Author Archives: Roxanne Lowe

Nancy Bonafede Named Region 1 North Representative

by Roxanne Lowe

Nancy Bonafede

Nancy Bonafede of Sedro Woolley has been appointed the WSGS Representative for Region 1 North by President Virginia Majewski. Nancy has been a member of Skagit Valley Genealogical Society for more than 10 years. She has also been the volunteer coordinator for the library collection at the Burlington library.

Region 1 North includes Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan Counties and parts of Island and Snohomish Counties. There is still a vacancy for Region 1 South which includes parts of Island and Snohomish Counties. For more information about the responsibilities of the Regional Representative, click here.

Nancy will be featured in a future “Meet the Board” story. Welcome to the Board, Nancy!

Like Dirty Socks, Cancer Stinks!

by Roxanne Lowe

Kim Wyman

“Like dirty socks, cancer stinks!” Those are the words written on one of the nearly 100 paper socks sent to Kim Wyman, Washington’s Secretary of State who is undergoing treatment for colon cancer. Her latest update is available here.

To show support and encouragement, Kim suggested that people take a photo of their silly socks and post it on her Facebook page with the hashtag #wymanrocksthesocks. Because Kim is such a good friend to our genealogy community, WSGS decided to take it one step further, asking its members to sign a paper sock and send it to her to show how much we care.

We’re encouraging you to take a photo of you in your silliest socks and post it on social media (don’t forget the hashtag #wymanrocksthesocks). OR you can e-mail a photo of your socks to kim.wyman@sos.wa.gov for posting in their online gallery.

The Secretary of State’s office oversees a number of areas within state government, including elections, the State Library and the State Archives.

#Wymanrocksthesocks

Judy Russell in Tacoma Today – Saturday, 29 April

by Roxanne Lowe

Ignore today’s sunshine! I know that’s hard to do, considering the long winter we’ve had, but you won’t be sorry if you get yourself to Tacoma’s LaQuinta Inn & Suites to hear Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist. The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society is hosting this nationally acclaimed lawyer/genealogist. Wickedly funny, sharp as a tack — not to be missed.

Walk-in registration starts at 8:00 a.m. ($45, cash or check only). Cindy Ingle kicks off the day at 9:00, then Judy will educate and entertain you for the rest of the day. If you need more convincing, check out the flyer.

Tacoma-Pierce County Spring Seminar on Saturday

by Roxanne Lowe

Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist, is coming! And it’s not too late to be wow’d by her!

The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society’s Spring Seminar promises to be a great one with Judy. You can register at the door — only $45 (cash or check only, please) on Saturday, April 29 at the La Quinta Inn and Suites, 1425 East 27th Street in Tacoma. Doors open at 8:00 a.m.

Join us beginning at 9:00 a.m., to hear Cyndi Ingle (yes — THAT Cyndi!) introduce Judy who will educate and entertain us about:

  • No Vitals? No Problem! — Building a Family through Circumstantial Evidence
  • When Worlds Collide: Resolving Conflicts in Genealogical Records
  • “Don’t Forget the Ladies” — A Genealogist’s Guide to Women and the Law
  • Beyond X and Y: The Promise and Pitfalls of Autosomal DNA Testing

For more information, download the seminar brochure: 2017TPCGSSeminarBrochure

WSGS Awards Announced at Annual Meeting in Yakima

by Roxanne Lowe

Many thanks are extended to the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society for hosting the WSGS Annual Meeting and Awards Event on Saturday, 22 April 2017. The annual meeting was held in conjunction with YVGS’s Spring Seminar featuring Jay Fonkert, a Minnesota-based genealogy researcher, educator, and writer who focuses on nineteenth-century Midwest research. Nearly 90 people attended the seminar and annual meeting.

WSGS Vice President Donna Phillips presenting Outstanding Volunteer Award to Patricia McCann Manning from the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society.

Region 6 Representative Janet McKinnon presenting an Outstanding Team member award to husband Mikal McKinnon for his work on the Tri-City Genealogical Society’s Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team.

During the annual meeting and awards lunch, nearly 40 local society members were recognized with Outstanding Volunteer and Team awards. These volunteers were praised for their commitment and energies to promote genealogy and family history in their local communities.

