Over time, so many things can be forgotten, and that is what happened to Firemen's Field. Now known as Firemen's Field because of the practice tower there for local firefighters, it is actually planned as a "living" memorial to veterans: the Oyster Bay War Memorial Parking Area, that was so designated on Dec. 2, 1952, by the Oyster Bay Town Board.

That information was unearthed by local activist Caroline DuBois of the Citizens to Save Firemen's Field when she made a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the Town of Oyster Bay regarding Firemen's Field for her group. This information has lain hidden among town documents until Ms. DuBois made her request to look into Firemen's Field and its use by the town. She received 601 pages of documents from the Town Clerk's office. "At 25 cents a page it came to $150.25. And it took them two months. A woman said it is probably the biggest FOIL request they have ever handled in the town," she said.

Ms. DuBois said she asked for everything to do with the deed and the plumbing under Firemen's Field, and anything to do with the picnic permits for TR Park. "I wanted to know how much overflow the picnicking generated. The field is used for parades, picnics and festivals," she said.

What she was surprised to find in the packet was a letter from Robert F. De Graff of Mill River Road, the entrepreneur who created Pocket Books with Simon and Schuster. It was addressed to Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Harry Tappen on Sept. 29, 1950. It states:

"You, of course, know that a referendum vote has been called by the [Oyster Bay] Board of Education of School District #9 to consider the acceptance of a parcel of property located on the south side of Shore Avenue, Oyster Bay, for a war memorial athletic field. The War Memorial Committee, of which I am a member, has an additional parcel of land on the north side of Shore Avenue between Larrabee Avenue, Long Island Railroad and Maxwell Avenue. In the event that the proposition being voted on by the taxpayers of School District #9 is successfully carried, [it was on Sept. 30, 1950] I would like to have you consider the acceptance of a deed of gift from this committee, of the parcel on the north side of Shore Avenue. This would be conveyed to the Oyster Bay Park and Parking District with the understanding that it would be used solely for parking in connection with the war memorial athletic field, mentioned above, for railroad station and general parking. It would be understood that there would be no charge for parking to people living within this district.

"If this is acceptable to you and the vote is in the affirmative, I would be pleased to execute the deed to the Town to effectuate the gift."

Ms. DuBois also received a town resolution from the meeting of Oct. 28, 1950.

It states:

"The Clerk [Leslie C. Disbrow] read a letter from Robert F. De Graff, a member of the Oyster Bay War Memorial Committee, requesting the Town Board to express its willingness to accept a deed of dedication for General Parking facilities of a parcel of land on the north side of Shore Avenue between Larrabee Avenue, Long Island Railroad and Maxwell Avenue. The offer of gift is in conjunction with the improvement, of the area adjacent to the southerly side of Shore Avenue, by School District #9 following the favorable vote on the proposition by the voters of school District #9. The following resolution was offered by Councilman Bouteiller and seconded by Councilman Chlumsky:

"Resolved that the Town of Oyster Bay Parks & Parking District does accept from Robert F. De Graff, a member of the Oyster Bay War Memorial Committee, a deed to the parcel of land situate on the north side of Shore Avenue between Larrabee Avenue, Long Island Railroad and Maxwell Avenue, Oyster Bay, for general parking purposes." The resolution was adopted with everyone voting ayes. The Town Clerk Leslie C. Disbrow sent a letter to Mr. De Graff regarding "The acceptance of a deed of dedication to a parcel of land for the construction of a general parking field," on Nov. 8, 1950.

At a meeting of the war memorial committee on Dec. 8, 1951, Mr. DeGraff gave a résumé of the committee's activities since its establishment in August 1945. They collected $18,612.10 from the community. Mr. DeGraff had purchased the two properties for $20,000 on behalf of the committee. Negotiations to buy a house on the property owned by Count and Countess De Fontnouvelle had been done with free legal services by the firm of Hall Robinson and Hogan. The Count was first offered $25,000 for his house but was paid $30,000.

Mr. De Graff reported that the taxpayers voted to raise $225,000 with a bond issue to develop the Oyster Bay War Memorial Field and purchase the De Fontnouvelle home, then on the site.

"Upon motion by Mrs. Merle-Smith seconded by Father Helfrick [of St. Dominic's] the committee voted to request the School Board to designate the Athletic Field as the Oyster Bay War Memorial Athletic Field and to request the Town Board to designate the Parking Area as the Oyster Bay War Memorial Parking Area," stated the minutes of the Dec. 8, 1951 meeting.

That information gave Caroline DuBois, spokesperson for the Citizens to Save Firemen's Field, some hope that there is a legal reason why the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Museum, a two-story, 70,000 square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Museum can't be built on Firemen's Field. The TRA is planning to build a 20,000 to 25,000 square-foot research center with room for the offices, elsewhere.

A town spokesperson said of the information unearthed by Ms. DuBois' FOIL request: "The letter has no legal worth. The deed and the resolution are the only important things. The resolution says for general parking purposes which puts it directly under the town to regulate as it does all parking fields."