Historical Society Makes a Dozen Awards for Excellence & Accomplishments

Evangeline Atwood Award – awarded to Elizabeth Cook, a stalwart of the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society and long-time civic-minded, active resident of Fairbanks. The award recognizes an individual for significant long-term contributions to Alaska history. Cook is well- versed in Interior Alaska’s archaeology, anthropology and local and regional history. She has
served as the TYHS treasurer, coordinated meetings between military officials and Alaska Native organizations, represented the society on the boards of the Pioneer Museum and Pioneer Park, and answered countless inquires to the organization.

Barbara Smith Pathfinder Award – awarded to Patrick Saltonstall, a curator of archaeology at the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak for 28 years. The award is given to an individual for indexing or preparing guides to Alaska historical material and is named after Barbara Smith, an historian, archivist and exhibit curator who prepared invaluable research tools for Alaska Native, Russian Orthodox and Russian America records. Saltonstall has studied sites through surveys and excavations, extensively researched historic records and listened to residents, especially elders. His work has significantly expanded knowledge of Kodiak’s history, promoted historic preservation, and grown public awareness of and appreciation for the history of the Alutiiq people.

Esther Billman Award for Excellence – awarded to the Alaska Oil & Gas Historical Society for its Voices of the North: Chronicles of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Pioneers video oral history project. Named in honor of the longtime curator of the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, it is given to a society, museum, government agency or organization for a project contributing to the preservation and understanding of Alaska history during the past year. Members of the Oil and Gas Historical Society produced 40 oral histories during the past two years with geologists, engineers, local suppliers, businesspeople, women in the oil fields and union hands. The collection highlights the technological and economic milestones and sheds light on the human spirit and resilience that have driven Alaska’s oil and gas sector.

Elva Scott Local Historical Society Award – awarded to Ketchikan Museums. The award recognizes an historical society or museum for its programs, newsletter, publication or a significant recent accomplishment. Elva Scott was a founder of Homer’s Natural History Society and Pratt Museum, and after moving to Eagle was newsletter editor, tour guide and officer of its historical society.

In addition to overall excellence by the Ketchikan Museums, the award recognizes a physical and virtual exhibit entitled History Afloat: Capturing Today because it’s Tomorrow’s History. The exhibit, about historic wooden boats, is also about the people who work on the waterfront in Ketchikan, Metlakatla and communities on Prince of Wales Island. Notably, the exhibit extended beyond the walls of the museum through public presentations and school tours.

Contributions to Alaska History Award
Ronan Rooney was recognized for the podcast and website Wrangell History Unlocked he created in 2020. Although he has moved from Wrangell, Ronan has a deep interest in the community’s history. His first podcast was a three-part series on the 1908 shipwreck of the Star of Bengal, a salmon packer that wrecked shortly after leaving Wrangell where more than 110 of the 138 passengers and crew were tragically trapped on board. He combed archival records and oral accounts to support a dive expedition to the shipwreck in 2008.

Contributions to Alaska History Award
Author and longtime legislative aide Lisa Weissler was recognized for her book Capital Crude: The Impact of Oil on Alaska Politics. Published last year, the book is a ground-breaking political history of Alaska’s important oil industry. Weissler was an active paricipant in many of the events with a 30-year career in oil and gas policy.

Contributions to Alaska History Award
The educational nonprofit, See Stories, with special recognition of Marie Acemah, was recognized for a Contributions award. The brainchild of Acemah, the program was founded in 2019 and trains students and teachers to preserve local history through filmmaking and podcasting. Its focus is on using primary sources in storytelling. Student workshops introduce young people to historical research and oral interviewing as they learn how to make multi-media productions. Professional development courses have reached teachers internationally, and the organization has developed a curriculum available for free to teachers.

Contributions to Alaska History Award
The Nome Kennel Club and the City of Nenana were jointly recognized for their centennial commemorations of the 1925 diphtheria serum run from Nenana to Nome. Organizers provided their respective communities with a series of activities including lectures and demonstrations that engaged all ages, not only with the historic event but with dog mushing past and present.

Another award announced was the Terrence M. Cole Student and Beginning Professional Award, which provides scholarships to help a post-secondary student pursuing an Alaska history topic or a new professional at an Alaska museum, archive, cultural center or cultural resources agency attend the annual conference. This year’s recipient is Benjamin Seymour, who lived in Little Diomede as a teacher and produced a paper entitled, “Breaking Storm over the Diomedes: 1938’s Native Travel Program Across the Bering Strait.”

The Morgan and Jeanie Sherwood Award for best article in the last volume of Alaska History, the peer-reviewed journal of the Alaska Historical Society, was awarded to William Schneider. The late Professor Sherwood was a long-time Alaska historian and he and his wife Jeanie endowed this award with a $500 annual prize.

Schneider was guest editor of the issue devoted to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. He determined topics and recruited authors to introduce twelve significant primary documents pertinent to the landmark act with the intent to better understand and encourage more
research about ANCSA.

The President’s Award, selected by the AHS president for special service to the Society, was awarded to Fairbanks AHS board member Leanna Prax Williams. Williams has been enormously helpful to the Society, from orchestrating Fairbanks History Day to saving the statewide Alaska History Day contest. She became sole state coordinator two years ago. Through her work, Alaska student participation in National History Day has grown. In addition to coordinating the contest with students and teachers and recruiting judges, Williams raised funds to develop a website, hold teacher training workshops and prepare sample lesson plans on Alaska topics. She recruited participants for special awards with cash prizes. She is completing a Ph.D. at UAF in the Arctic and Northern Studies program, is married and raising twins who are in middle school.