Publications and Press News

Copper Chorus Wins Spur Award

"Copper Chorus: Mining, Politics and the Montana Press, 1889-1959" wins the 2007 Spur Award for best nonfiction-contemporary book. The Spur Awards, given annually for distinguished writing about the American West, are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. Written by University of Montana Journalism Professor Dennis Swibold, "Copper Chorus" reads like a front-page story complete with greed, propaganda, corruption, and back rooms filled with cigar smoke and power brokers. Winners and finalists will be honored June 12-16 at the Western Writers of America Convention in Springfield, Missouri.

Cheers to 50 Years!

The Montana Historical Society is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary of publishing books. K. Ross Toole and J. W. Smurr edited the first book in 1957, Historical Essays on Montana and the Northwest. Then, the Society published under the moniker of the Western Press. Not long after, the name changed to the Montana Historical Society Press . With more than fifty titles in print, the MHS Press has reached a broad audience and earned a reputation as one of the most respected publishers of western history in the high plains and northern Rockies.

Baumler received another award for Beyond Spirit Tailings

Ellen Baumler has received the American Association for State and Local History Award of Merit for Beyond Spirit Tailings: Montana's Mysteries, Ghosts, and Haunted Places , published by the Montana Historical Society.
In time for Halloween, Beyond Spirit Tailings, its predecessor Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales form Virginia City, Butte, and Helena, and the audio book Beyond Spirit Tailings with music by Philip Aaberg, can each be purchased through the Montana Historical Society Museum Store.

Montana Wins Fifth Wrangler Award

Montana The Magazine of Western History won a fifth Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy Museum and Western Heritage Center for Jeffrey Pearson's article "Tragedy at Red Cloud Agency: The Surrender, Confinement, and Death of Crazy Horse" published in the Summer 2005 issue. Presented during a gala event in Oklahoma City this spring, the award honors the best nonfiction magazine article on any western history topic. Business manager Tammy Ryan and photo editor Glenda Bradshaw were on hand to receive the award. Since 1990 Montana has published five Wrangler Award-winning articles. For more information or to order a subscription, call (406) 444-4708.

Friends' Choice Award Winner Announced

Each year the Friends of the Montana Historical Society, the organization of MHS volunteers, vote for their favorite article in Montana The Magazine of Western History. Established in 2004, this award represents the opinion of a diverse group who have a strong interest in Montana and western history. The winner of the 2007 Friends' Choice Award is Seena B. Kohl for her article "Love, Valor, and Endurance: World War II War Brides Making a Home in Montana," which was published in the Autumn 2006 issue. Seena, professor of anthropology at Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, interviewed more than twenty war brides whose oral histories reside in the Montana Historical Society Archives.

Paul Hedren Named Spur Award Winner

The Western Writers of America have named Paul Hedren's article "The Contradictory Legacies of Buffalo Bill Cody's First Scalp for Custer" the winner of their annual Spur Award in the short non-fiction category. Hedren's article appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of Montana The Magazine of Western History. The award was presented at the WWA's conference in Cody. Editor Molly Holz accepted the award on behalf of the magazine.

James E. Potter Named Finalist

The Army Historical Foundation has named James E. Potter a finalist in their 2005 Distinguished Writing Awards. Potter's article "Hunting in the Frontier Army: 'The Great Source of Amusement,'" appeared in the Autumn 2005 issue of Montana The Magazine of Western History. In his article, Potter discusses the importance of hunting on the frontier as a form of recreation and sustenance for soldiers. Potter is a senior research historian at the Nebraska State Historical Society.

Ellen Baumler and Philip Aaberg Release Audiobook

In a new and exciting twist, Ellen Baumler's ever-popular historical ghost stories found an enthusiastic reader in world-famous composer Philip Aaberg. Inspired by the stories, he encouraged Ellen to produce and audio version of Beyond Spirit Tailings to which he could add his music. Ellen and Philip's spooky collaboration will evoke those places and images that make our imagination such a wonderful (and sometimes unearthly) destination. For more information about ordering your copy of this five-disc set, visit the MHS Museum Store online, or call 1-800-243-9900.

Tammy Ryan Wins 2005 Governor's Award

Publications program staff member Tammy Ryan was recently awarded the Governor's Award for Excellence in Performance. In a cermony on the campus of Carroll College, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer presented the award to Ryan and other state employees representing a variety of state agencies. Former Montana Governor Sam Stephens established this award in 1990, which recognizes state employees across Montana. Winners are selected based upon a variety of professional, leadership, and service criteria. Since 1988, Tammy Ryan has brought energy, integrity, initiative, talent, and collegiality to the publications program as circulation and advertising manager of Montana The Magazine of Western History. We extend our congratulations to Tammy for her service to our organization.

For more information about the 2005 Governor's Award for Excellence in Performance winners, visit Governor Brian Schweitzer's web page.

