2025 Outstanding Volunteers and Teams Announced

by Roxanne Lowe

Congratulations to the amazing individuals and teams who contributed to Washington’s local societies. The announcement was made on Thursday, August 21, at the WSGS Annual Meeting. Seventeen local society members and two teams were recognized with Outstanding Volunteer and Team awards. The volunteers and teams were praised for their commitment and energies to promote their local societies, family history and cooperation in their local communities.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

  • Ann Eklund
  • Patricia Ann Scott (posthumous)

Eastside Genealogical Society

  • Kimberly A. Nichols

Grays Harbor Genealogical Society

  • Carrie Cartwright Bergquist

Lower Columbia Genealogical Society

  • Donna McLain

Mason County Genealogical Society

  • Bob and Micki McMath

Northeast Washington Genealogical Society

  • Kathleen Loose Ochs

Seattle Genealogical Society

  • Cecillia Rogers

Sno-Isle Genealogical Society

  • Lisa Battern

South King County Genealogical Society

  • Tina Lawson
  • Michele Norton Mattoon
  • Valorie Cowen Zimmerman

Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society

  • Bill Grant (posthumous)
  • LeeRoy Kind

Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society

  • WAGS Publicity Team (Kris McGregor & Kari Strain)

Whatcom Genealogical Society

  • Jim DeLucia

Yakima Valley Genealogical Society

  • Barbee Buchanan
  • Rosemarie Boat Robins
  • YVGS Binding Project (Larry Ball and Don Boatright)

For more information about the Outstanding Volunteers and Teams, visit the Washington State Genealogical Society, Local Society Support page or email Info@wasgs.org.

Betty Wiese Receives 2025 President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement

by Roxanne Lowe

WSGS President Kathleen Sizer is pleased to announce the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award: Betty Wiese from the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society. The announcement was made at the WSGS Annual Meeting on 21 Aug 2025.

Created in 2015, the President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement is designed to single out that rare individual, society or organization who has demonstrated exemplary service above and beyond expectations. The award is not given every year as it is based on merit and accomplishments. As you’ll see from reading about Betty’s dedication, she is worthy of this recognition.

Betty Wiese

Betty’s contributions to the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) started as soon as she joined BIGS when she retired from her work with the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle. For the past 15 years, Betty has held various volunteer roles within BIGS, including president, vice-president, treasurer, SIG leader and Treebuilder coach. She has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to the health and growth of the organization.

Betty has a strong passion for education that she brought to BIGS. A particular focus of hers has been to see that their skill building special interest groups survive. She created a regular forum for members to discuss issues and learn new skills. She also created a mentors’ program that puts a member in touch with another member with the skills or experience needed to help. She has an incredible skill of being able to find the right person for a given task and to get that person to agree to do that task!

When important jobs need to be undertaken, whether to revise the by-laws, refresh the website,
or survey members’ needs and wishes, Betty has been the one to raise her hand to facilitate the effort. She has been responsible for many of the creative ideas that keep BIGS relevant and fresh. For example, she contacted the Suquamish Museum to arrange a tour for the BIGS board members where they were able to talk with the museum director about genealogy, DNA and the Suquamish tribe. That meeting led to Betty arranging a presentation by the museum director to help the BIGS membership better understand how the Suquamish look at family history and ethnicity.

Betty’s work extends beyond BIGS and its members. Not only has she opened up their educational sessions to those outside the area via Zoom, but she has been an active participant in the Washington Presidents’ Council since its creation. She was instrumental in arranging for a talk from national speaker Joshua Taylor for the state’s genealogical groups about the ways to meet future needs and continue to be relevant.

Betty’s leadership, relationship building and commitment to providing engaging educational 0pportunities prove her worthiness of the President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.

More about the award

If you want to know more about the qualities needed for this prestigious award, click here. Previous recipients are listed here.

Skagit Valley Genealogical Society Western Overland Trails Following the 7 T’s

by Charles Hansen



Before there were trains, there were Wagon Trains! Join SVGS Saturday, September 13, 2025, 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for the “Western Overland Trails – Following the Seven T’s,” with Steven W. Morrison. Come learn about the trails that populated the West, including the Oregon and California Trails, the Mormon migration, the Santa Fe Trail, and more. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a Zoom link by emailing info@skagitvalleygenealogy.org.

