History Teacher and Author honored with 2006 Governor's Humanities Excellence in Secondary Education Award

Kathleen Yonker was recently honored with the 2006 Governor’s Humanities Excellence in Secondary Education Award, conferred by the Missouri Humanities Council. This award recognizes a special contribution to a community’s understanding of its heritage. The award ceremony took place at the Missouri Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City. Mrs. Yonker was presented with a proclamation from the Missouri House by Representative Terry Witte.

Born and raised in rural Osage County, Kathleen Yonker is a baby-boomer and the daughter of a World War II veteran.


Representative Terry Witte presenting a proclamation from the Missouri House to Kathleen Yonker

“Conversations and stories about the war were vivid and frequent during my childhood, instilling in me a love of oral history and a desire to see the world. I graduated from Linn High School and received a degree in secondary education from Hannibal-LaGrange College. Graduate work was completed at Southwest Baptist University. During my career at Bowling Green High School I have taught courses in language arts and social studies, with world history being my favorite. I retired at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. My husband and I reside in rural Bowling Green. We have two daughters and five grandchildren. Presently I am working on a collection of short stories about growing up in Osage County.”

Of particular note are two classroom oral history projects, researched and collected by her World and American History classes: In-Country In-County:Memoirs of Vietnam Veterans from Pike County (1999) and Generation to Generation: Stories of World War II as told to Bowling Green High School Students

“Each history teacher, particularly each World history teacher has heard students remark, ‘History is so boring! It doesn’t have anything to do with what’s going on now.’ In contrast, oral history does not give the reader a distant overview. It takes the reader by the hand and leads him to experience an event as the speaker did. I believed that a project involving oral history would enable my students to change their attitudes towards history. Pike County has a large number of veterans. Their stories had in them something we needed to hear, something we needed to learn."

Since 1971, the Missouri Humanities Council has provided thousands of programs to help Missourians enjoy a rich cultural life and develop community citizenship. Our mission is to enable families and communities to broaden their appreciation of history, literature, and the ideas that shape our democracy. Our programs include: READ from the START, family reading initiative; Chautauqua, community celebration of history: Charettes, consulting for local museums & cultural institutions; Museum on Main Street rural initiative of the Smithsonian Institution; as well as Grants and Initiatives to fund locally generated programs.

To learn more about the Governor’s Humanities Awards, this year’s other honorees, or to nominate someone for the 2007 Community Heritage, Excellence in Secondary Education, or Book Award, please visit our website, mohumanities.org/programs/awards/gaward06.htm

MHC is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Federal agency.