Home | News | Books | Speeches | Places | Resources | Education | Index | Search | Discussion
Illinois State Historical Society Announces Awards
The following is a press release from the Illinois State Historical Society published on April 28, 2008, by William Furry, Executive Director.
State Historical Society presents annual awards at Executive Mansion
On Saturday, April 26 at the Executive Mansion in Springfield, The Illinois State Historical Society recognized the work of more than 30 museums, historical societies, teachers, authors, and individuals for their work in interpreting, preserving, and promoting Illinois state history.Receiving the Society’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” was SIU-Carbondale professor Robert Swenson, associate professor of architecture and director of the university’s “Preservation Summer” program.
According to Russell Lewis, ISHS Secretary and chair of the Society’s Annual Awards Committee, Swenson has made “an indelible mark on Illinois and its efforts to preserve and interpret its diverse history” through Preservation Summer, which “offers students a unique opportunity to partner with communities and local residents to identify and preserve history architectural sites — sites that span all periods of the state’s history and encompass everything from barns, churches and courthouses to flatboats, steamboats, and ironclads.”
“Most importantly,” Lewis concluded, “[Swenson] has groomed a cadre of students who have become lifelong practitioners and supporters of architectural and historic preservation projects, leaving the future of Illinois in very good hands.”
Other award recipients included:
David Hammer, website developer for the Palatine Daily Herald, received the Society’s “Best Website” award for compiling and presenting the newspaper’s index online;
Jason Emerson, author of the 2007 book The Madness of Mary Lincoln, received the Society’s “Book of the Year” award;
Leonard White (Rockford District Schools) and Rick Williams (Judah Christian High School, Champaign), who each received the Olive Foster Teacher Award and a $500 check for their work teaching local history to junior and senior high school students;
And Samuel Stowell, a sophomore at New Berlin High School, who received the Society’s Verna Ross Orndorff Scholarship ($1,000) for his Lincoln/Civil War era essay, “ Abraham Lincoln: The Angry Candidate.”
Award winners in the “Collection Preservation” category were: the Mount Prospect Historical Society for its “Central School Project”; the Naperville Heritage Society, Naper Settlement, and Naperville Public Library for their “Partners in Preserving Community History” project; and the Round Lake Beach Civic and Cultural Arts Foundation for its “Preserving the Past for the Future” project.
Award recipients in the “Public Programming-Exhibits “ category were: Lewis University for its “Heritage, Growth, and Vision” Exhibit; the Naperville Heritage Society for the exhibit “Vulcan’s Art: Today’s Blacksmith”; the Winnetka Historical Society for “Once Upon a Time: Growing up in Winnetka”; and the Joliet Area Historical Museum for “The Route 66 Experience.”
In the “Public Programming-Multi-Media” category, award winners were: Rosemary Feurer and Laura Vasquez for their DVD documentary “Mother Jones: America’s Most Dangerous Woman”; Naperville Community Television Channel 17 for the documentary “Two Brothers, One Beer, and the American Dream”: and the Paw Paw Chamber of Commerce for “Paw Paw: Past, Present, and Future”.
Winners in the “Special Projects” category were: The Lincoln & Van Buren Association of Rochester for its “Lincoln and Van Buren 165th Anniversary Celebration”; and the Naperville Heritage Society and Naper Settlement for their “Weed Ladies Promotional Campaign.”
A number of publications, including books and periodicals received awards. In the “Non-book Material” category, the Naperville Heritage Society and Naper Settlement received an award for their “2007 Treasures Magazine.”
Scholarly publications that took awards included:
Governor Henry Horner: Chicago Politics and the Great Depression, by Charles J Masters.
Abraham Lincoln: The Observations of John Nicolay and John Hay, by Michael Burlingame.
The Maverick and the Machine: Governor Dan Walker Tells His Story, by Dan Walker.
Lincoln’s White House Secretary: The Adventurous Life of William O. Stoddard, by Harold Holzer.
Evil Summer: Babe Leopold, Dickie Loeb, and the Kidnap-Murder of Bobby Franks, by John Theodore.
Wings Over Illinois, by Arthur E. Abney.
Lincoln and Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation, and the 13th Amendment, by Harold Holzer and Sara Vaughn Gabbard.Other titles that earned award certificates were:
Chicago Under Glass: Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, by Mark Jacob and Richard Cahan.
From Calamity to the Calm: A History of Homer, Illinois (Part 2), by Molly Shoaf and Raymond K. Cunningham, Jr.
Polo, Illinois: A Historical Tribute, by the Polo Historical Society.
Southside Irish Canadians, by Richard Bissette.
Back from the Ashes: Uncovering the Lost History of G. L. Hunt and the Falcon Pipe, by K.A. Worth.
Celebrating 75 Years: Lewis University, 1932-2007, by Carol Wassberg, Kurt Schackmuth, Dennis Cremin, and Maryellen Davis.
Ruth by Lake and Prairie: True Stories of Early Naperville, by Katharine K. Gingold.
Morgan Park Academy: A History (Part 1), Morgan Park Academy
Treasures of Elmhurst History, by Judy Biggins, Francesca Irion, Cathy Siegert, and Chris Smith.For more information about the Illinois State Historical Society or the Annual Awards, call 217-525-2781, or visit the Society’s website at www.historyillinois.org.
SIU Press author Jason Emerson and his book The Madness of Mary Lincoln received the Society’s “Book of the Year” award.
The 108-year-old Illinois State Historical Society is a registered not-for-profit organization established by the Illinois General Assembly to promote, preserve, and publish research about the Prairie State. Based in Springfield, the Society publishes the quarterly Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society and the bimonthly popular history magazine, Illinois Heritage. The Society also hosts the annual Illinois History Symposium and the Centennial Awards program. For a complete list of the Society’s endeavors, and well as the 2008 award winners, call 217-525-2781 or visit the Society’s website at www.historyillinois.org.
Home | News | Education | Places | Resources | Books | Speeches | Search | Discussion © 2008 Abraham Lincoln Online. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy
