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FLUSHING - Kristina Estle, 36, is a public historian, director of the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing, assistant director at the Bellaire Public Library, president of the History Detectives of Belmont County and treasurer of the Belmont County NAACP. She has put a focus on civics organizations, education and history.
She began working at the museum in 2018 as an intern under curator Dr. John Mattox and was named to the director’s position after Mattox’s death in 2019.
“I fell in love with the organization, the museum and its mission and vision and I knew that I would want to continue here,” she said. “I knew no one else would run the organization, especially with it being so nonprofit and not having the ability to pay its employees.”
Her work involves promoting, marketing and grant-writing, as well as designing an exhibit dedicated to Mattox and his late wife and co-founder, Rosalind. She said her goal has been to put the museum “on the map.”
She started the history detectives society after completing a master’s degree through Southern New Hampshire University.
“I realized very quickly that there’s a strong need for a historical society in this county that would work toward preserving this county’s history. Historical sites, cemeteries,” she said, adding many historical sites including Underground Railroad stations were being lost or deteriorating. Some projects include locating lost gravesites and cemeteries, a buried train in the Flushing area and gravesites of runaway slaves who did not survive the trek to freedom.
She has also completed her first week at the library. She looks forward to writing grants and otherwise improving the library, with a local history room being designed. Estle said she hopes to encourage increased attendance.
“I want to be a part of igniting that interest again. I want to see more and more locals come in daily,” she said, adding the library has extensive and ongoing digital archives for researchers.
Estle lives near Piedmont Lake and is married to Kevin Estle. Their children are Anthony Schuerle and Terra Estle, along with a beagle, Sadie. She said they have a busy home life. Her hobbies include kayaking, fishing and hiking, and she has a passion for gardening.
She also conducts the “Let’s talk Race” book club, which now has about 30 members. They are currently reading “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo.
“It was excellent,” she said. “I started the book club more as a way to educate myself and my colleagues, and it’s just grown tremendously.”
A typical workday begins shortly after her daughter heads to school. She works at the library, and attends virtual meetings at night. Her husband is also often away at work.
“It’s very busy, and it’s hard,” she said. “It’s working out well. Schedules are important. Routines are so important and I just can’t seem to give up any of my organizations because I love what I do so much. I still make time for family. We’re a very close family.”
Her motto is: “Education is key,” which she learned from Mattox. She has a tattoo of the Ashanti African symbol meaning one must understand the past before one can understand the future.
“I live by that. You have to understand where society came from and where we are today, and how to move forward. That’s a life motto for me,” she said.
Her brother and sister are adopted biological siblings who grew up in Barnesville. Estle has a strong connection to the Ohio Valley and said there is much potential of the area. She loves the sense of community.
“Even though our area has a lot of work to do, I think that’s why I’m here, and I don’t plan on going anywhere,” she said. “The valley has a lot of potential moving forward. I know that jobs are scarce in this area. I know that it is hard to find a decent-paying job, but I also know that in the near future opportunities will present themselves. I think it’s really important to get people back into this area. I know I’m not the only one who wanted to flee this area for lack of opportunities. I do enjoy the small, hometown feel. That is something I’ve always loved.”
Estle advises young people entering the workforce to follow their passion.
“Do what you love. If you find a career in which you enjoy, you will truly never have to work a day in your life. I know that’s cliche, but it’s really true,” she said. “Don’t find a job where you think you’re going to make lots of money. Find a job where you find joy, because in the end that’s where you’re going to find the key to your happiness.”
She learned a valuable lesson about adaptation during the pandemic, when school tours to the museum canceled and she realized she was not “tech savvy.”
“I had to figure out how I was going to do remote, online programming. I had to learn all these different systems,” she said.
In the future, she will continue to work toward interesting young people in history.
“Public history in this area is not a very good-paying job, however I believe that history really needs to be taught. One of my goals is to spark that interest in history. I kind of feel like it’s a dying field,” she said. “The stories are tremendous and they need to be told. We need historians very badly.”