LL Spring05.indd - Lehman College

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ALUMNI • • • • • • NEWS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Alumni Express the Lehman Spirit
And Salute Career of Coach Ed Kramer at Homecoming
Homecoming 2005, featuring a tribute
to the late Dr. Edwin Kramer, brought
alumni back to the campus from as far away
as California, Oregon and Florida. All were on
hand to enjoy the day’s events, including men’s
and women’s basketball games against Baruch,
and to get acquainted once more with both the
College and their classmates.
The day started with an alumni coed basketball
game that saw alumni from the 1970s
all the way up to 2004 participating in the
game and other alumni making up the very
vocal cheering section. Many of the alumni
had played on basketball teams coached by Dr.
Kramer.
Directly following the game, a tribute was
held in memory of the coach who led Lehman’s
basketball teams for seven formative years,
from 1969 to 1976. His wife, Cheryl Kramer,
along with family and friends, attended the
The Lehman College Library celebrated
the contribution of veterans by paying
tribute last fall to Harry Riconda '87, a U.S.
intelligence officer in the Korean War whose
research on American prisoners of war was
published posthumously in 2003.
In Prisoners of War in American Conflicts
(Scarecrow Press, 2003), Riconda discussed
the treatment of these soldiers from ancient
to modern times, including the methods
of their capture and the tortures and living
conditions they endured.
The Lehman event included a talk by
Jacques Bloch, a World War II prisoner of
war who recounted both his own experiences
while in captivity in France and his eventual
escape to Allied lines. Bloch, who is Senior
Vice Commander of the Greater New York
chapter of American Ex-POWS, volunteered
for the French Army in 1939 and was part
of the 83rd U.S. Infantry Regiment when his
company was captured by the German Army.
Kathleen Riconda, widow of the author,
spoke about her husband’s experience writing
the book as well as his time at Lehman. He received
his first master’s degree from Teacher’s
College in the 1950s and taught English at
Xavier High School, his alma mater.
But he always had a desire to further his
education in English and chose Lehman to
event. Dr. Martin Zwiren, director of Lehman
Athletics, spoke about the importance of Coach
Kramer in the history of Lehman athletics and
presented Mrs. Kramer with a special award
commemorating her husband’s contributions
to building the Lehman spirit of achievement.
Closing the day with action again on the
court, the Lightning men’s team went on to defeat
Baruch in a very close game, 70–67, while
the Lightning women fought to the finish in
their game against Baruch, ultimately losing in
an equally exciting match, 52–56. The fast pace
of both games reminded many of the alumni
of their own days on the Lehman teams and
of their drive both on the playing field and in
their studies.
The Alumni Office is already hard at work
planning the next Homecoming. Look in future
issues of Lehman Lightning for more information
on reunion and other alumni events. ◆
Paying Tribute to Veterans, Especially Harry Riconda ‘87
Jacques Bloch, a World War II prisoner of war, and
Kathleen Riconda, wife of the late Harry Riconda
'87. Mrs. Riconda holds a copy of her husband’s
book, Prisoners of War in American Conflicts.
accomplish that goal. He received his second
master’s degree from Lehman when he was in
his late fifties.
“Lehman opened up a new world to him,”
Mrs. Riconda recalled, “and he would have
been thrilled that Lehman honored him.” She
added that the Lehman Library staff assisted
her husband with a great deal of the research
for his book and “really went out of their way
for him.”
Her husband died of diabetes and heart
failure in spring 2003, a few months before
his book was published. ◆
Former Lehman athletes who played under Coach
Kramer join with former coaches who served during
the years he was at Lehman. From left (front row):
Perry San, Silvio Conte, Billy Dolhon, Jeff Bucholtz,
Ted Hurwitz, Nick McNickle and Stanley Brown;
(back row): Phil Travers, Steve Rolston, Ray Rankis,
Ed Sullivan, Bobby Ramos, Brendan Burke and Peter
Gartlan.
Nick McNickle ‘75 (B.A.),
‘79 (M.S.) represents the
athletes at the tribute to
Coach Kramer.
Vice President of Institutional Advancement Dr. Anne
Johnson (left) and APEX and Athletics Director Dr.
Martin Zwiren present Mrs. Kramer with the award
honoring her late husband. Also pictured are two of the
Kramers’ grandchildren.
A portrait of the Kramer family after the ceremony.
Granddaughter Hannah (center) stands in front of
her sister Rachel and next to her brother Ethan. Adults
from left are Rob(ert) Denenberg, Kim Denenberg,
Ellen Kramer, Cheryl Kramer and Ray Rankis.
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