Did you know that our very own Bickleton in Klickitat County is known as the Bluebird Capitol of the WORLD? It’s so called because thousands of bluebirds spend most of the year in the area.
Bickleton has become a bluebird-watchers’ paradise.
The area was first settled by Charles Bickle in 1879; he established a trading post and livery stable. Like most early residents, he was also a rancher and wheat farmer. A series of fires in 1937 and 1947 destroyed many of the town’s original buildings; the oldest surviving building is the Bluebird Inn which opened in 1882 and still serves guests.
In the 1960s, Jess and Elva Brinkerhoff were picnicking in this small town and put a can in a tree for some birds. This quickly became a local fad and now there are thousands of birdhouses purposely built to house bluebirds. Both Mountain and Western Bluebirds come; the above is a Western Bluebird.
And “thousands” of bluebird watchers come every year to see these very special birds. Have you been one? Want to be one?
In a recent blog article, we shared that FamilyTree Magazine had recently published the Resource Guide for Washington State. Kathy Weber, professional genealogist and president of the Seattle Genealogical Society, authored the guide which is full of Evergreen State resources, history and links. The information included in the resource guide is available HERE.
Earlier this week, Charles Hansen was surprised with a proclamation by the Spokane City Council for his “dedicated service to the citizens of Spokane and in great celebration of the positive impact he has made in the lives of our community’s families, residents, organizations and youth.” The resolution was signed by Betsy Wilkerson, Spokane City Council President.
The proclamation (below) outlines the many endeavors that Charles has committed himself to over the years, including being Whitman Neighborhood Council Chair, volunteering to do genealogical research at the Spokane County Auditor’s Office and being a longtime member of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society.
Although in his long list of activities it doesn’t say, we are enormously proud of Charles for being the WSGS Blog Master since its inception in January 2019. He is also the #2 all-time scribe of Washington State records with 678,945 transcriptions.
Here are the March events for Puget Sound Genealogical Society:
Mar 26 (Wed), 1pm: Program- Homesteading: Land for All with Christine Cohen
Mar 29 (Sat), 10:30am: Class – Social History and Church Records with Janet Camarata.
Both will be hybrid. In person at the Sylvan Way Library, 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton and on Zoom. Zoom link will be posted on our website and our Facebook page the day before.
Tacoma FamilySearch Center is sponsoring the 4th Annual African American Family History Event, “Family Ties That Unite Us”, March 22, 2025 – 9am – 2pm at 1102 S Pearl St., Tacoma WA 98465. Family Ties That Unite Us is free and is open to the public of all levels of Family History ability and interest. The Event will have 200-300 in attendance. Two musical groups will perform, there will be an adult and youth keynote speakers and two Family History Speakers during the event. There are informational tables from local museums, historical societies and genealogical societies and one on one Family History assistance throughout the event.
The free luncheon includes Philly Cheese Steak and Chicken sandwiches, salads and more.
Keynote speakers will be Ethelda Burke, University Place School Board Member and past local principal, Lynese and Malando Redeemer, the current Tacoma NAACP President and Youth Pastor for Shilo Baptist Church. The Family History Speakers include Andre Escalante – a local father of 3 who will share his story about beginning Family History research, and Tamu Smith who will speak about Plantations and Reservations. Tamu is a nationally known speaker with Sistas in Zion and Time Out For Women. She will include groups and resources for researching those of Enslaved and Native American heritage.
The Tacoma FamilySearch Center will be open during the entire event with all services, including digitizing equipment – ready for tours and to sign up to use with help. The Center is located at 1102 S Pearl St, Tacoma WA 98465. On the South side (12th Street side) of the building. Watch for the green FamilySearch Center Sign. It is open 33 hours per week – Tues, Wed, & Thurs 10am – 8pm and Sat 10am – 1pm. The Center has 12 different Family History websites available for use free of charge and has 20% + more records in FamilySearch than you can access from home.
Tacoma FamilySearch Center has 47 volunteers, many who bring a tote of their own photos, slides and videos to digitize each shift they work – helping others while helping themselves. New volunteers of all levels are welcome. We are happy to train and put new people with experienced ones for a great start.
Saturday’s African American Event will be live and in person and also on zoom. The zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/96665929487 . Zoom 9:30am – 2pm
The speakers will be recorded and the recordings will be found on the Webpage
Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2024 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing David Cosman of Bainbridge Island, Washington who was selected by the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Without the need of any particular title, David has become one of BIGS’s most important mentors. He simply makes himself available to anyone who is willing to ask for help. And David knows how to help, in terms of both his knowledge and his personality. He teaches others with dignity and grace.
David is an outstanding traditional genealogy researcher. Coupling those skills with his personal background as a native of Nottingham, England, has equipped him well to be co-leader of our Great Britain Special Interest Group. David’s career involved cloning genes that regulate the immune system and this technical knowledge allowed him to quickly become one of only a few of BIGS’s members with true expertise in employing DNA for genealogical purposes.
For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.
Ever need an image for a presentation and just can’t find the right one to set the scene? How about music to create a “mood” for your program or a quotation from a book or publication to add interest? This program will cover those questions and we will share where to find images, music, and publications and review the public domain structure. The facilitator is Georga Foster.
Needing a worthwhile way to spend time these housebound cold winter days?
How about a Cold Case Ancestor research project?!? The Washington State Genealogical Society still has a long list of individuals and families needing to be researched. These would be those who were known to be in Washington Territory BEFORE statehood (11 Nov 1889). There is an index of these pioneers and indigenous families on their website….. take your pick!
Resources you might use are Ancestry, FamilySearch, Washington Digital Archives, Find A Grave, USGenWeb, Linkpendium, WA Territorial censuses ……… any resource you’ve used in the past for your own research.
The really good news about this volunteer project is that since it’s not your family, just find what you can find, period. If you find lots, great. But only scarce documentation, that’s fine too.
Click to Washington State Genealogical Society and then Pioneer Pursuit and look at the Sample, Hints & Helps, Frequently Asked Questions and Instructions.
Why not get busy helping to document these wonderful Washington pioneers………. and before you know it, spring will be here!
You are free to copy articles to any non-commercial web site or message board or printed publication you wish. Don’t bother to ask permission, just do it.
