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Historical Society of Michigan Update Our State Our Stories Your Impact Annual Report of the Historical Society of Michigan2021 Welcome to the Update DearWe areMembers pleased to bringand Friendsyou our annual of HSM, report on the activities and programs of the Historical Society of Michigan (HSM) during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2021. Your support has made the programming you will read about on the following pages possible (see our Honor Roll of Donors inside). Thank you! We began the 2020-2021 fiscal year only a few months into the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing public health orders and restrictions for gathering in large groups. In the spring of Executive Director and CEO 2020, we canceled two popular history conferences and put the Larry J. Wagenaar brakes on several Michiganders on the Road® tours. In-person Board President gatherings became remote. Sharon Carlson, Kalamazoo It was a challenging year for everyone, including our Board Vice President nonprofit organization, whose mission is preserving and Shannon White, Lansing promoting Michigan history—in good times and in bad. Board Secretary However, with creativity and communications Virginia Paganelli Caruso, Plainwell technology, we rolled with the pandemic punches Board Treasurer and made lemonade out of lemons. Jay Platt, Ann Arbor Board of Trustees To restart our history conferences in the fall of 2020, we William Anderson, Ludington moved to a virtual format, which was well-received. We Ken Coleman, Detroit continued with virtual conferences in March and June Mary Jo Cook, Munising of 2021, both of which were well-attended and full of Connie Dang, Jenison fascinating Michigan history topics. One more—the Lindsay Hiltunen, Hancock Michigan History Conference—will be virtual in late Jamon Jordan, Detroit September 2021. William Peek, St. Ignace HSM’s Michigan History Day®, a yearlong academic Phil Porter, Cheboygan history competition for young people that is part of Kenneth R. Pott, Grand Rapids National History Day, also went virtual in April—for the Maria Elena Rodriguez, Allen Park second year in a row—and allowed students between Chuck Stokes, West Bloomfield fourth and twelfth grades to research and present their Blaire Topash-Caldwell, Dowagiac historical topics safely. Many students qualified for, and David Trebing, Okemos did well in, the national competition held in June. Daniel Truckey, Marquette Dyck Van Koevering, DeWitt In addition, HSM launched an exciting program that is sure Robert VerHeulen, Walker to appeal to Michigan owners of older homes. Initial Richard Wiener, Williamston response has been strong to the new Michigan Heritage Frank Wilhelme, Ann Arbor Home™ program, which recognizes houses at least 100 years H. Sook Wilkinson, Bloomfield Hills old—take a look at the next page to learn more. Kendall Wingrove, East Lansing Now, we have begun a new fiscal year and have new hopes of restoring in-person programming, while retaining virtual access where it makes sense. We restarted the motorcoach tours in August and plan to bring back all three in-person history conferences in 2022. Thank you for joining us on our Michigan history journey! Michigan Heritage Home™ The Historical Society of Michigan launched the Michigan Heritage Home™ program 100 on May 24, 2021, as a recognition award meant The home’s minimum to honor and celebrate Michigan dwellings that have stood the test of time for more than age to qualify 100 years. Since that launch, applications have already showcased the rich heritage of our state, and HSM is thrilled to share and preserve each home’s legacy with the official program 7 plaque and certificate. Certified homes in the first Designation as a Michigan Heritage Home month of the program comes with a handsome cast-aluminum plaque, authorized by HSM, that lets everyone know that your home has its own rich heritage and historical significance. The designation also comes with a recognition certificate suitable for framing. We can’t wait to see this program grow and thrive in the next fiscal year—stay tuned! Sponsored by GET CERTIFIED AS A MICHIGAN HERITAGE HOME The Michigan Heritage Home program recognizes houses that were constructed at least 100 years ago and are in substantially original condition. That designation comes with a handsome cast- aluminum plaque, a recognition certificate suitable for framing, and the opportunity to be featured in Chronicle or Michigan History! For a Michigan Heritage Home application and more information, email us at [email protected], or call (800) 692-1828. ® ThisMichigan year, 250 elementary, middle, History and high school students tookDay part in the Michigan History Day® State Finals contest, which is an educational program of the Historical Society of Michigan that helps students prepare for success in college by researching a history topic and selecting the best way to present their findings. