Jim Reifinger, a retired Marine Corps first sergeant, describes to Northeast Elementary School fourth-graders from Alexia Williams’ class about what life was like as a sailor during the 1860s. Photo by Bryan Hanks / Neuse News

By Bryan Hanks

Matthew Young fell in love with history at a young age. When he was a third-grader in California, his class took a trip to a historical house museum.

“It clicked for me that day that those people were just like us,” Young recalled. “But they did stuff completely different than the way we do it today — but why? That ‘why’ question kept me going back over and over and kept me intrigued.”

Young, in his role as the executive director of the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretative Center, has kept his intrigue and passion for history alive. That passion has accelerated this week as the Interpretative Center has been hosting every fourth grader in the Lenoir County Public School system.

Thanks to a generous contribution from a local business, the trip for the approximately 700 students hasn’t cost taxpayers — or LCPS — a dime.

“Every time we’d go to the school board, the superintendent would agree with me and say, ‘Yes, it’s very important for schools to come and understand local history,’ but the problem was the budget,” Young said. “They just couldn’t find it in their budget.”

Young refused to give up — he found out from the school board how much it would cost, which was around $1,700.

“That’s when we went out to solicit sponsors,” Young said.

He was pleasantly surprised when Tands, Inc., the parent company of area Bojangles’ restaurants, footed the entire $1,700 — enough to send every fourth grader in Lenoir County to the museum.

“They sent us a check and said, ‘Get every fourth grader in the county there; it’s that important to us,’” Young said with a big smile.

The day trips started Wednesday, continued Thursday and will conclude on Friday. There are eight stations for students to literally touch history at the Center.

“They get a little taste of what life was like in the 1800s,” Young said. “At the stations, we talk about food, clothing, dentistry and medicine. … They are getting a sample of what it was like 150 years ago.”

Jim Reifinger, a retired Marine Corps first sergeant and Vietnam veteran, is teaching the children about what life was like as an 1860s sailor. Chad Jefferds, clad in a period piece uniform, spent time teaching students about soldier’s lives during the Civil War.

Alexia Williams, a teacher at Northeast Elementary, said her students particularly enjoyed the steam engine and cannon displays.

The favorite part for Matthew Green, a fourth-grader in Williams’ class, was Jefferds’ soldier demonstration.

“I liked how we were shown the way the soldiers were set up with different materials,” Green said. “We got to see the food they ate, and the way they used gunpowder. … They used journals to write about the things they saw and they sent letters home.”

The excitement shown by the fourth graders appeared to further fuel Young’s passion.

“They’ve really enjoyed it and it’s been incredible,” Young said. “We’re hitting on science and technology, too, but doing it through the lens of history.”

And just like that, Young rang a bell and the smiling students went to the next station to learn more about their history.