The Lola Homsher Grant Program, the Lola Homsher History Day Scholarship, the Henryetta Berry Memorial Award and the Judge and Mrs. Percy W. Metz Memorial Award are made possible through an endowment to the Wyoming Historical Society made by Lola Homsher before her death in 1986.
Miss Homsher, originally from Basin, Wyoming was a well-known historian and author. Lola Homsher was the first practicing Archivist for the Wyoming State Archives. During her tenure as Archivist she wrote many articles for the newspapers in her own column called "From the Archives." She also wrote items for presentation on radio and for various historical entities. In 1961 the Western Writers of America awarded Miss Homsher the Best Nonfiction Spur Award for the book, SOUTH PASS, 1868: James Chisolm's Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush, introduced and edited by Lola M. Homsher. The Spur Awards, given annually for distinguished writing about the American West, are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. She was the director of what is now the Cultural Resources Division of State Parks and Cultural Resources from 1951 to 1965. In this capacity she served as Editor of the Annals of Wyoming and was instrumental in the founding of the Wyoming Historical Society. Miss Homsher and her associate, Henryetta Berry, were prime movers in establishing records management and document preservation programs in Wyoming. She was always interested in educating the young people of the state and enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the history profession in Wyoming. Use the following links to learn more about the application process. All applications must be submitted no later than the last day of February.