{"id":20324,"date":"2025-03-28T10:19:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T14:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=20324"},"modified":"2025-09-02T10:54:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:54:14","slug":"correspondence-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/correspondence-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Correspondence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gaga for Guggenheim<\/h2>\n\n\n

W e received several letters in response to our request for stories about Monmouth\u2019s historic Guggenheim Memorial Library (\u201cLooking Back,\u201d Spring\/Summer 2024<\/a>). Don\u2019t miss this issue\u2019s and be sure to share your stories at magazine@monmouth.edu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was April Fools\u2019 Day, 1967. My fraternity brother, Joel, came by on a small moped he had borrowed from a friend of ours (Bob McAllan \u201969, whose name now adorns a campus building) and asked if I wanted to go for a ride. I said we should check out the Guggenheim Library, not for books but to maybe meet a girl. As fate would have it, I did catch the eye of a beautiful, brown-eyed, longhaired young lady named Ellen. She and I struck up a conversation, and I hinted to my friend that all was good, so he departed. Ellen gave me a ride back to my apartment, where I made her lunch, and when she left, I noticed a taillight was out on her car. I called her dorm floor later to tell her about it, which gave me a plus in her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ellen and I dated for the rest of the semester, after which she went back to New York and I to North Jersey. On June 6 that year, I was called to active duty with the U.S. Navy. I called Ellen and told her of my approaching service time. She said we could write each other, and when I got overseas, we did\u2014every day for almost two years. When I changed duty stations to Virginia, I came home whenever I could. Once my service ended, we got engaged, and I returned to Monmouth to complete my degree while Ellen (now my fianc\u00e9e) started working in New York. She and I have been married 54 years and are parents to two girls (one of whom, Jennifer, received her master\u2019s from Monmouth in 2000) and have two granddaughters (one of whom, Emily Stein, is a first-year student at Monmouth). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guggenheim Library has changed greatly over the years, but it will always have a warm place in my heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Frederick S. Gruber \u201970<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Back in 1964, in addition to being a repository of fine literature, the Guggenheim also had a world-class collection of music. During my second semester at Monmouth, my major mandated that I take an \u201cappreciation course\u201d in either music or art. I chose music. The course was taught by a former high-profile big band leader named Tommy Tucker. His syllabus, which he handed out at the beginning of the semester, clearly stated that our final exam would include a listening section in which we would be required to identify various pieces of classical music ranging from Gershwin, Prokofiev, and Haydn to Mozart and Beethoven. Luckily, the Guggenheim had recordings of all the required pieces to be identified, as well as a soundproof listening room where my new wife and I spent the day after Thanksgiving taking notes and listening to some of the most majestic music ever written. Thanks to those recordings and that sound room, I passed the course with flying colors\u2014and, in addition, gained an appreciation of classical music, which was the objective of the exercise in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Jeff Wolber \u201967<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I arrived at what was then Monmouth College in 1988 as a junior faculty member, I was focused on writing my first novel. The library looked so inviting a location in which to write, so when summer rolled around, I walked over from Woods Theatre (which at the time was called the Guggenheim Theatre) and found myself on the second floor of the original building. I spread my notes across a large wooden table and took the liberty of opening a window, inviting the ocean breeze to whisper into my ear while it carried the surf\u2019s salty scent onto my page. I returned to that spot day after day, all summer long, writing what would become my first novel, \u201cA Wing and a Prayer.\u201d I sat at that same desk when I penned the following book, \u201cMakoona.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s difficult to think of a more fitting place to write environmental fiction about ocean creatures and habitats than the second floor of the Guggenheim Library with the window open to the sea. The Guggenheim is not just a place where literature is shared; it\u2019s a place where literature is born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014John Morano, Professor of Communication<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Remembering a Hoops Hero<\/h2>\n\n\n

The magazine you produce is second to none, and I anxiously await the arrival of each and every issue. However, I must admit that the first item I turn to every time one arrives in my mailbox is the \u201cIn Memoriam\u201d section near the back page. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I have been in my 80s for a few years. Oh well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One small thing I would like to point out: I noticed the name of Ray Tomaszewski \u201960 among the most recent list of alumni who passed away. I think it deserves to be mentioned that Ray was the first 1,000-point scorer in Monmouth\u2019s illustrious basketball history. His high, arching jump shots from the corners of the frontcourt\u2014worth just two points back in those days\u2014were a thing of beauty, something not to be forgotten. