Ronald F. Lee (1905-1972) received the Pugsley Silver Medal in 1952 for "significant leadership and ability in the field of historical preservation during the past 20 years." He was the principal figure in charge of the technical historical phases of the nationwide federal program for the development of state historical parks through the cooperation of the NPS with the CCC in the 1935-41 period. He played a leading role in awakening the American people to many threats to historical sites and buildings in the post-World War II era.
When he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1933 with a degree in history, President Roosevelt's New Deal policies were being launched in response to the Great Depression.
Lee was informed he should report for duty at Shiloh National Military Park. He undertook a wide variety of duties at the CCC camps, from hired artillery inspections that might alter the appearance of the park, to organizing basic writing inscriptions for the battlefield markers and guarding the historic terrain from new paths that might alter the appearance of the park, to organizing basic research teams to work up narrative accounts of battles, inaugurating guide services, and preparing brochures on the park.
In 1935, Lee left the office of the chief historian for a significant post in the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) under Conrad Worth. This was part of the CCC program. He became historian for the State Park Division of the ECW, a position that eventually gave him administrative responsibility for a national program of research. He hired and worked with a staff of 18 historians distributed throughout a number of regional offices.
In 1946, during his efforts to save an 18th-century property in Newport, Kenneth Chorley of Colonial Williamsburg stated that the ideal solution was private ownership of all buildings, but that was impossible. Another solution would be private ownership by the NPS to be held by them in the form of a National Trust.
Throughout his career with the Park Service, Lee envisioned and worked towards a unified national presence for heritage preservation. His earlier work at Shiloh National Military Park and with the CCC provided him with the opportunity to bring together historic preservationists who were previously unacquainted.