Teach
12-27-2007, 09:55 PM
Bay State Raceway. Hinsdale. Rockingham. Scarborough. Lewiston. Bangor. Yonkers. Roosevelt. Freehold. Saratoga. Monticello. Batavia. Buffalo. I had them all marked.
Turn the clock back forty years. As a recent college graduate, I was then looking for a teaching job. I had decided that I’d consider openings anywhere between Madawaska, ME and Cape May, NJ. Yet, I must profess that any school system I interviewed with had to meet my own personal requirement — nearby harness racing.
That spring, 1966, I recall interviewing with four school systems: Westerly, RI, Glastonbury, CT, Rochester, NY and Manhasset, NY. Each of those communities had excellent school systems; yet, for me, the question still remained: “Was there nearby harness racing?”
I remember speaking with the representative from Westerly. I was impressed with their school system. Yet, there was no harness track within eighty miles. Next on the list was Glastonbury (south of Hartford). Their school system was known and respected throughout New England. However, the closest harness track, Yonkers Raceway, was eighty-five miles away. Then there was the interview with the Rochester, NY schools. I looked over the map. “Hmm,” I thought, “Batavia Downs isn’t too far away.” However, I wanted to complete all the interviews before I made my final decision.
The last school system I interviewed with was a town on Long Island called Manhasset (even to this day they have one of the best school systems in the country). At the time, I knew little about this New York City bedroom community, save for one thing (make that two), that there were harness tracks in the area and that the NFL’s Cleveland Browns running back, Jim Brown, had gone to high school there.
Before my job interview, I looked over the map of New York City and Long Island. As Artie Johnson of Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In” used to say: “Very interesting!” I quickly found Manhasset and the surrounding towns of Port Washington, Great Neck, and Roslyn. I then looked farther out on “the Island.” About ten miles to the southeast was Roosevelt Raceway. I then scanned in the other direction. I looked just north of New York City. There it was, right next to the New York State Thruway: Yonkers Raceway. I thought to myself, “Perfect!”
The day of my interview I went to my college’s placement center. I interviewed with the then principal of Manhasset High. We talked about all the usual teaching topics, yet the clincher was when he asked me how I had heard about Manhasset. If I were being perfectly candid, I would have said, “Isn’t Manhasset situated nearly equidistant between Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways?” However, sanity prevailed and I replied, “I’ve heard that Manhasset has one of the finest public school systems on the East Coast.” I was hired that afternoon.
As I look back, those were wonderful times. I was living in Manhasset (later in New Hyde Park), teaching social studies, and going to the track three or four nights a week --- either Roosevelt or Yonkers. Yes, there were times that I’d even venture farther afield. On a few occasions, I trekked up Route #17 to Monticello Raceway, and on those August afternoons before school started, I’d cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, scoot across Staten Island and head down to Freehold. On one occasion, I even made it as far as Brandywine Raceway in Delaware.
After two years on Long Island, I decided to return to my Boston roots. I accepted a position teaching history at East Boston High School. The school was a stone’s throw from Suffolk Downs. In those days, Suffolk would run a harness racing meet during October and November. Many was the time I’d stay in school until late afternoon and then head over to Suffolk for an evening of racing. Several of the nation’s top reinsmen, Harry Burright and Bob Farrington --- to name just two --- would drive at Suffolk. The colorful Gil Levine called the races.
Yes, as I look back, when it came to accepting teaching positions, it was the classic case of: “The Tail Wagging The Horse.” Sure I was interested in the school system’s reputation, quality of education, and commitment to excellence, but even more important was the question: “Was it near harness racing?”
Turn the clock back forty years. As a recent college graduate, I was then looking for a teaching job. I had decided that I’d consider openings anywhere between Madawaska, ME and Cape May, NJ. Yet, I must profess that any school system I interviewed with had to meet my own personal requirement — nearby harness racing.
That spring, 1966, I recall interviewing with four school systems: Westerly, RI, Glastonbury, CT, Rochester, NY and Manhasset, NY. Each of those communities had excellent school systems; yet, for me, the question still remained: “Was there nearby harness racing?”
I remember speaking with the representative from Westerly. I was impressed with their school system. Yet, there was no harness track within eighty miles. Next on the list was Glastonbury (south of Hartford). Their school system was known and respected throughout New England. However, the closest harness track, Yonkers Raceway, was eighty-five miles away. Then there was the interview with the Rochester, NY schools. I looked over the map. “Hmm,” I thought, “Batavia Downs isn’t too far away.” However, I wanted to complete all the interviews before I made my final decision.
The last school system I interviewed with was a town on Long Island called Manhasset (even to this day they have one of the best school systems in the country). At the time, I knew little about this New York City bedroom community, save for one thing (make that two), that there were harness tracks in the area and that the NFL’s Cleveland Browns running back, Jim Brown, had gone to high school there.
Before my job interview, I looked over the map of New York City and Long Island. As Artie Johnson of Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In” used to say: “Very interesting!” I quickly found Manhasset and the surrounding towns of Port Washington, Great Neck, and Roslyn. I then looked farther out on “the Island.” About ten miles to the southeast was Roosevelt Raceway. I then scanned in the other direction. I looked just north of New York City. There it was, right next to the New York State Thruway: Yonkers Raceway. I thought to myself, “Perfect!”
The day of my interview I went to my college’s placement center. I interviewed with the then principal of Manhasset High. We talked about all the usual teaching topics, yet the clincher was when he asked me how I had heard about Manhasset. If I were being perfectly candid, I would have said, “Isn’t Manhasset situated nearly equidistant between Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways?” However, sanity prevailed and I replied, “I’ve heard that Manhasset has one of the finest public school systems on the East Coast.” I was hired that afternoon.
As I look back, those were wonderful times. I was living in Manhasset (later in New Hyde Park), teaching social studies, and going to the track three or four nights a week --- either Roosevelt or Yonkers. Yes, there were times that I’d even venture farther afield. On a few occasions, I trekked up Route #17 to Monticello Raceway, and on those August afternoons before school started, I’d cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, scoot across Staten Island and head down to Freehold. On one occasion, I even made it as far as Brandywine Raceway in Delaware.
After two years on Long Island, I decided to return to my Boston roots. I accepted a position teaching history at East Boston High School. The school was a stone’s throw from Suffolk Downs. In those days, Suffolk would run a harness racing meet during October and November. Many was the time I’d stay in school until late afternoon and then head over to Suffolk for an evening of racing. Several of the nation’s top reinsmen, Harry Burright and Bob Farrington --- to name just two --- would drive at Suffolk. The colorful Gil Levine called the races.
Yes, as I look back, when it came to accepting teaching positions, it was the classic case of: “The Tail Wagging The Horse.” Sure I was interested in the school system’s reputation, quality of education, and commitment to excellence, but even more important was the question: “Was it near harness racing?”