Dennis
"Pat" Carroll
was born about 1932 and was a resident of Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence
Co., New York at the time of his appointment to Rock Island. While
enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard he served as
keeper of Rock Island Station starting 30 June 1955.
The following recollections
come the former keeper's son, John
C. Van Ingen, who was eight
years old when his own family was transferred to Rock Island:
"Dad's
replacemnt was BM2 Pat Carroll who transferred off the buoy tender
Maple
stationed at Ogdensburg. I believe Pat Carroll was there for maybe
two years at the most, as I believe that an elctrical cable was
run out to the station in 1957. Pat did not re-enlist and went to
work for some company in Alexandria Bay doing work on the Seaway
which was just getting started then."
Further
recollections of Pat Carroll come from life-long Thousand Islands
resident and self-appointed Rock Island Lighthouse caretaker, Manny
Jerome. Manny came to know Pat's family when he was a boy, since Pat's
mother was a housekeeper for the Jeromes at their home in Sackets
Habor. From the age of 12 to about 18 or so, Manny visited Rock Island
regularly where he helped Pat, who was responsible for river navigation
from Alexandria to Cape Vincent, care for the station. Fuel used to
be brought to the island by boat, and needed to be hauled up by hand
in five gallon cans to the generator house, which Manny and his brother
helped Pat do on several occasions.
Manny recalls that by the
time of Pat's appointment, the keeper's quarters were considered beyond
repair, having no working facilities. Pat lived in the carpenter's
shop instead, which he furnished with a stove and a bed. Pat was not
married and had no children during the time that he was at Rock Island.
Dennis
Carroll was the last keeper of Rock Island Lighthouse. The exact end
date of Carroll's service at Rock Island is not clear. Some sources
state he served there through 10 December 1956; however his last known
log entry was made 31 December 1955, and a 21 March 1956 news article
indicated he was being transferred to Oswego.
The station was deactivated shortly after his tenure.
