My Valley Forge Story: Kenneth Block

Picnic at Valley Forge, 1962. Kenneth is standing on the table bench between Mary Ellen Failor and mother, Loretta Block. The adult man is Bill Failor, NPS Landscape Architect / planner in Philadelphia at the time – later Superintendent at National Capital parks, C&O Canal and Antietam Battlefield.

NPS/ Kenneth Block

…began like most kids born in the Philly region in the 1950s since the Philadelphia suburbs had exploded after WWII and Valley Forge State Park, with its long history of green open spaces, picnic tables and a mythic connection to George Washington and the (what seemed to be ancient past to a little kid) sacrifice and struggle for Independence, became a mecca for family picnics and for a while, national Boy Scout Jamborees.

The boom at the major highway crossroads saw King of Prussia grow immensely around the park in the 1960s and just kept growing for decades. For me, Valley Forge became the crossroads of my entire life, which was woven somehow through experiences I had there from my birth though June 1996, as well as all the time since living far away from it.

I was born on December 19, 1956, and raised in Drexel Hill. Growing up, a neighbor of my parents happened to be an NPS planner working in Philadelphia. With kids the same age we often visited Valley Forge Park together for a picnic and, of course, to play around the artillery and cabins. My mother was incredibly patriotic, and we took many trips downtown to visit Independence Hall when the Liberty Bell was inside on the first-floor hallway.

Boy Scout patches featuring Valley Forge.

NPS/ Kenneth Block

I was active as a Boy Scout and spent every year at the annual BSA Pilgrimage and council Camporee’s held at Valley Forge. I was too young to be in scouts during the famous BSA National Jamboree’s held
there in the 1950s and in 1964 – but they were legendary in scouting.

I had one of those animated history teachers you hear about that really turn kids on to history, we’d all have to kneel and ask Teddy Roosevelt for guidance in front of a bust in the classroom each day; it was the best class I had. I was so upset that I graduated in 1974 and not 1976 so I could have a Bicentennial year class ring. However, although I was initially planning on a Pre-Med major, the Bicentennial events had begun, and I was so immersed in that history that I graduated St. Joseph’s College in May 1978 (it became a university in 1978) with a B.A. in History.

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.

However, my plans to be involved in the Bicentennial events and perhaps get a NPS ranger position at Valley Forge once it had become an NPS site, took a huge turn. I had gotten a job for my first college summer in 1975 as a “Ranger” at the BSA National Camp “Philmont”. The Upper Darby kid who spent all his summers growing up at the Jersey Shore was now at the front range of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern New Mexico — the Sangre de Cristo Range. Majestic mountains and just so much history you could feel in the air. They had just started living history programs which I became involved in for three summers. The place should have been a National Park, but sure seemed like one to me. That was it, I wanted to do this as a career with the NPS someday, but it would have to wait until I sowed all my western oats!

Philmont wanted me back in 1976, and until late June 1976, nobody had an inkling that Valley Forge, in the space of a few weeks, would become a NPS unit! I almost cried that I would miss the 4th of July in Philadelphia, and after hearing about Valley Forge and then sitting on top of a famous landmark along the Santa Fe trail and promontory at Philmont, the “Tooth of Time”, at sunset on July 4, 1976, I was torn between two worlds of both landscape and history.

I found ways to earn money and return to Philmont though the summer of 1981 – three years after graduation from St. Joes. I worked whatever paid jobs I could to find my trips out west. I started submitting seasonal applications to Valley Forge by 1980 but heard nothing but crickets. One of those jobs was at the Camera Shop, Inc store in the King of Prussia Mall. Fate would have it that Valley Forge Rangers would drop off film for processing every week in that store. That was my door to the NPS; once I finally applied to Valley Forge in September 1981, they were very familiar with me, my customer service attitude and my love of history, especially of Valley Forge.

I picked up a phone call at home in Drexel Hill, “hello this is Ken speaking” - and a Valley Forge Supervisor said, “Hi Ken, I am going over your application and wanted to chat a little with you”. Then a pause, and a slight giggle – then I see you work at the Camera shop and wanted to make sure, are you our Ken in the King of Prussia store? I said, “it sure is”; she replied, “I can’t believe we never noticed you past applications; you have a great resume”.

