Library Dedicates Newly-Built Heritage Center to Philanthropist David Bolger

Have you ever wondered about who used to live in your house? Or wanted to know how long your family has existed in Ridgewood? Now you can, at the ’s new Heritage Center.

The library held a dedication ceremony on June 16, thanking note philanthropist David F. Bolger for donating the funds to make the construction possible.

“A heritage center is very unique, not a lot of libraries have them,” said John Bolger, David Bolger’s son, addressing the crowd. “I think we do have a sense of local history here and this is part of what gives the library an identity.”

The center is a partnership between the library and the Genealogical Society of Bergen County. Located on the second floor of the library, patrons can research using the available genealogical materials and access to ancestry databases on the web, as well as archives from Ridgewood and the County. Among the shelves are old Ridgewood High School yearbooks and Ridgewood directories dating back to 1897.

“People ask me ‘Have you got a picture of my grandmother?’ and sometimes we can spot her in a sports photo or even a candid,” said Village Historian Joe Suplicki.

Mayor Keith Killion delivered opening remarks, and Members of the Library Board and Administration were on hand to thank David Bolger for his gracious philanthropy. Library Director Nancy Greene told him, “There’s never been a dream I’ve had that you haven’t helped with.” 

John Saraceno of the Library Board of Trustees told the audience, “The room we were using was exceedingly insufficient for the task,” a statement Local History Librarian Peggy Norris corroborated. “There was not one inch of space on the shelves,” she said. “Now we have room to grow and continue recording the history of our town.”

Theresa Van Blarcom, who has been researching her family history for the past four years, was already at the center to utilize the resources.

“The first time you a find record of an ancestor is so exciting, it’s a feeling you can’t even describe,” she said, also stating that she was looking forward to meeting other researchers and exchanging information at the center.

“A sense of history give people an inspiration for something to build on in creating our future,” said Norris.