Mary Ehrlander receives the Charles Gates Award
September 26, 2012
Mary Ehrlander, Director of the Northern Studies Program and associate professor of
History at UAF, has been awarded the Charles Gates Award for the Pacific Northwest
Quarterly article, “The Paradox of Alaska’s 1916 Alcohol Referendum: A Dry Vote within
a Frontier Alcohol Culture,” by the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees.
In the article, Ehrlander describes in skillful detail the alcohol culture of Alaska
and underscores the role of women voters and Progressivism in the successful 1916
vote and the effect of frontier values in its aftermath.
The award recognizes the most significant achievement among all articles published
in Pacific Northwest Quarterly during 2011 and includes a monetary stipend.
The award will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Historical Society Oct. 20,
2012 at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.