I started on December 21. 1981 and I was disappointed they made me wait until after the annual March In reenactment on December 19th, my 25th birthday. I would play lead roles on December 19th and June 19th for the next six years.

The life of an interpretive park ranger!

NPS/ Kenneth Block

On the last day of my first season at Valley Forge in September 1982, I stood under the National Memorial Arch on a roving assignment, a warm breeze making it sway though the arch toward me. I literally teared up thinking how incredible the experience had been, how much I loved the park, its stories and all the promise that had been unfolding there since July 4, 1976 with interpretation, formal curriculum-based educational programs, preservation, archeology and the effort to make what was primarily a huge regional recreational area into a true NATIONAL historical park.

Most other seasonals I worked with went on to other careers. One of those, the late Dr, Paul Reber, PhD History, was tragically killed in a bicycle accident in 2015. Paul had gone on to be the Executive Director of Stratford Hall outside of Richmond, home of “Light Horse Harry” Lee and birthplace of his son, Robert E. Lee. Paul and I became fast friends and stood up for each other at our weddings. I stay in touch with Ron Rinaldi, Ed.D. in Higher Educational Leadership; he has portrayed George Washington several times in the Annual Crossing of the Delaware reenactment and just participated for the 50th consecutive year in 2025.

Paul urged me to pursue a Master's and PhD in History in Virginia, but I was too attached to my role as an interpretive ranger at Valley Forge to leave. Had I, whether in the NPS or elsewhere, my career advancement potential would have, of course, been exponentially increased. However, had I left Valley Forge, the most important things in my life to come would have passed me by.

I became a permanent interpretive ranger at Valley Forge in September 1983; however, fate lead me to pursue the lure of an NPS system-wide career. I left for a supervisory ranger position at Upper Delaware S&RR in April 1988.

Regardless, had I spent 32 years at Valley Forge, I would have cherished every minute with no regrets. I was involved in so many aspects of the parks interpretive and preservation operations that I had, what I thought, was the best job in the world. Many contemporary Bicentennial era History Major colleagues took me under their wing at Valley Forge, mentored me and were critical in developing my skills which took me from the park onto a wide-ranging career in the NPS. Mary Devlin Clifford, Barbara Pollerine and Ron Gimarrillo have my enduring thanks for their impact on my career. I also was able to volunteer for the initial interpretive ranger swap program with Independence NHP we had back in the mid-1980s; I traded jobs for three months with Joanne Blacoe and gained experience at Independence NHP.

Valley Forge summer seasonal staff, 1986.

NPS/ Kenneth Block

The change of seasons and days at Muhlenberg, Varnum’s and Washington’s HQ, especially those bitter cold days left an indelible impression in my memory.

The visitor center was still relatively new in the early 1980s, and Washington’s Marquee, on loan from the Valley Forge Historical Society, dominated the exhibits. I loved raising and lowering the flag at the Visitor
Center. One of my duties was to keep a fresh supply of all the flags we displayed outside and on the main flagpole. Often a group from the Freedom Foundation observed the flag raising and lowering with eyes to make sure to was done according to code. I became an expert at doing it as close to code as could be with just myself and never having that flag touch the ground.
Occasionally we’d go over to the Washington Memorial Chapel and were able to see original documents from their collections; once, trembling, I held a letter written and signed by George Washington. Those tangible links, from my childhood and then as an NPS ranger, to the park’s history as a state park, and the collections of Valley Forge Historical Society, still resonate with me.
My love of NPS field units and front-line park operations kept my career focused on competitive promotions and transfers to other parks after Upper Delaware; including Supervisory Park Ranger / District Ranger, Independence NHP; District Ranger, Grand Canyon NP; Chief Ranger, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Acting Superintendent, Tallgrass Prairie NR, and Chief Visitor Services, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.

My lasty career move was leaving the NPS after 28 years in April 2010 for DeSoto NWR, USFWS. My career had taken me from the smallest NPS unit, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, to one of the crown jewels of the NPS at the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, and then to another agency with a chance to serve a different mission. I worked along the Schuylkill, Delaware, Upper Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri and Colorado rivers.

