Lycoming County Historical Society President Seth Burch presented the president's volunteer of the year award at the May 3, 2026, annual meeting of the society's membership. The winner of the award was Bob Schildt. In presenting the award, President Burch related the following:
Bob's early years were spent thirty miles north of New York City. It was there that he fist developed a fascination with railroads, living near the New York Central Railroad tracks. Through his father's occupation as a skyscraper construction engineer, Bob encountered commuter & elevated trains in New York City, trolley streetcars in Pittsburgh, and boxcars "standing still" in Billings, Montana. Through family trips, he encountered the Edaville Railroad in Cape Cod and the Pennsylvania Railroad in Washington, D.C.
For Christmas 1961, Bob received his first Lionel train set. In 1968, Bob "spotted a February 1968 issue of Trains magazine... with the cover caption, Why do Freight Cars Spend so much Time Standing Still... I was fascinated by it.. .I literally wore the binding off the magazine- as I devoured it... From then on I became a total Railfan..."
After high school, Bob enrolled at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and received a degree in Business Economics, minoring in Transportation (Civil) Engineering and Physics (Motion & Relativity). After a brief job at the Naval Base in Philadelphia, Bob settled into a career of thirty-six and one half years at the State Stores, but his fascination continued with memberships in the National Model Railroad Association (life member), the National Railway Historical Society (including his active participation in the local Chapter at White Deer), the Eastern Pennsylvania Traction Club, and the New York, New Haven & Hartford R.R.
His extensive library of over 3,000 volumes has served him well in his capacity as a volunteer at the Museum. As well, with over 250 locomotives, 1100 freight cars, and 150 passenger cars in his personal collection for study, Bob has logged many hours at the Museum, creating extensive notes about the trains in the Larue Shempp Model Train Collection. Last summer, his handwritten notes were transcribed onto a flash drive. Those notations will be available within the Train Room for enthusiasts like Bob.
We congratulate him on this award as the 2026 Volunteer of the Year.