Blog Banner Photos Wanted

by Roxanne Lowe

Have you noticed the Blog banner changes every time you visit? The photos are submitted by readers like you. We’re always looking for scenic photos of our beautiful state for the rotating photo gallery on the blog banner.

Hay there! Photo taken along Highway 108 between Shelton and McCleary by Roxanne Lowe.

The current batch of pictures were taken by Donna Potter Phillips from Spokane and Roxanne Lowe from McCleary.

Guidelines for the photos are few:
•Landscapes, landmarks, and scenery photos are preferred. If, however, you have a perfect photo that includes people, please obtain their permission to post the photo.
•Photo must have been taken in Washington State (this is the Washington State Genealogical Society blog, after all!).
•Photo will be cropped to 1100 x 250 pixels, so keep that in mind. If in doubt, send it to us & we’ll figure it out.
•You may submit as many photos as you want.
•Final decisions on suitable photos will be made by the awesome WSGS Blog Team.
•There’s no prize if your photo is chosen – just the satisfaction that your photo is being showcased on a blog viewed by hundreds of enthusiastic genealogists.
•There’s no firm deadline to submit photos, just keep ‘em coming. We want to rotate lots of photos to keep the blog fresh.

To submit your photo, please email the image (jpg only, please); what, where, when, and by whom the photo was taken to WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Got questions? Email the blog team at WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Frenchtown Rendezvous

by Charles Hansen
 
I am Sarah Hurlburt, Secretary of the Frenchtown Historical Foundation. I am writing to regional historical and genealogical organizations to let you know about our upcoming Frenchtown Rendezvous, this October 6, 2018, in Walla Walla, WA. 
 
This is a great event for anyone who is interested in the history of eastern Washington. Our program this year is of particular interest to archaeologists and geneaologists. It features a workshop on writing and publishing family history led by Christina Dubois, retired editor of Columbia Magazine of the Washington State Historical Society, and a presentation by historical archaeologist Maryanne Maddoux about the ongoing digitization of the Harriet D. Munnick Papers by the St. Paul Mission Historical Society, and her experiences as lab manager at the field school excavation of a French-Canadian homestead at Champoeg, OR. 
 
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. We’d love to see you there!
 
Sarah Hurlburt
Secretary, Frenchtown Historical Foundation
 
 

Friday Serendipity

by Charles Hansen

Leah Pearce Hansel is a long time member of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, as was her mother before her. She approached me recently with the generous offer to give away free for postage her genealogical research library. Here’s the photo of what Leah offers:

The blue one on the bottom is Val Greenwood’s good old standard Guide to Research.

Would you like these for your own library or for your society? They’re free but for postage. Reply to me (Donna243@gmail.com) and I’ll get you in touch with Leah.

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen
GFO Logo Halo 2 Large

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

26 July 2018

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?

We’d love to have you as a GFO Member!

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932.

For a complete GFO CALENDAR click here. The current Insider newsletter awaits you HERE.
***
Giving Wednesday8-2-18

VOLUNTEER BLITZ! Can you help?

This is an all-hands-on-deck day to get GFO Library’s renumbering project on track. It’ll make the library much easier to use once we are done.

The library will be closed all day Wednesday, August 1st, so we can make some stupendously HUGE progress. We will provide beverages and snacks, lunch and laughter and genealogical tidbits throughout the day, completely free!

Won’t you join us and bring a friend? Join us and help whip our library into the best shape it’s ever seen!
***

New Microfilm Reader! Many Thanks to the Kidd Family!
Kidd Microfilm Reader Donation

Julie Ann Kidd became a GFO member in 1971, when she was just in high school. We were saddened to learn that she passed away late last year.

Since her passing, her family has brought truckload after truckload of books, periodicals, manuscripts, and more as donations for the GFO.

This last weekend we had a wonderful surprise: We gained a working microfilm/microfiche reader thanks to the generosity of Ms. Kidd’s continued family donations!

Our second reader broke down a couple years back, and we have had no luck finding parts for such an ancient machine. We are indebted to Julie Ann Kidd for her phenomenal dedication to the GFO when she was alive, and we continue to benefit from the generosity of her family to this day.

