Shaping history: students step up as documentarians

Shaping history: students step up as documentarians

HVRHS seniors Ellie Wolgemuth, left, and Tess Marks were panelists for “Students as Historians: A Community-based Approach to History.”

Patrick L. Sullivan

MILLERTON — High school history teachers Rhonan Mokriski and Peter Vermilyea demonstrated how they “let students lead” in studying history at The Moviehouse in Millerton Thursday, March 27.

The demonstration took the form of two documentary films made by students at Salisbury School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School, plus one from Yale University’s Beinecke Library.

“Coloring Our Past” from Salisbury School follows the story of the Cesar family, Black residents of Salisbury and Sharon. It also shows how the students conducted research, including field trips to the places the family lived and worked, and an interview with a descendant.

“Faces of Adversity” from HVRHS deals with the story of how two Black girls came to the high school for the 1958-59 school year.

The girls were from Little Rock, Arkansas, which was the epicenter of the fight over school desegregation.

The documentary uses a mix of archival footage and a contemporary interview with one of the Little Rock students.

From Yale came Michael Morand’s “What Could Have Been,” about an 1831 proposal to establish what would today be called an Historically Black College or University, or HBCU, in New Haven.

Supported by abolitionists and prominent citizens, the proposal was nonetheless soundly defeated at a town meeting. Many of the opponents were also prominent citizens.

Morand was scheduled to attend the screening but was unable to make it. Salisbury School’s Mokriski and Vermilyea from HVRHS spoke after the films were shown, highlighting how the tactic of letting students take control of such projects yields considerable results.

“This is students getting their hands dirty as historians,” said Vermilyea.

The teachers noted how the students took advantage of modern technology to get access to source material.

“It’s a game-changer,” Vermilyea said.

Mokriski added “We can use this as a template.”

HVRHS students Tess Marks and Elinor Wolgemuth, both seniors from Salisbury, presented at the America 250 conference “Shaping a Commemoration Rooted in Belonging,” held at the University of Connecticut on March 21. Marks and Wolgemuth were members of a panel discussion entitled “Students as Historians: A Community-based Approach to History,” along with Mokriski, Vermilyea, and Charlie Champalimaud, owner and operator of Troutbeck in Amenia. The students spoke about how student projects presented at last year’s Troutbeck Symposium could serve as a model for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.

This year’s Troutbeck Symposium runs from April 30 to May 2. The student-led forum includes students from 14 regional and independent schools who will “listen, present, and discuss findings of their research projects uncovering little-known local histories that tie to our national fabric,” according to the Troutbeck website.

Latest News

Amenia board honors employees for service

Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.

Leila Hawken

AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.

“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.

Keep ReadingShow less
Historic marker dedicated at Amenia Union Cemetery

In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.

Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.

A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millbrook Historical Society announces summer Quaker lecture series

The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.

Photo by Leila Hawken

MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.

For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton voter turnout declines after 2023 peak

Downtown Millerton

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — Voter turnout in the Village of Millerton dropped sharply in 2025, with just 58 ballots cast in this year’s village election — less than a third of the record turnout seen just two years earlier.

The election on June 17 marked a stark contrast to 2023, when signs littered the intersection of Route 22 and Route 44 and 208 voters headed to the polls to decide a competitive mayoral race between incumbent Jenn Najdek and challenger Kelly Kilmer. That year also featured two contested trustee positions and generated the highest turnout in at least five years.

Keep ReadingShow less