To honour those who make outstanding contributions to the promotion and preservation of northern history, the board of trustees of the Prince George Public Library named the winners of the 2016 Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Awards Sunday night at the library.
The board announced two winners in the publication category for only the second time in its 31-year history.
Debra Komar won for her book called The Bastard of Fort Stikine: The Hudson's Bay Company and the Murder of John McLoughlin Jr. Komar was honoured because of the work's contribution to regional history. Komar, a forensic anthropologist, used her experience to investigate the murder of McLoughlin Jr, the chief trader at Fort Stikine in 1842. Komar accepted the award by video as she was unable to attend the event.
A familiar face in Prince George, Trelle Morrow, won his third Jeanne Clarke Award for his contribution to local history with his book Living Legacies: 100 Years of Prince George Architecture. Morrow won in 2010 for Aviation North: Flying frontiers in northern British Columbia and in 2012 for The Grand Trunk Pacific and other Fort George Stuff.
The Jeanne Clarke Award for Service went to the Select Committee on Prince George's 100th Anniversary Celebration. The committee supported more than 60 events and groups who celebrated Prince George's 100th anniversary where more than 95,000 were in attendance.
Named after a founding member of the library's local history committee, the Jeanne Clarke awards have been awarded annually since 1985.
For more information on the Jeanne Clarke Awards and a list of past recipients, visit http://www.pgpl.ca/history.
