Congratulations to the 2020 NCGS Awards Recipients

Lisa Henderson is the creator of the website Black Wide-Awake. It is organized in a blog format and contains an extensive amount of historical materials like photographs, letters, and newspaper articles, along with valuable commentary added by Ms. Henderson that documents the past of African Americans in Wilson County, North Carolina. The site is very interactive as the public can comment on the blog posts and respond to each other. Content from other contributors is also posted. Tags and categories help organize the posts and they are all searchable.
Website at https://afamwilsonnc.com/

Emily Skinner’s book Until We Sleep Our Last Sleep is first and foremost a transcription of her grandmother Emily Millikan Blair’s diary. The diary tells the compelling story of a devout woman with a disability living in the Randolph County, North Carolina, Quaker community. Anyone researching their own Quaker relatives during the late 19^th and early 20^th century in this area would find the book worthwhile for the stories and historical context of the Friends’ lifestyle it provides. Many community events are described along with subjects relating to the Springfield Friends Meeting.  Researchers might even find a mention of their relative in the book. While the social history the diary provides is valuable, Ms. Skinner also included an annotated name index with the context of the relationships to Emily Millikan Blair along with maiden and married names. There are also family bible records and family photographs from various sources. Anyone researching the Millikan or Blair family would find the book of interest, but the multiple levels at which the book can be read add appeal to a broader audience. 
Available through Amazon

Marcy Thompson has worked at the Transylvania County Library since 1994. In 2006, she became the Local History Librarian and was instrumental in establishing the Rowell Bossee North Carolina Room. Under her direction, the Room has continued to grow and has become the official depository for the county’s historical records. She has collected and organized thousands of photographs and documents in her role as librarian. Along with that, she has advocated for the digitization of materials and was successful in getting the Transylvania Times newspaper, hundreds of yearbooks, and over 1500 photographs available online.

Ms. Thompson is well-known in her community for being a knowledgeable source of local history and genealogy. She has given and hosted many talks at the library to promote the area’s history. She has also served on the board of the Transylvania Historical Society, Transylvania Heritage Museum, the Transylvania Heritage Coalition and was the Chair of the Joint Historic Preservation Board. She writes a weekly column in the Transylvania Times entitled “Picturing the Past” that highlights photographs from the library’s collection.

According to the Director of Transylvania County Library, Rishara Finsel, Ms. Thompson will be retiring this fall from her position at the library and will be leaving behind “a big legacy.”