I retired after 32 years of total service in October 2015. Now, something was telling me time was limited and to go out and have an entirely new life experience. The last thought I had as I ended my career at DeSoto walking out to my car - was that warm breeze under the National Memorial Arch in September 1982 so many years before. My love of Valley Forge had taken me on a journey I could never have imagined in 1982.

1980s around Valley Forge National Historical Park

NPS/Kenneth Block

“Now for the rest of the story”…

The summer of 1986 at Valley Forge was to change my personal and professional life forever. I returned from six weeks of “Ranger Skills” training at the Grand Canyon to find new crop of seasonal interpreters waiting to go through our pre-summer training. “Jean” from Chicago was one of them. I went through Chicago on my western trips and made friends there who were also working at Philmont.
I was single at 29 years old and Jean, at 21 years old, was a little out of my “person of interest” range. However, I could break the ice and make her feel a little at home as I was working with her at duty stations that summer; we could talk about Chicago area neighborhoods and local food such as “stuffed pizza”.

It was quirk of fate that this Chicago math major even applied and was hired at Valley Forge. She had attended a cousin’s wedding in Ardmore the summer prior and loved the regional history after visiting the park. Jean had been her high school yearbook editor, and my supervisor was looking to reduce my assigned duties and hire someone to design in house brochures. After demonstrating my original Apple Macintosh and LaserWriter printer, we had begun in-house producing brochures and site bulletins.

We never dated, worked a lot of duty stations together and were just friends. Jean worked at Valley Forge as a seasonal in 1987 & 1988, then taught math at the Hackly School in Tarrytown, NY. In 1989 she worked as a summer seasonal costumer interpreter at the private site, Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s home near Tarrytown.

In February 1990, I received her application to work at Upper Delaware for the summer of 1990. She missed being an NPS summer seasonal. It was a beautiful drive from Tarrytown to the Upper Delaware though the Catskill and Pocono mountains. We did active river / rescue canoe patrols at Upper Delaware – a new challenge for her. My Chief of Interpretation, Ron Terry, asked me if there were any romantic ties with her, and I told him the truth, she was never interested in dating me. We hired her and placed her under the other interpretive supervisor just to make sure.

On river patrol with Jean, summer 1990 at Upper Delaware S&RR (right). Dressed for a program at Minisink Battlefield, UPDE, Summer 1990 (left).

NPS/Kenneth Block

You guessed it; she was now interested; we dated and were engaged by December 1990; we married in December 1991. Jean was teaching in elite private schools and wanted to get a Masters in Math Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She asked me to transfer to Philadelphia, and in April 1991 I was introduced to the staff at Independence NHP as the only interpretive ranger who had transferred out of Independence (I had swapped with Joanne Blacoe and then returned to Valley Forge), then voluntarily applied to come back as a District Ranger, that anyone could remember!

Wow! Now I experienced five years of what I learned was the hardest / busiest and most rewarding interpretive daily schedule – including that of Grand Canyon NP.
Jean went on to work as a seasonal back at Upper Delaware in 1991, at Independence in 1992 and back to Valley Forge in 1993. By then she had left Shipley School in the Philly suburbs for a position as Math Teacher at Marple Newtown High School. My buddy Paul Reber, a Marple graduate, was very happy. Jean and I were early personal computer owners, and that was parlayed by Jean into becoming the Technology Coordinator for Marple Newtown School District.

With that, Jean had to end her string of NPS summer seasonal jobs after 1993, However, for the 1993 Centennial year of Valley Forge as a park, I watched with envy from the audiences during their special events, happy to see Jean involved in those. A commemorative artwork depicting the soldiers at their huts was commissioned, and Jean was given the choice to purchase Artist Proof 1/100 by park historian Joan Marshall Dutcher.

Jean had that proof framed and surprised me with it on December 19, 1993, my 37th birthday, and the 216th anniversary of the main branch of the Continental Army’s march into and establishment of the Valley Forge encampment.

Jean laughed when she told me of the stunned look on Joan’s face when she requested Artist Proof 19/100. Joan asked why she would pass up number 1? Jean said the greatest value she saw in the painting was its being numbered 19 for my birthday and the anniversary day of the army’s arrival.

