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Applying for the 2009 Award of Merit
The Connecticut League of History Organizations presents Awards of Merit in recognition of outstanding institutional and individual contributions, in keeping with current professional standards, that enhance and further the knowledge and understanding of Connecticut history. The purpose of the Awards of Merit is to recognize the care, thought and effort invested in these contributions and to inspire and encourage others by acknowledging exceptional contributions to state and local history. Currently, the League presents Awards of Merit in four categories:

1. Project: exhibition, restoration, preservation, special research, Web site, etc.
2. Publication: book, exhibition catalog, video, DVD, newsletter, pamphlet, etc.
3. Educational Program: for schools, children, adults, groups with special needs, lecture series, demonstrations, Power Point presentation, etc.
4. Individual Comprehensive Work: an individual's long-term efforts resulting in a tangible product.

History organizations are encouraged to nominate their own work, as well as outstanding contributions by neighboring organizations. Individuals may nominate their own work, with the exception of the Individual Comprehensive Work award. Only works completed in the preceding 18 months are eligible for nomination.
 
Nominated works must be historically accurate, properly documented, easily used and understood and have specific goals. Nominated books should contain accurate citations, an index and a bibliography or list of works cited. Project nominations must contain photographic or video documentation of the final installation. All nominations must include an accurate budget, showing sources of funding, and expenses incurred. Nominations must be postmarked by January 15, 2009. You can submit any project completed within the 18 months leading up to the deadline (e.g. projects completed between July 15, 2007 - January 15, 2009). Awards will be announced at the CLHO Annual Conference. For more information contact: Sandy Elgee, CLHO, (203) 624-9186, or ; Christopher Dobbs, Awards Committee, (860) 521-5362 X 12 or

Click here to download an application.

2008 CLHO Awards of Merit Recipients

On January 29, 2008, the Connecticut League of History Organizations’ Awards Committee met at Connecticut Landmarks’ headquarters in Hartford to review and judge the ten nominations submitted this year.  The committee recognized six of this year’s nominations with Awards of Merit and one with an honorable mention to commend them for their contributions to furthering the study of Connecticut history.
Congratulations to the following awardees:

The Connecticut Historical Society Museum & Library received an award for its project September 11, 2001: Connecticut Responds and Reflects.  CHS looked at the topic of September 11, 2001, through the lens of their impact on the state of Connecticut and its citizens.   The professional, sensitive treatment that CHS gave to this still very recent, emotional topic transformed the events of a national tragedy and chronicled its impact on a very local, personal level.  As this exhibition is scheduled to travel across the state through 2010, free of charge, it will continue to educate and inform Connecticut citizens for years to come.  And, through the acquisition of the “Connecticut Remembers” Memorial Board and the creation of Connecticut’s 9/11 Memorial Library and its intimate biographies of all 152 Connecticut citizens who perished on September 11, CHS has ensured that these invaluable primary source materials will be preserved and available for future researchers and educators to use and study.

Connecticut Landmarks was recognized for its project The Witching Hour. The creative partnership between a historical institution (Connecticut Landmarks) and a contemporary dance troop (Judy Dworin Performance Project) resulted in an effective, creative means of informing a 21st-century audience about a 17th-century topic—the often overlooked 17th-century witch craze in Connecticut.  Through its use of a fourteen-year-old presenter, the performance provided an especially powerful, engaging narrator for connecting with the production’s student viewers.  The performances’ sold out theatres reflect great public interest and, through providing free admission and bussing for Hartford and Willimantic students, Connecticut Landmarks ensured that youth audiences would also learn and benefit from the project.

The Cornwall Historical Society was honored for its project Cornwall Goes to War: 1756-2006 which examined Cornwall’s service to its country during times of war.  Through seeking the assistance of local veterans and their descendents and giving Cornwall residents a place to share their thoughts and memories, the Society turned their exhibition into a community project that will benefit the Town of Cornwall in both the short and long terms.  This opened the door for town residents to be active participants in the institution and feel comfortable donating their artifacts to the Society.  Discussion with the schools has paved the way for future collaborations.  And, through opening the institution during Memorial Day Weekend for the first time, and coinciding with the town’s Library Book Sale, the institution not only improved its attendance numbers but also further integrated itself into the town’s culture.

Documentary filmmaker Karyl Evans was honored for her film The Rise and Fall of Newgate Prison: A Story of Crime and Punishment in Connecticut. The documentary provides a great, visual accounting of the history of crime and punishment in Connecticut.  The well researched documentary utilized the skills of the state’s top historians and scholars.  Its airings on Connecticut Public Television reached over 25,000 viewers, educating the general public about the history of Newgate Prison and providing important context for understanding Connecticut’s judicial system today.
Genealogist Jean E. Perreault was recognized for her publication Footprints Across Connecticut From Simsbury 1930 Census. This reference book is an important new resource that will benefit genealogical researchers and social historians locally and statewide. By taking the 1930 census data for Simsbury, CT, indexing it, adding supporting documentation from other sources, and correcting errors, Ms. Perreault has created a document that will benefit all who want to research Connecticut family histories.  Further, with a minimal budget and on demand printing, Ms. Perreault’s Footprints Across Connecticut serves as a new blueprint for future towns to follow in creating resources for making their own raw census data more useful for researchers and genealogists.

The Stonington Historical Society received an award for its publication The Davis Homestead.  This new, hardbound edition of John Lawrence Davis’ memoir is an important contribution to the scholarship of rural life in twentieth-century Connecticut.  Mr. Davis provides rare glimpses into both everyday life on a farm and major events of the times like the Hurricane of 1938.  But it is the contribution of James Boylan’s new introduction that truly makes the publication worthy of recognition.  Mr. Boylan provides context for the writings of Mr. Davis and helps trace the history of the family who operated Connecticut’s oldest continually operated farm back to the seventeenth century.  The addition of historical photographs of the farm and its family members further helps to frame Mr. Davis’ stories.  The publication provides a model for other historical societies to follow in taking existing manuscripts and typescripts and transforming them into lasting, historical documents.

The Watertown Historical Society received an honorable mention for its Newspaper Digitization Project. The digitization of the Watertown Historical Society’s newspaper collection is an important accomplishment for this all-volunteer organization.  The project made many records available for the first time since the breakdown of the institution’s microfilm reader in 1990 and, by making many samples of the digitized newspapers online, the institution’s collections have become much more accessible to the general public.