For almost 30 years, WRWA's annual Florence Lindemann humor contest has been held to award writers for excellence in humor writing. Each year cash prizes are given for first, second, and third-place winners; and, for years, a traveling butterfly trophy was given to the top winner. Where the traveling butterfly is at the present time is unknown. Perhaps it flew away!

The award came to be following the death of Florence Lindemann on January 5, 1979, in Milwaukee. The ByLiners of Milwaukee decided to honor their member, Florence, with this memorial to her. Before her death, she had indicated the need for a separate humor contest to be held for WRWA members. Funds were made available for the prize awards and the first contest to honor her memory was held that year.

Florence's family joined the memorial project by providing the traveling butterfly trophy. The colorful metal butterfly sculpture symbolized the family's penchant for butterflies and the butterfly pins they wore to symbolize the Christian belief of the resurrection to eternal life. Some thought this trophy was a beautiful work of art, while others had other viewpoints. The base of the piece was made of eucalyptus wood and had a metal plate where the names of up to 30 winners could be engraved. We would have two years to go if the trophy hadn't been lost somehow.

Florence Lindemann was a widely published freelance writer. She was instrumental in promoting a wide variety of writing projects in Wisconsin. She was past president of the National League of American Pen Women, a regional vice president of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, a member of the WRWA Board of Directors, and editor of the WRWA newsletter.

Lindemann was also a member of Wisconsin Press Women, the national Federation of Press Women, Women in Communication, and the ByLiners of Milwaukee. She won many awards for her writing and was published in many markets including the Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee Sentinel, Christian Science Monitor, Reader's Digest, Lutheran Digest, and the Milwaukee Lutheran.

WRWA newsletters of 1979 and 1984 include statements made by the judges of the Lindemann contests from those years.

Judge Alex Thien of the Milwaukee Sentinel had this to say. “Many of the writers wrote pieces that were too long for what they were trying to say. Every piece submitted should have been tightened up; and heavy wordage slowed the flow of the story. (But) it was a good contest, highly subjective from the judge's point of view.”

Judge Genevieve Turk, humor writer and teacher had this to say. "Many of the entries were essays (personal opinion) rather than articles that told the story. For a humor article, something has to happen; a story has to unfold and reach a conclusion, and all with some wit and humor.” She, too, stated that there was too much verbiage and repetition in the submissions. “Cluttering the article with too many words and detail adds nothing to the story, slows down the action, and squeezes out the humor.” Turk's formula for humor is, “Hook ‘em (capture their interests in the lead paragraph), say it, and get out.” A fine lead and concrete wrap-up are essential, she stressed.

Twenty-eight years later, the formula for good humor hasn't changed, and the contest that honors Florence Lindemann's memory continues. A judge been named and funds have been secured for the prizes. But the truant butterfly trophy can only be offered in memory. Does anyone know the whereabouts of our butterfly?