to Japan, I live in a small city, Iwakura, ten miles north of midland city Nagoya.

(Iwakura, Aichi, Japan)

Eva Bruck (Doman)  Class of 1962

I attended PS 164 from 1958 (2nd grade) until graduating from 6th grade in 1962.

I used to walk to school from 147th Street up by Union Turnpike and Main Street, near the Grand Union shopping center. Many afternoons I did my homework at the Library behind the Bank on Main Street, not far from school. I remember Dr. Karow was very kind to my mother, who didn't speak English well (we'd emigrated to the US in 1957) and placed me in 2nd grade which was appropriate for my my age level, but not my language proficiency. Mrs. Silverblatt, Mrs. Berkoff, Mrs. Sondike, and Mr. Gulkin were some of the teachers I remember. We had an excellent grounding in basic subjects as well as in a few things that are no longer taught, such as penmanship and recitation of great American documents such as The Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, among others.

We had an annual Peanut Festival, and one year there was a mad competition to win the contest for a new dance called the "twist."  It was a big school even then, but still we managed to get a solid education.

Ron Kooper  Class of 1964

I attended PS 164 from Kindergarten (1958) through the sixth grade.  I lived at 77-40 Main St.  My brother and I would walk to school everyday.  My mom would take us to the park near the school in the summer.   They had a sprinkler which kept us cool.

I now live in Rochester, New York.

Peter Monroe Class of 1965

I was reading some of the other memories on this page and realize that my time at PS 164Q (1959-1965) combined growing up with a twist.  although somewhat of an ethnic neighborhood (predominantly jewish) and solidly middle-class (with very few 'under-class' although some upper-middle-class although not so much as Forest Hills), the un-pretentiousness is what made the school and neighborhood. 

In no particular order here are (to me) some of the interesting memories: 

1) Mr. Karow, in a pin-striped suit coming into either my kindergarten or 1st grade  and picking up a kid by the ankles and holding him upside down.   

2) Having the job  "eraser-monitor" (bring erasers that had chalk-dust to a room on the 1st floor with a machine that sucked out (the chalk).  this job took training by the teacher or former 'eraser-monitor.' 

3)  My friend Barry Wertheim's well-read and un-Brooklyn-accented (unlike many Kew Garden Hills moms)  mother being appalled at Mr. Karow's replacement, Mr. Gannin 's  speaking ("He talks out of the side of his mouth like a truck-driver!").  My mother, from Scarsdale, agreed. 

4)  Field trip to the post office where my mother was a parent-chaperone and during 'question and answer' wanted to know the final destination for letters addressed to Santa Claus. 

5)  Being embarrassed when my mother would come to any events at the school ("too tall and skinny" i used to say).  she would reply the other mother's didn't dress up properly, that they wore stretch pants and 'flats' instead of a suit and heel. 

6)  Mrs. Goldman in third grade dumping the desk on me with the books inside the book slot and my pencils in the pencil slot falling (not to mention the desk itself) on me.  (teachers could do stuff like that in the old days) 

7)  My original teacher (forgot what grade) coming back to visit after she was replaced and bringing a present for me, who she said was her favorite student (in contrast to, say Mrs. Goldman and the desk-dumping incident) 

8)  Everyone knowing that Mr. Gulkin's nickname was "Snot-nosed Gulkin" because he picked his nose and getting in trouble because one time when he was picking it i whispered (too loudly) to my friend Barry Wertheim, "hey look Mr. Gulkin is doing what his nickname is ." ) 

9)  Being asked to stand during a Friday Assembly because I wore the wrong kind of tie.  I think it was Mr. Edelstein, and he went on for about 10 minutes at what a breach of protocol this was and what a bad person I was until Mr. Goldmacher, out of pity said, "oh please," (meaning, 'alright already.'). 

10)  Kenny Plotnick advising me in 5th grade to never admit (as one of the smart kids)  to Mrs. Russel that we finished our tests early.  The reason, he said was "if you do, she'll make you try to teach David Garcia (maybe the first and only Puerto Rican in the school) to try and read and...he has B.O.!"  He was about 2 or 3 years older than us (left back) and, in fact DID have Body Order (unlike us who were physiologically too immature).  Anyway, I couldn't help finishing my tests early so I had to tutor him.  One day, just getting out of the candy store on Vleigh Place  David Garcia pulled me into the alley behind the store and tried to burn me with a cigarette he was smoking.  I thought that wasn't fair because I was his tutor, but, maybe a psychologist would say this was his way of showing he was better or stronger than me in another area.  

