UPPER PENINSULA — The Historical Society of Michigan recently announced the winners of the 2023 Upper Peninsula History Awards.
Among this year’s winners are a Gladstone resident, the Northern Michigan University archives and a woman from Chippewa County who will receive the History Hero Award.
The History Hero Award is given to individuals who help the Historical Society of Michigan advance and further ties to the local community. This year, it is being presented to Dianne Schmitigal of Goetzville.
Schmitigal, whose great-grandfather was the first European settler in the Pickford area, has long been working towards preserving Upper Peninsula history. For 14 years she was president of the Pickford Area Historical Society and was involved in many local projects during that time.
She has long been a member of Historical Society of Michigan and has even served on conference planning committees in the past. Historical Society of Michigan Executive Director and CEO Larry Wagenaar, credits her with recruiting speakers and presentations that attracted new attendees to their annual conferences.
She is now president of the Eastern Upper Peninsula History Consortium, a network of historical groups.
“I’ve always liked history,” Schmitigal said in a news release. “Some of the history here is about my family and that makes it personal.”
The Charles Follo Award — named in honor of Escanaba schoolteacher Charles Follo, who established historical societies across the U.P. — is the oldest of the awards being presented. It is usually presented to the individual that made the most outstanding contribution to preserving and promoting U.P. history, according to the Historical Society of Michigan’s website. This year, it goes to Ann Jousma-Miller of Gladstone.
Jousma-Miller has been involved in a wide array of historical pursuits within Delta County and across the U.P. She has worked on several fundraising projects at the U.P. Fairgrounds and has facilitated “History and Culture Day” in Escanaba for the past 20 years.
She is also a member of the Soo Line Historical Society, a volunteer at the Escanaba Historical Society Museum, has worked the Upper Peninsula Military Museum, has been involved in promoting the U.P. Honor Flight and was a presenter at the 2019 Upper Peninsula History Conference.
The third award is the Superior Award, which recognizes historical societies, museums and other historical organizations that have preserved and advanced U.P. history. This year’s winner is the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives.
The archives were established in 1992 to house Northern Michigan University records. Over the years, it has expanded to include regional manuscripts, information of the iron mining industry, history of politics and government, history of organized labor and labor activism, environmental conservation and preservation, and the history of the LGBTQ community. The archives also serve as a local records depository for the State of Michigan Archives.
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The Historical Society of Michigan will host its 74th annual history conference and awards banquet on June 24 in Iron Mountain.
“The overall goal is recognizing the work that individuals and organizations have done to further Michigan history, the cause of history, the understanding and appreciation of our state,” said Bob Myers, director of history programming at the Historical Society of Michigan, in the release. “So we want to recognize those individuals and organizations and we hope that it inspires other people to look at Michigan history and ask what they can do for for that cause.”
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: [email protected]