Ancient Hixtory
Wonderful articles about the history of Hicksville, researched and written by Ron Wencer. This complete monthly series spans 4 years, from May 2018 until April 2022. Enjoy!
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- Ron Wencer, Class of 1964
- Category: Ancient Hixtory
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Introduction
We can’t remember or discuss our days at Hicksville High without thinking of the word “Comet.” Our yearbook and newspaper were both called “The Comet.” Our athletic teams were the Comets. Eventually, a school mascot dressed as a dog stirred up crowds at games. The dog’s name? Comet. How did this Comet Mania come about? Did people just pick words out of thin air? Well, in a way they did.
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- Ronald Wencer
- Category: Ancient Hixtory
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Introduction
When I was a student in Hicksville High, I didn’t know what to make of Principal Leon Galloway. My older sister Marilyn had known him as her teacher, and she spoke highly of him. She spoke highly in the same way about Raymond Rusch, whom I later knew as an Assistant Principal. When Mr. Rusch and I first met, he greeted me warmly and asked about Marilyn. In contrast, the few times that Mr. Galloway and I spoke seemed impersonal; he definitely did not exude warmth in my direction.
Click here to continue reading August 2026: Things I Never Knew About Leon Galloway
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- Ron Wencer, Class of 1964
- Category: Ancient Hixtory
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Introduction
In January 1861, as winter set in, a writer at the Huntington Long-Islander newspaper looked back a few months, to an autumn day when a few friends strolled to a school fair. At Cold Spring Harbor, they were struck by the beauty of the bay, and by a “pretty” sailing ship that lay at anchor. Then the tableau was spoiled; they learned that the old whaler was taking on supplies for the slave trade.
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- Ronald Wencer
- Category: Ancient Hixtory
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Introduction
On a school day early in September 1963, about two dozen Hicksville High seniors were summoned to a meeting. We were seated in a semi-circle of student desks, all facing a pair of chairs, in which sat two adults whom we did not know. More than a half century later, my memory is imperfect, but I believe that also present in the room, standing, were Principal Leon Galloway, Vice-Principal Raymond Rusch, a smattering of faculty members, and a few other strangers. I think that Mr. Galloway opened the meeting.
Click here to continue reading January 2026: It's Academic...Or is it?
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- Ron Wencer, Class of 1964
- Category: Ancient Hixtory
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Introduction
Last month’s Hixnews recounted how Hicksville nurse Mary Keller, who would later serve in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War I, crossed the Atlantic in September 1914. Bound for Belgrade, then under bombardment, she was part of a medical team that would create an American Red Cross Hospital to treat wartime casualties. Developments in Europe interrupted their journey, and as October began, the team found itself shipless in Athens.
Click here to continue reading November 2025: A Mary Keller Prequel - Part 2
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- Ron Wencer, Class of 1964
- Category: Ancient Hixtory
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Introduction
Last December, I wrote about Elise Bergold and Mary Frances Keller, two Hicksvillians who served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I. This month, we look back a little further, and we see that before Ms. Keller was a nurse serving in Europe in the Great War, she had been... well, a nurse serving in Europe in the Great War. While the conflict was still new, she had served on a team sent to Belgrade to establish a Red Cross Hospital, at a time when that city was bombarded daily by Austrian mortars.
Click here to continue reading October 2025: A Mary Keller Prequel - Part 1
