Press Release for the WASGS Blog:
Clallam County Gen. Soc. is moving into the digital age! Although it is still a work in progress, but we are very proud to announce the birth of our new website, http://clallamcogs.
Ginny
(Virginia Majewski)
Blog Banner Photo Challenge Continues
Photo by Roger Newman, Shelton
Photo taken by Roger Newman, Shelton
Did you notice the latest photos in our Blog banner? They’re part of a rotation of photos submitted by you — our enthusiastic readers.
Roger Newman from Shelton submitted a beautiful photo of Coast Rhododendrons taken near Walker Mountain near Quilcene. The Coast Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum) is our state flower.
His other submission is one of Native American Racing Canoes — so sleek and fast. Can’t you imagine them gliding swiftly across the water?
Both of Roger’s photos were part of our Blog Banner Photo Challenge — photos you’ve taken of scenes in our great state of Washington. There’s still plenty of time to send us your favorite photo for the Blog banner. For more details, read the 08 July 2015 blog post or enter “Blog Banner” in the search bar on the right.
We hope to see your photo soon!
Kittitas County Gen Society….. A Visit
Back in June, while attending the WSGS conference in Ellensburg, I took advantage of the Open House offered to attendees to the Kittitas County Genealogical Society. It was grand! The staff welcoming us that evening were gracious, provided refreshments and research help…. and I copied some obits from their card file, hooray!
Here is the door to their space inside a delightful old red brick downtown building:
President Diane Huckaby was in charge of the evening:
Do You Have An Emergency Preparedness Plan?
My husband works in Aiken, South Carolina and has maintained a temporary office and apartment there for three years. Recently the apartment building he was staying in was completely destroyed by fire. He had no idea that when he crossed the threshold at midnight he would be the last person to ever pass through that door. Since he was sleeping at the time the fire broke out he was very lucky to escape with the shirt on his back, his smartphone, and his laptop.
Frenchtown Rendezvous in Lowden, Washington
This year’s Frenchtown Rendezvous, put on by the Frenchtown Historical Foundation in Lowden, WA on September 26, is going to be a pretty neat event for people interested in family and area history. We’re setting it up as a giant share-and-tell. We’re trying to identify the history buffs and keepers of the family albums in the area and ask them to come share their knowledge and documents.
I’m attaching our flyer to this message. If you’d be interested in more information, I’d be very happy to talk to you. I’d love to circulate this information with regional historical societies, so please feel free to forward or share widely.
Washington Remembers World War II Special Exhibit
|
||||
|
Kittitas County Gen Society News Flash
Kittitas Co WA Gen Soc does not have any early August Genealogy meeting
But put Sunday, August 16, at 4 pm, on your calendar for the annual society picnic, hosted again this year by Mary and Lew Christensen. Final details will be sent later, but it’s a potluck at 60 Moe Rd = corner of Tjossem Rd.
******************************
K.C.G.S library will be closed after Wed afternoon August 19, until Tuesday, September 8. Plans include carpet cleaning with some furniture moved to Suite I temporarily.
Phone Mary C at 925-9104 if you’d like to help renovate our library by moving furniture
Information furnished by Tuck Forsyth, Forsythe@fairpoint.net
Gehrke Windmill Garden at Grand Coulee
Emil Albert and Stella Veva Gehrke had lived in the Grand Coulee area since 1958. In 1965 Emil began his unusual occupation of making windmills from scrap metal. The couple traveled some 62,000 miles picking up thrown-away materials to create over 500 windmills, whirligigs, and merry-go-rounds in their yard. Emil died in 1979 and Stella followed in 1980. Some 120 of their many windmills were acquired by the town of Grand Coulee and are displayed at North Dam Park as a memorial to the Gehrkes.
I visited this unique Washington garden last weekend and signed the guest book…. bottom photo…. even the guest book cover is made from an old rusty 8×11 pan. Do stop whenever your travels take you through Grand Coulee. You will enjoy seeing this, I guarantee.
Bainbridge Island Gen Society News Flash
The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, August 21, in the Bainbridge Island Public Library Meeting Room from 10:00 AM until noon. The topic is “Tough and Unusual Cases: How we did it (finally).” BIGS mentors, Sue Elving and Anna Dupen, will present case studies showing how they solved genealogy problems. One particular case study involves a Scottish immigrant and a trip to the Supreme Court (1813). Bring your questions. Free to members, a $5.00 donation is suggested for nonmembers. For more information go to www.bigenealogy.org, or call 206-842-4978. BIGS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization.
# # # # #
Thank you!
Sylvia H. Nelson
Director of Publicity and Public Relations
Bainbridge Island, Genealogical Society
Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week
TIP OF THE WEEK – NEW SOCIAL SECURITY INDEX ON ANCESTRY.COM
People just starting their genealogy research, and who know little about their parents or grandparents, are told that if their ancestor was alive after the Social Security system was established in 1935, they should get that person’s Social Security application. The application should list the person’s parents’ names as well as the person’s place of birth. Since this application was completed by the individual, it should be more accurate than other sources. But ordering these applications can be expensive and time consuming.
Ancestry now has a new database called “U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007”. The difference between this database and the old Social Security Death Index is that the new database reports the individual’s place of birth and both parents’ names, which is what one wants from the SSN application in the first place.
Of course keep in mind, you won’t find your ancestor in this index if they died before the Social Security Act of 1935 or if they never applied for Social Security.
If you don’t have a subscription to Ancestry, visit the SGS library and use our computers, or try your local community library.