Bronx High School of Science West Coast Alumni

There is a new and recently very active YahooGroup devoted to graduates of the Bronx High School of Science and living in Southern California. This BHSS YahooGroup division between southern and northern California was suggested by Bryan Choi of the BHSS Alumni Association. If you wish to belong to this group SoCal-BxScience (and be able to post messages to the Group as well as have access to message archives), you may subscribe by sending an email to SoCal-BxScience-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Julie Motz '59 and Peter Landecker '59 were both workshop leaders at a California Mountain Retreat called PSWIRL at Camp deBenneville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA in August 2009. A photo of us is shown below: 

Marty Wachs '58 is on the staff of the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica. On June 12, 2008, Marty, his wife Helen Wachs '59 and Peter Landecker '59 attended a panel discussion about veterans returning to the United States with significant medical problems. A photo of the three of us at Rand is shown below. Marty is on the right and Peter is on the left.


There was a Bronx High School of Science mini-reunion on Saturday, October 14, 2006 from noon to 6 p.m. in Rancho Santa Fe for graduates living in Southern California and having graduated within several years of 1959. A total of 14 BHSS graduates (7 from the Class of 1959, 4 from the Class of 1961) attended this elegant gala event at the home of Jon Tiefenbrun '59 and his wife Susan '61 as organized by Peter Landecker '59. We had a fantastic time sharing the common educational and cultural heritage and the progress of our lives. We had much in common, more than just our high school teachers. Jeff Morris '59, Barbara Sirvint-Lurvey '59, Phyllis Gura-Cannon '61 and Peter started and ended the mini-reunion with a delightful micro-reunion carpooling from and back to the Los Angeles area. One of the participants wrote afterward that this mini-reunion was a "peak life experience"! If you want to be included in future similar events, please write to bhsswca@yahoo.com.

1. Barbara Sirvint-Lurvey ‘59
2. Susan Tiefenbrun ‘61
3. Ann D’Errico ‘61
4. Phillis Cannon ‘61
5. Ingrid Tarikas ‘62
6. Peter Landecker ‘59
7. Jonathan Tiefenbrun ‘59
8. Ira Nelson ‘56
9. Marty Winkler ‘59
10 Marty Epstein ‘59
11. Allen Plotkin ‘59
12 Myles Lorsch ‘61
13. Jeff Morris ‘59
not pictured: Walter Mandel ‘60

On Saturday, December 9, 2006, a group of eleven 1957 BHSS alumni (and their spouses) had a mini-reunion in the Los Angeles area 1957 alums at the home of Tony Unger. Besides Tony they were Vicki Forman Michel, Peter Mintz, David Prager, Kenneth Pickar, Martin Mach, Selma Otchin Pokress, Eric Gans, Myrna Goldfarb Glotzer, Stan Zwicker, and Phil Rodd. Interestingly virtually none of them had seen each other since the 25th anniversary reunion and many of us had not seen each other since 1957. Nevertheless, in no time flat we were settled in with coffee and cake or wine and cheese and picked up our lives as if five decades had not passed. This was a somewhat distinguished group consisting of people of considerable accomplishment; university professors, major corporate executives, teachers, entrepreneurs and even a movie producer. Definitely a group to be proud of. Many are planning to be in NYC in the spring.

Joe Kuc of Torrance (BHSS '47), Julian Katz of Hermosa Beach (BHSS '47) and Peter Landecker of Manhattan Beach, CA (BHSS '59), as shown in the above photo from left to right, met on October 8, 2005 at a local MacDonalds to discuss old times. Both Joe and Julian (and their wives) also attended Peter's Beach Cities Symphony concert in Torrance on October 21, 2005.

Mark Mandelkern '59 wrote on January 24, 2006 that there are two other BHSS alumni at the University of California Irvine: Jeffrey Morris '59 and Stephen Feig '59.

Peter attended a Friendship Force Los Angeles (FFLA) meeting on January 21, 2006. He discovered two other graduates from BHSS there: Bernard Schweitzer '51 and Gene Haberman '50. Click here for a link to the FFLA web page.

IN MEMORIAM:

(Photo by Maxine Picard)

VERY SAD NEWS. Greta Furst, BHSS '50 died on June 1, 2005 of a stroke in Beverly Hills, California, with her family by her side. Greta was a key driving force behind the Bronx High School of Science West Coast Alumni group. For several years, she arranged reunion meetings, many in her home, some at the Hollywood Bowl or the Queen Mary or a fancy hotel or at the homes of other BHSS alumni living in California and Nevada. Greta was a bundle of energy and a great organizer. She will be missed! A memorial service was held June 18. Contact Peter for more information.

The Bronx High School of Science West Coast Alumni group was especially active throughout the 1990s up until about 2002. During this time, we held about 10 events in the Los Angeles area, about 2 events in the San Francisco area, one event in the San Diego area and one event in the Las Vegas area. An event typically consisted of socializing at the home of a group member or at a special location such as the Queen Mary. As many as about 150 people attended each of these events. It was fun to reconnect to old classmates or group members as well as make new acquaintances with people with similar educational and cultural backgrounds.

