Lane Society of Chatham County Honored Again
for Preserving History, Serving Community
SILER CITY, Oct. 12, 2004 -- For the third time in four years, the Col. John Randolph Lane Society has been honored by the North Carolina Society of Historians for its service to the community and dedication to preserving local history.
The group received two awards this year -- the Malcolm Fowler Society Award, for the society's work as a whole, and the Paul Green Multimedia Award for the Lane Society Web Site, available at www.lanesociety.org.
Malcolm Fowler Society Awards are presented annually to local, regional and state historical, genealogical or preservation societies making a significant contribution to the accumulation and preservation of North Carolina history.
Paul Green Multimedia Awards are given to those promoting state history or genealogy through poetry, historical plays, videos, music and other formats. Web sites are eligible for recognition in the multimedia category.
In 2001, the Lane Society received its first awards from the group, including the Malcolm Fowler Society Award, Paul Green Multimedia Award for the web site, Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award for "Lane's Dispatch," and Claude Hunter Moore Journal Award for the society's semiannual historical publication, "Cartersville Crossroads."
Also that November, the web site received the President's Award for the best project of the year in any category.
One year later, the society was honored with the Willie Parker Peace History Book Award for its flagship publication, "Roster of Confederate Veterans from Chatham County, North Carolina."
Awards were presented Oct. 9 during ceremonies at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown. Judges' citations will be published when they are received from the society.
Lane Society "Roster" Receives Book Award
from North Carolina Society of Historians
SILER CITY, Dec. 14, 2002 -- The Col. John Randolph Lane Society was honored by the North Carolina Society of Historians Nov. 2 with the Willie Parker Peace History Book Award for its "Roster of Confederate Veterans from Chatham County, North Carolina."
Awards were presented at the group's 61st annual banquet in Hickory. The Society was formed in 1941 to collect, preserve and perpetuate North Carolina's rich history.
The Willie Parker Peace History Book Award is given annually to history and reference-oriented titles to encourage people to write and publish the history of a North Carolina county, institution, craft or individual. About two dozen books were recognized this year.
Judges cited the roster for the wealth of information provided.
"This is an exciting volume that goes beyond a simple list of names," the citation read. "It contains a veteran's rank, company/unit, when they were born, when they died, and the type of war service they rendered. We learn if the soldier was killed, wounded, captured or discharged.
"Useful footnotes could include if the soldier was previously in another company or unit, or, if deceased, where they were buried. Several listings were of C.S. Navy men, which we thought was interesting.
"This alphabetized roster is invaluable to a researcher having ties to Chatham County; and, it is an interesting volume for those of us not having ties to that place. Kudos for an exemplary job!"
This is the second year Lane Society projects have received recognition from the society. Last year, the society received the Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award for "Lane's Dispatch;" Claude Hunter Moore Journal Award for "Cartersville Crossroads;" and Paul Green Multimedia Award for the Col. John Randolph Lane Society web site.
The Internet site also was selected by society president Elizabeth Bray Sherrill as winner of the 2001 President's Award, as best entry of the year in any category.
But most notably, the entire society was one of four organizations honored for the body of its work, receiving a Malcolm Fowler Society Award.
Society historian Rick Sailey, who edits the roster, was honored by the reward, but emphasized that the project was a group effort.
"The entire Lane Society has spent years of research to compile the roster -- looking through records and searching cemeteries across the entire region for veterans," said Sailey. "My name may be on the book as editor, but every one of us made a significant contribution. It doesn't matter who gets the credit as long as our local veterans are never forgotten."
The "Roster of Confederate Veterans from Chatham County, North Carolina," is a comprehensive listing of the county's known veterans, with selected service information about each. Published last fall, the third edition lists about 2,000 veterans and includes several new listings and scores of recently-discovered burial sites.
Lane Society Receives Malcolm Fowler
Society Award and Presidents Award
from N.C. Society of Historians
PITTSBORO, Nov. 4, 2001 -- The Col. John Randolph Lane Society was honored by the North Carolina Society of Historians on November 3 with its prestigious Malcolm Fowler Society Award and the Presidents Award for the best historical project reviewed during the previous year.
Awards were presented at the group's 60th annual banquet in Hickory. The Society was formed in 1941 to collect, preserve and perpetuate North Carolina's rich history.
The Malcolm Fowler Society Award is given annually to historical, genealogical or preservation societies in North Carolina contributing to the accumulation and preservation of state history. Four groups were recognized this year, selected from more than 20 nominations.
Judges honored the society for the full scope of its historical projects, though published comments by reviewers focused primarily on the society's publications.
"This small group of dedicated historians seems to move mountains ... mountains of information, that is!" the citation read. "They are tremendously active with a goal of promoting Chatham County histories and genealogies, with a high concentration on history that lies around the War Between the States.
"This group's accomplishments over the past couple of years seems to be overwhelming to us. They produce a fine newsletter, exceptional journal, and have a powerful web page."
All three projects cited by judges received separate recognition in various categories.
* "Lane's Dispatch," the society newsletter, received a Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award, one of eight honored among about 40 reviewed.
* "Cartersville Crossroads," the society's semiannual historical journal, received a Claude Hunter Moore Journal Award, one of three awarded from 25 submitted.
* The Lane Society web site, www.lanesociety.org, received a Paul Green Multimedia Award, one of 30 selected from more than 100 projects considered.
The web site also was selected by Society president Elizabeth Bray Sherrill as winner of the 2001 President's Award, as best entry of the year in any category.
In her assessment, Sherrill wrote: "[A]lthough it was a difficult choice for me to make, I had to ask myself several questions: Which entry educates? Is the project complete or ongoing? How many researchers will it serve? Is it readily available to a vast amount of people?
"This entry answered all those questions affirmatively. This web page is spectacular! It contains a vast amount of information on a regular basis and has the possibility to reach millions of people with the simple press of a button. It is tremendously well organized, and kept up-to-date through loyalty and dedication to a belief as well as to education."