Some of the 2017 local society award winners

Other awards presented included:

  • Outstanding Communication – Whitman County Genealogical Society for its newsletter filled with personal stories, photos and “snippets from the olden days.” Their newsletter started on in 1984 with just a few pages focusing on Whitman County. Today the newsletter is 10 pages with a continued focus on the county, but has expanded to include a wide variety of genealogy-related articles, designed to educate and entertain the society’s members and other readers. Special acknowledgement was extended to newsletter editor Judy Standar McMurray, with assistance from Monica Bartlett Peters.
  • Outstanding Project — Grays Harbor Genealogical Society for the preservation of thousands of records from a 100-year-old funeral home that closed suddenly. The records were in danger of being lost or discarded until the society stepped in. Twelve boxes of paper were organized, scanned, cataloged and indexed into 19 binders. While this was an effort tackled by almost half of this small society, special recognition was extended to Cathy Cook, Gary Parfitt, Marlene Payne and Bonnie Johannes.

Five local societies were awarded Innovative Grant Awards. See separate blog feature.

The President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to Joanne Egbert Calhoun of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society. See separate blog feature.

For more photos of the seminar and annual meeting, visit our Facebook page.

Local Societies Awarded Innovative Grants

by Roxanne Lowe

In an announcement made at the WSGS Annual Meeting on 22 Apr 2017 in Yakima, five local societies were  awarded Innovative Grants.

  1. WSGS President Virginia Majewski (middle) presenting an Innovative Grant to Eastern Washington Genealogical Society members Pat Ayers and Mary Holcomb

    Eastside Genealogical Society – to support the scanning and preservation of the society’s historical records for posting on their website.

  2. Eastern Washington Genealogical Society– the purchase of gravestones for nearly forgotten Civil War veterans in the local historic Evergreen Cemetery.
  3. Tri-City Genealogical Society– labeling equipment to provide labels for more than 3,000 books in their research library.
  4. Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society– support of promotional events with genealogy-related themes in WAGS’ “Community Connections” program.
  5. Whitman County Genealogical Society– upgrade office equipment in their research library for safety and efficiency reasons.

The Innovative Grant program was started in 2015 to support the inventive and creative efforts of local societies and organizations. When created, Recognition Chair Roxanne Lowe explained, “We know that local societies can do a lot with very little, so we’re hoping the Innovative Grant Program will be what you need to jump-start a project that has been dreamed about for some time.”

More information about the Innovative Grant program, including a Guidance Document, is available here. A blog article with a list of the 2015 and 2016 recipients and their projects is available here.

For more information, contact Roxanne Lowe, WSGS Recognition Chair at roxanne@thekeeffes.com.

Joanne Calhoun Honored with President’s Award

by Roxanne Lowe

President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement honoree Joanne Egbert Calhoun

In an announcement made at the WSGS Annual Meeting on 22 Apr 2017, Joanne Egbert Calhoun was awarded the WSGS President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award, made by WSGS President Virginia Majewski, is designed to single out that rare individual, society or organization that has demonstrated exemplary service above and beyond expectations. And Joanne certainly exemplifies that.

Veterans memorial shrine, Wenatchee City Cemetery

Joanne has been a member of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) and its predecessor since 1945, and is often called the “glue” that has kept the society active and strong.  Her willingness to serve as WAGS Treasurer for over 40 years, as well as president for three years, demonstrates exemplary service above and beyond expectations.

Over the years, Joanne has recorded and indexed cemeteries in Chelan and Douglas Counties, as well as indexed 38 years of society’s “Appleland Bulletin” (1972 – 2010). But a few years ago, she really stepped up her involvement, turning a community project that began with the observation, “somebody ought to…” into a full-time commitment.  She identified and collected the histories of World War I veterans once honored in an American Legion Memorial Shrine located at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall, which, sadly, was abandoned when the Hall was destroyed by fire. In 2009, representatives of WAGS, the Wenatchee Valley Museum and the City of Wenatchee arranged for relocation of the memorial building to a place of honor in the Veterans’ section of the Wenatchee City Cemetery.  Joanne’s extensive research and compilation of records included those whose identities had been desecrated or were missing from the monument. After completing four large notebooks containing records for all Chelan and Douglas County veterans serving in World War I, Joanne summarized her efforts, “I thought they shouldn’t be forgotten.”

