Award

Distinguished Citizen Award presented to George Washington Stark by Mayor Jerome P. Cavanagh on February 22, 1964. The award reads:

Know all men by the presents, that
George Washington Stark is hereby granted this Distinguished Citizen Award on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of his birth, February 22, 1964, for his many and valuable contributions to the City of Detroit in the realm of the lively and historical arts.
Mr. Stark's great heritage in the things that are Detroit started with his birth in our City as the son of a Great Lakes sailing captain; spans decades as an outstanding newspaper reported, drama critic, columnist and city editor with The Detroit News, and author.
Now in his Golden Years, Mr. Stark serves our City as Chairman of the Historical Commission, City Historiographer, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Detroit Historical Society, of which he is past president. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of Michigan.
He is Detroit educated, graduating from Eastern High School, attending the University of Michigan and was honored by Wayne State University with the degree of Doctor of Literature.
Mr. Stark's deep concern in preserving the memory of Detroit's past, particularly the Twentieth Century which he knows so well, has inspired him to write many notable books, which include: "In Old Detroit," "City of Destiny," "Made in Detroit," co-authored with Norman Beasley, and "Two Heads are Better," co-authored with his wife, who is the internationally known poet Anne Campbell.
It was largely through his efforts that one of the City's great landmarks, Mariners' Church is preserved in the Civic Center.
Mr. Stark once said of himself, quoting from the Book of Acts, "I am a citizen of no mean city." On behalf of the people of Detroit and for myself personally I say that in him the City has no mean citizen.