Awarding historical preservation

By Bri Brasher 
NLJ Reporter
 
Newcastle’s corner of the Black Hills is rich with history, dating back to Cambria and Newcastle’s beginnings in the late 1800s. Retelling timelines of the past makes the area’s stories timeless, yet those retellings don’t necessarily come easily. Many hours of preparation, work and coordination go into sharing old tales and information. In an effort to recognize historical preservation, the Wyoming State Historical Society awards such study. 
The Wyoming State Historical Society’s mission reads, “The Wyoming State Historical Society, a non-profit membership driven organization, encourages the study of Wyoming history.  We believe to study the past is to understand the present and prepare for the future.”
Several of the society’s awards came home to Weston County this year. Dr. Mike Jording, second vice-president of the Weston County Historical Society and chairman of the state awards program, sat down with the News Letter Journal to explain the awards process and to congratulate this year’s recipients. 
“It’s a great opportunity to give acknowledgment to people and children from our area that do good work,” said Jording, who has participated in the awards program for 20-plus years.
Jording said the awards program is not a one-person job. Nominations from each county must be submitted to the state level. Each county, he said, has a historical society chapter, most of which are active. Several additional societies are also scattered throughout the state, such as the chapter in Fort Bridger. Jording said the success of a chapter depends on the interest of the people who live there, and Weston County typically represents well.
Jording laughed.
“We like to win awards,” he said. “You can’t win if you don’t have nominations.”
This year, Weston County earned 12 awards, including awards to elementary students for their work in the classroom. Each award focused on preserving, interpreting or supporting Wyoming history. Jording said he is proud to consistently nominate students in the local school districts. Several students also won at the state level and received monetary awards. He then specifically mentioned the Judge & Mrs. Percy Metz Memorial Award awarded to Alice Tratebas for her photography work in preserving the story of the Old Mill Inn in Newcastle. 
“If you were to take all of the Percy Metz Memorial Award winners over the years and put them against each other, Alice would win them all for her photography work on the Old Mill Inn,” Jording said. “She’s an archaeologist, so she knows how to preserve the story. She took pictures of how it was set up and how it was dismantled when we took it apart to preserve it. She took pictures of it all. Nothing stands greater than what she’s done.”
Jording also said that Brenna Crawford and Weston County Health Services’ activities award was well deserved. Pictures documenting Weston County’s medical community over the years are displayed in the hospital’s new remodel. He said the images are a collection aggregated from the Weston County Historical Society, Anna Miller Museum, Leonard Cash and other private individuals.
“It just a really nice collection of pictures,” Jording said.
Award winners were invited to a local luncheon to receive their congratulations and awards. Jording said that it’s important to recognize the interest and passion that goes into a topic or project. The county’s chapter aligns with the state historical society’s vision to “ensure that Wyoming’s past remains accessible to present and future generations.”
“I always start (the luncheon) by saying these projects didn’t start with the goal of winning an award,” said Jording, adding that the awards are second to the work being done in the county and state.
Looking toward the future, Jording said that the Weston County Historical Society is always looking for potential nominations for historical writing and tours, building preservation and school projects. He said the deadline is in the spring, and the local chapter always appreciates a heads-up when good work is being done. 
“Our chapter is recognized for participating well and always competing well, so that makes all of our members extremely proud. We have good things going on in our community and a chapter that really recognizes those things,” Jording said.