I still feel that way today, and that painting has been over our mantle in every home we have owned over the years.

I resigned from the NPS in July 1996 to follow Jean to the prestigious Kent School (Kent, CT) as Director of Technology. Our first child, Andrew, born on November 11,1995 – “Armistice Day” as my mom and grandmother continued to call it. He was a 31-week premature baby, and after almost eight weeks in the University of Pennsylvania Hospital NICU, he needed around the clock care in home until he was eight months old.

Eventually Jean decided she needed a new challenge and told me she’d walk away from her (impressive STEM) career if I could get a job back in the NPS at a good park with government housing.

I started at Grand Canyon National Park as a south rim district ranger in December 1998. Jean went on to consult from home, homeschool the kids, teach as adjunct evening college faculty and was an early on-line math teacher for an accredited online school. Raising her children became her biggest challenge; she often said her professional career was in no way even close to that challenge. I understood that completely.

From right to left; Kenneth's children Andrew and Matthew with Ron Gimarrillo, 2000. Jean and Sarah, 2021. Mathew, Andrew, Sara and Kenneth, 2004.

NPS/Kenneth Block.

We visited Valley Forge NHP and Independence NHP on east coast visits to my mom over all those years. The kids loved it, of course, and the memories there were something we wanted to instill in our children.

Andrew and me at the Arch on side trip visit while visiting my mom in September 2016; Mom passed away three months later, on, you guess it, December 19, 2016 – my 60th birthday and the 239th anniversary of the march into Valley Forge.

All six of our children were schooled at home and / or online with their mother supervising. Alomng the way we had a blast being able to use the parks I was assigned to as our own backyards.

After 24 years (mostly) of Jean living where I was employed – I retired to give her a chance at her dream.

Jean chose to establish a livestock farm in Wausau, WI; both our grandparents’ generation had farming roots. This was entirely out of the blue, and yet another major life experience and challenge. There were no NPS or USFWS sites close enough for me to fall back on if necessary.

Jean created a viable livestock farm with dairy & beef cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese.

Family portrait in October 2020, minus Kenneth, who was always behind the camera.

NPS/ Kenneth Block

We celebrated 10 years on the farm she created from scratch on October 16, 2025. Jean had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer back in March 2005. It was a tricky cancer that did not form tumors and was virtually undetectable on PET scans. She was doing well on chemo and expected we would be able to travel east to visit my family, and of course Valley Forge during 2026, the 40th anniversary of meeting as park rangers.
Sadly, a sudden and uncontrollable infection took Jean on November 12, 2005, at 60 years old.

All those end-of-life plans to make visits to see things and people for her were abruptly ended. She should have passed on November 11th but was fighting not to pass on our son’s birthday – as my mother had on my 60th birthday, December 19, 2016.

Jean never did meet my father that summer of 1986 at Valley Forge; dad passed on December 5, 1986, at 60 years old. Jean came to mourn his death on that day for the 35 years were together. December 19th had become a day of remembrance for many things for her too.

If I am still around and able to travel back on December 19, 2027, I’ll be there at Valley Forge. Knowing that outer line ridge and the gusts of wind there all too well, I am sure I’ll be thinking about a lot more than just the patience and fidelity of the soldiery as the cold wind gusts across my face – I will be standing at the crossroads of almost all the joys and sorrows of my own life’s experiences – the things I hold most dear in life as well as the love of the history of our nation’s founding.

Jean created a wonderful life for us, gave us six wonderful kids and, perhaps, 100 years of experiences all packed into her 60 years on earth and our 35 years together as a couple. Working for the NPS and USFWS was the best possible experience I could have dreamed for – except for my marriage and especially the last ten years on our farm.

From the curiosity of a little boy picnicking and imagining the soldiers in their huts so long in the past, to a 30 something single National Park Ranger, Valley Forge literally gave me the gift of a fantastic career, the ability to retire when relatively young enough to seek new adventures along with the amazing wife that park introduced me to, which lead to the gift of six more children that I ever expected to have.

Valley Forge National Historical Park will forever be the center of my life’s experiences. God Bless Jean, Valley Forge and America…