The Heritage Hero Award was created by the History Nebraska Board of Trustees to recognize and thank local volunteers of history organizations around the state for their time and effort in helping to share Nebraska’s history. Nominations were sent in by cultural organizations from across the state.
The board will give out 46 awards to individuals and organizations dedicated to preserving and sharing their region’s history. Each recipient will receive a commemorative pin and certificate presented to them by a member of the History Nebraska Board of Trustees.
The 46 recipients of the 2021 Heritage Hero Award are listed below.
2020 Heritage Hero Award Winners
Susan Warneke – Pierce Historical Society, Pierce, NE
Charles “Chuck” Matzke – Nebraska National Guard Museum, Seward, NE
Thomas Wallerstedt – Swedish Heritage Center-Oakland, NE
Sheila Green – International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, NE
Betty Ewald – Creighton Historical Center, Creighton, NE
Carolyn McCormick – Douglas County Historical Society, Omaha, NE
Brown-Harano Studio Photograph Collection Volunteers: Bill McGahan, Mary Dymond, Arlene Cross, Kathy Wenz, Don Milroy, (donated the collection), Don Lucas, Don Kilgore, and Mike Douty – Lincoln County Historical Museum, North Platte, NE
Keith F. Mahaney – Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte Center, Walthill, NE
Levern G. Hauptmann – Antelope County Historical Society, Neligh, NE
Jerry Kneifel – Platte County Historical Society, Columbus, NE
Mike and Shirley King – Sherman County Historical Society, Loup City, NE
Karen Mosel – Perkins County Historical Society, Grant, NE
Robert Culver – National Museum of Roller Skating, Lincoln, NE
Sharon W. Disharoon – Butte Community Historical Center, Butte, NE
Joan Zoeller – Richardson County Historical Society, Fall City, NE
Raleigh Sheffield – Durham Museum, Omaha, NE
Milt Kotrc – The Archway, Kearney, NE
Pete Cawiezel – Morrill Museum, Morrill, NE
Sean Chance, Linda Engel, Tim Engel, Jan O’Neil, Scott O’Neil, Jhude Sedlacek, Josh Shirley and Josh Whitney – Civil War Museum, Nebraska City, NE
Robert E. Hoins – Clay Center Historical Society, Clay Center, NE
Sarah Chittenden Williamson – Johnson County Historical Society, Tecumseh, NE
Rick Myers – Legacy of the Plains, Gering, NE
Ruth Lindly – Custer County Historical Society, Broken Bow, NE
Shirley Sides – Dakota County Historical Society, Emerson, NE
Eileen E. Bergt – Preservation Association of Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
Marlene Geiger – Robert Henri Museum, Cozad, NE
Antonette Willa Skupa Turner – The National Willa Cather Center, Red Cloud, NE
Elaine Batenhorst – BCHS Trails and Rails Museum, Kearney, NE
Frank Tolstedt – Carnegie Arts Center, Alliance NE
Charlene Vail – Crawford Historical Society
Phyllis C. Krotz – The Armstrong House Museum, Crawford, NE
Nona Weise – Scribner’s Musbauch Museum
Mike and Shirley King, Sherman County Historical Society
Antonette Willa Skupa Turner, The National Willa Cather Center, Red Cloud, NE
Brown-Harano Studio Photograph Collection Volunteers: Bill McGahan, Mary Dymond, Arlene Cross, Kathy Wenz, Don Milroy, Don Lucas, Don Kilgore, and Mike Douty. Lincoln County Historical Museum
Betty Ewald, Creighton Historical Society
Carolyn McCormick, Douglas County Historical Society, Omaha, NE
Sean Chance, Linda Engel, Tim Engel, Jan O’Neil, Scott O’Neil, Jhude Sedlacek, Josh Shirley and Josh Whitney. Civil War Museum, Nebraska City, NE
Charles “Chuck” Matzke, Nebraska National Guard Museum, Seward, NE
Eileen E. Bergt, Preservation Association of Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
Jerry Kneifel, Platte County Historical Society, Columbus, NE
Elaine Batenhorst, BCHS Trails and Rails Museum, Kearney, NE
Keith Mahaney, Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte Center, Walthill, NE
Marlene Geiger, Robert Henri Museum, Cozad, NE
Levern Hauptmann, Antelope County Historical Society, Neligh, NE
Nona Weise, Scribner’s Musbauch Museum
Rick Myers, Legacy of the Plains, Gering, NE
Phyllis C. Krotz, The Armstrong House Museum, Crawford, NE
Robert E. Hoins, Clay Center Historical Society, Clay Center, NE
Sheila Green, International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, NE
Ruth Lindly, Custer County Historical Society, Broken Bow, NE
Shirley Sides, Dakota County Historical Society, Emerson, NE
Thomas Wallerstedt, Swedish Heritage Center Oakland, NE
Susan Warneke, Pierce Historical Society, Pierce, NE
Shirley Sides, Dakota City
Mike and Shirley King
