James W. Baker Recipient Of Distinguished Mayflower Scholarship Prize

At the recently held 105th annual membership meeting of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, James W. Baker, former senior historian of the Plimoth Plantation was the recipient of that society’s annual Distinguished Mayflower Scholarship Prize. The prize consists of a certificate and a $500 check. Mr. Baker was accompanied by his wife Peggy, the director and librarian of The Pilgrim Society/Pilgrim Hall Museum.

Mr. Baker was recognized for the massive contribution he has made in interpreting the Pilgrims and their legacy. He was particularly cited for the impetus he has given to the development of the historical roles played by the Plimoth Plantation museum teachers in their visits to classrooms. "It is clear to us that by raising the historical information at Plimoth Plantation to a very high level of scholarship, and by reaching an audience of national and even international breadth, you have made the Plantation itself, in a special sense, your monument" reads the citation.

For the past five years, The Pennsylvania Society fully funded visits of the Plimoth Plantation teachers to approximately 15,600 elementary school children throughout Pennsylvania.

Previous recipients of the prize have been Mayflower Society Historian General Caroline L. Kardell, "The Great Migration" project director Robert Charles Anderson, and former Plimoth Plantation curator Jeremy D. Bangs, the current director of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, Leiden, Holland. Coincidentally, all recipients are Fellows of The Pilgrim Society.

Mr. Baker is currently the head of the circulation department of the Plymouth Public Library.

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