Jun 20, 2023
DES MOINES – Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg joined the State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees last week to present the annual Excellence in Iowa History Awards during a ceremony at the Lakeview Community Center in Clear Lake.
The awards honor individuals, organizations and communities that make outstanding contributions to the field of Iowa history. The State Historical Society of Iowa is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
“One of the most important aspects of history is its ability to inform and shape the future,” Gregg said. “I would expect that there are students out there who will read the honorees’ works, study them in school, attend their events and exhibits, and see Iowa history that they have preserved. So, most of all, thank you to the award winners who are inspiring and empowering the next generation of Iowans to ensure that our state’s history and legacy continues.”
“Each year, we recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the study and practice of Iowa history,” said Tyler De Haan of Van Meter, chair of the State Historical Society’s board of trustees. “These winners have made remarkable achievements that focus on Iowa history. We appreciate their contributions and congratulate them on their success.”
This year’s list of award winners includes individuals and projects from across the state – Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City, Johnston, and Laurens – and around the country.
“Iowa’s early founders recognized the importance of recording and sharing Iowa’s history for the future, and this work builds on that foundation they created 166 years ago,” State Historical Society of Iowa Administrator Susan Kloewer said. “I encourage our award winners and others to keep preserving and sharing our history as we know firsthand the importance history has to the identity of our fellow Iowans and how it helps enrich our communities.”
The list of this year’s Excellence in Iowa History Award recipients follows:
Benjamin F. Shambaugh Award
This award recognizes the most significant book published about Iowa history during the previous calendar year. Its namesake was the superintendent of the State Historical Society of Iowa and a professor of political economy at the University of Iowa.
Award Recipient: Pamela Riney-Kehrberg of Ames, Iowa
Book: “When a Dream Dies: Agriculture, Iowa, and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s”
Publisher: University of Kansas Press
Certificate of Merit: Kenneth Lyftogt of Cedar Falls, Iowa
Book: “Iowa and the Civil War, Volume 3: The Longest Year”
Publisher: Camp Pope Publishing
Certificate of Merit: Teresa Wilhelm Waldof of Rochester, Minnesota
Book: “Wilhelm's Way: The Inspiring Story of the Iowa Chemist Who Saved the Manhattan Project”
Publisher: Teresa Wilhelm Waldof
George Mills & Louise Noun Popular History Award
This award recognizes the most significant popular history article on an Iowa history topic published during the previous calendar year. It is named in honor of George Mills, a journalist and popular historian, and Louise Noun, a philanthropist and scholar of women’s history.
Award Recipient: Don Doxsie of Davenport, Iowa
Article: “Trice Slater Cy Hawk Gridiron Legends”
Publication: Iowa History Journal (September/October 2022)
Certificate of Recognition: Mike Day of Dubuque, Iowa
Article: “The Tri-State's One-Room Schools”
Publication: Dubuque Telegraph Herald (April 14, 2022)
Certificate of Recognition: Josh O’Leary of Iowa City, Iowa
Article: “How Christine Grant Changed the Game”
Publication: Iowa Magazine (Spring 2022)
Loren Horton Community History Award
This award recognizes outstanding local history projects completed during the previous calendar year. Its namesake represented the State Historical Society of Iowa in many capacities from 1973 until 1996.
Award Recipient: Iowa Gold Star Military Museum of Johnston, Iowa
Project: Living History Weekend
Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Project related to Museum, Library, Archives, Historic Preservation, or Education: African American Museum of Iowa of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Project: Mapping Exclusion: Redlining in Iowa Exhibition and Programming
Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Youth Project: Connie Dallenbach and Dorothy Lamberti, both of Laurens, Iowa
Project: Pocahontas County Historical Society School Museum Outreach
Mildred Throne & Charles Aldrich Scholarly History Award
This award recognizes the most significant article on Iowa history in a professional history journal during the previous calendar year. It is named in honor of Mildred Throne, longtime editor of the Iowa Journal of History and Politics, and Charles Aldrich, who founded the third series of The Annals of Iowa.
Award Recipient: Anthony J. Miller of Hanover, Indiana
Article: “Pioneers, Sunday Schoolers, and Laundrymen: Chinese Immigrants in Iowa in the Chinese Exclusion Era, 1870-1890”
Publication: The Annals of Iowa Volume 81, Number 2 (Spring 2022)
Certificate of Recognition: Kelsey Ensign of Nashville, Tennessee
Article: “From Iowa to the Nation: Harold Hughes and the Politics of Alcoholism Treatment”
Publication: The Annals of Iowa Volume 81, Number 3 (Summer 2022)
Certificate of Recognition: James R. Swensen Salt Lake City, Utah
Article: “Uncommon Ground: Grant Wood and Russell Lee's Divergent View of Iowa”
Publication: The Annals of Iowa Volume 81, Number 3 (Summer 2022)
Excellence in Archaeology and Historic Preservation Award
This award recognizes the previous year’s best archaeology or historic preservation project at the local or state level.
Award Recipient: Des Moines Film of Des Moines, Iowa
Project: Varsity Cinema
Certificate of Merit: Brucemore, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Project: Brucemore
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its divisions – the State Historical Society of Iowa, the State Historic Preservation Office; the Iowa Arts Council; the Iowa Humanities Council; and Produce Iowa-State Office of Film & Media – empower Iowans to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting to the people, places and points of pride that define our state.