Ulster BOCES Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) students have been honing their estimating knowledge and technical skills by helping to install a heating system in the bakery area of the Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History.

During a recent field trip to the Kingston historic site, students inspected the space, which was built in the early 19th century. They measured the area where the necessary new boiler pipes would be located then determined the amount of time and materials that it would take to complete the job.

Aidan Kelly, who is planning on entering the HVAC industry after graduation, said having the opportunity to perform an actual work estimate made him realize what an important element of the job it is. “Being able to look at a [potential] job and know how much labor and material and time the job is going to take is reassuring to the customer. It also makes you more likely to get the job,” the Saugerties Central School District student said.

Reher Center Director Sarah Litvin said she is thrilled to be working with the HVAC students to design a plan to install period-appropriate looking heating into the historic oven room. “Of course, when the bakery was operating, that space was sweltering,” she explained. “But to convert the space into a museum that can serve school and adult groups and public tours all year long, we need heat. And BOCES is the perfect group to do this work for us.”

Litvin describes the Reher Center as a community museum inside and out. “Reher's Bakery was a community hub for 80 years, drawing together folks from diverse backgrounds who adored the breads and rolls the immigrant Jewish family produced,” she said. “Our programming invites folks to learn about each others' cultures and to break bread together. So, it's perfectly fitting that the very process of converting this old bakery into a museum is a community effort as well!”