Stillaquamish Valley Genealogical Society My Irish Genealogical Journey

Feb25 by Charles Hansen

Stillaquamish Valley Genealogical Society

Monthly Meeting & Presentation – My Irish Genealogical Journey

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

1:00 pm

SVGS Library

6111 188 PL NE, Arlington, WA

You are invited to this free presentation at the SVGS library.

Everyone is welcome!

Kathie Webber, an active member at SVGS, will be giving an in person only presentation at our library. Our business meeting will follow the presentation.

Kathie’s Presentation: My Irish Genealogical Journey

Kathie’s goal has always been to learn more about her Irish family and where they came from. 75% of her family background is Irish. Along the way she has learned some better way to do things after taking some wrong turns. She will share some of those successes and mistakes.

Bio:

Kathie been doing genealogy for over 40 years. She has researched in Washington State, Massachusetts, California, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ireland. Her favorite notable ways to research include visiting cemeteries, family history centers, online research, facebook groups, and travel.

There will be a short break with refreshments. The monthly meeting will followat 2pm.

New England Interest Group – 1^st Tuesday of the Month

The SVGS New England Interest Group (includes New York and Pennsylvania) meets at the SVGS Library on the first Tuesday of the month at 10am. This is a hybrid group. You may attend in person at our library or join via Zoom.

If you have not joined us yet and would like to receive emails in the future for this group or wish to attend via Zoom, please send an email to info@stillygen.org and request to be added to the New England Interest Group email list and receive monthly

Zoom invitations.

DIG – DNA Special Interest Group – 3^rd Thursday of the Month

Also join us at the SVGS library from 1-3pm on the 3^rd Thursday of the month for the DNA Special Interest Group (DIG). This group works together to develop a better understanding of DNA techniques and strategies for finding relatives, discuss and review new DNA developments and tools and help members with their research problems.

All DNA skill levels are welcome to attend.

If you have a specific DNA topic you would like to discuss or have any other suggestions for this group, please send an email info@stillygen.org

Also, if you have not joined us yet and would like to receive emails in the future for the DIG group, please send an email to info@stillygen.org and request to be added to the DIG email list.

For more information visit www.stillygen.org

Italian Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society Italian Catholic Parish Records

Feb25 by Charles Hansen

Description: Italian Catholic Parish Records serve as foundational archives for historical demographics and genealogy in Italy. In this presentation, the speaker will highlight their significance by outlining the data contained in the records — baptismal, marriage, and burial registers from the 16th to 19th centuries. No other records in Italy contain as much of the day-to-day history of everyday people during that time period. Attendees will learn about parish record collections available to research, efforts to digitize more records, and resources and researchers who can assist. In addition, the speaker will discuss the accessibility of the records and the impact on contemporary research.

ZOOM Meeting When: 15-Mar-2025, Saturday
Time: 1:30 PM (PST) / 4:30 PM (EST) Presenter: Suzanne Greco

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 link

COUNTDOWN TO THE MEETING:

Eastside Genealogical Society
– Italian Interest Group P.O. Box 374
Bellevue, WA 98009-0374

Let’s Talk About: Emerson DeRoehn

Feb25 by Donna Phillips

Sometimes images just say it all:

Spokane Daily Chronicle, Tuesday, January 6, 1925:

From our Washington Digital Archives:

From the Boston Globe, January 16, 1925:

From Find A Grave:

Rest in Peace, dear Private Emerson Andrew DeRoehn.

Let’s Talk About: Velveeta “Cheese”

Feb21 by Donna Phillips

What American family beginning in the 1940s did not succumb to the allure of Velveeta cheese? Or was it really cheese?

Here’s the story: Way back in 1916, Jacob Weisl owned the Monroe Cheese Company in New York and had a problem. What to do with the broken or misshapen bits of cheese from his factory? His helper-genius, Emil Frey, spent two years tinkering and in 1918 came up with a new way to utilize the bits and pieces and turn them into a saleable product. Frey dubbed it Velveeta and it became an instant hit. By 1923, the name was changed to the Velveeta Cheese Company and this “sensationally satiny” cheese was being marketed across America and Europe.

Kraft Foods bought the company in 1927 and changed the recipe replacing real cheese with the paragraph of chemical elements that still graces the package today.

No matter, Velveeta fans remained loyal. The New York Times in 1976 declared Velveeta a “worldwide favorite,” with sales in America hitting an astonishing 8.75 pounds for every American. Sales figures for 2023 show net sales of about $27 billion.

Yikes, indeed, for a “cheese product” that, in fact, technically does not contain cheese.

