The Wyoming Historical Society announces recipients of its 2009 Lola Homsher research grants. The committee selected thirteen applicants who will receive a total of $6,000 for their individual research projects.  Chairman Mary Kelley said the Homsher Grant program is one of the most important ways the Society reaches out to the public and makes an impact on preserving Wyoming’s wonderful history.  The awards are made to amateur and professional historians and students.

• The Dubois Museum received $500 for use in developing a project about the Wind River Valley.
• Robert Roth, Laramie, received $400 to assist the Laramie High School News Bureau in preserving and cataloging their newspaper articles that chronicle current events as the relate to LHS students and faculty.
• Mary Sheridan-Rabideau, Laramie, received $400 to aid in developing a digital storytelling project, encouraging students to research and publish histories of life in Wyoming through a variety of digital media sources.
• Gregory Nickerson, Laramie, received $400 to research personal experiences of farmers and how that changed agricultural production and land-use over the 20th century in Big Horn, Wyoming.  The end result will be an oral history of 90-year old Harry Olson.
• Meggan Bilotte, Laramie, received $500 to research midwifery in the American West, Wyoming in particular.
• James Ayres, Evanston,  received $400 to further his research on the Standard Timber Company in Evanston.  The end result will consist of an annotated list of newspaper references about the company from 1912 to 1924.
• Scott Crist, Laramie, received $300 to further his research for his thesis about the social impact in towns whose population is deeply affected by the energy related growth.
• Tyler and Josh Graham, Riverton, received $600 to further develop their research on A. A. Anderson, the first superintend of the Yellowstone Forest Reserve.
• John Shield, Cheyenne, received $500 to research Cheyenne’s first electric street lights and the power plant.
• Mike Mackey, Sheridan, received $500 to research Wyoming’s Constitutional Convention, the result of which will be a book and short article for publication.
• Sheridan County Historical Society, Sheridan, received $500 to preserve and catalog the Elsa Spear Byron and Herbert Coffeen photo collection.
• Mike Metcalf, Casper, received $400 to research the Wilcox Robbery that took place in 1899 near Medicine Bow, Wyoming with the ultimate goal of establishing a historic marker at the site.
• Karylyn Petrie, Story, received $700 to research cemetery records in Story.  The results will be a compilation of pictures and historical data relating to the people buried in the cemetery.

 The Lola Homsher Grant is made possible from the endowment that prominent Wyoming historian Lola Homsher created for the purpose of promoting the research of Wyoming history.  The application process for next round of grants will begin in December.  To learn more about the Lola Homsher Research Grant Program, or other aspects of the Wyoming Historical Society, visit the website at www.wyshs.org or contact executive secretary Linda Fabian at 307-322-4237 or linda@dancewyoming.com.