West Coast Alumni Take Over the Queen Mary
During the 1999 Extravaganza.



Picture 1: Half of these people may be seen on a post office wall, and half will be seen on stamps. They were all attending one of the BHSS-WCA events.



Picture 2: Marianne Marx and Peter Landecker ('59) (wearing his BHSS 1959 hat) work on a puzzle over lunch on the Queen Mary.



Picture 3: Fran ('53) and Harold Barach enjoy dinner during the 1999 Queen Mary extravaganza.



Picture 4 : West Coast Alumni enjoy dinner on the Queen.

Bronx High School of Science - West Coast Alumni Special Events

June 10, 2001, Sunday. BIG BHSS West Coast Alumni Smoozing and Gala Organizing Event was held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, including brunch.

January 29, 2010, March 26, 2010 and May 28, 2010, all on Fridays. Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra free concerts at El Camino College in Torrance, California. Peter Landecker '59 plays violin in the orchestra and welcomes guests to the pre-concert lectures at 7:30 p.m., the concerts at 8:15 p.m. as well as the post concert receptions upstairs. An interactive map is included on the orchestra web site. For more information, contact Peter at BeachCitiesSymphony@yahoo.com or Click here for a link to the BCSO Home Page .

July 4, 2000, Tuesday. Hollywood Bowl Independence Day Concert with Fireworks. John Mauceri (father of Ben, BHSS '95), conductor with special guest Glen Campbell. Greta's report follows:

While I sold 89 tickets to the Hollywood Bowl July 4 Concert, only 14 were for BHSS. The LA Free Clinic, The Maple Counseling Center of Beverly Hills, and my friends made up the rest. But all who attended had a great time. Judge Paul Gutman '49, Dr. Donald Mitzkin '49, Ralph Vogel '49, Myles Losch'61, Paul Ablon '66 and I were the alumni who had fun together. Most of us went backstage to speak with Maestro John Mauceri after the concert. (The Maestro's son, Ben is a BHSS alumnus.) In respect for the millennial year, the music of the first half was all by composers born in the year 1900 whose body of work was created in our country. After the intermission we enjoyed Glen Campbell's first appearance at the Bowl. He was special, and then the Firework were breathtaking. Mr. Mauceri's final encore was a heart tugging rendition of America The Beautiful. Without being invited, you could hear the sweet sounds of 17,000 voices gently build as we all sang praise for the birthday of our country. Those of us who picnic'd were able to extend the pleasure from 5pm until 11. Paul Gutman and Ralph Vogel and already been in touch by e-mail from the terrific new BHSS Roster. What a great directory that is! Congratulations to Linda Klayman, The Alumni Association and the Foundation! Looking forward to a late summer or early fall BHSS-West Coast Alumni event. Greta Lenetska Furst '50

UUA General Assembly - June 2004



Peter Landecker BHSS '59, Sue Griffith BHSS '58 and Lenore Snodey (attendee of many BHSS WCA events) on June 28, 2004 in Long Beach, California immediately after the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly Closing Ceremony. Sue and Lenore were both altos in the General Assembly Choir.




Sue Griffith BHSS '58 (in green pants) singing at the Closing Ceremony in the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly Choir on June 28, 2004. Sue and Peter had a mini-BHSS reunion at the Long Beach Unitarian Church on October 22, 2005.

Views of Parkchester (in the East Bronx)





Ah, Parkchester. When we were growing up it was just red brick buildings, streets, and the Oval. Who knew it was really an art deco treasure house? Mike Bertin (East Quadrant and North Quadrant and BHSS '59 as relayed by Peter Landecker - South Quadrant and BHSS '59) thought you might enjoy seeing these pictures. They were taken by Billy O'Brien, a refugee from the North Quadrant, now a professor of literature at UC San Diego.

For More Information

If you have information that you would like to see posted on this web site, please submit this information. Please also contact Peter if you would like more information about our group. Our group is temporarily inactive but hopefully will become vibrant again with varied activities. Peter at bhsswca@yahoo.com would very much like to hear from you! In addition, if you have information relevant to BHSS on the west coast which you would like posted on this web site, please send it to Peter.

If you would like to join the Southern California Bronx High School of Science YahooGroup, please send an email to SoCal-BxScience-subscribe@ yahoogroups.com (after first removing the anti-spam space before yahoogroups).

If you have suggested format or content changes for this page, please send e-mail to the webmaster Dr. Peter Landecker at bhsswca@ yahoo.com (for Bronx High School of Science West Coast Alumni) (and again, please first remove the anti-spam space before yahoo).

Click here for a short article about the webmaster written by Toni Empringham


Click here for a link to the Bronx High School of Science Home Page

Click here for a link to the Bronx High School of Science Alumni Page

Click here for a link to the Bronx High School of Science Alumni Reunion Page

Click here for a link to the a website about the history of the Bronx.


This page will be updated occasionally. Please come back soon and visit us.

This page was last revised on January 11, 2010.
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