DANNY APPEL: A man with many hats I caught up with Danny Appel as he was leaving the Towers Restaurant after his daily breakfast with his wife of 65 years, Esther, and his long-time cronies. Wearing his usual smile and carefully coordinated leisure clothing, we walked to Building One where the Appels have lived for 13 years. This is no ordinary guy I learned after just a few steps. He has been a teacher, assistant principal, stock trader, dance instructor, bungalow-colony owner, author, major distributor of plumbing supplies, basketball referee, and successful craps shooter. Where did you grow up? I was born and raised in Brooklyn where I attended New Utrecht H.S. and then went to NYU. In those days, the letters stood for New York Unemployed. I studied hard and got a bachelors and masters degree after just 3 ½ years. Teachers were making $2,400 a year and I had to wait two years until they gave the next competitive exam to get my license. I worked for the Parks Department in the meantime. Most of my assignments as a teacher and assistant principal were in Sunset Park and B u s h w i c k sections. We raised our children in Brooklyn and years later we lived in Neponsit, where our family gathered for weekends at the beach. How did you meet your wife? The petite and beautiful Esther Wolff lived across the street. She was literally “the girl next door.” Together, we were blessed with two children, Bonnie and Steven. They married and produced our four grandchildren. Bonnie and husband James, as empty-nesters, moved recently to Building Two. Steven and his wife Debbie live in Pennsylvania where he practices orthodontia, as does his son, Andrew. How did you supplement your meager income in those early days? I coached kids who were going to take to exams for Brooklyn Tech or Stuyvesant in math. I also taught social dancing and used the extra money to trade options on the American Exchange. Later I leased a seat on the exchange. For many years, Esther and I ran a bungalow colony and day camp near Monticello called Crescent Lake which was near the famous Kutcher’s Country Club. I started a day camp for 35 kids in neighboring bungalow colonies and built it up to 300 boys and girls. The day camp prospered and I hired teachers who gave lessons on musical instruments and we ran parties every Friday night that included indoor roller skating. I could not have done without the invaluable help of Esther, who helped supervise the kids, painted and decorated the units, and even replaced screens and did minor repairs when necessary. When the camp closed at the end of summer she returned to her job as a school secretary. You didn’t have much leisure time but when you did what did you enjoy doing to relax? I was always good at numbers and probability. On gambling junkets around the world, I played blackjack and craps. In the 1990s, I evolved a system that I called “Playing the Field.” It involves Pass Line wagers and Behind the Line bets. Friends who succeeded with it encouraged me to write this out in simple terms with sample bets and illustrations. That led to a popular book: Playing the Field. It’s available from 1stBooksLibrary, the world’s leading distributor of electronic books. In recent years, we have enjoyed spending winters in Deerfield Beach where I served as president of the Tennis Club. Looking back, which of your many jobs gave you the most satisfaction? Without a doubt, I’d say teaching. I loved the kids and the joy of seeing them catch on to whatever I was teaching, whether it was math, basketball or dancing. Recently, a colleague arranged a reunion of students we taught 30 years earlier. Included was a dinner dance and they came with their wives. When they left the dance floor many came up to me and said “See, Mr. Appel, we still remember the steps you taught us.” I hope they also remembered the life lessons I taught them about how to get along with others and the value of being a good person. After spending time with Danny, I’m convinced he provided a good role model. 4 North Shore Towers Courier n November 2014 By FRED CHERNOW
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