The Retired CBS Engineers Association is a group of retirees from the CBS Television Network. The total mailing list for the group numbers about 500, and the principal activity is a luncheon held twice per year in the New York metropolitan area. While many if not most on the mailing list are in retirement elsewhere, usually in warmer climes, enough still reside in the New York area that attendance at the lunches usually runs to about 100. Lunches are currently held alternately at the Swan Club in Glenwood Landing, Long Island, NY and at the Radisson Hotel in Englewood, New Jersey.

The "membership" in the organization consists of all those on the mailing list, which is constituted from all known mailing addresses of retirees from the Operations and Engineering Departments of the network. No dues are charged, and the mailing operation is supported by the bi-yearly luncheons held in the New York / New Jersey area.

Author's note: Due to fading memories and gaps in the historical data, there may be errors as to names, dates and locations in the early years, but every effort has been made to make the report on the history and startup of the retired CBS engineers association as accurate as possible.
Fred Schutz.

The retired CBS engineers association first get-together started as a simple informal luncheon at Henry Grossman's country club restaurant in Westchester, NY around May 1981.

In attendance at the first luncheon were Henry Grossman...Dwight Temple...Phil Erhorn...Henry Seitz...Mike Duval...Phil Polansky and Jack Trapkin. All of the early attendees were either radio amateur (HAM) operators and/or in technical operations at CBS radio or television.

The following luncheon get-togethers 1981 through 1985 were held at Uncle Meg's 2 restaurant in Eastchester, NY.,and the Taconic Brauhaus in Hawthorne, NY.

During this period Dwight Temple was president of the association with Henry Seitz as secretary.

The average luncheon attendance was around 40 to 50 with a number of the luncheons held with wives invited.

Additional members in attendance during the early luncheon period 1981 through 1985 included.

Bernie Asch...Tom Bailey...Harold Bridges...Frank Chionchio...Norman DeHart...John Hollywood...Artie Irons...Joe Janovsky...Sid Jones...Tony Landry...Bob Lee...Joe McCormack...Heinz Milark...Dan Murray...Bill Murtough...Tom Myers...Dick O'Brien...Frank Orth...Bob Oswald...Dan Parmelee...Carl Paulson...Harry Peterson...Howard Porter...George Rateau...George Smith..John Taddei...Jimmy Tonn...Sol Train...John Triesner...Freddie Turner...Leon Wecker...Bob Wilson and Freddie Wunder.

The association almost came to a "finish" as per a letter written to the group by Harold Bridges in Sept. 1985 when......Dwight Temple and Henry Seitz relinquished their posts with the association, with Dwight leaving to go back to sea as a shipboard radio operator. Harold Bridges picked up as head of the group on a temporary basis and Bill Murtough carried on as president through 1989.

Luncheons were held during this period at the...Shade Tree Rstr. in Hawthorne, NY ....Crabtrees Kittle House Rstr. in Chapaqua, NY and at the Swan Club Rstr. in Glenwood Landing, NY.

A new influx of retirees from technical services and engineering joined the association in 1986/87 helped along by the early retirement packages offered by CBS.

Additional retirees attending luncheons during this period included.

Ben Ackerman...Bob Abernathy...Joe Alonso...Tony Ancona...Dom Annechiarico...Orion Arnold...Lloyd Blackledge...Jack Brown...Bob Brugo...Al Cafiero...Charlie Carambelas...Phil Chub...Harold Classon...Henri Claudet...Joe Cooper...Dick Crane...Tony Cucurullo...Neal Curtis...Nat Degutz...Sonny Demar...Bob Dixon...Charlie D'Onofrio...Jack Fackler...Bob Faeth.

Sid Gasner...Mort Goldberg...Stan Greene...Milt Greenwald...Bob Hammer...Art Jensen...Tony Joseponis...Sid Kaufman...Arnold King...Harry Krim...Norm Levine...Ernie Lowe...Steve Mayo...John McManus...Henry Menusen...Tom Nadiq...Ham O'Hara...Frank Pollick...Carl Prince...John Pumo...Doris Reardon...Stu Rochet...Sid Rothstein...Ray Satter...Lou Scanna.

Fred Schutz...Hal Schutzman...Ray Savignano...Jean Shepherd...Ron Spiro...Danny Stevens...Jimmy Teevan...Artie Tinn...Ciro Torchia...Phil Valastro...Bob Zagoren...and George Zavales.

Bill Murtough ran the retirees association, mailing out the luncheon invites and arranging for the luncheons up to 1989.

When Bill moved to florida.. Fred Schutz assumed the leadership of the retirees group from 1989 to the present date.

The retirees association grew through the 1990's as more and more CBSers took early or regular retirement and as CBS continued their downsizing.

All retirees from CBS were invited to join even though they were not from technical areas.

We now have members from all areas of CBS production and operations with the present retiree membership numbering around 550, living in all parts of the country..

Normal luncheon attendance brings in a group anywhere from 120 to 150 from the greater New York area, with a scattering of retirees from out of town when they are up in the area. Wives and girlfriends are always welcome.

In 1992 Doris Reardon starting writing a retirees news letter with news from the most recent luncheon and from mail received from CBS retirees all over the country.

A copy of the newsletter is included with the luncheon invites which at present are sent out 3 times a year to our 550 members.

The present luncheons are scheduled 3 times a year (Apr., Sept. and Dec.) and alternate between the Swan Club on Long Island and the Harbor House in Ft, Lee, NJ.... It should be noted that the luncheon scheduled for Sept.13, 2000 at the Harbor House is the 59th of our "great" get-togethers.

Members of our group go back to the early radio days of the thirties and the growing years of live television under Bill Paley which are gone forever..We will never again see a period like those years. This is what keeps the group together, remembering the "Good Times" of a period when hard creative work was rewarded with the knowledge that you contributed to a form of entertainment and news that never existed before.

Our luncheons and newsletters give the retirees a way to remember the good times through camaraderie and friendship and we hope that the group's spirit goes on for many more years.

We offer all retirees, old and new, who are not members, to please join us.

Compiled and reported by Fred Schutz

Some of the above information may now be out of date, but is included for historical purposes.
- Dave Minott

New memberships should be directed to Tony Casola (tcasola1@optonline.net)
Pictures and/or news items of interest should be directed to Ted Perzeszty (tedpz@aol.com)
Website comments should be directed to Dave Minott (Webmaster@www.cbsretirees.com)