Minnesota History Magazine announces Buck Award winner

December 22, 2023, St. Paul: Minnesota History is pleased to announce the winner of the annual Solon J. Buck Award for 2022, which recognizes originality, excellence, and creativity in research and writing for articles published in the previous year. The judges selected “‘I Thought I Would Wright You a Few Lines’: Solomon G. Comstock and Civil War Veteran Pensions,” by Trista Raezer-Stursa, which appeared in the Fall 2022 issue.
Trista Raezer-Stursa is the university archivist at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and has a master’s degree in library and information science from San José State University and a master’s degree in history from North Dakota State University.

The article explores a compelling aspect of Civil War veterans’ experience. At the beginning of the war, the federal government enacted laws to grant pensions to soldiers who were disabled during their service. Through careful research of important primary resources, Raezer-Stursa illuminates their struggles and the challenges of navigating the Pension Bureau’s complicated bureaucracy. 

The award was presented at the Minnesota Historical Society Annual Meeting on November 18, 2023, at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul by MNHS Director and CEO Kent Whitworth. Judges for the award this year, Dr. Kim Heikkila and Peter DeCarlo, called the article “well written, flowing between voices from the letters and historical context,” and noted that it “makes an excellent case for the importance of archives and research.” 

Honorable Mention for the Solon J. Buck Award is awarded to Dr. Jessica Milgroom and Don Wedll for their article, “Preserving Minnesota’s Wild Rice: The Importance of Indigenous Knowledge,” which also appeared in the Fall 2022 issue. 

About the Buck Award
The Solon J. Buck Award has been given since 1954 to the best article of the year in Minnesota History. The prize is named for the journal’s first editor, who was also superintendent of the Minnesota Historical Society, and later, United States Archivist. Minnesota History is a benefit of MNHS membership. It has been published since 1954.

About the Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. MNHS collects, preserves, and tells the story of MInnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries, and collections; historic sites; educational programs; and publishing. Using the power 
of history to transform lives, MNHS preserves our past, shares our state’s stories, and connects people with history. Visit us at mnhs.org.