West River History Conference Oct. 3-4

The 32nd annual West River History Conference (WRHC) is scheduled for Hill City and Crazy Horse Memorial, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 3-4.
“We’re an annual event that rotates from town to town,” said conference president Tim Velder.  “This year we’re excited to come to the Hill City area because of its incredible history as the home of Crazy Horse Memorial and the South Dakota Railroad Museum. But during the conference we will hear stories of other communities and characters representing all of western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.”
Since 1993 the West River History Conference, a nonprofit organization, has been dedicated to preserving the historic record of western South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains.
The annual gathering of scholars brings together amateur and professional historians from around the region. A pre-conference gathering in Hill City Wednesday, Oct. 2, will feature tours of the town and the surrounding Hills.
An evening discussion about railroads of the west by Rick Mills includes an author’s reception at 5:30 p.m., and will feature new book releases from regional historians David Wolff, Spearfish; Cindy Wilson, Elysian, Minn.; Linda Hasselstrom/James W. Parker, Hermosa/Rochester Hills, Minn. and Paul Higbee, Spearfish.
The full conference will open at the Crazy Horse Memorial Conference Center downstairs Thursday morning.  
Throughout the day, 25-minute speaker presentations will range from the first Custer Expedition discoveries to new information about Poker Alice. Historians will sign copies of their books at several vendor tables and an evening poetry slam, downtown Hill City at Mangiamo Pizzeria, 6-8 p.m., will feature an open mic for local poets. This free, open to public event is supported by the South Dakota State Poetry Society and Bruce Roseland, South Dakota Poet Laureate, will be the featured poet. Music by Nemo Yacht Club will accompany the poetry offerings with fine foods and beverages from Mangiamo.
On Friday, Oct. 4, the conference will continue with 25-minute sessions, historian awards and the opportunity to meet participants in the conference’s “Kids Write History!” program.
Many local historians will be honored  at the conference. Among those are:
• The Herb Blakely Award will be presented to Brad Tennant, PhD, Mitchell, for outstanding contributions to local and regional history, a sense of American patriotism and efforts to further the concepts of good citizenship.
Tennant is a well-known South Dakota historian/humanities scholar whose research, writing and presentations focus on South Dakota and Northern Plains history.  
• Tim Velder, Sundance, Wyo., will receive the ZOOM ZOOM award given to a conference volunteer who has made outstanding contributions to the organization and all aspects of its success. Velder is an amateur historian from the Newell area and graduated from Black Hills State University. He is the President of the WRHC Board.
Randy Bender, Joyce Jefferson and Karla Scovel will be honored with the Bobbi Sago Award that recognizes those who exemplify the mission of the conference with dedication, enthusiasm and service to the field of historic conservation.
Bender is a well-known historian and historic portrayer of early Fort Meade Cavalry Days. Jefferson is a long-time South Dakota Humanities scholar and has developed significant research into her variety of historic portrayals of important early settlers and incidents. Scovel is the director of the High Plains Western Heritage Center in Spearfish.
West River Notables is an award that honors regional historians for their works and impact in the industry. The conference will remember and honor the following South Dakota historians and influencers for historic preservation: Ann Stanton, Wayne Paananen, Jan Rasmussen, Mariska Ziolkowski and Bill Kessloff.
The conference will bestow certificates to the winners judged the best scholarly works presented during the 2023 conference in two categories:
Amateur/Memoir Research
1st Place -   Tim Velder, Sundance, Wyo. — ‘USS Wyoming’     
2nd Place - Lee Stroschine, Sturgis - ‘David C. Comstock alias John J. Dunn-Who was this man?’
Professional Category
1st Place – Jim McKeown, PhD, Elkton – ‘’Striking Gold: the 1918 Lead Basketball Team’
2nd Place – Talli Nauman, Whitewood - ‘Dreadful sorry, Clementine: a former underground  miner recalls Lead’s legacy’
The award-winning Kids Write History! will present to winning fourth grade essay-writers a cash award and certificate. All essays will be on display during the conference. The public is welcome to attend with registration.
Schedule of events and other details are available at the website westriverhisto ryconference.org