Could you use $1,000 for college?

Illinois high school students are invited to participate in an essay contest about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era. Essays should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words with an annotated bibliography and suggestions for further reading. The focus of the essay should be on Abraham Lincoln or a significant event in the Civil War period in Illinois. The Illinois high school student whose research paper is selected will receive a $1,000 scholarship and a certificate of achievement.

The winning essay and author will be honored at the Illinois History Symposium Banquet in March 2008. It will also be published in a forthcoming issue of Illinois Heritage magazine, the popular history magazine of the Illinois State Historical Society. For more information, call 217-525-2781, or visit the Society's web site at www.historyillinois.org.

Entries should be sent to the Illinois State Historical Society, Orndorff Scholarship, 210 ^1/2 South Sixth Street, Suite 200, Springfield, Illinois 62701. The deadline for 2007 is December 31.

The Verna Ross Orndorff Scholarship was established in 1989. A resident of River Forest, Ms. Orndorff was a lifelong student of Illinois history.

Call for papers

The Illinois State Historical Society invites proposals for papers to be delivered before the 2008 Illinois History Symposium, which is planned for March 13-15, 2008, in Decatur. The theme for the 2008 Symposium will be the Legacies of Abraham Lincoln. Papers on Lincoln and his contemporaries as well as the legacies of that generation, such as individual rights, the role of government, American identity, and changing memories of that time, are encouraged.

The Symposium committee welcomes proposals on all other aspects of Illinois history. Proposals for panels, papers, multi-media presentations, and teacher seminars are encouraged. Professional and amateur historians, graduate students, history and social study teachers, and museum professionals are encouraged to submit proposals to:

2008 Illinois History Symposium
Illinois State Historical Society
210 ^1/2 S. Sixth Street, Suite 200
Springfield, Illinois, 62701

Deadline: November 19, 2007. Please direct questions to Michael Batinski, Symposium chair, at hreview@siu.edu.

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Olive Foster Award

Do you know an outstanding history or social studies teacher?

The Olive Foster Outstanding Teacher Award was established in 1988 in honor of Olive Foster, former Illinois State Historian, Director of the School Services Program, and originator of the Illinois History Program for students. The award is designed to recognize and reward full-time teachers for outstanding contributions to the study and teaching of state and local history. Recipients of these awards actively promote Illinois history in schools as well as in their local communities, using the resources of one or more local historical societies, museums, Illinois State Historical Society, and other Illinois historical groups. Documentation of the teacher's work will be required.

Three $500 awards will be given annually—one each to teachers at the elementary, middle/junior high, and highschool levels. The awards will be presented and winners given their checks at the Society's Annual Meeting, held every spring.

Nominations may be made by any group or person, including the nominee and should include the following information:

• The nominee's name and address
• The subject(s) and grade(s) that the nominee teaches
• The nominator's name and contact information
• The school where the nominee is employed
• The name and contact information of the nominee's principal
• The nominee's educational background
• The nominee's professional experience
• A narrative description of the nominee's outstanding classroom accomplishments. This should include specific history units taught by the nominee and information about local museums or historical societies that were involved. Commentary on the results or impact of the programs and also how they were developed may be included. Other awards won by the nominee or nominee's students may also be listed.
• Letters of support or recommendation (optional)

The Society's Education and Awards Committees will judge all nominations and select the winners. Deadline: March 1, 2008. For more information, call the Illinois State Historical Society at 217-525-2781, or visit the Society's Website at www.historyillinois.org.

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