Dale Wirsing Honored
Lifetime Achievement Award from Heritage League of Pierce County
At their annual meeting on February 1, 2020, the Heritage League of Pierce County presented Dr. Dale Wirsing with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Reporter, professor, and author, Mr. Wirsing has contributed a significant body of work over the course of his career, both professionally and as a volunteer with heritage organizations. His accomplishments include: author of a book on the German immigrants to Washington state, Builders, Brewers, and Burghers (1977), for which he received a Friendship Award from the Federal Republic of Germany. He also co-authored with a commemorative book on the history of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Tacoma in 1988. He has served as President (2004-2007), Vice President (2012-present) and board member (2001-2010, 2012-present) for the Tacoma Historical Society; a member of the Washington State Historical Society, Lakewood Historical Society, Historic Fort Steilacoom, University Place Historical Society, Chehalis Valley Historical Society; editor, City of Destiny Newsletter (2004-present), past treasurer and longtime board member, Historic Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church; a former board member, Tacoma German Language School; and former president, University of Puget Sound Alumni Association. He has also chaired the THS Collections Committee for several years and coordinates the “Friday Historians” discussion group.
A frequent speaker and presenter around the region, his presentations have included: "Where's the University in University Place?", "The Little Society That Could," "The Mountain Highway: The History We Drive Past", "Monumental Tacoma," “Tacoma Story: Heckuva Way To Build a Railroad.” “Street-Wise in Tacoma: Stories Behind the Names”, “Enduring Homage: Tacoma's War Memorial Park.”
Mr. Wirsing was the 2008 recipient of the John Binns Distinguished Service Award for contributing to the cultural enrichment of the Pacific Northwest by the Friends of Tacoma Community College Library, and the 2019 recipient of the Annual Murray Morgan Award from Tacoma Historical Society.