Antoinette Powell excels at using history to tell stories. Her expertise at doing so has been recognized by the Outagamie County Historical Society.
Powell, music librarian and associate professor at Lawrence University, has been named the 2015 recipient of the historical society’s annual Lillian F. Mackesy Historian of the Year Award, which honors outstanding contributions to Outagamie County history.
Nominated by the staff of the History Museum at the Castle, Powell will receive her award March 18 at a meeting of the Outagamie County History Society.
Powell, who joined the Lawrence faculty in 2002, was selected for her contributions to three local history projects:
• she conducted critical research on the Cleggett-Hollensworth-Newman families in support of the History Museum’s “Stone of Hope” pop-up exhibition.
• she organized a Marian Anderson Tribute Concert last October at Lawrence that featured repertoire from a recital Anderson sang at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel in 1941.
• her ongoing efforts as webmaster to maintain Appleton’s Historic Old Third Ward website.
Established in 1976 by the Outagamie County Historical Society, the award is named in honor of Lillian Mackesy, a former columnist and editor for The Post Crescent, whose columns included “Looking Back 100 Years,” “Historically Speaking” and “Remember When?”
“Through her Post Crescent articles, Lillian Mackesy made local history appealing and accessible to two generations of Fox Valley residents,” said Matt Carpenter, executive director of the History Museum at the Castle. “Antoinette follows Mackesy’s example. Employing her meticulous research and documentary skills, she focuses her passion for history on untold or misunderstood stories. Her talents for research and storytelling have made her projects especially credible and engaging.”
Mackesy, the award’s first recipient, was devoted to the preservation and promotion of the region’s historical heritage. Her personal collection forms the core of the History Museum’s research files and photograph collection.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
