Gov. Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Gregg present state's highest awards for history
Program recognizes scholars and community groups
DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg presented the state's highest awards for history this week at the State Capitol, including a lifetime achievement award to Roger Natte of Fort Dodge.
Overseen by the State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees, the Excellence in History Awards recognize individuals, organizations and communities who have made outstanding contributions to the study and practice of Iowa history.
“I am proud of our state and passionate about its history,” Reynolds said. “So it gives me great pleasure to recognize this year's recipients of the Excellence in History Awards. I appreciate the dedication they have shown in preserving and sharing the history of our state and congratulate them on this outstanding achievement."
"I congratulate all of our recipients for sharing the stories of Iowans both past and present," said Tova Brandt of Harlan, chair of the State Historical Society of Iowa's Board of Trustees. "This year's award winners have made significant contributions to our understanding of Iowa's rich and diverse history and are highly deserving of this recognition."
Natte received the William J. Petersen and Edgar R. Harlan Lifetime Achievement Award during the presentation ceremony. As Fort Dodge's local historian, he oversees the Webster County Historical Society's collection of historic photos, articles, books and more. He has also written more than two dozen articles related to Iowa history and has served on several history-related boards and commissions.
The award is presented in honor of Petersen, a long-time curator of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City, and Harlan, who served as the second director and curator of the Historical Department of Iowa. Both played key roles in acquiring many of the historical society's most important collections of artifacts.
Below is the list of this week's other Excellence in History Awards recipients:
Loren Horton Community History Award
This award is named in honor of Loren Horton, who represented the State Historical Society of Iowa in many capacities from 1973 until his retirement in 1996. The award recognizes an individual, group, or organization whose outstanding local history project was completed during the previous calendar year.
• Award Recipient: Manning Historic Preservation Commission, Manning, Iowa
• Project: Manning's Colorful History, a collection of local history narratives printed in a coloring book distributed free at Hausbarn Heritage Park and other establishments
• Certificate of Recognition: Pella Historical Society and Wallace Winkie Foundation, Pella and Belle Plaine, Iowa
• Project: Collaboration on the original play "Tombstone Trial: The Iowa Connection"
• Certificate of Recognition: Iowa Jewish Historical Society, Waukee, Iowa
• Project: A series of six programs in Iowa featuring Auschwitz Survivor and Schindlerjuden Celina Karp Biniaz
George Mills & Louise Noun Popular History Award
The award recognizes the author of the most significant popular history article on an Iowa history topic published during the previous calendar year. It is named in honor of Iowa reporter and popular historian George Mills and historian of women’s history and philanthropist Louise Noun.
• Award Recipient: Shelbi Thomas, Iowa City, Iowa
• Article: Center of the Universe – Iowa Alumni Magazine, September 2017
• Honorable Mention: Josh O’Leary, Iowa City, Iowa
• Article: Depth of Field – Iowa Alumni Magazine, May/June 2017
• Honorable Mention: Josh O’Leary, Iowa City, Iowa
• Article: The Forgotten Hawks – Iowa Alumni Magazine, November 2017
Mildred Throne & Charles Aldrich Academic History Award
This annual award recognizes the author of 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: Nathaniel Otjen, Eugene, Oregon
• Article: Creating a Barrio in Iowa City, 1916-1936: Mexican Section Laborers and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company – The Annals of Iowa, Fall 2017
• Honorable Mention: Keith Orejel, Wilmington, Ohio
• Article: The Origins of the Iowa Development Commission: Agricultural Transformation and Industrial Development in Mid-Twentieth Century Iowa – The Annals of Iowa, Winter 2017
• Honorable Mention: Jerry Harrington, Iowa City, Iowa
• Article: Iowa's Last Liquor Battle: Governor Harold E. Hughes and the Liquor-by-the-Drink Conflict – The Annals of Iowa, Winter 2017
2018 Benjamin F. Shambaugh Published Book Award
This annual award recognizes the author of the most significant book published on Iowa history during the previous calendar year. It is named in honor of Benjamin F. Shambaugh, who for 40 years was the superintendent of the State Historical Society of Iowa and a professor of political economy at the University of Iowa.
• Award Recipient: Matthew Walsh, Waukee, Iowa
• Book: "The Good Governor: Robert Ray and the Indochinese Refugees of Iowa"
• Certificate of Merit: Bruce Kuklick, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Book: "The Fighting Sullivans: How Hollywood and the Military Make Heroes"
• Certificate of Merit: Jerry Harrington, Iowa City, Iowa
• Book: "Crusading Iowa Journalist Verne Marshall: Exposing Graft and the 1936 Pulitzer Prize"
• Certificate of Merit: Derek Oden, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Book: "Harvest of Hazards: Family Farming, Accidents, and Expertise in the Corn Belt, 1940–1975"
The State Historical Society of Iowa is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. More information is available at iowaculture.gov.
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The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its three divisions – the Iowa Arts Council, State Historical Society of Iowa, and Produce Iowa, the state office of media production – empower Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places and points of pride that define our state. The department’s work enables Iowa to be recognized as a state that fosters creativity and serves as a catalyst for innovation where the stories of Iowa are preserved and communicated to connect past, present and future generations. iowaculture.gov.