Brentwood Historical Society

OK, I’m gonna give you a shot of Brentwood nostalgia.

St.Joe’s, getting chased by the guards.

The barn at St.Joe’s, and looking thru the windows and seeing the old farm equipment. Walking on the wall on Brentwood Road.

Grant’s and the cafeteria in there, the pet shop at Grant’s, Brentwood Aquarium, Food Fair, the Carousel ride outside of Grant’s, where we would pile as many kids on it to make it not go around, all for 10 cents.

The instant photo booth outside Grant’s; 4 for 25 cents.

Godzilla movies at Brentwood theatre, Planet of the Apes there also.

Bohack’s with Joe the manager who always chased us out of there.

The sump next to Bohack’s.

The wooden track at Brentwood High School.

Riding bikes in the parking lot of the Jewish center.(were there any Jews in Brentwood?) (Ed. note: yes there were/are)

The shrine at St. Anne’s.

The Brentwood rec center.

Smoking in the woods behind the movie theatre,

The village Lantern. Went there when I was 15.

When they built the McDonalds, I wondered where they were going to put the ducks.

The chicken farm across from the Knoll farm

Dairy Barn, Agway on Suffolk Ave.

Kick the can in the dark, Tony the Bungalow Bar ice cream man.

Ring a leavio. The roller coaster woods on First Ave. by the high school.

South Jr. High fields.(our playground) Climbing to the top of the baseball backstop.

Homecoming at the high school.

Mr. Campo, my neighbor and wrestling coach “The Gov”

Mr. Walker from South Jr. High.

Having 72 kids on your block alone. Camping in the yards.

Cinderella bakery, Devine’s pizza, Charlie’s Deli, Katrinka Deli, One Stop Auto Parts, Tonys Shell station, The Lutheran Church where you always called someone out for a fight after school.

The woods across from Bohacks. Bruce Lane,

Hanging out with the Finns in the Academy.

Catechism at St. Anne’s when the nuns taught us; Sister Thomas; getting cracked on the hand with the pointer from the nuns. Picking apples in the academy, getting chased by the guards and running thru the woods to the nuns graveyard.

Big Apple, Drago’s Pizza, Johns Bargain Store, A&P; Grandma’s Bagels, Jack in the Box. Friendly’s, Delivering the Long Island Press, Newsday, Daily news (if you wanted to get up at 5 am before school). Throwing snowballs at the plows (we didn’t want the busses to get thru). Flying kites in the school yard. Making forts in the woods (they were empty lots not built on yet, but seemed like forests to us). Fifth of July finding unexploded firecrackers and making sizzlers. Cap guns, hitting rolls of caps with a hammer and almost knocking out your hearing. Box turtles in Bishop Road woods. Entenmann’s bakery crumb cake smells. The church bells ringing on Sunday morning. 1 car per household. Diesel trains in Brentwood.

Anyone care to add on? This is only from the 4th Street perspective.

It was in the early sixties that we moved to Brentwood and, after being brought up in Queens, NY, it seemed like a little village you would see in a Jig Saw puzzle. But, it felt like home right from the beginning – all of us on First Street getting together at night to sit on our stoops and discuss our day and watch our kids – all about the same age – playing.
There is so much about Brentwood that will always remain in the mind. Like the ‘Beep Beep’ man. He lived around the block – nobody knew him personally – but he had a small house and a garden. Every day he’d drive around the area in his small, sort of battered truck, and beep his horn to let everyone know he was there to sell his wares. It was crazy, but his main customers were the children looking for a treat of some sort. I think my son Ricky would have been thrilled if I let him buy a leaf of lettuce just so he could say he bought something from the Beep Beep man!
The local grammar school was called the Village School and it couldn’t have a better name. The teachers really cared and parents got to know them and have a relationship. My daughter, Debi, went from Kindergarten to 6th grade at that school and loved being on the stage and being teacher’s pet. She also felt that she was experienced enough on the stage that she could assemble neighborhood entertainment – usually shown in one of the friend’s backyards. Of course, us mothers loved sitting in the hot sun, getting bitten by bugs, and keeping a perpetual loving, proud look on our faces. Beth was a sort of mischievous student – no hiding that fact! One day she came home and told us that her teacher told them to all go home and give their parents a speech on “The Dangers of Smoking”. I listened like a good mom, went out and borrowed a cigarette when I discovered she his mine, and then proceeded to write a note to her teacher saying “If you had my daughter, Beth, whom I love dearly, would you quit smoking?” The answer I received was “Let me know if you need matches.”
Dr. Grigoletto, our family doctor, was someone we should have written a book about. When one of your children was sick, there were many times he would run into the house while eating a sandwich to take care of their illness. It was his nurses who gave the injections for vaccines or illnesses – I always thought it was because he was so busy only to find out he didn’t have the heart to do it himself – he was so sympathetic.
I’ll never forget Cinderella Bakery on Brentwood Road – never have I had a better roll. Bohacks!! Still I feel the best grocery ever. The butchers gave personal advice on the meats, etc. When I told them my family loved Yorkshire Pudding, they began saving the suet for me, which definitely made the best Yorkshire Pudding.
I could go on and on with wonderful memories but I think I’d better leave room for some others!

I remember the big trees that lined Suffolk Ave. near the Knoll farm.
They were beautiful.

I grew up in Brentwood in the ’60’s and I remember businesses on First Avenue that included Koehlers General Store with its gas pumps outside the store, Mike’s Luncheonette, Nick’s Barber Shop, Jay’s Pizza Parlor and the Taxi Stand with its New York City style Checker cabs. When Jack-in-the-Box came to town, it was a big thing. It was the first fast-food store in Brentwood.  Dairy Barn was also a novelty with its drive-in service. The drive-in movie theater on Fifth Avenue provided entertainment for the town and it served the community in another way as well. St. Anne’s Parish encompassed all of Brentwood, Bay Shore and part of Hauppauge. As these communities grew, it was necessary to split the parish into three. At that time, the church was holding services upstairs and downstairs in the church, as well as at the drive-in movie theater on Fifth Avenue! Grant’s department store was the biggest store in town in the 1960’s. It was located in the shopping center on the corner of Brentwood Road and Second Avenue. The Brentwood movie theater was also in that location.