OUR NEIGHBORHOOD The Way It Was.......

The three combined classes of eighth graders at Ridgewood's P.S. 93 (now I.S. 93) who would become the graduating Class of 1959. The above image is a photo taken of the large original print that belongs to reader Bob Harmeyer (top row, second from right). We can only wonder how many members of the 1959 graduating class at P.S. 93 (now I.S. 93) in Ridgewood were surprised to find their class picture in the July 2, 2009 issue of this newspaper.

But there it was, thanks to reader Bill Smith, a former resident of our neighborhood and a member of P.S. 93's Class 8-1 in 1959.

Among those who saw themselves was Bob Harmeyer, a lifelong Ridgewood resident and a member of the same class.

In response, Mr. Harmeyer visited our office on Fresh Pond Road and brought along a large photo, matted and framed, of the combined three classes (8-1, 8-2 and 8-3) that graduated in 1959.

Mr. Harmeyer said that he had taken the photo to a 25th anniversary reunion at the Douglaston Manor for graduates from Grover Cleveland High School. Mr. Harmeyer—like Bill Smith and several others in the photo—is a Brooklyn Tech graduate. But his wife Laura (nee Labbate), who would become a longtime teacher at P.S. 71 on Forest Avenue, was a member of that Grover Cleveland class.

"Cleveland was the neighborhood high school, so many of the people who went to P.S. 93 went to high school there," noted Mr. Harmeyer, whose family lived on Madison Street at Onderdonk Avenue—three blocks from P.S. 93.

As for the fellows who went to Brooklyn Tech, "We all rode the Myrtle Avenue el every day and we were never late," he chuckled.

Besides the teachers previously mentioned by Mr. Smith, some others were recalled by Mr. Harmeyer: Mrs. O'Fee in the fifth grade; Miss McGinty in the sixth grade; and Mrs. White—who would remarry after the death of her first husband and become Mrs. Denton—in the seventh grade.

For at least one reason, the shop teacher, Mr. L'Hommodieu, made an impression.

"He had a stick called 'Junior' and if you were bad, he put you over the desk and you got whacked with the stick," Mr. Harmeyer said.

Among P.S. 93 classmates he remembered was Joe Young, who also went to Brooklyn Tech.

"He was a weightlifter and in high school, he lifted more weight than any other student in his weight class," Mr. Harmeyer said. "His parents owned the Chinese laundry on Fresh Pond Road."

He added, "Everybody called him 'Mighty Joe Young.'"

Looking over the photo, more names of former P.S. 93 classmates came to mind, such as Victor Rosov and Pamela Ritzmann, the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.

"Edward Meditz—I taught him how to read English in the sixth grade," Mr. Harmeyer said. "His parents came from Germany and they spoke German at home."

He recalled the DeDominic brothers, Robert and Michael, who were twins. Robert lost his life while serving his country in Vietnam.

"After Bobby was killed, you would see his mother outside the house on Forest and Putnam every day—in her rocking chair and wearing a black dress," Mr. Harmeyer recalled.

"Most of us from this area were called down to the draft board on Whitehall Street on the same day as Joe Namath," Mr. Harmeyer said. "He had just signed that huge contract to play quarterback for the Jets—making him the most expensive quarterback ever—and then the government declared him 4F for service because of bad knees."

For the young men from Ridgewood, that day was "like a reunion."

Mr. Harmeyer expressed the hope that possibly, some kind of class reunion could be held this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1959 graduation at P.S. 93.

Persons with such an interest can use the contact information that appears at the end of this week's "Our Neighborhood" column and we will forward the message to Mr. Harmeyer.

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The success of last year's special supplement—a pictorial history—to commemorate the centennial of the Ridgewood Times/Times Newsweekly showed how much people enjoy looking at old photos. Within a short period of time, the print run of the supplement was completely sold out.

Many readers have expressed their delight in seeing certain photographic images of people, places and things from our neighborhood's past.

When it comes to looking at vintage images, however, the level of interest that a particular picture generates does not always mean that the subject matter involves a pleasant event.

Recently, the New York Daily News published a selection of photos from its archives to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

Among the pictures presented is one that remains—more than 80 years later—as sensational as the story behind it.

The image is of a woman, Ruth Snyder, who was dubbed "The Iron Widow." The picture shows her being put to death in the electric chair in Sing Sing Prison for teaming with her lover, Judd Gray (also executed), in the 1927 murder of her husband, Albert Snyder.

With a single-word headline ("Dead!") above it, the picture— taken by Tom Howard, using a concealed camera that was strapped to his ankle—appeared on the front page of the newspaper in January 1928.

While it shocked all and repulsed some, the photo boosted sales to such a degree that reportedly, the print run was increased by an additional 750,000 newspapers.

