UPPER PENINSULA — Ahead of the annual Upper Peninsula History Conference on June 22, the winners of the 2024 Upper Peninsula History Awards have been announced.
At its 75th annual conference, the Michigan Historical Society will present three awards recognizing individuals and organizations who have contributed to preserving the history of the UP.
The Michigan Historical Society History Heroes Awards were established in 2017 to recognize individuals who have contributed to historic preservation not only in the Upper Peninsula but throughout the state.
Phil Porter of Cheboygan received the award this year for his contributions to Mackinac State Historic Park.
Porter worked at Mackinac State Historic Park for 49 years, serving as a tour guide at Fort Mackinac, curator of collections and ultimately as park director. He retired in 2020.
Read more: Phil Porter retires from Mackinac State Historic Park
The next individual award is the Charles Follow Award, named for the Escanaba teacher who founded several historical societies to promote historical preservation in UP.
The Charles Follow Award will be presented to Deidre Stevens of Sault Ste. Marie for her volunteer work with the Chippewa County Historical Society.
In her work, Stevens has helped create a searchable database and physical collection of local newspapers going back decades. Over the years, she has cataloged photographs and other research materials for the Historical Society and contributed to the creation of several articles, books and other resources on the city.
Visitors to Sault Ste. Marie may know her as the narrator of Soo Locks history for Famous Sioux Locks Boat Tours.
Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our coverage
Read more: Exploring Lake Superior shipwrecks
The Excellence Awards, established in 2006, recognize organizations that have contributed to preservation efforts. This year, the recipient was the Great Lakes Shipwreck Association.
The society was founded in 1978. The organization manages the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, home to Lake Superior’s oldest operating lighthouse. The museum also houses artifacts from Great Lakes shipwrecks, and the organization conducts an annual search for undiscovered wrecks on the Great Lakes.
The society also helps support other historic organizations, such as the former U.S. Weather Service building in Soo Locks Park, and has helped produce video documentaries in collaboration with the National Geographic Society and the Discovery Channel.
The awards will be presented at the Michigan Historical Society’s 75th Annual Upper Peninsula History Conference, June 21-23. The event will feature keynote speeches on Michigan’s first female chief of staff, Mary Hadrick, as well as the history of Soo Locks and the impact of the Jesuits on the development of the Upper Peninsula.
The weekend-long event will feature presentations, content sessions, educational workshops, an exhibit hall and more.
For more information, visit hsmichigan.org.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner at BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
