Friday, October 2, 2026
H. Frank Carey High School celebrated its 70th anniversary at its Homecoming on Sept. 19. To make the day even more special, the Franklin Square Historical Society collaborated with the high school to showcase artifacts donated by community members and alumni.
Mary Anne Grey, a 1971 Carey graduate and the president of the historical society, said that the artifacts included uniforms, yearbooks, sports memorabilia, jackets, a gym bag, a basketball and a Seahawk mascot rug, donated by residents, alumni, local historians and students’ families. The most significant display, Grey said, honored star basketball player Al Dahlem, who graduated in 1970 and was represented by his jacket, which his family donated after his death.
Grey explained that the orange jackets and uniforms reflected the school’s original colors, which were orange, black and white, and that the artifacts show the changes in student clothing and activities over the decades since the school opened in 1956.
“I think it's so important to preserve this history and to share it with the kids today and the people today,” Grey said. “They need to know this is where we came from. This is how it started. This is the history and the background, and it just kind of gives everybody a sense of pride, knowing that this was their school.”
She recalled memories of Homecoming parades, class floats, football rivalries, teachers, and community growth after the post-World War II baby boom. The displays, she said, help create pride and connection between past and current students.
“I just think it's great that the principal at Carey worked with us in celebrating this special 70th anniversary and allowed us to bring our artifacts in to set up,” Grey said, referring to Jennifer Alaimo. “We've had them on display at our museum since the beginning of September, and they'll be up through October also. And I just think that working together with the principal like that and sharing with the students today all of the history and celebrating the 70th birthday of the school being built was very, very, very special.”
Grey told the Herald as she talked about the school's early history, when it was determined that with the Elmont, Floral Park and New Hyde Park communities growing, the area needed a new school.
“The community was developing into … families that had moved here from the city after … the early 1950s, and they needed a school, so they built Carey,” Grey said. “New Hyde Park, Floral Park and Elmont all at the same time, because there was a need for schools because everyone went to Sewanhaka for high school before that time.”
"Our collaboration with the Franklin Square Historical Society during this milestone 70th Homecoming celebration has been truly extraordinary,” Alaimo wrote in an email. “Seeing our students, alumni, and community connect through the incredible artifacts on display brought our school's rich history and decades of traditions vividly to life, reminding us of all of the roots that unite us."
Village Historian Paul Van Wei noted that the high school was originally intended to be built on what is now its athletic field. However, the site was too marshy, so the school was built on higher grounds.
“A lot of those artifacts were uniforms which were worn by some of the original students who attended Carey in the late 1950s into the 1960s,” Wei said. “And it's really wonderful that the owners of these artifacts saved these items and donated them to the Franklin Square Historical Society.”
