When it was time to retire in 1988, NoVA resident Marjorie Lundegard began her search for a consistent hobby that would be both in line with her interests as a former school teacher and beneficial to the community she lives in. Once she found a match with the Colvin Run Mill Historic Site as an education docent, she was hooked.
Fast forward 15 years, and Marjorie Lundegard had volunteered over 20,000 hours of her time on a biweekly basis to teach youngsters and adults alike about the history of the Colvin Run.
Soon after, Marjorie’s husband Robert “caught the bug” as site administrator of Colvin Run Mill Historic Site Mike Henry describes it. While she continued on the education side, Robert took a different track, inevitably spearheading preservation efforts and creating nonprofit Friends of Colvin Run Mill.
And on Oct. 26, the duo will be publicly recognized for their contributions to Fairfax County when the current on-site barn will be named the Marjorie and Robert J. Lundegard Education Center.
“Bob and Marge have done so much for so long and recognition was long overdue,” says Henry. “While they did different things, both of their efforts were instrumental in what the historic site is today.”
Through Bob’s fundraising efforts as part of the nonprofit and through sales of Marjorie’s written works of more than a dozen books about mills in the region, the two raised more than $50,000 to support future restoration of the site.
In the same week the county announced the name change of the barn, Bob died, missing the official unveiling of the barn. Marjorie, however, will be in attendance this October to receive recognition on behalf of herself and her husband.
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