Kansas Historical Society
TOPEKA–Twenty-two people were elected to the Kansas Historical Foundation’s board of directors, class of 2018, at the 140th annual meeting November 6 at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka. Paul Stuewe of Lawrence was elected to serve as president of the organization.
Other officers elected to one-year terms at the meeting were: Donita Barone, Frontenac, president elect; William Kassebaum, Burdick, vice president; Mary Turkington, Topeka, secretary; and Deborah Barker, Ottawa, past president. Jack Alexander was elected to serve a two-year term to fill a vacancy on the executive committee; Dean Ferrell, Topeka; Rita Noll, Council Grove; and Richard Walker, Newton; were elected to three-year terms on the executive committee.
The following people were elected to the board class of 2018: Carol Bales, Logan; Michael L. Baughn, Brewster; Michelle Cuevas-Stubblefield, Topeka; Jane Deterding, Wichita; J. Eric Engstrom, Wichita; Dave Heinemann, Topeka; Katie Herrick, Johnson; Michael H. Hoeflich, Lecompton; Karen Linn, Topeka; Walt Menninger, Topeka; Dennis McKinney, Greensburg; Mark H. Reddig, Independence, Missouri; Jennie Rose, Topeka; Hal Ross, Wichita; John Salisbury, Topeka; Dru Sampson, Lawrence; Mary Martha Schreiber-Good, El Dorado; James Sherow, Manhattan; James A. Thomas, Overland Park; Richard B. Walker, Newton; Dave Webb, Protection; and Jack Wisman, Topeka. E. Dean Carlson and R. Reed Whitaker were elected to the honorary board.
The Alfred M. Landon Historical Research Grant was presented to three researchers: Anna Holdorf, St. Louis, Missouri, for From Plow to Pump: Agriculture and Environment in the Kansas Oil Industry; Kyle Williams, New Brunswick, New Jersey, for Kansas Oil War, 1904-1905; and John Suval, Madison, Wisconsin, for Dangerous Ground: Squatters, Statesmen, and the Rupture of American Democracy, 1830-1860. The Landon research grants, named for the 26th governor of Kansas, are given annually to graduate students pursuing the study of subjects related to the heritage of Kansas and conducting research at the Historical Society.
The Edgar Langsdorf Award of Excellence in Writing went to Justine Greve, Grantville, for her article “Language and Loyalty: The First World War and German Instruction at Two Kansas Schools,” published in the Autumn 2014 issue of /Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains/. The Langsdorf award is presented on an annual basis to authors of articles in the Historical Society’s quarterly publication and is named for the historian who was a longtime employee of the Historical Society.
The Edward N. Tihen Historical Research Grants were awarded to two researchers: Wendi Bevitt, Overbrook, for research on Company I of the 11th Kansas and the U.S. Colored Troops; and to Jarrett Robinson, Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, for research on the Life and Career of General Frederick Funston. The Tihen grant, named for the avid researcher and amateur historian, is given annually to non-academic researchers to use the collections of the Historical Society.
The Historical Society and Historical Foundation were established as a member organization in 1875 by the Kansas Editors’ and Publishers Association. The organization became the trustee of Kansas records in 1879. Today the Kansas Historical Society operates as a state agency and the Kansas Historical Foundation operates as a fund raising, fund management, membership, and retail organization. More information is available online at kshs.org.