2003 Annual Award Winners

When it comes to documenting and interpreting our history, Illinois publishers, museums, and historical societies continue to push the envelope of excellence. This year's entries in the AIMHS Awards competition were all noteworthy and reflect highly on the communities and institutions that produced them.
Our congratulations to all who participated.

The 2003 Illinois State Historical Society Annual Awards Competition winners were recognized at the Society's Annual Awards Luncheon, held April 26 in Nauvoo.

Best Web Site:

Eastland Disaster Historical Society wwww.eastlanddisaster.org "The site is informative, easy to navigate, and engaging. The inclusion of primary sources and secondary analysis is useful."

Educational Programs

Aurora University. "Maize: Museum Artifact Inquiry Zone. Superior Achievement. "This program provides the unique lab experience so needed to inspire interest, fun, and hands-on learning for the social studies student."

Geneva History Center. "What Was It Like? Breaking Secret Codes." Superior Achievement. "A creative program that involved local history and national patriotism. It entertains and educates, involving both science and social studies."

Geneva History Center. "What Was It Like? Hiking Through Your Home Town." Certificate of Excellence.

Winnetka Historical Society. "Winnetka & WWII: An Intergenerational Collaboration" Superior Achievement.

"What a sense of accomplishment these kids must have felt. They were 'doing' history! If this program continues, it can only get better."

Exhibitions

Aurora University. "Museum of the Mysteries." Superior Achievement. This innovative exhibit creates a unique opportunity. . .to direct 'teachers to be' to monitor an integrated inquiry program for local elementary schools. Many styles of learning are encouraged here. An excellent example of what education should do!"

Eastland Disaster Historical Society. "S.S. Eastland: America's Great Maritime Disaster." Superior Achievement. "This is a fabulous exhibit! A remarkable opportunity to education thousands in regard to the disaster and to continue to make connections with families whose ancestors had a connection to it."

Villa Park Historical Society. "The Story of Villa Park." Certificate of Excellence.

Naper Settlement. "Brushstrokes of the Past." Superior Achievement.

"Obviously many hours of planning and work have gone into this program. Emphasis is on historical accuracy, enriching educational programming, and preserving architecture, objects and stories of the past. Another example of what education should do!"

Dan Malkovich Award for Young Museum Professionals
Mr. Jason Meyers, Museum of Funeral Customs, Springfield, Illinois.

Multimedia Production

Elgin Area Historical Society. "Circle of Time: Elgin and the Watch Company" Certificate of Excellence.

Naper Settlement. "Trading in Time: Bartering and Buying in the 1880s." Superior Achievement.

Publications, Other

Grayslake Historical Society. "Memories of Lakeview School." Superior Achievement.

Village of Thornton Historical Society. "Village of Thornton Cemetery Brochure." Certificate of Excellence.

Richard Cannon. "Fithian: A Diary of A Small Town." Superior Achievement. "A model for putting together a community history, painstakingly done and wonderfully informative."

Publications, Scholarly

Princeton University Press. Seeing with Their Hearts: Chicago Women and the Vision of the Good City, 1871-1933. Superior Achievement. This book is the result of years of research and offers a much broader perspective on her important thesis on Progressive women and their distinctive perspectives on municipal development and reform."

University of Illinois Press. In Tender Consideration: Women, Families, and the Law in Abraham Lincoln's Illinois. Superior Achievement. "A fascinatin collection of historical essays that illunates how the disenfranchised were pr tected and abused by the legal system antebellum Illinois."

University of Illinois Press. Tales of Illinois. Superior Achievement. "Very readable and engaging. Mr. Fliege cove the state's history and lore with style, humor, and finesse—not an easy task."

Northern Illinois University Press. Crusading Liberal: Paul H. Douglas of Illinois. Superior Achievement.

NIU Press. Whores and Thieves of the Worst Kind. Superior Achievement. "Exhaustively researched and timely, the monograph provides a fascinating look crime and punishment, from gendered constructions."

Thomas J. Emery. The Macoupin Omul Courthouse Scandalous Symbol. Certificate of Excellence.

University of Chicago Press. A Natural History of Chicago, by Joel Greenburg. Superior Achievement.

Special Projects

Grayslake Historical Society. Microfilming of the Grayslake Times. Superior Achievement. "A painstaking but necessary effort to preserve an invaluable resource."

Rolling Meadows Historical Society. "The 1950s House and the Kimball Hill Family Education Center. Superior Achievement. "A model community project that delights and reminds us that not all history is ancient."

Morgan County Historical Society. "Organizing and Staging Four Chautauquas." Superior Achievement. "An excellent program, well-conceived, planned, and executed. Not only did the organizers bring excellent educational entertainment and cultural history to their community, they offered local teachers who attended the lectures and workshops recertification credits. A model for other communities."

26 Illinois Heritage