Heritage Quest Research Library The Sad Saga of George Richards a Case Study

by Charles Hansen
Please Join Us for our educational classes to learn more about researching your family roots! (offered online via Zoom and in person at HQRL) Cost per individual: Non-members – $25 Members – $20
September 4, 2025 11am to 12pm PDT Means, Motive & Opportunity: The Sad Saga of George Richards This case study of a man whose choices served to confuse his descendants is reconstructed in this lecture. He was there, then gone, then back—see how a variety of records, unlocked his real story. From England to the US, George’s life was filled with conundrums and poor choices. See how to locate original records (not all online), separate fact from fiction, and assess evidence for accuracy. 
CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP
Jean Wilcox Hibben; PhD, MA, former So. Cal. college speech professor (MA – Speech Communication; PhD – Folklore), is a national speaker and author. A member of the DAR, she is the former director and current family history consultant for the Corona, CA FamilyHistory Center, has worked on background research for two genealogy television programs, and was a host for podcasts on social history. A former Board-Certified genealogist with over 45 years of research experience, she is a former board member of APG and past president of the Corona Genealogical Society, as well as webmaster for that same organization; and participant on a number of other society boards. Jean writes the “Aunty Jeff” column for the Informer, the newsletter of the Jefferson County NY Genealogical Society. Her website: circlemending.org.
 
UPCOMING CLASSES! Check them out!
Citing Your Sources: It’s Easier Than You Think!  September 18, 2025 11am to 12pm PDT (in person only at HQRL) LEARN MORE HERE!

Inspiring the Next Generation of Genealogists November 6, 2025 11am to 12pm PDT
LEARN MORE HERE!
 
HomeAbout UsMembersGalleryNewsletter
 
Heritage Quest Research Library 2102 East Main Avenue, Suite 105 Puyallup, WA 98372 (253) 863-1806

Let’s Talk About: Pest Houses

by Donna Phillips

Perhaps an unfortunate ancestor spent time in a pest house? Why? What were “pest houses” anyway? (The above image spotlights a YouTube video.)
“Pest House,” is the sad term for an isolated hospital, often away from towns, often shoddily built and poorly maintained and the condition of those housed there was often quite awful. 


Back in the day, people with contagious or communicable diseases such as leprosy, TB, cholera, diphtheria, smallpox, typhus and many more, were shunted away from society for there was no effective treatment or cure. Such unfortunates were isolated until they either somehow recovered or died. “Municipalities in the day didn’t want to waste county money on caring for the walking dead.” (HereLiesAStory.com, 16 Jun 2023)


Arrival ocean ports often had quarantine areas…as did our own Washington:

(U.S. Marine Quarantine Hospital on Diamond Point, between Sequim and Port Townsend 1905.)


In the early 1900s, Spokane County had a “pest house” located in Riverside State Park, near the Bowl and Pitcher, to isolate those with contagious diseases.
Seattle’s “pest house” was on Beacon Hill, a location chosen “due to its proximity to a town dump and a gully used for waste disposal.” The description of this place reads like a horror movie script: “filthy floors, leaky roofs, lacking proper sanitation, totally dilapidated.” (The place was destroyed by fire in 1914 and the site became a golf course. HistoryLink.org, #2157.)
Blessedly, the need for such places disappeared with the advent of vaccines to cure many diseases. 

Do watch that YouTube video.

Clark County Genealogical Society Trail Breakers Volume 50

by Charles Hansen

Trail Breakers Volume 50, July 2023 – June 2024 is now available to the public on the Clark County Genealogical Society (CCGS) website! Get a PDF copy here or view the issue in our library.

What’s inside?

  • Continued abstraction of Ridgefield Reflector records
  • Stories about the founders of Hayden Island, pioneers Gay and Mary J. Hayden
  • The first excerpt of 1893 Washington biographies from An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, 1893
  • Many tips and DIY steps for your own digital preservation of family stories
  • And much, much, more…

Past issues of Trail Breakers are available on the CCGS website under the Library menu. Or visit the CCGS library or the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries to view the full 50-year collection of publications. Please note, for a limited time the current volume 51 is available only to CCGS members.

Trail Breakers Call for Articles

The Trail Breakers Editorial staff invites submission of research articles, essays and reviews for publication in the Trail Breakers. We encourage articles of genealogical interest as well as articles that foster family history sharing and research. While we appreciate articles with Northwest family connections, family stories from other geographic areas will also be considered. Questions? Contact Marcia Grubb at marica@ccgswa.org.

See all the details regarding authorship and submission here.

More questions? Send an email to info@ccgswa.org.

Clark County Genealogical Society

3205 NE 52nd Street

Vancouver, WA 98663

Website: https://www.ccgs-wa.org/

Italian Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society Free Webinar Direct from Italy