11)  My parents going to Florida and leaving our maid Agnes in charge who didn't know it was Passover and sending me to school (I am jewish).  There were only half as many kids as usual, and I was aware they mostly had red or blonde hair.  Also, we didn't do any work, we just did crafts that day. 

12)  Winning the class spelling B in third grade.  even though i was the last one standing (the winner) Mrs. Goldman, immediately told me to sit down.  I didn't like this, since I was a big show-off.   I clasped my hands together and alternated putting them on top of each shoulder (the 'congratulations gesture') before taking my seat. 

12a)  When we had a substitute (think it was 3rd grade again) the teacher asked the class "who is the smartest child in the class?"  everyone pointed to Vickie Goldberg and chanted "Vickie! Vickie!"  I was insulted they weren't picking me and so at the same time everyone was pointing to Vickie I was pointing to myself and saying "Peter! Peter!"   

13)  The "White Group" were the best readers in 1st or 2nd grade - i was in that group.  I don't remembe the other colors, but there were about 4 of them in smart to dumb order.   

14)  I remember in 1st grade Mrs. Weintraub showing us the letter "A" and how to write it and what it sounds like.   Miraculously, and i stilll don't know how because i don't remember paying attention, and i think she even yelled at me for not, I learned to read (and attained "White Group" Status).  Soon after, my parents bought me The Cat In The Hat which took me about an hour to read. 

15)  I missed graduation because we moved to Long Island a few days before.  I was sorry I did and being on the 164Q sute (don't ever forget to put in the "Q{) reminds me there was no closura. 

16)  We always had to put a heading on all our papers.  It was our name, class and "PS 164 Q" (optionally write out "Queens").  We were so indoctrinated that when my sister would write something at home, she would make out a heading, but put our address (72-22 137th Street) instead of the PS 164Q part. 

17)  Walking home for lunch; (typically baloney on Wonder Bread with Hellman's Mayonnaise). while watching a re-run of "Father Knows Best" but never able to see the end or I would be late for school. 

Debra Fioranelli  Class of 1971

I attended PS 164 for 5th and 6th grade.  I lived on 77th Rd near Main St. and still live there.    I remember my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Sonenthal. She was tough but a great teacher.   When I was 18yrs old, I went back to PS 164 to volunteer as a tutor for the 3rd grade.  Mrs. Sonenthal was one of the 3rd grade teachers and she handed me about ten boys and girls to help.  After about 3 or 4 months their reading level had improved and Mrs. Sonenthal was very proud of me.  A few years later I stopped by to visit her and she was teaching the 6th grade.  By then I was a mother.  She introduced me to her class as one of her best students.  I will never forget her. 

Now, I have three boys.  All of my boys attended PS 164.  My youngest is now in the 6th grade. 

Dr. Seum Chung  Class of 1973

I attended PS 164 from 2nd to 5th grade (1968-1971). I moved after 5th grade. I guess we were there almost during the same period. I read your notes and it's funny that you mention that you lived across from the school since I also lived across the street at 133-22, from the main entrance to be exact. The picture of the school on your website is what I saw every morning as I went out the front door. I was also a Blue Beret and was chosen to be Captain of the crossing guards in 6th grade...

However, I lost contact with almost all my friends after I left. The only friends I still keep in touch are Peter Neumann (same grade as me) and his brother David (two years older). I will email them about your website.

I currently live in Seoul, Korea but a couple of years ago while I was living in Long Island, David Neumann (also a doc) and I drove to the "old neighborhood". The trip brought back many memories, especially when we took a walk through the school playground.

We always wondered what happened to our friends. Your website has proven to me that we were not the only ones who remember our school with fondness. Thank you for sharing your memories of Queens Valley School. I am glad that there are many others who look back at PS 164 with a big smile.

Lynne Gans  Class of 1973

I just stumbled on your Queens Valley School site and loved going down memory lane.  I graduated in 1973 and also lived across the the school on 77th Avenue.

I just saw Simon and Garfunkel in concert and it brought back wonderful memories of being in Mrs. Simon's first grade class and hearing Paul sing and perform for us during those years.

Janet Schwartz (Perlmutter) Class of 1975

(2005 update)

I remember walking to school everyday from my semi-attached house at 136-31 72nd Avenue, having to recite my address and telephone number as part of my entrance exam into kindergarten, wonderful bake sales, Easter bonnet parades, maypole dances, fire drills, air raid drills in the basement and Mrs. Berman's French/Art classes ("Mon merle aperdue une plume.")

...Seeing a new show on TV called "Sesame Street" in Mrs. Finkelstein's room (a real treat), being "graduated" to second floor classrooms, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, learning the unknown verses of "The Star Spangled Banner" and singing them in the weekly Friday auditorium assemblies (along with "My Country 'Tis of Thee".)

