A local elementary school student has been given a distinguished title in Blairstown. On Sept. 11, at their regular monthly meeting, 11-year-old Brock Kolb was officially designated by the Blairstown Township Committee as Blairstown’s very first “Junior Historian.” He was presented a certificate of achievement by Mayor Steve Lance in the presence of special guests: Brock’s parents, Patrick and Geri Kolb, his siblings Mason, 9, and Riley, 5, Christine Beegle, Lori Nienstedt, and Barbara Green from Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee, and myriad relatives, friends, and well-wishers.

Brock attends sixth grade at Blairstown Elementary School. What’s his favorite subject in school? Perhaps unsurprisingly, he said, “I like social studies a lot, because in my spare time I like reading history books.” In fact, he’s very knowledgeable about the Civil War, WWII and The Great Depression. When asked how he became interested in local history, Brock replied, “When I was in fourth grade, we went on a tour in [Blairstown]. I was really interested in John Blair and the railway.” Beyond academics and investigations, Brock added, “I play football, baseball, basketball, ski, archery and love to ride four-wheelers.”

His grandmother, Patricia Kolb, was Blairstown Town Clerk and Warren County Clerk before retiring about two years ago. His local ancestors include the McConachy family of Blairstown, who he said arrived in Sussex County from Ireland about 1834 and moved to Blairstown by 1848. His great grandparents, Patrick and Audrey Fusci, were residents of White Township. Sgt. Maj. Patrick J. Fusci was a WWII veteran and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. Brock knew his great-grandfather and admired his record as a WWII veteran. He was eager to visit his grave site at the Cedar Ridge Cemetery in Blairstown.

How did he get involved with the Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee (BHPC) and their Junior Historian program? Brock explained, “I saw their tent at the Fourth of July celebration at Footbridge Park. My dad showed me the paper with the program on it. I was very interested.”

As for the process leading to this special recognition, Brock Kolb successfully and enthusiastically completed the inaugural BHPC Junior Historian program with Chairperson Christine Beegle giving instruction. The sessions, each lasting one to two hours, were held one day a week for four consecutive weeks, during July and into August, and taking place at three locations. Of Brock, Beegle said, “What a pleasure it was to interact with this intelligent, insightful and inquisitive young person!”

The first session was held at the Catherine Dickson Hofman (CDH) Library where Senior Library Assistant Angela Dabrowski previewed all the services available for young people through the CDH library. Beegle continued by showing Brock the maps, publications and other historic resources at the library, and reviewing computer programs that are offered for free, including Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest. Brock learned how to use these resources to research the census, military records, grave locations, and more.

The second session was held at the Cedar Ridge Cemetery where Brock got acquainted with the cemetery itself and how to locate graves when visiting a cemetery. After successfully making a rubbing of a gravestone, he was introduced to the different meanings of the symbols that can be found on a gravestone. Beegle and Brock explored the grave sites of important Blairstown residents, such as the Belet family, Hiram France, and the Allen family, among others, including Brock’s own family.

The third and fourth sessions were held at the Blairstown Municipal Building where Brock was given a tour and introduced to Deputy Clerk Lori Nienstedt, who is also corresponding secretary of the BHPC and was instrumental in starting the Junior Historians program. Brock also met Deputy Mayor Joanne Van Valkenberg and Township Clerk Everett Falt.

While at the municipal building Brock was able to study each of the BHPC historical exhibits in the lobby. He was particularly impressed by the veterans exhibit for Frank Givens and Robert Belet, making the connection to the Belet family grave site at Cedar Ridge Cemetery. Beegle and Brock delved deeper into some of the township’s archives.

The experience came full circle when going through the Allen archives (a 2014 donation from Lester and Elizabeth Shotwell). While perusing a photo album made in tribute to the Allen’s daughter Dorothy, Brock discovered that as a fifth or sixth grader in 1928, Dorothy Allen was a classmate of Robert Belet. There was a class photo of the students and Brock immediately recognized Robert Belet’s name written on the back. Brock then identified Robert Belet among his classmates. He recognized that the young person he was looking at in the album was the distinguished veteran Robert Belet whom he had just learned about through the exhibit and at the cemetery.

Brock was equally keen about his own family’s heritage since they had deep ties to the area. He made a special point to search out family names and business advertisements in the old Blairstown High School yearbooks.

Having successfully (in a big way) completed the Junior Historian program, what did Brock find to be the most interesting aspect? “I would say going to the town hall and looking through the artifacts.”

Was any part of it complicated? “Not really, but,” he admitted, “we went to the cemetery to locate some people we had already looked up, and locating them with clues was a little difficult.”

As a junior historian, does Brock expect to participate in Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee meetings? “I’m not sure about that, but would love to!”

Does he have any specific explorations or investigations in mind? “I would like to go to the museum, go into town and read all the historic signs, and also visit the displays at the municipal building when they change them.”

What does he plan to do with all his newly-gained knowledge? “I want to encourage people to do this. It’s a lot of fun, and get in there and get your hands dirty!”

In closing, Brock graciously acknowledged those who brought the Junior Historian program to life. “Thank you to the Historic Society for doing this. Especially to Ms. Beegle. I had a great time, and hope to be able to do it again.”

There is little doubt that local history will be in Brock’s future, having displayed such passion for the subject and already filling the (brand new) shoes of a junior historian.

The BHPC Junior Historian program will run again this fall to enable youngsters with an interest in local history to participate. It will be open to fourth through sixth grade students, with a maximum enrollment of 25 per program. For more information, visit the HPC Facebook page. 

This program was made possible through grant funding by the North Warren Municipal Alliance, which was awarded through the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA). With input from local government and law enforcement officials, schools, nonprofits, the faith community, parents, and youth, the Municipal Alliance plans for and develops evidenced-based and community level prevention strategies to target substance abuse in their communities. Lori Nienstedt, area Municipal Alliance Coordinator, explained that the Historic Preservation Committee hosts the Junior Historian program as one way to enable “positive decision-making and character building skills that will be of assistance to a young person if faced with a situation to ‘Just Say No’ someday.”

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