9 Burke honorees recognized at statewide history awards in Wilkesboro

The North Carolina Society of Historians (NCSH) gathered at the Wilkes Heritage Museum on Nov. 8 to celebrate the winners of its 2025 awards, an annual recognition of the people and organizations who preserve, record, and share the stories of North Carolina.

Almost 100 attendees packed into the Wilkes Music Hall of Fame auditorium, filling the room with cheers as winners from across the state stepped onto the stage. Amid the applause, nine honorees from Burke County were recognized for books, preservation efforts, archaeological work, genealogical records, and creative storytelling.

Since 1941, the Society has encouraged North Carolinians to dig into the roots of their communities, celebrate their ancestors, and share new interpretations of old stories. That mission was on display throughout the evening as recipients regaled the room with behind-the-scenes stories about their work.

Burke County native Patricia Cooper Baker received multiple awards and the Society’s most prestigious honor — the Lighthouse Award — given for her long-term commitment to in-depth historical research and exceptional storytelling across genres.

Baker, now living in Maggie Valley, submitted three works tied to Burke County history: “1784: The Birth of Morgan Town” (historical fiction), “The War for Independence as Told Around Burke Fires” (nonfiction), and “Trailblazers: Bold Women in My Family Tree” (genealogy).

Baker said the experience was “truly special to be there in that room of people who have also given so much to sharing history across the state. About her books, Baker said, “It means a lot for me to be able to share these stories because my ancestors are from Burke County. Writing their histories helps me touch their roots and see more clearly the ways they lived.”

The Burke Theater Guild received an Award of Excellence for its readers theater program, “In a Spirited State,” featuring eight North Carolina ghost stories and folk tales. This was the first time that NCHS had recognized a theater group and even invited the group of six performers, led by Phyllis Garrison, to open the ceremony with a live reading of “The Bridge-Builder.”

Playwright and director Kelly S. Taylor received a separate Award of Excellence for compiling and dramatizing the stories.

Scott Coley received an Award of Excellence for “Elements of Furniture Design,” an in-depth textbook-style examination of furniture design principles that draws on his career in the industry and features analysis of 19th-century North Carolina designer Thomas Day.

Fred Epley was honored for “Did I Make a Difference in Your Life?,” a memoir of inspirational stories drawn from his service to others.

The Exploring Joara Foundation and its Berry Site archaeological team — Dr. David Moore, Dr. Christopher Rodning, and Dr. Rob Beck, received Awards of Excellence for their research and their newly published book “Fort San Juan and the Limits of Empire.”

The Society also named Moore the 2025 Historian of the Year, its highest individual honor, for his decades of excavation and scholarship at the Berry Site.

NCHS president Maxine McCall shared, “His team’s findings established indisputable evidence that the Spanish, not the English, were the first Europeans to claim land in present-day North Carolina through the 1567 construction of Fort San Juan in Burke County.”

The Historic Burke Foundation won the Excellence for Historic Site Preservation award and an award for its newsletter, “Hear Ye! Hear Ye!”

The Historic Gilboa Foundation won an award of Excellence for Historic Site Preservation, honoring ongoing efforts to protect Gilboa Methodist Church, the oldest wooden church building in Burke County and a National Register landmark.

Historic Gilboa Foundation member Susan Amico said the recognition affirms years of community-driven work. “It’s a recognition that a small group of folks passionate about saving this special place can do big things,” Amico said. “We lovingly refer to Gilboa as the little white church in the wildwoods. This award is an inspiration to continue working to protect this and other historic sites in Burke County.”

Kincaid Jenkins received an award of excellence for “After the Storm,” a vocal media presentation featuring an original poem reflecting on Hurricane Helene and the resilience of North Carolinians in its aftermath.

Margaret Richards and Judy Watts were honored for their publication of “Minutes of Burke County, North Carolina Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Vol. I (1841–49) and Vol. II (1865–79),” preserving decades of court records critical to genealogists and historians.