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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 13 February 2023

Created: 13 February 2023

Last Updated: 13 February 2023

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(This letter was written by Owen Pye)

Westchester resident and decorated World War II veteran Dr Jerome ‘Jerry’ Jacobson turns 100 years old on Saturday.

A lead bombardier in the 15th Air Force, Jerry was discharged in 1945 having earned the rank of captain, and having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), the nation’s highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement.

Jerry was born in Jamaica, Queens, on 18 February 1923, one of six children, growing up in the Bronx and later Saranac Lake, NY, in the Adirondack Mountains. Here he learned to ski from a young age, a lifelong passion he pursued until he was 87 years old.

Attaining the highest rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Jerry enlisted into the Army Air Corps in August 1942 as a 19-year-old, and was called into service to defend his country that October. Jerry was promoted quickly due to his ability, rising through the ranks to become a lead bombardier flying B-17s out of Foggia, Italy.

Upon his return from the war, he graduated with a degree from the Columbia University of Optometry. During this time, he met the love of his life and future wife Maura Bandler, then a kindergarten teacher (and as Maura B. Jacobson, going on to become one of the nation’s favourite crossword puzzle creators for New York Magazine).

Married in August 1948, they went on to have a daughter, Joanne, and later two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Jerry lived in the Bronx for a great deal of his working life, where for 31 years he ran an optometry practice on West Kingsbridge Road. He spent the next 30 years living in Hartsdale, and now lives in Briarcliff Manor.

Renowned for his kindness, generosity and humour, Jerry has been interviewed in the US and given talks to UK schoolchildren on his wartime experience.

Once described in the book Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crews over Europe in World War II as a ‘master of understatement’, Jerry’s modesty and humility regarding his life’s achievements are a measure of the man, who quietly still goes to the gym for an hour every morning and puts in three miles on his exercise bike a couple of times a week.

The DFC is awarded to those in the Air Corps who ‘distinguish themselves by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight’, although you’ll never hear a word of it from Jerry, who didn’t even tell his own grandchildren he had the medal until he was 99 years old.

Jerry’s niece, Sue Babcock, said: “Jerry is a one-of-a-kind special human being, a true gentleman, and always has a smile and kind word for everyone.”

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Written by Adam Katcher

Published: 22 February 2023

Created: 22 February 2023

Last Updated: 23 February 2023

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After the start of the second semester of their freshmen years, we spoke to a few members of the SHS Class of 2022 about how prepared they felt for the academic rigor of college courses.

There was general agreement that college involved more unstructured time and required more independent work than high school. With sporadically scheduled classes, all agreed that they needed to be self-motivated to use their free time wisely.

Scheduling aside, the classroom settings are different in college than in high school. Lecture halls with hundreds of students are new for every former Scarsdale High School student. Seminar classes take different forms and can be as long as two hours without teacher intervention. Labs can reach four hours long, over double the duration of the lab periods in Scarsdale.

The SHS graduates have also had to figure out how to get extra help from teaching assistants as professors often have limited office hours. Many adjustments had to be made.

Nonetheless, the Scarsdale High School graduates we spoke to felt they were well prepared academically for college courses and had the tools to navigate their new environments.

Rafaella Vogt, who runs track as a freshman at Lesley University explained, “The workload at SHS prepared me properly for college work and the strictness of deadlines. It definitely improved my work ethic and time management skills, along with providing me with the skills for college-level assignments.”

Jeremy Ng, a freshman at Yale University agreed, saying, “The heavy workload at college made organize my time. The humanities workload at Scarsdale was roughly similar to what I am facing now – the constant emphasis on refinement of writing in high school was incredibly valuable..” He noted one key difference: in many STEM classes at Scarsdale (with the exception of his experience in AT Physics), there are not always “Weekly Problem Sets” like in college, but, nonetheless, the weekly workload was similar.

“Nothing in my first year has seemed significantly harder than in SHS, nor have I ever felt unprepared,” added Aaron Klein, a freshman at Brandeis University. “Not that I was swamped with work in Scarsdale, but especially in terms of essays and papers, I felt very prepared. I’ve always felt like everything was achievable. I think that’s something that Scarsdale taught me – that any assignment can be compartmentalized. Assignments now aren’t intimidating as a result.”

Ng explained the difference in the timing of work/assignments at college. “The key difference is in academic ‘spacing.’ I’ve noticed that most of the classes here are substantially more staggered. Major assignments are due weeks later, but the amount of content in each of them is considerably greater.” He also noted less weekly feedback in college than in high school.

Klein echoed this notion, describing, “In Scarsdale, teachers would check in often and they were really accessible. In college, professors are there for you but you have to take the initiative yourself. I think Scarsdale instilled that asking for help is okay. They helped me feel comfortable reaching out to teachers, and that’s something that I feel has been really helpful.”

Although, inevitably, college classes deal with more advanced topics, the pace with which topics were taught at SHS helped students feel as if they could keep up, with Vogt insisting, “Scarsdale’s fast-paced and packed teaching style definitely matches that of most of my college courses.”

Everyone’s college experience is different, with school size and intended paths of study heavily influencing certain classroom dynamics. Nonetheless, common ways of learning are intertwined in all collegiate disciplines, and Scarsdale High School has undoubtedly done a good job at replicating many college learning environments. Even for the aspects that cannot be re-created, valuable learning, studying, and working tools were acquired that have easily translated to life beyond Scarsdale.

Despite the many differences in the teaching methods, the learning environment, and the work requirements between high school and college, the students agreed that the transition to college was a comfortable next step rather than an anxious leap.

Adam Katcher is currently a freshman at Columbia University, undecided with his intended major. Also a graduating member of the Scarsdale Class of 2022, Katcher says the content of this article represent a common consensus among his Scarsdale peers.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 31 January 2023

Created: 31 January 2023

Last Updated: 02 February 2023

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Photo by James CaoAfter a three year hiatus due to COVID, the Scarsdale Chinese Association brought back their lunar new year celebration, this year grander than ever.

The party moved to the Surf Club on the Sounds in New Rochelle where the 225 attendees had plenty of space for their performances and an elegant Chinese feast supplied by O-Mandarin and Central Seafood.

The event was chaired by Elaine Wang and Vera Liu who opened the evening by saying, “During COVID we all stayed inside and even avoided each other. Now’s the time to have a party!” They recruited many to underwrite the evening, including their primary sponsor New York Life.

Mayor Jane Veron wished everyone a happy Year of the Rabbit and invited the Chinese community to visit Village Hall and participate in Village government.

The celebration included performances by dance troupes, starting with “The First Drum of the New Year, “ performed by the children, dressed in traditional red costumes. There were several dances by women dressed in ornate and colorful costumes interspersed with a violin solo, a saxophone solo, a vocalist and the seniors doing their umbrella dance. In between acts, a drum of raffle tickets was rolled out and tickets were drawn for cash prizes in red envelopes. The performances were completed by the communities most senior members singing Auld Lang Syne.

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Host Vera Liu, who is a former television personality, was the master of ceremonies and announced each performance in both English and Chinese.

Once the performances were complete, a feast of many courses including lobster, toothpick lamb, fish, mushrooms, noodles and chicken was served.

The mood was festive and everyone appeared to be enjoying this celebration of community in a new venue.

Thanks to Elaine Wang, Vera Liu, Jing Lu, Xue Su, and Vivian Lin