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I dug up a yellowed, undated clipping of a Newark News story that ran after the last game of Ray\u2019s collegiate career. It mentions that he led the Hawks to an 86-55 victory over Cooper Union. Ray finished with 1,001 career points, and I might mention that points 1,000 and 1,001 came with a minute and one-half left in that game. Not only that, Ray led the team with 23 points that day\u2014even though he had to drive through snow from his home in South Amboy, New Jersey, and was five minutes late getting to the game, which was held at Convention Hall in Asbury Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Newark News article does not say explicitly that Ray was the first Monmouth player to score 1,000 points, I can assure you beyond any doubt that he was. I served as Monmouth\u2019s (unpaid) student director of sports information during that period and was the sports editor for The Outlook. Among the old, dusty remnants in my possession from the early 1960s, I found a Nov. 30, 1961, copy of The Outlook that has an article about a game against the alumni team. It mentions that \u201cRay Tomaszewski is the only cager to score over 1,000 points in his collegiate days.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Chuck Hassol \u201961A<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bruce, Baltimore, and Monmouth Pride<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
\n
\"Handmade<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I had a fantastic experience seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept. 13. Even though I am originally from Asbury Park, graduated from Monmouth University in 1971, and saw Bruce around the area from time to time, it was my only time at a concert. Lots of fans loved my poster (pictured at right)! I had been told that Bruce gives a truly great show, and it was. He, Stevie, Jake, and all his many other musicians and vocalists were so amazing! I\u2019m glad that the University is caring for his Jersey Shore legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Roberta (Graham) Berlin \u201971<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Calling All \u201960s Grads<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Why are alumni from the 1960s often missing from Class Notes? Many of us who attended Monmouth then are still alive\u2014I am one of them! I\u2019m grateful to the speech and drama department for helping create my 50-year acting career. All hail the late Lauren K. Woods and his wife, Ellen \u201993M (still thriving). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Bill Cwikowski \u201967<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: We hear you, Bill! Sixties grads (and all you other Hawks as well)\u2014don\u2019t be shy. Share your stories, milestones, and memories with us at magazine@monmouth.edu<\/a>. We\u2019d love to hear what you\u2019re up to.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More WMCX Memories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Although I very much enjoyed those who wrote about their memories of WMCX to honor the 50th anniversary of the station (\u201cTransmitting Memories,\u201d Fall\/Winter 2023<\/a>), I wanted to clear up one small error concerning the broadcasting of live sporting events. In one of the letters, it was said there were no live sports broadcasts on WMCX until 1984. I attended Monmouth from 1976 to 1980, and there were indeed broadcasts of Monmouth men\u2019s basketball games during these years when we broadcast on 88.1 FM. We broadcast most home games from Boylan Gym but never broadcast road games. I was the play-by-play announcer for most of those years. We also did a pregame show called \u201cKornegay\u2019s Corner\u201d with the men\u2019s head basketball coach at the time, Ron Kornegay \u201969, \u201974M. If my memory serves me correctly, we might have even also broadcast the one New York Knicks exhibition game they played at Boylan every year, usually against the Nets. Of course, the Knicks\u2019 training camp was held at Monmouth for many years in the 1970s and 1980s. I just wanted to clear that minor item up. I really enjoyed those who reminisced about WMCX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Dan Stern \u201980<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I was the first sportscaster for the Monmouth College Hawks\u2014somewhere around 1974 or 1975. I\u2019d have to check my yearbook to be sure. I did two Knicks broadcasts on the college station: one against the Buffalo Braves (with Jack Ramsay, Ernie D, and Bob McAdoo) and one against the Washington Bullets (with Wes Unseld).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I called home games and at least one away game. We played St. John\u2019s both home and away. I also remember broadcasting a game against Dowling College\u2014we were down in the final seconds, stole the ball, and won the game. That win sent the team to Kansas City, though I didn\u2019t do the broadcast for that one. It was a great time. My assistant was Ron Weiner\u2014we were both Sammy (Sigma Alpha Mu) brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the players I remember were Ed Halicki (who went on to pitch a no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants), Bill Terry (I believe he was drafted by the Knicks), and a leaper named Jack Ham (I think).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not sure if the broadcasts continued after I graduated. I went on to help start a high school radio program at Piper High in Sunrise, Florida, in 1984. I used the radio license I earned at Monmouth. I was also part of the 1973 National Debate Team\u2014we beat Yale and Penn State to win the national trophy at Central Connecticut State. Our coach was Professor \u201cWild Bill\u201d Yarmechuk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I was at Monmouth, we also started a high school forensic competition. It was a lot of fun. These days, I teach culinary arts at Nova High School, and before that I taught at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami for over 23 years. Keep cooking!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Alan Lazar \u201975<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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