Thank you again to the Kidd family!
***

Help Keep GFO Membership Committee Strong!
Librarian working at the Pointe Coupee Parish Parish library in New Roads Louisiana in 1936

Our Membership Committee needs another wonderful volunteer to help with processing applications for new and renewed memberships.

Could this be your calling?? The Membership Committee will provide all the training you could ever want. Skills and experience in excel and data entry is a plus.

If you’re interested and able to lend a hand on this committee, please email membership@gfo.org today!
***

My Heritage and Federation of Genealogical Societies Discount…
FGS MyHeritage Discount

Did you hear the news!?

For a limited time, GFO members will be able to get a MyHeritage Complete subscription for 50% off the normal price.

This is an exclusive offer for the members of FGS-member societies (like GFO) and it’s available through August 15th.

We also found the following hot tip: Did you know that MyHeritage lets you upload the data from a DNA test done with other companies (such as FTDNA, Ancestry, 23andMe)? And, the best part is, it’s free! If you are actively exploring DNA matches and also want to research more information, MyHeritage’s uploading service provides trees and sources that US based companies may not have.

DNA upload page can be found HERE.
***

This week at GFO…
desk-calendar-12992149

SATURDAY, July 28th

Advance DNA Group 9 a.m. – noon

Two speakers | Two Handouts

Speaker 1: Herb Femling will present a case-study-oriented session to illustrate Advanced Excel tool capabilities and analytical concepts. High-level concepts and topics for leveraging the Data Analytics Power of Excel will include:

General Use of Excel in DNA & Genealogy Research,
Using Excel as a Database – Structuring your Data,
Importing Data from Other Sources (Genealogy Programs, FTDNA Exports, Gedmatch, etc.),
Adding/Appending Data using VLookup Function,
Advanced Filtering, Searching and Data Grouping,
Pivot Tables for Advanced Analysis and Database Queries, Mapping Chromosome Segments to Ancestors – Visual Phasing with Color Coding (DNA Painter Alternative), Combining Data from Multiple Testing Services for Match Management, Using Database to Aid in Triangulation.

Due to the broad variety of Excel skill levels, this session will not include a step-by-step process for all of examples covered. The emphasis will be on demonstrating how the tools available in Excel can enhance and accelerate your research process.

Speaker 2: Tim Janzen will give a presentation entitled “Working with Triangulated Groups.” This presentation will review the best techniques that allow you to create triangulated groups and utilize them optimally to solve genealogical research questions.

Handouts: Working with your Triangulated Groups and Excel Analysis Examples

Please also download, print, and bring to class the evaluation form which can be found HERE.

WEDNESDAY, August 1st

Giving Wednesday 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

This is an all-hands-on-deck, all-day volunteer event. And we need YOUR help! All day, this date, we need as many volunteers as possible to help us get our re-cataloging, re-numbering, and re-labeling of our collection back on track.

Plus, we’ll provide pastries in the morning and pizza at lunch and dinner. Please come for an hour or more.

The library will be closed all day for this work party. We hope to see you!

Wednesday Nostalgia

by Charles Hansen

I love summer; to be more exact, I love the going-into-water that summer brings. John and I spotted this at a little public park last January in New Zealand. The park, lake and playground was empty because it was their winter and was a cold-to-them 70 degrees.  Would you have loved a lake-playground place like this? Or maybe you had one?

 

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

Ah, recipes. We read them collect them and sometimes try them. In our Spokane newspaper, Dorothy Dean is the queen of recipes. In the 1940s she was the recognized authority locally on cooking….and there really was no such lady! These recent days, the paper has been re-publishing every week some Dorothy Dean recipes. Ever heard of Bubble and Squeak? Something from the lean 1940s I’m sure.  Also attached the Sauerkraut Quiche in hopes that one of you will make it and let me know how good (or bad) it was.

Monday Mystery

by Charles Hansen

This isn’t really a mystery except if we think so. Ever heard of  making arrowheads out of glass?

This reads: “Knife and projectile points. In some instances, American Indian residents of the Village** used traditional techniques to modify imported objects. This piece of glass had one edge “flakes”…struck with stone or another hard object…to turn it into a sharp-edged knife. This same method is used to make stone tools, like these projectile points.”

** Fort Vancouver Historical Site