Marlborough – At the annual meeting of the Marlborough Historical Society, Jillian Gollner was presented with the 2014 Dorothy McDill, Frank Valianti, Claudia McCarty History Scholarship Award of $1,000. Gollner, a senior at Marlborough High School, accepted the award in honor of her great-grandmother, Dorothy McDill.
The topic of Gollner's history project was the Frye Boot Company. In her video presentation, she showed how today's high school students know little or nothing about the company, although it was a large part of Marlborough's historic shoe industry. The video has interviews with students and former Frye Boot employees. Her presentation included a timeline and photos of the Pleasant Street factory and its workers. The video is available for viewing on the Marlborough Historical Society website, www.historicmarlborough.org.
Gollner explained how a high school trip to Williamsburg helped to stimulate her interest in the past and what it means to us today. She also noted that she plans to share her video with her history teacher in the hopes that it will help stimulate the interest of youngsters in Marlborough history. She plans to attend Roger Williams College in the fall.
