Deb Pavlich

I have had a passion for history since childhood. I remember going on weekly Sunday drives with my family, and while everyone else was looking at shops and local activities, I was looking at the old buildings we were passing wondering what life was like way back then. I discovered early on that reading history from textbooks was not enough - I wanted to know more. To help fill that void, my dad would patiently bring me again and again to Richmondtown and the Conference House, two historic sites near home. While I enjoyed visiting those old buildings I still needed to know more. I wanted to know what life was really like behind those closed doors so long ago.

Fast forward through wonderful years spent teaching and raising two exceptional children to 1991 when my husband and I made the momentous decision to move from Staten Island to the Hudson Valley. Exploring life on the Great Estates became my refuge as I tried to adjust to being so far from what I knew as home. One day shortly after moving here, my husband and I were wandering through a delightful antique shop when I came upon a copy of Godey’s Ladies Book and so it began! I was thrilled with the contents of the periodical, and of course needed to read more, so I began collecting every copy I could find. This led to collecting servant’s manuals and etiquette books to help complete the household picture.

Shortly thereafter, I began volunteering and then working at Montgomery Place, first as an interpreter and later as assistant site manager until the closure in 2005. Subsequently I found myself at Mills Mansion researching and transcribing archival documents as well as writing several educational programs. The primary sources at both sites were exceptional, and I was so very lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with them.

Just when I thought the good life was over I visited the Story Studio where Thea encouraged me to meet with Claudine to discuss volunteering at the Elmendorph’s archives. Once again I have found refuge at an important and fascinating historic site with delightful people who share my passion. I so enjoy helping wherever I can and am so grateful for the opportunity to discover and learn more about the past. I guess you could say that my childhood dreams have come true.