We have our nominees!
Publick Occurrences
March 31, 2021
Thank you so much for your participation.
We had an overwhelming response to our request for Bay State Legacy Award nominations. All the nominees are people who have made long-term outstanding contributions to local or public history in Massachusetts.
The Bay State Historical League, which dissolved in 2005, awarded the John F. Ayer award to individuals who made significant contributions to the study of Massachusetts history. The Massachusetts History Alliance carries on the BSHL’s legacy of service and recognition with the Bay State Legacy Award.
Nominees for the 2021 Bay State Legacy Award are:
Barbara Berenson (public historian, author)
Bill Lichtenstein (Lichtenstein Creative Media)
Bob Comeau (Holyoke and South Hadley local historian)
Byron Rushing (Retired member of the Mass. House of Rep.)
Cinzi Lavin (composer/musical dramatist)
Craig Della Pena (Golden Spike Conference)
Darius Coombs (Mashpee Wampanoag, Plimoth Pawtuxet)
David Russo (Watertown Historical Commission)
Dennis Picard (Pioneer Valley History Network, Storrowton Village Museum)
Dick Lehr (author)
Donna Curtin (Pilgram Hall Museum)
Electa Tritsch (Gore Place)
Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello (Salem State University)
George Mirijanian (Fitchburg local historian)
Jack Warner (Massachusetts Archive)
James Moran (American Antiquarian Society)
Jane Sciacca (Wayland Historical Society)
Joy Contois (Fitchburg Historical Society)
Justin Demetri (Cape Ann local historian)
Kenneth Turino (Historic New England, House of the 7 Gables)
Kyle & Jessica DeCicco-Carey (Mattapoisett Museum)
Marita Rivero (Museum of African American History)
Martin Blatt (Northeastern University)
Mary Fuhrer (public historian)
Michael Reiskind & Dave Nathan (Jamaica Plain Historical Society)
Nina Zannieri (Paul Revere House)
Pru Fish (local historian)
Rob Cox (posthumously) (UMass Amherst)
Stan Prager (public historian)
Stephen Jendrysik (Chicopee Historical Society & Edward Bellamy Memorial Association)
Steve Strimer (David Ruggles Center for History and Education)
Susan Wilson (independent writer and presenter)
William Hultgren (posthumously) (Charlton local historian)
Now, we would like to hear from you! Are you familiar with a nominee and their work? Please comment below and let us know how each person has dedicated themselves to history in Massachusetts!