By Cathy Miller

It was such a beautiful day in northern New Jersey, perfect to capture Cathy’s People of the Week!

Dire warnings of high wind and heavy rain dissipated overnight. In their stead, Sunday brought mild temperatures and bright blue skies. People came out, unfettered by bulky coats and clunky boots. Happily, our People of the Week had planned a family photo for this day several weeks ago! Blair Falls, a highlight of Main Street, Blairstown, and an entrance to the Blair Academy campus, served as a limitless backdrop, while also serving up a load of smiles. Sightseers, fisherfolk, dogs, kids, strollers, and even another photographer with his own subjects, all shared in the pure pleasure of a perfect “un”winter day.

Joan and Andy Young were married in 1998 and have lived in Blairstown ever since. Joan graduated from Seton Hall University in 1991, and worked as a Registered Nurse in local hospitals. She began teaching Nursing in 2012, most recently as the Nursing Lab Coordinator at Warren County Community College since 2018.

Andy has worked at B&G Foods in his hometown of Roseland, N.J. for the past 24 years as the production planner, beginning as a project engineer. He is a graduate of NJIT, holding a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Grace just finished her first semester at Moravian College. She is studying Music Composition and is an accomplished bassist. She enjoys pit bands, theater, jazz band, and chorus. Ultimately, she hopes to write musical scores for shows and theater.

Garrett is a junior at Pope John Regional High School in Sparta, NJ and is an honors student. He is on the FIRST Robotics team, the Zero Robotics team, and National Honor Society. He is a drummer and has performed in pit bands and jazz band. He plans on studying computer engineering in college.

Both Grace and Garrett are excellent musicians. They have their own band called “Youngblood” and perform every summer at a breast cancer awareness event called “Rock the Ribbon” in Easton, PA.

As we said our good-byes and headed home, the real wrath of winter was quietly plotting its return.

Cathy Miller is an award-winning photo-journalist. Her works appear regularly in insidewarren.com as well as many other publications in the region and state. If you would like to nominate someone for the person of the week, please reach out to Cathy at info@insidewarren.com