Montana in Germany

William E. Farr's two-part article titled "Going to the Buffalo: Indian Hunting Migrations across the Rocky Mountains," originally published in Montana The Magazine of Western History, has been translated into German and published by Verlag Amerikanistik D. Kuegler. The article previously received recognition by winning the 2004 Vivian Paladin Award from the Montana Historical Society.

Baumler and MHS Press Recognized by Women Writing the West

Ellen Baumler's Girl From the Gulches: The Story of Mary Ronan, published by the Montana Historical Society Press, has been selected as a Finalist Award Winner in the 2004 WILLA Literary Awards in the Memoir/Essay category. Awarded annually for outstanding literature featuring women's stories set in the West, the WILLA Literary Awards are chosen by a distinguished panel of twenty-one professional librarians.

Hope in Hard Times Wins Montana Book Award

The Montana Historical Society Press is pleased to annouce that Hope in Hard Times: New Deal Photographs of Montana, 1936-1942 by Mary Murphy was selected as the first place winner of the Montana Book Award. This annual award recognizes literary and/or artistic excellence in a book published in the previous year.

2005 Vivian Paladin Award Winner Announced

Every magazine likes to win prizes, but we confess our delight in giving them too: each year the editorial board of Montana The Magazine of Western History selects the best article published during the previous year as the winner of the Vivian A. Paladin Award. The Montana Historical Society Board of Trustees created the award in 1978 to honor the career achievements and high editorial standards of legendary editor Vivian A. Paladin who served the magazine for twenty years (1958-1978). We present the award at the annual Montana History Conference. Here is the list of authors who have won this award.

Winners of the Vivian A. Paladin Award
2006 Melody Graulich, "Monopolizing The Virginian (or, Railroading Wister)"
2005 Paul Hedren, "The Contradictory Legacies of Buffalo Bill Cody's First Scalp for Custer"
2004 William E. Farr, "Going to Buffalo: Indian Hunting Migrations across the Rocky Mountains"
2003 Christine K. Erickson, "'Kluxer Blues': The Klan Confronts Catholics in Butte, Montana, 1923"
2002 Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith, "World Champions: The 1904 Girls' Basketball Team from Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School"
2001 Brian Dippie, "'Flying Buffaloes': Artists and the Buffalo Hunt"
2000 Liping Zhu, "No Need to Rush: The Chinese, Placer Mining, and the Western Environment"
1999 Ellen Baumler, "Devil's Perch: Prostitution from Suite to Cellar in Butte, Montana"
1998 Michael C. Steiner, "Frontierland as Tomorrowland: Walt Disney and the Architectural Packing of the Mythic West"
1997Quintard Taylor, "From Esteban to Rodney King: Five Centuries of African American History in the West"
1996 Liping Zhu, "'A Chinaman's Chance' on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier"
1995 James P. Ronda, "A Moment in Time: The West-September 1806"
1994 William E. Farr "Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet: The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal"
1993 John Phillip Reid, "Certainty of Vengeance: The Hudson's Bay Company and Retaliation in Kind against Indian Offenders in New Caledonia"
1992 Brian W. Dippie, "Photographic Allegories and Indian Destinies"
1991 Paul A. Hutton, "'Correct in Every Detail': General Custer in Hollywood"
1990 Albert L. Hurtado, "Public History and the Native American"

Montana Wins Award from Forest History Society for Second Year in a Row

We are delighted to announce that for the second year in a row, the magazine has won the Theodore C. Blegen Award from the Forest History Society. Sara Dant Ewert's "Evolution of an Environmentalist: Senator Frank Church and the Hells Canyon Controversy" (Montana The Magazine of Western History, Spring 2001) won for 2002, and Alice Wondrak's "Wrestling with Horace Albright: Edmund Rogers, Visitors, and Bears in Yellowstone National Park" (Autumn-Winter 2002) won for 2003. The Blegen Award is given annually to the author of the best article in a journal other than Environmental History. The author receives a $500 award and plaque.

For more on The Forest History Society, visit www.foresthistory.org.

Society Historic Guide Wins National Honor

Allan Mathews's A Guide to Historic Missoula, volume 6 in the Montana Mainstreets series, received a Certificate of Commendation, which recognizes excellence, from the American Association for State and Local History.

Order Magazine Slipcases

Preserve, protect, and organize your back issues of Montana The Magazine of Western History. Slipcases are library quality, constructed with heavy bookbinder board, and covered in rich maroon leatherette material. Each measures 11-3/8" tall x 8-5/8" deep x 3" wide and holds approximately eight issues. These new slipcases may be ordered directly from the manufacturer, TNC Enterprises, by calling 215-674-8476 or ordering online at www.tncenterprises.net/mt.html.

Montana Historical Society
P.O. Box 201201
Helena, Montana 59620

Phone: 406-444-4708