“I grew up in Wantagh, not Montauk,” This was usually met with a blank look, and I would quickly add, “Wantagh, it’s near Jones Beach.”

Maybe there’d be a brief acknowledgement, but inevitably the conversation shifted to something else because in the eyes of many, Wantagh doesn’t quite have the star power of Montauk.

My hometown may not have the glamour, sand dunes and overpriced lobster rolls of the east end of Long Island, but it is where I went to school and made friends – and this Saturday I’ll be attending my 50^th high reunion with many of them.

Most of my friends were originally from neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Quite a few of us had grandparents who spoke with European accents. Our dads served in World War II or the Korean War and married our moms after their service. By the mid-1950s the baby boom was in full swing, and the suburbs beckoned – new homes with sparkling appliances, backyards for barbequing and most importantly, good schools for all those kids.

Wantagh was transformed. From a sleepy south shore village, it became a suburban stronghold with ranches, split levels and Cape Cods. Though we were the first generation of suburbanites, we did have urban sensibilities. Many of our fathers commuted to work in “the city,” and our moms went to “town” to see Broadway matinees and shop at B. Altman and Lord & Taylor. In December was the annual visit to Rockefeller Center and the Rockettes. Our games were derived from city streets – stickball and giant steps moved to driveways and backyards. In the summer our folks took out beach chairs and schmoozed with neighbors in front of their homes. We played in the street and under sprinklers to stay cool until we were invariably called in when it got dark.

Growing up, there was plenty to keep us busy. Our reference point, Jones Beach for example! Everyone who grew up in Wantagh has memories – from catching minnows with towels in Zach’s Bay, to getting a ‘healthy tan’ at West End or working a summer job – whether it was picking up trash on the beach with a stick, sweating over a fryer at the concession, or if you were lucky – and a proficient swimmer – sitting atop a lifeguard chair with white stuff on your nose.

Though there was the Roosevelt Field mall, for us downtown Wantagh was where it was at. Culinary highlights included Cherrywood Pizza and Kwong Ming as well as Carvel cones and zeppoles from Sandy’s. I’m sure many of our parents purchased our first bicycles at Brands; we bought our Mother’s Day presents at the Arden Gift Shoppe and possibly shoplifted a Hershey Bar at the 5 & 10.

Wantagh was never a hotbed of politics, though different points of view were represented. There was the Republican Club and Democratic Club. One of the biggest issues was the float for the annual July 4^th parade down Wantagh Avenue. A prize was given each year for the best one. I seem to recall during the Kennedy and Johnson years the Democratic Club won, under the Nixon administration the Republican Club did.

As we grew up the world was changing – locally, nationally and internationally. During our high school years, we began to talk about civil rights, the place of women in society, gender, the environment and other concerns. Many of my classmates went on to higher education. Our careers took us on different paths to different places. The composition of our families changed. And we have all experienced great joy and great sadness – it is, of course, the human condition.

I left Wantagh after my high school graduation. Most of my life has been spent in New York City with a few years in the Midwest. A few years ago, after taking my mom to lunch for her birthday at Kwong Ming (where I think the salt content in their egg rolls preserved her to 95), I had the chance to show my daughters where I lived and went to school.  As we drove through Wantagh, I must admit I felt a certain pride and I was glad to grow up there, in that place, at that time.