Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Dan Coplen tries to be the storyteller for Kosciusko County, and Wednesday he received the Hubert Hawkins Local History Award from the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) for his efforts.
IHS Director of Local History Services Tamara Hemmerlein presented the award to him at the Kosciusko County Museum in Warsaw.
“Each year, the Indiana Historical Society recognizes outstanding institutions and colleagues across the state who contribute their time and talents to doing the work of history and whose efforts have enriched the lives of others by conveying awareness and appreciation of Indiana’s history on local, regional and statewide levels,” she said.
“In the words of the president and CEO of the IHS, Jody Blankenship, ‘Across Indiana, dedicated individuals and organizations are doing extraordinary work to discover, preserve and share our state’s history. Much of this work happens quietly, often without the recognition it deserves, but its impact is lasting. Thanks to their dedication, important stories are saved, shared and passed along to future generations. At the Indiana Historical Society, we are proud to work alongside these remarkable people and organizations, and we’re delighted to celebrate their accomplishments and thank them for all they do,’” she continued.
The Hubert Hawkins Local History Award is made annually to a local historian for their distinguished service and career in local history. Hawkins was executive secretary of IHS and director of the Indiana Historical Bureau (IHB). He was instrumental in increasing membership through visits around the state and with the Indiana Junior Historical Society, Hemmerlein said.
An awards committee made up of historians, local history practitioners and Indiana Historical Society staff and carefully consider the nominations. She said Coplen’s nomination stood out to the awards committee because of his “steadfast” support of local history as a researcher, writer and editor.
Hemmerlein said, “Dan developed the Kosciusko County Historical Society’s quarterly newsletter, The Thaddeus, a magazine devoted to exploring and sharing county history. This publication is not only a valuable resource but is also a significant part of the organization’s membership recruitment and retention planning. Copies of the newsletter can be found in the places people gather and help to introduce new audiences to the stories of their community, as well as leading to engagement with the historical society. Dan also serves as the Kosciusko County historian and works diligently to ensure that the county’s history is not lost.”
The county historian program is a joint program with the IHS and the IHB. She said each Indiana county has an appointed county historian.
“We ask for nominations from local historical societies and libraries, and they nominate individuals in the county who are knowledgeable, who are supportive and enthusiastic and passionate about local history,” Hemmerlein stated. “Then a decision is made. And it is not an easy nomination process, and it is not an easy job, but it is an incredibly valuable job. Our county historians help us to know what’s going on in local history, they let us know about organizations, they let us know about what’s happening all over Indiana and they are invaluable.”
One of the things that stood out to the awards committee when they were looking at Coplen’s nomination for the Hawkins awards was that Hawkins increased membership and he understood the importance of encouraging people to be involved with history, she explained. The committee felt that it was a “wonderful, wonderful match” that Coplen and his work has led to increased engagement with local history.
“So, on behalf of the Indiana Historical Society, I am pleased to present the Hubert Hawkins Local History Award to Dan Coplen,” Hemmerlein said as she presented him with the award.
Coplen replied, “I am really honored and appreciative to get this. Humbled, too, because I know there’s been a lot of awards and all the people that won it have done a whole lot, so for me to win it is just an honor.”
He accepted the award on behalf of the Kosciusko County Historical Society, he said, because “you helped me and you’re part of it and I get research here, and so we’re all together on this. Thank you very much.”
After the award presentation, Hemmerlein said the awards committee are a tough group who take history very seriously.
“They really, when they look at nominations, there’s letters of support that are required to be sent along. They read everything and then they discuss things,” she said. “It is not a slam dunk, so Dan really, really is an incredible asset to Kosciusko County and it came through the letters of support, it came through the nomination. You are so lucky to have Dan on board with your history.”
Not everyone nominated gets an award, she said, and the award committee makes some tough decisions. This year, there were several nominations for the Hubert Hawkins Award and there were two awardees in different areas of the state for different things, but she said that doesn’t always happen.
“The nomination said it’s not just a newsletter, it’s a magazine of history. The awards committee recognized that that is difficult. A newsletter is not an easy thing to do, but when you elevate that newsletter to a magazine, to something that is a history resource, that can be used and used for generations, that really is a spectacular thing to do,” Hemmerlein said. “And it also is not a given that those newsletters or magazines will go to all sorts of places, and that really stood out to them as well, that the effort to make sure that copies of The Thaddeus go to where people will see them, they don’t just go to members. So that idea that Dan has created a resource for the entire community and made sure it goes where the entire community can access it is really a good thing.”
The Thaddeus was started 23 years ago. Coplen said he didn’t know how many people he’s interviewed, but it’s probably hundreds.
“I try to do oral history in addition to all of that stuff because it’s a way you bring the past, if you get somebody’s memory about it, you bring it into the present,” he said, noting that sometimes it’s a lot of trouble trying to find someone who knows something.
Coplen grew up in Warsaw and went to Indiana University. He then worked for the Herald Press in Huntington for over 20 years as a reporter/associate editor. He moved back to Kosciusko County and was told by his parents that the historical society wanted someone to write a book about the history of the county, and his mother said he could do that and he did.
He’s now written four books about local history.