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the judges missed the opportunity to interview state and national competitions were moved and discuss projects with students but were to a virtual platform for the safety of all still impressed with the quality of work. involved. “The History Day theme for A total of 66 students advanced to the virtual 2021—‘Communication in History: The Key to National History Day competition, with 10 Understanding’—was fitting for the students receiving special honors. Georgia challenges faced by participants this year. Edmonds of The Gagie School in Kalamazoo Students had to communicate virtually with earned a first-place award for her Junior teachers, group members, and research Division Individual Exhibit titled, “The Book institutions for most of the year, especially in Women: Communicating Literacy and the the fall when most schools were virtual,” said Love for Books to Those Isolated by Poverty Amy Bradfield, state coordinator for and the Appalachian Mountains.” Michigan History Day® (National History Day in Michigan). Elyse Heffner and Veronika Caughran of Traverse City East Middle School received the Switching to a virtual contest for the Junior Division’s George Washington Michigan History Day State Finals Leadership in History Prize for their group presented some unique challenges for both exhibit, “Washington’s Farewell Address.” The students and judges. Students in the exhibit award is sponsored by the Fred W. Smith category included pictures of their exhibits. National Library for the Study of George Performance students recorded their Washington at Mount Vernon. performances at school or at home. The Learn more about Michigan History Day and get involved at hsmichigan.org/mhd. Some of the Michigan students recognized at the 2021 National History Day Nic Sheppard and Myles Daugherty Emma Wilson Lila Baliunas, Hannah Hysell, Senior Group Exhibit Senior Individual Performance Josephine Marsh, and Mary Riley Junior Group Performance The news that Georgia Edmonds of The Gagie School in Kalamazoo was the National Champion in the Junior Division Individual Exhibit category at the National History Day competition was welcome, but not surprising. The year 2021 marked the third year in a row that Edmonds has represented Michigan in the Junior Division Individual Exhibit category at the 66 national finals. In 2019, Edmonds won Michigan students the Junior Division Outstanding advanced to Affiliate Award, designating her as best-in-state, for her individual exhibit National History Day entry, “The Radium Girls: The Luminous Triumph and the Dark Tragedy of Radium.” Her exhibit finished fifth in the nation that year. This year, the National History Day competition was a family affair for 74% Georgia and her brother, Samuel Students that report Edmonds. Samuel, who is in sixth grade, MHD as one of their advanced to the national finals in the best learning Junior Division Group Documentary experiences category with his entry titled, “Shostakovich’s 7th “I love competing in Symphony: Michigan History Day Communicating because it allows me Hope to Leningrad to create a project that and the World.” teaches me and others the importance of 250 history.” State Finals participants Georgia Edmonds Junior Individual Exhibit Ishwari Bhatt Junior Individual Performance Conferences HSM’s three annual conferences returned this past year, taking place virtually for the first time. The 2020 Michigan History Conference offered a closeup look at the heritage of the Lansing area and was HSM’s first foray into the online conference format. Attendees experienced two days filled with live virtual tours, a wide variety of sessions, online workshops, and time to spend with exhibitors—all from the comfort and safety of their homes. The 2021 Michigan in Perspective: Local History Conference took place on March 19-20 of this year. Going virtual opened access wider than ever before, and attendees joined from across the country. With an unprecedented amount of content—including one of the last recorded interviews with the late Senator Carl Levin—the conference continued the tradition of sharing stories from the Detroit area’s rich, diverse history. The 2021 Upper Peninsula History Conference explored the heritage of the Bay Mills/Brimley area this past June 25-26, reviving much of the content from the canceled 2020 event. Attendees from across Michigan and ten other states joined a variety of keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, and behind- the-scenes tours. As we embark on the new fiscal year, HSM is looking forward to the 2021 Annual Meeting and Michigan History Conference, which will take place September 24-25, 2021. As our first conference to be planned from its inception as a virtual event, it will take a truly statewide look at Michigan’s past. Starting with the Michigan in Perspective: Local History 562 Conference in 2022, we plan Households that to return to in-person attended the 2021 Local conferences, but keep an History Conference eye out for exciting changes that take advantage of everything we learned from hosting online events! 40 Out-of-state participants— Stay up to date at hsmichigan.org/conferences.