Chenango County Historical Society Announces Scholarship Winners

The Chenango County Historical Society (CCHS) recently honored two graduating high school seniors from Chenango County with the annual Elinor Robb Troicke Memorial Scholarship. Named in honor of McDonough community member Elinor Robb Troicke, the scholarship has been awarded every year since 2013.

This year, the recipients are Denali Nebel of Oxford and Katherine Becker of Norwich. Nebel, an Oxford Academy High School graduate, plans to study history at SUNY Oswego. Norwich High School alumna Katherine Becker is enrolling at SUNY Morrisville to pursue an associate’s degree in nursing.

At Oxford Academy, Nebel served in leadership roles with the National Honor Society, RoboRave, and Student Government. Regarding her chosen field, she said, “I love how you can see history and how things changed … like architecture, written history, and art.” In her career, Nebel stated, “I want to travel the world to various countries and historical sites and study and research what happened, and then come back home and teach others what I learned.”

Becker’s diverse interests include Archery Club, French Club, and Girl Scouts, having participating in each for all four years at Norwich High School. An Allied Health New Visions participant, she said she has always “had a passion to help make the world a better place.” Following graduation from SUNY Morrisville, Becker plans “on furthering my education by earning my master’s degree to become a nurse practitioner.”

Elinor Robb Troicke served for many years as a volunteer museum educator at CCHS. She taught art at Oxford Academy and Central School for more than 20 years before retiring in 1989. She was a very active member of the McDonough United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. She was also a member of the United Methodist Women and was involved in every facet of the church.

At the time of her passing, Don and Anita Sheldon said Elinor Robb Troicke “was a pillar in the McDonough community. For the past seven years, Troicke has been a column of support for area high school seniors.”

She also served as Cub Scout and Girl Scout leaders, was a member of the Chenango Piece Makers Quilt Club, co-founded the McDonough Improvement Committee, brought the McDonough Library and Calvary Community Center to fruition, and served as the Town of McDonough historian.