In determining the award recipient, President Majewski said, “There were some great nominations for the President’s Award and all are certainly deserving, but Joanne stood out as demonstrating a lifetime of contribution to the community.” We honor her accomplishments.

Support Kim Wyman with Silly Socks!

by Roxanne Lowe

Clark County Genealogical Society’s Brian Runyan shows his support by wearing his wacky socks.

Washington’s Secretary of State Kim Wyman has been diagnosed with colon cancer and could use our support.

Since her diagnosis, many have asked her how they could bring her cheer and show support. In her April 2017 newsletter “Wyman’s Wire,” Kim encouraged us to take pictures of our silly, wacky socks and post them to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #wymanrocksthesocks. Or you can email your photo to kim.wyman@sos.wa.gov.  In addition, WSGS will have a membership table at some of the larger workshops and conferences around the state where you can sign a paper sock with your best wishes. We’ll make sure she gets the messages.

Kim is a good friend to our genealogical community. As Secretary of State, she oversees elections, corporation and charity filings, the Washington State Library, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, State Archives and Digital Archives.

Show Kim that our genealogical family supports her!  #wymanrocksthesocks

Whitman County Gen Soc Plans Summer Outing

by Roxanne Lowe

The Whitman County Genealogical Society will have a Summer Outing on Friday, June 2, 2017 starting at 1 PM. It begins with a tour of Bruning Funeral Home, 109 N. Mill St., Colfax. In addition to a tour of this wonderful historic building, we will learn about the research possibilities to be found there. There is limited space for this tour, so please RSVP no later than Monday, May 22 if you plan to attend. You can call Judy McMurray at 509-332-2386 or e-mail WCGS at whitmancgs@gmail.com.

After the Bruning tour, weather permitting, we will do a self-guided tour of the historic buildings on Main Street in Colfax. In case of inclement weather we will visit either the Whitman County Library (102 S. Main in Colfax) or the historic Perkins House (623 N. Perkins Ave. in Colfax).

Outstanding Volunteers and Teams Honored

by Roxanne Lowe

Almost 40 local genealogical society members were honored for their outstanding volunteerism at the WSGS Annual Meeting and Recognition Event in Yakima, Washington, on 22 Apr 2017. Nominated by their local societies, these individuals and teams spent countless hours supporting their local organizations, researching, cataloging, inventorying, teaching, and inspiring others. We are proud to announce the 2017 Outstanding Volunteer Awards:

Shirley Acheson, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Jody Alfiere, Mason County Genealogical Society
Veronica Anquiano, Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Phyllis Barnett, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Margie Beldin, Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Lisa K. Chan, Seattle Genealogical Society
Barbara Congdon, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Catherine Crabtree Cook, Grays Harbor Genealogical Society
Sandra Floberg, Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Oweta Floyd, Eastern Washington Genealogical Society
Patricia Hert, Yakima Valley Genealogical Society
Barbara Freese Jolly, Eastern Washington Genealogical Society
John Hayes, Skagit Valley Genealogical Society
Darryl Jones, Yakima Valley Genealogical Society
Art Kelly, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Mary Kathryn Kozy, Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State
Janis Littlefield, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Hank LuBean, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Sandra McBride, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Mikal McKinnon, Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Patricia McCann Manning, Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society
Noel McRae, Lower Columbia Genealogical Society
Dan Metzger, Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Patty Ostendorff, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Barb Peterson, Jefferson County Genealogical Society
Lynda Pheasant, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Susan Jensen Pointer, Lower Columbia Genealogical Society
Susan Rumble, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
Beatrice “Bea” Ritter, Clark Cou Genealogical Society
Claire Smith, Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society
Linda Stephens, Library Recataloging and Renumbering Team, Tri-City Genealogical Society
Natalie Stien, Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State
Pam Stinson, Jefferson County Genealogical Society
Mary Swartz, Leadership Team, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
John Jay Winsor (posthumous), Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society
Catherine Wooden, South King County Genealogical Society
Gilbert Wooden, South King County Genealogical Society
Norma Yost, Northeast Washington Genealogical Society

To read each individual’s accomplishments and why they were nominated, visit the Outstanding Volunteer Awards Program page.

For more information about the Outstanding Volunteer Awards Program, contact Roxanne Lowe at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.