Obviously, the murder case was of major interest and while being tried, it drew huge crowds of the curious to the courthouse in Long Island City. The slaying inspired a serialized novella by James M. Cain, author of The Postman Always Rings Twice, the 1934 short novel that would became a steamy movie by the same title a dozen years later, starring Lana Turner and John Garfield.

In 1944, Cain's story inspired by the Snyder-Gray case became the film noir classic, Double Indemnity, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson.

Both Cain stories involved a married woman who conspired with another man to kill her husband. The biggest difference was that one had been inspired by a real crime, in which the victim was murdered after his wife took out a rather large insurance policy on his life.

Albert and Ruth Snyder resided in Queens Village, making it the neighborhood where the brutal murder (Albert was bludgeoned and strangled) took place. But this true-crime story has an element that serves as a much closer link to our neighborhood.

It involves a young fellow named Charles Froessel, who was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Glendale. Charles was born in 1892, eight years before his father died in 1900.

Upon moving to Glendale, the family—Charles had two brothers, Emil and Gus—resided on Olmstead Place (now 71st Street).

Charles Froessel pursued the study of law, passing his bar examination at the age of 23, and became active in the Democratic Party.

Paul Stier, a builder of homes in the Ridgewood/Glendale area (by 1912, he had built more than 700 homes), was similarly active in the Democratic Party.

In 1915, Stier was elected sheriff of Queens County and upon taking office the following January, he appointed Charles Froessel to serve as counsel to the sheriff's office.

Before the year was out, 42-yearold Paul Stier was fatally shot by a tenant in Whitestone. Froessel, who continued in his position as counsel, married Stier's daughter Elsie in 1927.

Three years earlier, he had been appointed as assistant district attorney. This is where one can find a local link to the Ruth Snyder-Judd Gray murder trial, as it was among the cases prosecuted by Charles Froessel.

It should also be noted that he was one of the organizers of Glendale's first Decoration Day observance following World War I. Charles Froessel was in charge of the proceedings, which took place at Cooper and Myrtle avenues on May 30, 1919.

In 1933, he resumed the private practice of law at his law office, located at Myrtle and Cypress avenues in Ridgewood.

Two years later, he became an assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in charge of slum clearance in New York City

In 1937, Gov. Herbert Lehman appointed him a justice of the City. Court in Queens. That same year, he was elected a justice of the New York State Supreme Court.

Later, in 1949, Charles Froessel was elected an associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals— the state's highest court.

Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, Froessel left the bench in 1962.

Among the organizations with which he had an association, Judge Froessel was a Mason; a past president of the Queens County Bar Association; a past president of the Queens Boy Scouts Council (he had joined the scouting movement in 1916, six years after its founding), and an honorary member of the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society.

He was was a resident of Forest Hills when he died on May 2, 1982 at the age of 89.

Services were held under the direction of the R. Stutzmann and Son Funeral Home in—somewhat ironically— Queens Village.

In the Nov. 14, 1985 issue of the Ridgewood Times, the writer who served as the previous Old Timer included a story about Judge Froessel. A slightly edited version follows below.

It was 1942 and the United States was engaged in World War II. A young man from Ridgewood was in the U.S. Army Air Force in Texas. He got a pass home by telling his commanding officer that he was getting married. Then when he arrived home, he proposed to his girl, who lived in Glendale. He told her that she had to marry him, otherwise he would be courtmartialed. After she accepted his proposal, they then had to see how they could get around the red tape.

He had arrived home on a Friday and had to be back in Texas early the following week. In 1942, when you applied for a marriage license, there was a three-day waiting period. Also, if you were a civilian, you were required to take a blood test.

The bride-to-be visited her family doctor, who took a blood test and promised to make a special effort to rush the results. They then went to the Marriage License Bureau in Jamaica and were advised about the three-day waiting period.

Upon being informed that the only person who could waive this had to be a judge, the young couple headed over to the courthouse and were told that Judge Froessel had just left.

The clerk then looked out at the sidewalk and said, "There he is, standing on the street corner."

The couple ran out and caught the judge, explaining the circumstances. Judge Froessel agreed to sign the waiver.

The judge took the application. Using the bride-to-be's back, he signed the document and wished them good luck. The couple then telephoned the doctor, who told them that the blood test results had come through and everything was fine. They returned to the Marriage License Bureau and were issued the license.

Afterwards, they proceeded to the Harmony Restaurant on 162nd Street near Jamaica Avenue and sat down at a table. After ordering, a waiter came over and told them that the gentleman sitting at another table, which the waiter pointed out, wished to buy them a drink. It was Judge Froessel, who had recognized the couple when he entered the restaurant.

The young man and woman were married the following day in St. Pancras R.C. Church in Glendale.

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Old Timer's note—If you have any remembrances, comments or reunion announcements that you would like to share with our readers, write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 860299, Ridgewood, NY 11386-0299.

To send a submission via e-mail, our e-mail address is Old Timer@timesnewsweekly.com.