by Charles Hansen
FREE WEBINAR DIRECT FROM ITALY ** SPECIAL TIME **
“On Food and Fascism”
Description: Karima Moyer-Nocchi will give a lecture based on her book: Chewing the Fat – An Oral History of Italian Foodways from Fascism to Dolce Vita. This highly engaging and visually driven presentation will examine the ways in which the politics of the fascist era (1922-1943) influenced the Italian culinary identity from a socio-cultural perspective and the role it played in the conceptual development of Italian cuisine as we know it today. The lecture will explore the tenets of Oral History in general and then looks specifically at how this method of data collection opens a unique window onto food history research. Moyer-Nocchi analyzes the notion of “authenticity” and reveals how some of the best-loved myths of Italian food are part of an invented set of traditions. That view is balanced through a closer look at how traditions, invented or otherwise, play an important part in societal healing and cultural progression in Italy. The presentation will conclude with a performance of selected excerpts from the book. 
                          ZOOM Meeting When:           20-Sep-2025, Saturday
Time:             10:00 AM (PDT) ***** SPECIAL TIME ***** Presenter:   Karima Moyer-Nocchi
Kerri Tannenbaum Speaker Bio: Karima Moyer-Nocchi is a noted culinary historian specializing in Italian cuisine. In her work, she reconstructs histories through a culinary lens, with an eye on myth busting, evident in her acclaimed publications “Chewing the Fat – An Oral History of Italian Foodways from Fascism to Dolce Vita” and “The Eternal Table: A Cultural History of Food in Rome“. Her upcoming book is “An Epic History of Macaroni and Cheese from Ancient Rome to Modern America” for Columbia University Press for which she was an ICJS Fellow at the Jefferson Foundation in Monticello and a Smithsonian Fellow at the National Museum of American History. An advocate for experiential learning, she encourages “hands-on history” as reflected in her popular Instagram account: @historicalitalianfood and website: theeternaltable.com. Born and educated in the United States, Moyer-Nocchi has made Italy her home since 1990. She teaches in the Modern Languages department at the University of Siena and currently resides in Umbria. Link to “Chewing the Fat” book: the link.
If you aren’t a registered member, you must request meeting access. Below is the link to request a meeting invitation. Please send me an invitation
COUNTDOWN TO THE MEETING:
Days Hours Minutes Seconds
Eastside Genealogical Society
– Italian Interest Group P.O. Box 374
Bellevue, WA 98009-0374

Puget Sound Genealogical Society Western Trails Following the Seven T’s

by Charles Hansen

Upcoming Puget Sound Genealogical Society Program.  Our August Program will be on Wednesday, August 27 at 1pm.  It will be “Western Trail- Following the Seven T’s ” with Steven W. Morrison

The major trails from the Midwest to the west will be covered in this session. The principal routes will include the Oregon and California Trails, the Mormon migration, the Santa Fe Trail, and more. These were the OVERLAND RIVERS which helped populate the West.  Social time starts at 12:30. Program will start at 1:00pm.

This will be hybrid with in person at the Sylvan Way Library (1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton, WA) and on Zoom. The Zoom link will be posted on our website and Facebook page on Aug 26.

For details see www.psgsociety.org.

Let’s Talk About: An Ode to Glass

by Donna Phillips

 Disclaimer:  I snipped this from the James Bay Victoria Beacon newspaper in March 2025 when I visited Butchart Gardens. I thought it was SO GOOD that I had to share. Big thanks, Colin Couper.

Water is required to wipe away dirt, and to clean away the haze,

it only takes a little work and now I look on brighter days.

I can see right through you, I can see through your pane,

you’re really quite special, when we all can see again.

From in the house, you protect me, shield me from the rain and cold,

in the mirror you reflect my image that shows me getting old.

You can totally change my outlook, spectacles correct my outward vision,

You’re even on the Hubble telescope, where you’re grounded to precision.

Now you can hold your liquor, lots of whiskey, wine and beer,

you can be molded in beauty and can be made crystal clear.

You are strong but also you are brittle, both at the same time,

and your character can be shattered, broken at the scene of crime.

As a windshield on the open highway, you keep debris from our eyes,

and sadly, we take you for granted, no longer a bright surprise.

You are truly a unique specimen in society a needed touch of class,

so, to you we raise our drinking vessels as we thank, and toast you, Mr. Glass.

=Let’s Talk About: WA’s Garden Gems

by Donna Phillips

Thanks to Ice Storm ’96, the Moore-Turner Heritage Garden was rediscovered. Built between 1889 and 1932 as a residential garden but was largely abandoned in the 1930s and the historic home demolished in 1940. Although the Spokane Parks & Rec Dept acquired the property in 1945, most of what was once a beautiful garden (complete with pond–see above then and now) was lost to memory and time.


Fast forward to today when after extensive research and recovery (and clearing away of Ice Storm debris and plants gone wild), the garden is once again open for visiting. Tiz a small garden; in less than an hour you can walk all the paths (beware: they’re mostly uphill).Washington boasts many similar wonderful gardens. Let’s go and aren’t we lucky!!

* Seattle – Dunn Garden * Seattle – Highland SeaTac Botannical Garden* Seattle – Japanese Garden* Seattle – Chinese Garden* Spokane – Manito Park Garden* Yakima – Ohme Gardens* Federal Way – Powells Garden* Bainbridge Island – Bloedel Reserve Garden* Port Angeles – Port Angeles Fine Art Center (is a garden!)