I remember Mrs. Farkas playing the piano for assemblies and plays, two Principals (Mr. Gannon and then Mr. Ricca), Vice Principal Minogue, only one male teacher in the school (Mr. Connors), making posters for the school bulletin boards in the hallways about the ill effects of drugs and pollution, being Peter Pan and singing the "Ugly Duckling" song in two different school plays.

...Playing jump rope and punch ball in the school yard, playing dodgeball (which I hated)in the gym, doing exercises to the recording "Go you Chicken Fat Go!", listening to Simon & Garfunkel music as a treat in Mrs. Simon's class, proudly wearing a blue beret as a 6th grader, marching to "Pomp and Circumstance" for graduation, signing those autograph albums with the pastel colored pages (I still have mine!)

I am a mother of three children, two of whom are in elementary school now. None of them could possibly come out with such fond memories and such great respect for their school, teachers and principals. It was a special time, a special place, a different era...

I would enjoy hearing from other P.S. 164 graduates!

Laura Heidenfelder (Torrents)  Class of 1975

My fondest memories of 164 are the great teachers that were there and the wonderful plays we put on. Being in the ensemble of Peter Pan was my favorite and I was "Becky" in the production of Tom Sawyer. I think my favorite teacher of all was Mrs. Rohrs. She always told us that we could be anything we wanted. Mrs. Simon was another teacher who I'll never forget because I got to meet her son Paul Simon at her house while we were practicing for one of our plays. That was the kind of teacher we had back then. They cared enough to take us to their homes and spend extra time with us. When I was a senior in high school I went back to 164 as a student teacher and Mr. Ricca was such an inspiration to me.

I am married to John Heidenfelder and we have two wonderful boys, John and Adam. We live on Long Island now and since my older son is in school all day I think back and compare how different his school years are as compared to mine. My son started kindergarten exactly 30 years after I did and boy did I feel old!

Ed Siegel  Class of 1975

I'm Ed Siegel; twin brother to Mark.   Though it doesn't seem that long ago, it really is... wow 1975!  My parents still live in the same house on 72nd Crescent but the neighborhood is not the same as it was.  In some way it makes me sad that it's so different, but having the memories is something that will never change.

My memories run the gamut.  I initially think back to all my teachers - Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Katz, Mr. Connors, Mrs. Finkelstein.   Great teachers!  I loved playing in the school yard, being a line monitor and thinking I was such a big kid in 6th grade.  I remember walking to Main Street to get pizza at lunch time.  I remember going home for lunch with my brother and Gonen Haklay and playing ping pong.

Now I live in Flanders, New Jersey and work for ADP.  I am a Professional Project Manager and a Professional Photographer.  I have two great children Garret and Halina who are 15 and 11.  I've been married for 18 years to my best friend Barbara, who I met at Toys R Us when I worked there.

Sandra Grieco (Wiseberg)  Class of 1976

I was in Mrs. Zobler's kindergarten class and we had cubbies with different colored shapes on them. I remember the custodians Millie and Jimmy, and the basement where we had music. The smell in the cafeteria was terrible and I was happy that I always went home for lunch!

My bus driver was named George and we made yearly trips to the Museum of Natural History. I remember the phonograph being wheeled in when we were listening to something, the Pinocchio play, the Fiddler on the Roof play (whose mom made all those outfits?)

There was a desk at the front door of the school where the moms sat to sign people in and there were giant steps in front of the building where you could go up either side. In sixth grade we got autograph books that had different colored pages.  We had a lot of fun during those years!

Annette Connell (Irizarry) Class of 1976

Here are just a few of my memories from P.S. 164!

...lining up in the yard after recess; the P.S. 164 Olympics; the Avocado growing contest (I lost to Kevin Hughes because he had better dirt!); 'Stuart Little' figures Lori Hoberman and I made out of clay and kept on our desk; our class's constant striving for more commendation cards than any other class...

Our trip to Mrs. Simon's house (before I was old enough to be suitably impressed); that darn "Chicken Fat" song from gym class - and, of course, our square dancing lessons; and learning to sing "Autumn Leaves" in French...

Claire Panaro (Forchheimer)  Class of 1976

Things I remember about my years at P.S. 164...

...the separate kindergarten entrance; lining up with a book at lunch time; being milk monitor; being a sixth grade monitor (the coolest!); fire drill walks around the neighborhood (NO TALKING!); visiting Mrs. Simon's home with the gold records climbing up the staircase wall...

