Mary Ann Thompson
Kansas Historical Foundation
Board of Directors
Elected to board: 1998
Mary Ann Thompson lives in Hays. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wyoming, a master’s degree in history from the University of Kansas, and a master’s degree in library science from the University of Denver.
She operated the Dorothy D. Richards Kansas Room at Hays Public Library, a special collection about Kansas, the history of the West, and genealogy. She edited the book, George Armstrong Custer’s Winners of the West, and produced, Hays in the 1930s, a photographic history of the community.
She has served on numerous boards including the Humane Society of the High Plains, Hays Arts Council, Hays Days Festival, Eisenhower Centennial, Mountain Plains Library Association, and the University of Wyoming Alumni Band Association. She has been a historic tour guide for the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau. She was community liaison for Encore, a fine arts series at Fort Hays State University. She served on the committee for the Cottonwood Chamber Music Festival held each spring.
Thompson was first elected to the Kansas Historical Foundation Board of Directors in 1998. She has served on awards and nominating committees.
"Kansas is a rare place where I can indulge in two of my favorite historical fields, the Civil War and the Indian wars. Most states can claim one or the other, but Kansas has it all!"
