Maple Avenue School / Weequahic Section Trivia Contest, 60th Reunion

4 points for each fully correct answer.  Partial credit for some answers.            TOTAL POINTS:                         

1.     What was the full name of the individual for whom Weequahic High School’s athletic field was named after and what was the person’s profession?

2.     In Weequahic Park, there were two organized sports that occurred regularly?  One involved one species and the other involved two species.  What were they?

3.     Name 3 Weequahic section bakeries?

4.     What was the first name of the Good Humor Man who parked his truck on Maple Avenue after school and drove through our neighborhood on summer evenings?

5.     Who was the crossing guard at the corner of Maple Avenue and Lyons Avenue?

6.     Who was the elderly crossing guard policeman on the corner of Maple Avenue and Goldsmith Avenue?

7.     Who drove the wagon that transported kids who lived farthest from the school?  What color was the vehicle?

8.     What family delicatessen had stores on Bergen Street and Chancellor Avenue?

9.     A small black truck would wend its way through our neighborhood emitting a loud clanging noise.  What service did this truck offer?

10.   What does Weequahic mean in the Leni Lenape language?

11.   Maple classroom descriptions:  How were the upper windows opened and closed?  What kind of doors did the rear cloakroom have?  Did the room have a telephone? 

12.   What did each class have to do before leaving the room for assembly or a fire drill?

13.   There was a plaque installed on the Maple Avenue School brick wall near the corner of Maple and Pomona Avenues.  Who did it commemorate?

14.   Name the four teachers who, in their own classrooms, taught art, music, home economics and shop?

15.   The first art teacher from question 14 and students created a wonderful mural that dominated the back wall of the auditorium stage for a period of time.  What historic event did it commemorate?

16.   What did Tony the Janitor push around on his big broom?

17.   Who managed the school office during all the years we were there?

18.   What supermarket on Chancellor Avenue burned to the ground in the early 1960’s?

19.   Each spring, what did we sell?  What was the reward for the class selling the most? 

20.   Starting from the Beth Israel Hospital and walking along Maple Avenue, name all nine streets, in order, to the Hillside border.

21.   How many exits were there at Maple Avenue School?  Where were they located?

22.   What major medical event had the entire neighborhood flock to the school on 3 Sundays in spring, 1964?

23.   How much did Hatoff’s charge for a hamburger and a small soda?

24.   What was the cost per slice at Amato’s and what was it at the Indian Pizzeria?

25.   What were the first names of these teachers:  Ms. Cummins, Mrs. Kesselman, Mrs. Merkin, Mr. Kahn, Mr. Zucker?   





ANSWERS

Maple Avenue School / Weequahic Section Trivia Contest, 60th Reunion

4 points for each fully correct answer.  Partial credit for some answers.

1.     What was the full name of the individual for whom Weequahic High School’s athletic field was named after and what was the person’s profession?

·        Judge William M. Untermann                         

[Background:  Born Nov. 26, 1880, Died Feb. 8, 1944.  Lived at 25 Chancellor Avenue.  Untermann Field dedicated on Sunday, June 4, 1950, a boulder and plaque commemorating it.  Weequahic’s library also was named for him as was the library at Rutgers University Hillel in New Brunswick.  His wife Esther also was a judge, one of the first sitting female judges in the US.]

2.     In Weequahic Park, there were two organized sports that occurred regularly?  One involved one species and the other involved two species.  What were they?

·        Golf, harness racing or horse racing. 

[Background:  President Ulysses Grant watched horse racing there in 1872.]

3.     Name 3 Weequahic section bakeries?

·        Silver’s, Bergen Bake Shop, Garden Bakery, Kiel’s, Watson’s Bagels 

4.     What was the first name of the Good Humor Man who parked his truck on Maple Avenue after school and drove through our neighborhood on summer evenings?

·        Elmer [This is disputed … some say Lester … there could have been two men.]

5.     Who was the crossing guard at the corner of Maple Avenue and Lyons Avenue?

·        Lee Geiser

6.     Who was the elderly crossing guard policeman on the corner of Maple Avenue and Goldsmith Avenue?

·        Oscar Kiernan

7.     Who drove the wagon that transported kids who lived farthest from the school?  What color was the vehicle?

·        Mr. Albert Bradberry (Mr. B.)

·        Green

8.     What family delicatessen had stores on Bergen Street and Chancellor Avenue?

·        Tabachnick’s

9.     A small black truck would wend its way through our neighborhood emitting a loud clanging noise.  What service did this truck offer?

·        Knife Sharpening

10.   What does Weequahic mean in the Leni Lenape language?

·        Head of the cove

11.   Maple classroom descriptions:  How were the upper windows opened and closed?  What kind of doors did the rear cloakroom have?  Did the room have a telephone? 

·        Long poles used on windows

·        Sliding doors

·        Yes

12.   What did each class have to do before leaving the room for assembly or a fire drill?

·        Line up in size place 

13.   There was a plaque installed on the Maple Avenue School brick wall near the corner of Maple and Pomona Avenues.  Who did it commemorate?

·           Mary Mapes Dodge, author of Hans Brinker: or, The Silver Skates

[Background:  One teacher, maybe Mrs. Singer, had a class project to clean its tarnished surface with terrible results.]

14.   Name the four teachers who, in their own classrooms, taught art, music, home economics and shop?

·           Art (2 options):                Mrs. Tso or Joseph Cammarata

·           Music:                               Frieda Schwartz

·           Home Economics:          Mrs. Steinberg

·           Shop:                                 Albert Bradberry (Mr. B)

15.   The first art teacher from question 14 and students created a wonderful mural that dominated the back wall of the auditorium stage for a period of time.  What historic event did it commemorate?

·           Civil War Centennial (Mrs. Tso)

16.   What did Tony the Janitor push around on his big broom?

·           The “green dust”

[Background:  Today, online, you can buy Uline Green Sweep with a 50 pound box selling for $20.  The “green dust” was made of water, sand and sawdust and most memorably, smelled like vomit. 

17.   Who managed the school office during all the years we were there?

·           Martha Wasserman, who lived to be 104 years old.

18.   What supermarket on Chancellor Avenue burned to the ground in the early 1960’s?

·           Pic ‘n Pay

19.   Each spring, what did we sell?  What was the reward for the class selling the most? 

·           Flower Seed Packets

·           Ice Cream

20.   Starting from the Beth Israel Hospital and walking along Maple Avenue, name all nine streets, in order, to the Hillside border.

·           Lyons Avenue, Weequahic Avenue, Pomona Avenue, Goldsmith Avenue, Vassar Avenue, Chancellor Avenue, Hansbury Avenue, Keer Avenue, Grumman Avenue

21.   How many exits were there at Maple Avenue School?  Where were they located?

·           Six [one each on Maple Avenue and Goldsmith Avenue, two on Pomona Avenue, two in the playground]

22.   What major medical event had the entire neighborhood flock to the school on 3 Sundays in spring, 1964?

·           Sabin oral vaccine distribution

23.   How much did Hatoff’s charge for a hamburger and a small soda?

·           $ .35 for the burger and $ .7 for the soda

24.   What was the cost per slice at Amato’s and what was it at the Indian Pizzeria?

·           $ .15 at Amato’s and $ .20 at Indian Pizzeria [Indian at one time charged $ .15.]

25.   What were the first names of these teachers:  Ms. Cummins, Mrs. Kesselman, Mrs. Merkin, Mr. Kahn, Mr. Zucker?

·           Mae Cummins, Rose Kesselman, Beatrice Merkin, Harold “Gus” Kahn, Milton Zucker


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