FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 18, 2008
CONTACT:  Jay D. Vogt, (605) 773-3458, Jay.Vogt@state.sd.us

South Dakota wins four national history awards

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota recently won four awards of merit from the American Association for State and Local History.

The four award winners from South Dakota include:

n      J. Bruce Blake of Sioux Falls;

n      Cowboy Life: The Letters of George Philip, from the South Dakota State Historical Society Press;

n      Peril and Promise: Essays on Community in South Dakota and Beyond, by the South Dakota State Agricultural Heritage Museum in Brookings; and

n      Scenes in the Black Hills: Glass Transparencies Project, by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission.

“These award winners represent the depth and quality of history and historic preservation projects in South Dakota,” said Jay D. Vogt, director of the South Dakota State Historical Society, headquartered at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. “It is rare for a state our size to have four award winners in one year.”

Blake was recognized for his significant individual contributions to South Dakota history. As a previous president and still active member of the Minnehaha County Historical Society, Blake has led an effort to place dozens of historical markers in Minnehaha County. He also established a “Registered Historian” program for school-age children, giving them and their families incentive to visit the markers. Blake is supportive of and has assisted with the work of the Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County Historic Preservation Boards and the Center for Western Studies at Augustana College in Sioux Falls.

In Cowboy Life, 21 letters from Philip to his children depict the life adventures of cowboys in the open-range era. During his years as a cowboy, Philip traveled the range from Fort Pierre south to the Nebraska border, north to the Grand River and west to Rapid City. In his letters, Philip provides fascinating insights into the development of the West, South Dakota and the cowpuncher’s existence, from branding and roping to navigating across the plains by stars and buttes. The book also features an introduction by Cathie Draine, Philip’s granddaughter, and 20 pen-and-ink drawings by award-winning Black Hills artist Mick B. Harrison.

Perils and Promise, edited by former South Dakota State University professor Charles L. Woodard, and authored by SDSU faculty and staff members and several other writers with SDSU affiliations, is an exploration of the idea of community and its decline. In prose and in poetry, the authors express with clarity and persuasive emphasis numerous important perspectives on the topic of “community.”

Scenes in the Black Hills involved cleaning and conserving 13 hand-tinted glass transparencies of the Deadwood area in 1900, created by the Detroit Photographic Company. The original transparencies were incorporated into an exhibit during the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The city of Deadwood hired the Chicago Albumen Works to stabilize the original and create two surrogate sets. The work took two and one-half years to complete.

The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 63^rd year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. Awards for 2008 represent 57 organizations and individuals from across the United States.

Award winners will be honored Sept. 12 at a banquet during the 2008 AASLH Annual Meeting in Rochester, N.Y.

For more information on the awards, contact AASLH at (615) 320-3203 or www.aaslh.org, or contact the SDSHS at (605) 773-3458 or www.sdhistory.org.