| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Carol Dyson Pomfrey

Page history last edited by Mary Ann Koferl 13 years, 1 month ago

 

Carol Dyson Pomfrey is the granddaughter of Verne Dyson, author of the book “A Century of Brentwood”. Carol  was born on May 25, 1932 in Manila, Philippine Islands where she and her brother Gene and her parents lived until 1945. Her grandparents and cousins also lived there. In 1938, Carol’s grandparents, Verne and May Dyson moved from the Philippians to New York and then to Brentwood. Their house was a summer home on Franklin Avenue with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Carol was 12 years old when she and her parents moved from the Philippines to Brentwood. They lived with her grandparents for about a year before moving to Fulton Street and later to West End Avenue in Brentwood. In 1948 Verne and Mae Dyson built a new house on their property that ran between Franklin Avenue and Commercial Boulevard. In 1950 Carol’s parents William and Frances Dyson built a house on the corner of Orient Avenue and Commercial Boulevard next to her grandparent’s home.

 

When Carol Dyson came to Brentwood she went to the Village School for seventh and eighth grade and she graduated from Bay Shore High School in 1950. Until 1956 Brentwood students went to Bay Shore High School. It wasn’t until 1957 that Brentwood High School had its first graduating class.

 

Carol’s childhood memories include the party line phone, home delivery of milk, bread delivered from Dugans and cake from Krugs. Although there were some small stores in Brentwood they did most of their shopping in Bay Shore, Central Islip and Patchogue, NY. When Carol was growing up the post office did not have home delivery because the houses in Brentwood were not numbered.

Carol remembers looking forward to going to the movies on Friday nights at the Village School. On Saturday nights Pilgrim State Hospital would show movies for the patients. People from the community could come and sit in the balcony.

 

-A. Bennett, Local History Room Newsletter, December 2009

 

In the 1940’s there were still many areas in Brentwood that were sparsely populated. The landscape was largely scrub pines and oaks so brush fires were common. There was a fire watcher’s tower which was located on Fifth Avenue. The fire spotter kept a close watch on the landscape and alerted the fire department when they spotted a fire.

 

In 1964 Carol Dyson married Thomas Pomfrey who was born and raised in Brentwood, NY. They have three children, Thomas Dyson, Carol Dyson Rennie and Barbara Dyson Antonucci. In 1963 Thomas and Carol purchased her grandfather, Verne Dyson’s house at 187 Commercial Boulevard. Verne Dyson had a printing press in the basement of his house where he printed the Brentwood Bulletin in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

 

Carol Pomfrey worked as the historian at the Brentwood Public Library after the former historian, Martha Stepsis, retired from that position. Carol maintained and added to the collection of files and scrapbooks in the history room of the library. She helped patrons access these materials and the collection of Brentwood High School yearbooks.

Carol said there have been many changes in the make-up of the population in Brentwood. She estimated that there were about 3000 people in Brentwood when she first came here in 1945. At that time the population was predominately Caucasian. After 1950 the population began to change and gradually became the multicultural community that it is today.

 

-A. Bennett, Local History Room Newsletter, January 2010

 

 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.