FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 4, 2007
CONTACT:  Cindy Snow, (605) 773-2907; cindy.snow@state.sd.us

Rounds proclaims May as Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month
 

PIERRE, SD – Gov. Mike Rounds has proclaimed May as “Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month” in South Dakota.

“It is important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals who preserve the tangible aspects of the heritage that shape us as South Dakotans,” Gov. Rounds said in the proclamation.

To help celebrate the month, the State Historic Preservation Office of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center sponsored the first Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month Student Photo Contest. The contest ran from Nov. 1, 2006, through Jan. 15, 2007. BankWest of Pierre and Koch Hazard Architects of Sioux Falls were also partners in the project.

 “We were extremely pleased with the student participation in this, our first, historic photo contest,” said Jay D. Vogt, director of the State Historical Society adding that 143 students, representing 63 schools and one home school, submitted 193 photos. “It shows that students are interested in their past.

The winners were:

Grand Prize -- Kelsey Beck, Grade 10, Lincoln High School, Sioux Falls;

Grades 1-5 -- Christopher Morris, Grade 5, Bison Elementary School, Bison;

Grades 6-8 -- Kayla Heck, Grade 8, Whittier Middle School, Sioux Falls;

Grades 9-12 -- Jordyn Johnson, Grade 11, Sturgis Brown High School. 

All four winning photographs were incorporated into the 2007 South Dakota Archaeology & Historic Preservation Month poster.  They are also on display through May in the Observation Gallery of the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre. The Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sundays and holidays from 1-4:30 p.m. 

The competition, for students in grades 1-12, was meant to enable students to achieve a better appreciation of their historic resources, Vogt said.  With the theme of “A Sense of Place,” students were asked to photograph any physical location in South Dakota which evoked for them a sense of place and history.

Individual presentations will be made to each winner. The grand prize winner will receive $200.  The other winners will each receive $100. All winners receive a copy of the poster. The schools of the winners will receive a framed poster, a framed print of their winner’s entry and a copy of “Picturing the Past,” the third book in the historic preservation series published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press.

The first two presentations are scheduled for Monday, May 7. Jordyn Johnson’s presentation will be at Sturgis Brown High School at 11 a.m. MDT. Christopher Morris will receive his award at 2:50 p.m. MDT at Bison Elementary School. Presentations will be made in Sioux Falls on Monday, May 21. Kelsey Beck will be presented with her prize at 11 a.m. CDT at Lincoln High School. At 3 p.m. CDT, Kayla Heck will be honored at Whittier Middle School.

An ongoing statewide online calendar of events can be accessed at www.sdhistory.org. New listings are always welcome. To add an event to the calendar, contact Cindy Snow at (605) 773-2907 or cindy.snow@state.sd.us.