Stammen, Menke receive Harry Thomas Scholarship
- The Garst Museum
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
The Darke County Historical Society is pleased to announce the winners of the Harry Thomas Scholarship for 2025. This year’s recipients are Bailey Stammen and Lauren Menke.
Stammen is in her fourth year of receiving the scholarship. She is a graduate of Ansonia High School and is in her fourth year at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine.
Menke, a Versailles High School graduate, attended Case Western Reserve University for her undergraduate work, and was accepted into their medical school in the fall of 2025.
The Darke County Historical Society’s Harry Thomas Scholarship Committee reviewed each applicant’s application and determined both candidates were equally qualified to receive support and awarded $4,500 to both Stammen and Menke.
The Dr. Harry G. Thomas Medical Scholarship Program, administered by the Darke County Historical Society, was established and funded in 1971 by Lowell Thomas and his sister, Pherbia Thomas Thornburg, in memory of their father, Dr. Harry G. Thomas. The program was later supplemented by a bequest from Lowell Thomas’s will, with the investment interest generated by the fund being used to offer scholarships.
Dr. Thomas received his degree from the University of Cincinnati Medical School, practiced in Iowa and Colorado, and served during WWI in British hospitals, leaving the war as a Colonel in General Pershing’s Army. Dr. Thomas died in 1952 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Both he and his wife, Harriet Wagner, were descendants of Darke County pioneers.
Eligibility for the Dr. Harry G. Thomas Medical Scholarship requires the applicant to be a graduate of a Darke County high school. Applicants must be accepted into a medical school, complete an application, and furnish transcripts and letters of recommendation. Students may be considered for scholarship awards for up to four years during medical school, but must resubmit a letter of interest each year.
For information concerning the scholarship program or for an application for the next cycle of scholarships, please contact the Garst Museum at 937-548-5250 or information@garstmuseum.org.
