Article in Lane Report - May 19, 2023.
Kentucky Historical Society Honoring 25 Individuals and Organizations at Annual History Awards
Awards will be presented June 3 at the Kentucky Historical Society
Frankfort, Ky. (May 17, 2023) – The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is recognizing 25 individuals and organizations for their contributions to the field of history at the Kentucky History Awards Celebration on June 3. KHS will also recognize the 19 grant-recipient organizations that recently received funding through the Local History Trust Fund. This funding pool supports the efforts of local history organizations to preserve and share Kentucky stories. Organizations in 15 Kentucky counties received grants totaling $44,443.78. Individual amounts range from $1,790 to $2,500 for research, exhibition expansion, technology updates and programming projects.
This year’s history award winners represent communities from across Kentucky in categories that include a range of disciplines from education to publication, along with special awards named after some of the commonwealth’s greatest historians. Special awards include the Dr. James C. Klotter Lifetime Dedication to Kentucky History Award, the Brigadier General William R. Buster Award, and the Thomas D. Clark Award of Excellence.
“The commonwealth is fortunate to have over 370 history-related organizations,” said KHS Executive Director Scott Alvey. “From history museums, historic sites and parks to historical societies and Kentucky historians, they play a fundamental role in our understanding of what it means to be a Kentuckian. The annual Kentucky History Awards recognizes outstanding work done in Kentucky history and the community of public historians who help us see the unfolding story of our past.”
Thomas D. Clark Award of Excellence: Camp Nelson National Monument
Volunteer Organization: Fredonia Valley Heritage Society
Dr. James C. Klotter Lifetime Dedication to Kentucky History Award: Michael Morrow
Brigadier General William R. Buster Award: Jerry Johnson
Award of Distinction: Joe Craver
Frank R. Levstick Award for Professional Service: Bill Mulligan
Kentucky Public History Intern Award: Isaac Bates
Community Impact Award: Filson Historical Society’s Community Historian Program
Publication Award – University Press: Slavery and Freedom in the Bluegrass State: Revisiting My Old Kentucky Home by Gerald L. Smith
Publication Award – Private Press: My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song by Emily Bingham
Publication Award – Local Independent Press: Crafting and Casting: The Famed Frankfort Kentucky Reel by Betty Barr and Don Kleier
Publication Award – Pamphlet/Newsletter: Hart County Historical Society Quarterly Newsletter by Hart County Historical Society Board and Todd Johnston, Editor
Publication Award – Website: Resurrecting the First American West, The Filson Historical Society, by Patrick Lewis, Danielle Spalenka, and Jennie Cole
Education Award - Public Programming: Bottling Coca-Cola: A Trolley Tour of Luther Carson’s Life in Paducah, Atomic City Tours
Education Award – Public Programming: Haunting on the Hill, Capital City Museum
Education Award – Public Programming: We Are Our History, Riverside, The Farnsley-Moreman Landing
Education Award – Special Projects: Fredonia Valley Veterans Memorial Dedication, Fredonia Valley Heritage Society
Education Award – Special Projects: Historical Facts of Cadiz-Trigg County, Kim Fortner and Paul Fourshee
Education Award – Special Projects: 1964 March on Frankfort, Joanna Hay Productions
Education Award – Multimedia: Kentucky Deceased: Hauntings of Frankfort, Capital City Museum
Education Award – Multimedia: Shaker Village App, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
Education Award – Exhibit: What Happened to Jonesville? The Kentucky Folklife Program
Education Award – Exhibit: The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall, Frazier History Museum
Education Award – Preservation: Landsdowne Hall Archaeological Project, Gerald Dyson
Education Award – Preservation: Renovation of the Virginia Theater, City of Somerset
The awards will be presented on Saturday, June 3, at the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort as a kickoff event to Kentucky History Day. Breakfast and networking start at 9:00 a.m. ET, followed by the awards presentation at 9:30. Exclusive staff and curator-led tours, gallery talks, informative workshops, and hands-on activities will follow the awards
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The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is an agency in Kentucky’s Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet. The KHS campus has three sites in historic downtown Frankfort: The Old State Capitol; the Kentucky Military History Museum; and the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History serving as KHS headquarters with a signature museum, exhibits, library, research facilities, object & archival collections, museum store, and more. KHS is a Smithsonian Affiliate and has full American Alliance of Museums accreditation.