...Mrs. Sachs reading Charlotte's Web to us; making wool hangers in Mrs. Glaubman's class; Mrs. Sonenthal cursing at us and shaking her keys at us for stop and go as we walked;"Out of the Past" torturous tapes in Mrs. Rothburd's class; school plays ("Good morning Mr. Ricca, Mr. Minogue, teachers, students and parents..." said in monotone); the music teacher playing the piano; learning French with Mrs. Berman...

...the Norman Rockwell pictures on the hall walls; the creepy custodians; white shirts for Friday assembly (death to you if you forgot!)

...but mostly I remember sharing K through 6 with basically the same set of people and coming to think of them almost as brothers and sisters!

Patricia Weppler  Class of 1976

Some of my PS 164 memories...

When it was someone's birthday the whole kindergarten class made cards for them; wearing a purple outfit in "Fiddler on the Roof" (according to the "Fiddler" playbill our costumes were made by mothers Anagnostos, Butz, Byrnes, Hughes & Weppler); hoping that when Mrs. Berman called on "Pat" to answer a question in French class she meant Patrick Byrnes; reading A Wrinkle in Time and The Witch of Blackbird Pond in fourth grade; taking the bus when we'd go to a museum or play and seeing who brought the best candy for the ride...

Sewing pin cushions in the shape of a strawberry (I still have mine!); doing the drug and alcohol abuse projects; being Perky Lincoln in the fourth grade play; memorizing "Jabberwocky"; working on pre-Colombian civilization projects and having the Olmec tribe; sitting next to Howie Laufer in sixth grade and having a war to see who could shove the most junk in each other's ink well holes (remember that big hole in the corner of the desk?)

Going to school in my Halloween costume and the classes walking around the outside of the school so the neighborhood could see us; ordering Scholastic books; singing sad songs like "Down in the Valley" at assemblies; playing the parachute game in gym; winning a rabbit cake in a raffle; singing "Kodachrome" for my Glee club try out and seeing the shocked look on Mrs. Farkas' face (and not being selected!); being a Girl Scout in fourth grade and wearing my uniform to school; getting braces on my teeth and being called train tracks; being a Blue Beret in sixth grade and going to West Point and Bear Mountain at the end of the year...

Feeling sad that it was time to graduate from P.S. 164 and leave that very familiar place, but being excited to start a new experience at Campbell Junior High.

Helen Kells (Haley)  Class of 1977

I just thought I would say hi! to all the graduates of P.S. 164. Sometimes I think it would be nice to go back to when things were simple. However, at the time they didn't seem so simple.

I remember so many things - class pictures, the annual spelling bee, Friday assemblies (don't forget your white shirt!), bake sales...  I loved doing the yearly class play and was thrilled when we were picked to do our 6th grade play The Mikado for the evening spring performance.

I am married to Tom Kells and now live in Tennessee.  I would love to get in contact with all the people I knew back in the '70s. They're back in style again!

Debra Allen (Lablang)  Class of 1979

I graduated from PS 164 in 1979. I just came across your website after doing a generic search on one of my old classmates with whom I kept in touch until the past five years. I am so excited to see that you put this website together - it brings back so many sweet memories!

I was pretty friendly with David Rossett, Joey Milstein and Sandy Laufer since first grade. I also knew Joey's sister, Nurit, and Sandy's sister, Gail, and her cousin, Howard. I knew Lori Hoberman because we both went to Queens College, Cori Weston because our mothers played mah jongg together, and the Haleys from the Hillcrest bowling team.

It's so wonderful to see how everyone grew up and became happy, successful people with beautiful families. I appreciate your efforts in establishing this website.

As far as my bio goes, I am the Class of '79 from Queens Valley, class of '84 from Hillcrest High School, class of '88 from Queens College and class of '00 from Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia. I am now a Deputy Attorney General in Trenton, New Jersey, practicing the area of pensions and benefits law.

I am married to Stuart Allen and have two children, Rachel, 5, and Bradley, 3. We live in South Brunswick, New Jersey.

Gen Miyano  Class of 1979

I attended PS 164 from 1972 - 1977. I left in the 5th grade and moved to L.A. 

Here's a little background information about me: I am now 37 years old. I lived at 138-34 78th and attended PS 164 starting kindergarten. My teacher was Mrs. Alexander. I don't remember the other teachers. I left in the 5th grade and moved to Los Angeles. I attended Cal State Los Angeles, majored in Business Administration, and now currently work in the Aerospace and Defense industry.

I've been married since 2001 and have a 14 month old girl and reside in San Gabriel, CA (just south of Pasadena.)

Lisa Cohen

I am the daughter of Sylvia Sonenthal, who is the teacher in the class 5-4 picture.  If your class took a trip to the Museum of Natural History, I probably went with you!

It was a thrill to see her on this site and I am going to show her the picture!  Thanks for the memories!