1956
Clarence W. Griffin
Clarence Wilbur Griffin (1902 – 1958), managing editor of the Forest City Courier, received the award in 1956 for numerous services in the field of state and local history. Griffin was a member of the executive board of the NC Department of Archives and History, president of the WNC Historical Association, and a former vice president of the NC Literary and Historical Association. He was the author of numerous pamphlets and other works on the history of the western part of the state, including, “History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties: 1930-1956” (1937) and “History of Rutherford County: 1937 – 1951” (1957).