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Lovoll book wins Caroline Bancroft History Prize

By David Gonnerman '90
September 21, 2007

The Denver Public Library in Colorado has awarded Odd S. Lovoll, professor emeritus of Scandinavian studies at St. Olaf, the prestigious Caroline Bancroft History Prize for his book, Norwegians on the Prairie: Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town (Minnesota Historical Society Press). The award cites the title as the best book published in 2006 about the history of the nation's westward movement. The book, which covers the histories of three small towns in west-central Minnesota (Benson, Madison and Starbuck), competed for the prize with some 80 titles about Colorado or the West.

The Denver Public Library houses a celebrated collection of Western Americana consisting of books, documents and artifacts, and awards the Bancroft Prize annually to a single author of nonfiction books "to recognize authors who feature new perspectives about the West and who excel in research and writing." It is of special interest that the award-winning study deals with the participation of Norwegians in this central drama in the historical experience of the United States.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.