Dr. John Bell and Susan Berry

In ceremonies recently held in Albuquerque, the Historical Society of New Mexico honored two accomplished Silver City residents for their contributions to New Mexico history.

Dr. John O. Bell was named the recipient of the 2024 L. Bradford Prince Award for significant work in the field of historic preservation in New Mexico. Dr. Doug Dinwiddie, President of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society, stated that: "Dr. Bell is a highly respected retired physician, who has devoted thousands of hours to the preservation of historic Fort Bayard, leading tours and giving lectures on the history of the facility as both a frontier military post and a hospital specializing in the treatment of tuberculosis. Dr. Bell becomes the third member of the FBHPS to be honored with this prestigious recognition."

Susan M. Berry, the retired Director of the Silver City Museum, and local historian, was honored as the recipient of the Paul A.F. Walter Award for 2024. This award recognizes outstanding service to the Historical Society of New Mexico. Dennis Daily, spokesman for the Historical Society, stated that "This award recognizes Susan's amazing efforts during 2023 in organizing and leading the HSNM annual conference in Silver City, which was a great success, with fantastic attendance, and garnered extremely positive feedback from participants. In addition, HSNM recognizes Susan for the tremendous effort she made in 2023 in regard to the membership database. She has been a great leader for HSNM in Silver City and southern New Mexico."

Dr. Dinwiddie stated that "The recognition of these outstanding individuals by the statewide Historical Society is evidence of the respected position that the Silver City/Grant County area holds in New Mexico's history community."

Dr. John Bell and Susan Berry