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ST. IGNACE, Mich.—Lindsay Hiltunen and the Center for Upper Peninsula Studieswon top honors at the Historical Society of Michigan’s 69th annual Upper Peninsula History Conferencefor their outstanding efforts to preserve and promote the history of the Upper Peninsula.
Hiltunen, who hails from Hancock, Michigan, received the Charles Follo Award, which acknowledges the work of an individual. The Superior Award, which recognizes the achievements of historical societies, museums and other history-related organizations, was awarded to the Center for Upper Peninsula Studies.
The awards were presented during the Society’s Upper Peninsula History Awards Banquet that took place at the Little Bear East Arena & Community Center in St. Ignace, Michigan, on June 23, 2018, which was also the 190th anniversary of the founding of the Historical Society of Michigan.
The Upper Peninsula History Conference, which took place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 22-24, 2018, in St. Ignace, Michigan, proved to be a record-setting event, attracting nearly 300 participants—an approximate 35% increase over previous years’ conference attendance. The Historical Society of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula History Conference pays particular attention to Upper Peninsula history topics and explores the heritage of the host area.
From the record-breaking attendance numbers; to a packed room for the opening keynote “Behind Every Great Fur Trade Is a Woman” with Susan Sleeper-Smith of Michigan State University; to popular sessions such as “Through Ice and Water: Traversing the Straits Before the Bridge,” “Slavery at the Straits,” “Schools of No Choice: Indian Boarding Schools” and “Dire Straits: The Wrecks Beneath the Waves”; to the culmination of the conference on Saturday evening with the Upper Peninsula History Awards Banquet—this year’s conference in St. Ignace was a multifaceted success.
For more information about the Historical Society of Michigan and its award programs and conferences, visit hsmichigan.org or call (517) 324-1828.
THE 2018 CHARLES FOLLO AWARD
The Charles Follo Award was established in 1979 and is named in honor of Charles Follo, a school teacher from Escanaba who worked to establish historical societies and promote the history of the Upper Peninsula. This award is presented annually by the Historical Society of Michigan to the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to the preservation and promotion of Upper Peninsula history.
This year, the Society awarded the Charles Follo Award to Lindsay Hiltunen of Hancock, Michigan. Hiltunen transformed the Michigan Technological University Archives and enhanced the access, research, and outreach programs. As the university archivist, she introduced the university’s archival collections to K-12 students with school programs and activities, spearheaded projects focusing on underrepresented aspects of Upper Peninsula history, and worked with newsrooms to introduce Upper Peninsula topics into stories and news features throughout the state.
THE 2018 SUPERIOR AWARD
Established by the Historical Society of Michigan in 2006, the Superior Award recognizes historical societies, museums and other historical organizations that preserve and advance Upper Peninsula history.
The 2018 Superior Award recipient was the Center for Upper Peninsula Studies (CUPS) in Marquette. Since its founding in 1994, CUPS has provided public and scholarly attention to the distinctive, rich culture of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula through the collection and transcription of oral histories, hosting the annual Sonderegger Symposium, the publication of “Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region,” and serving as a press for monographs specific to the Upper Peninsula.
The Historical Society of Michigan, publisher of Michigan History and Chronicle magazines, is the state’s oldest cultural organization, founded in 1828 by territorial governor Lewis Cass and explorer Henry Schoolcraft. A nongovernmental nonprofit, the Society focuses on publications, conferences, education, awards and recognition programming, and support for local history organizations to preserve and promote Michigan’s rich history.