(Source: Smithsonian Magazine, Jan-Feb 2025)

Italian Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society 35th Anniversary Dinner

Feb19 by Charles Hansen

15-Mar-2025 Post Meeting Dinner

35th Anniversary Of The Italian Interest Group! Celebrate the Italian Interest Group’s 35th anniversary!
No-host dinner
Saturday, 3/15/2025 at 5:00 PM (time may vary based on restaurant availability) Location: Ristorante Paradiso https://ristoranteparadiso.com/home
120 A Park Lane, Kirkland
425-889-8601

We normally celebrate the IIG anniversary with a group dinner at Ristorante Paradiso in Kirkland. We need a head count to make a reservation.
Please RSVP by March 1, 2025, Saturday using the hyperlink below. You can use the hyperlink below to change the number of attendees, just revise the ‘Number Attending’ in the form. Mille Grazie, Stephen

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/530446/146725466087098231/share

COUNTDOWN TO THE DINNER RESERVATION DEADLINE:

Eastside Genealogy Group – Italian Interest Group 2410 East Helen Street, Seattle WA, United States of America

Let’s Talk About: Hood Canal

Feb18 by Donna Phillips

Everybody in Washington knows about Hood Canal but how much do we know? Is it a river, a bay or a fjord??

Named by Capt. George Vancouver on May 13, 1792, in honor of Admiral Lord Samuel Hood, Hood Canal is a fjord-like body of water lying west of the main basins of Puget Sound. It is a natural waterway and not a man-made canal.

Hood Canal is long (about 50 miles) and narrow (average width, 1.5 miles), with a mean depth of 177 feet and has 213 miles of shoreline and 42 miles of tideland.

Formed some 13,000 years ago, Hood Canal was created by retreating glaciers. True fjords are long narrow inlets in valleys carved by glacial activity; hence Hood Canal originating off Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

This is a proposal to change the name of Hood Canal to Salish Fjord since the feature is not a canal. This name change would also honor the Salish Nation whose peoples have been there for thousands of years.

Stay tuned on that idea. 🙂

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society DNA SIG February Meeting

Feb17 by Charles Hansen

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society DNA Special Interest Group Meeting
Tuesday, February 25, Starting at 7:00 pm via Zoom

We will discuss the DNA company 23andMe, their offerings, and take a virtual tour of the website.

Calendar reminder: TPCGS DNA Special Interest Group Meeting

Every month on the Fourth Tuesday beginning at 7:00 PM Pacific Time

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZYqdeyrrz0iEtx-c_J3gNfcI8mebT1zajLo/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGqqTkvGdWTuBGPRpwQB4joZ-nzmCFHj7dF0RzaKXNUTAX1H7pPN7BLQcLR

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82725316888?pwd=MDc3UEZrUVJNbmxmK2ZORmw5YzdDdz09

Meeting ID: 827 2531 6888
Passcode: 811780

One tap mobile:
+12532050468,,82725316888#,,,,*811780# US
+12532158782,,82725316888#,,,,*811780# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location:
+1 253 205 0468 US
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 827 2531 6888
Passcode: 811780

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kIKCyZLQy

Larry Ball Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2024

Feb17 by Roxanne Lowe

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 the a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Larry Ball of Yakima, Washington who was selected by the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Larry joined YVGS five years ago and is an invaluable member performing many maintenance tasks. With his electrical skills, he does electrical repairs at the YVGS library. He helps the outside appearance of the library by disposing of the yard waste (brush, tree limbs, grass clippings). He assisted in painting the parking stall strips in the parking lot. Larry also stepped up using a scissor-lift to clean all the ceiling lights of insects and dust in the library.

Larry helps with the transportation of yard sale items from two local churches back to the YVGS lot in preparation for two yard sales held each year, selling items and with cleanup after each sale. He helps with delivery of YVGS large sale items to customers unable to haul by themselves.

When the maintenance committee needs help, Larry is right there willing to assist. Recently, he assisted in making bookshelves in the library’s extended book storage room.

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.

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Breaking The Silence: Closing the Books on Cold Cases

Feb14 by Charles Hansen

Mark your calendars!
You don’t want to miss this one!

Saturday, March 1
“BREAKING THE SILENCE: CLOSING THE BOOK ON COLD CASES”
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
The HIVE, 2904 E Sprague Ave. Spokane, WA
Presented by Lynda Keenan
How do genealogical skills help Law Enforcement solve Cold Cases? What is Genetic Genealogy? What tools are needed to help connect DNA evidence with Genealogical research? Come learn the answers to these questions and more!

DOORS OPEN AT 12:30 P.M FOR SOCIAL TIME

Let’s Talk About: Keechelus

Feb14 by Donna Phillips

This is the view of Lake Keechelus that we usually see as we zoom over Snoqualmie Pass, right? But it has a different, more lovely, view:

Keechelus is both a lake and a reservoir in Kittitas County, Washington (approximately 50 miles southeast of Seattle).

I had long thought this lake was a reservoir for Seattle’s water, but not so. The lake was/is the source of the Yakima River and is used as a storage reservoir for the Yakima irrigation needs. Although a natural lake, Keechelus Lake’s storage capacity and discharge is controlled by Keechelus Dam, a 128-foot high earth-fill structure built in 1917.

The name Keechelus comes from the Native American term meaning “few fish,” in contrast to nearby Kachess Lake, whose name means “more fish.”

As you zoom along I-90 the next time, take a good look at Keechelus Lake and, being in the know, smile.