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Award
William Best Hesseltine Award
About the William Best Hesseltine Award
The William Best Hesseltine Award was established in 1965 in memory of historian and Wisconsin Historical Society past president William B. Hesseltine. The award honors the writer of the best article in the previous volume year in the Wisconsin Magazine of History. The results are announced in the Winter issue of the magazine, and the winner receives a small cash prize.
Since 2022, the winner has been determined by a juried panel.
2024-2025 Award Winner
Black Nite, Part 2: From Legend to Landmark
By Michail Takach
Past William Best Hesseltine Award Winners
- 2024 - 2025: Michail Takach
for the article “Black Nite, Part 2: From Legend to Landmark" - 2023 - 2024: James Hibbard
for the article “Stronger Than Law: Efforts Toward Equality and Black Rights in the Lead Era” - 2022 - 2023: Kim E. Nielsen
for the article, "Ott v. Ott: Family Violence, Divorce, and Women's Agency in Nineteenth-Century Wisconsin" - 2021 - 2022: Matt Blessing
for the article, "A Northern Farm Cradled in Pines: The Legacy of Soren Uhrenholdt" - 2020 - 2021: Matt Blessing
for the article, "Reading the Landscape: Aldo Leopold’s Use of History" - 2019 - 2020: Matt Blessing
for the article, "'Alaska, Ho!': Arville Schaleben and the Matanuska Valley Colony" - 2018 - 2019: Lee Grady
for the article, "America's Alien Enemies: Registering as German in Wisconsin During World War I" - 2017 - 2018: Zoe von Ende Lappin
for the article, "Pioneer Editor: Pete Savage and the Iron River Pioneer" - 2016 - 2017: Jennifer Van Haaften
for the article, "Re-visiting the American Pioneer Spirit: The Extended Family of Laura Ingalls Wilder" - 2015 - 2016: John Nondorf
for the article, "Nous Vous Remercions: The French Gratitude Train" - 2014 - 2015: Erika Laabs
for the article, "The Farm at Ten Chimneys: A Closer Look at the Home of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne" - 2013 - 2014: Kimberly Aime
for the article, "Heritage of the Harvest: Taming the Wild Cranberry" - 2012 - 2013: Matthew Prigge
for the article, "The 'Girl-Man' of Milwaukee : The Lives of Cora Anderson" - 2011 - 2012: Kathryn Parks and Colleen McFarland
for their article, "Stitch by Stich: The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Zimmermann" - 2010 - 2011: Jeffrey J. McLean
for the article, "The MacArthurs and the Mitchells: Wisconsin's First Military Families" - 2009 - 2010: Lynda Salisbury and Lonna Schumacher Morouney
for the article, "Encore, Encore! On Stage with the Sidell Sisters and the Leo Kehl School of Dancing" - 2008 - 2009: William Povletich
for the article, "Liberace: The Milwaukee Maestro" - 2007 - 2008: Mark Speltz
for the article, "If Ordinary Walls Could Talk: Piecing Together the History of My House" - 2006 - 2007: Erika Janik
for the article, "Good Morning Homemakers!" - 2005 - 2006: Amelia Klem Osterud
for the article, "A Life of Her Own Choosing: Anna Gibbons' Fifty Years as a Tattooed Lady" - 2004 - 2005: Russell Horton
for the article, "Unwanted in a White Man's War: The Civil War Service of the Green Bay Tribes" - 2003 - 2004: Clark Kidder
for the article, "West by Orphan Train" - 2002 - 2003: William H. Tishler and Erik M. Ghenoiu
for the article, "Conservation Pioneers: Jens Jensen and the Friends of Our Native Landscape" - 2001 - 2002: Jim Draeger and Gerry Strey (tie)
for Jim Draeger's article, "Postal-Perfect: My Pursuit of Mail-Order Homes in Wisconsin," and Gerry Strey's article, "The 'Oleo Wars': Wisconsin's Fight over the Demon Spread"
Wisconsin Magazine of History
One of the best sources for Wisconsin history, this magazine includes articles written by Society experts and scholars across the nation. The magazine also features first-person accounts from everyday Wisconsinites throughout history.
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Wisconsin Magazine of History
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Last Updated: June 11, 2026
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