Let’s Talk About: Remembering Christmas Stories

Today I’d like to ask YOU, dear readers, to share your Christmas memories or stories. What was The Best gift you ever received? What year did you so-want something that you didn’t get? I do invite (and beg!) you to share your memories with me, Donna243@gmail.com.
I’ll start with mine. The year was 1950, the place Fairfield, California, next to Travis Air Force Base where my dad was stationed. I recall being SO EXCITED to be invited to go with Mom and her friend on the train to Sacramento to go Christmas shopping in a big department store. Oh the joy!
I picked out Daisy……… life-size, soft-fleshed with curly red hair. Oh, she was wonderful. I was in heaven all the train ride home. I knew I’d not see her again until Christmas but that was not for lack of trying! Whenever the opportunity arose, I’d look into every closet, drawer and box but to no avail. Where was she?????
Christmas Day, there she was! In a white bassinette and with plenty of real baby clothes! (My brother was born in Aug 1950…this had been his bed and some of his clothes.) So where had she been? My parents, knowing their daughter well, had secreted her in the neighbor’s shed!!!
Here she is today in an outfit that was my daughter’s in 1963…

I have one granddaughter and six great-granddaughters. Who will love her next??????

Italian Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society Multiple Lies and an Alias: Solving the Mystery

Dec26 by Charles Hansen

A search for any information on the biological father of an 83-year-old Italian man yields unexpected twists and turns. Leveraging a wide variety of records sets – some more obscure than others – this case study of an Italian immigrant in New York in the 1920s reveals many conflicts, scandal, and lies. It’s a case study about how documentary records, DNA, and oral tradition solved the mystery of this elusive man.

ZOOM Meeting When: 18-Jan-2025, Saturday
Time: 1:30 PM (PDT) Presenter: Kerri Tannenbaum

If you aren’t an active 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

Tri-City Genealigical Society After You’re Gone Future Proofing Your Genealogy Research

Dec25 by Charles Hansen

Please join us for Tri-City Genealogical Society’s January General meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8. The presentation will be at the Richland FamilySearch Center located at 1314A Goethals Dr. Entrance is down the ramp from the parking lot that is to the north of Dairy Queen. The presentation will also be on Zoom so you can join in from the comfort of your own home. See below for the Zoom link.

The January presentation will be by Thomas MacEntee. Thomas is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community. A handout will be available upon request.

The subject of the talk will be After You’re Gone: Future Proofing Your Genealogy Research

Have you ever considered what will happen to your years of genealogy research once you’re gone? Learn how to ensure that your hard work carries on. Through a combination of planning, common sense, and new technologies, we’ll review how to create an action plan for preserving your genealogy research. Topics include

● The Perils of Inaction: Lost Genealogy

● Basic Planning and Data Successor ship

● Working with Societies, Libraries and Archives

● Technology to the Rescue

● Best Practices for Genealogy Future Proofing

● Resource List

Thank you to everyone who has already joined TCGS for 2025. For those who would like to join, the online application can be found at https://tricitygenealogicalsociety.org/q/join/join_renew/ and a printable application can be found at https://tricitygenealogicalsociety.org/q/wp-content/uploads/2023TCGSBrochure.pdf .

Time: Jan 8, 2025 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 838 3595 6929

Passcode: 796386

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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kG41JmRAw

Happy New Year

Dec24 by Charles Hansen

The back of this postcard just has the Address: Mrs. A. M. Hansen; Box 195; Sebeka, Minn. This was the address of Anton M. Hansen, my grandfather and his wife Anna (Dillingham) Hansen and their 4 children, my dad the youngest, till sometime in 1910 when they moved to Columbus Montana. Anna’s aunt was living in Columbus so I think that is why they moved to Montana.

Heritage Quest Research Library New Year German Genealogy Presentation

Dec24 by Charles Hansen

Let’s Talk About: Snoqualmie

Dec24 by Donna Phillips

First off, it’s Sno-qualmie’ not Sno-qual-A-mee. How often have we said it incorrectly?

While my family has lived in Spokane since 1955, and over those years have made hundreds of trips over Snoqualmie Pass, we never got to experience it as it was in those first early days. (Thank goodness.) But in all the years since 1955, I cannot recall one trip where there was NOT road construction. Can you???

In the beginning, the only way the first Oregon Trail wagons could get through the Cascades was via the Columbia River. The clamor for a road across the Cascades became increasingly persistent. Washington’s first governor, Isaac Stevens, back in 1853 was convinced that an old Indian trail over Snoqualmie Pass was the most feasible route. But nothing was immediately done due to Indian hostilities and lack of funds. In 1861, Congress voted $75,000 for a road but then the Civil War broke out and the funds were diverted.

Tillman Houser was the first to get a wagon over the narrow winding trail through stands of giant Douglas Fir. In 1868 he left Tacoma in a wagon loaded with cargo, wife and 3 children and headed east. “After much exasperating toil…..” the family reached Snoqualmie summit. Once over the summit they built a raft, loaded the wagon onto it, and poled the 3 mile long Lake Keechelus “to more favorable slopes at its outlet.” The Houser family reached Ellensburg “only” after 3 weeks of travel, staked a homestead and stayed put. (Small wonder.)

The 1909 Seattle-Pacific-Yukon Exposition in Seattle created a big demand for road improvements as tourists flocked west. Finally in May 1915, a real road over the summit became a reality. It still took nearly a day to travel the short distance between Ellensburg and Seattle. But the primitive condition of both the road bed and the vehicles barely slowed the progress of east-west or west-east travel.

If you’d care to read more, I recommend The Pacific Northwesterner, Vol. 21, Summer 1977, article by John Prentiss Thomson.

We are now so blessed to have the WDOT live camera on the pass so we know to the minute what conditions are………… on the multi-lane paved highway. The only rocks being in sight are uphill!

Let’s Talk About: Galloping Gertie

Dec20 by Donna Phillips

Still speaking of bridges (from last week), the demise on November 7, 1940, of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a “spectacular” collapse. Likely few of us were witness to this event but via the TV news we knew.

Construction began in September 1938. So the bridge was only four months old but from the time the deck was built, it began to move vertically in windy conditions and workers nicknamed it Galloping Gertie. Remedial efforts were made but to no avail.

The bridge’s main span finally collapsed in the 40-MPH winds on that morning, as “the deck oscillated in an alternating twisting motion and gradually increased in amplitude until the deck tore apart.”

The only fatality was a cocker spaniel named Tubby but people trying to rescue the dog or flee the bridge did sustain injuries.

Efforts to replace the bridge were delayed by U.S. involvement in World War II as well as engineering and finance issues. But in 1950, a new Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in the same location.

Why did Gertie Gallop? “Because planners expected fairly light traffic, the bridge was designed with two lanes and was only 39 feet wide. This was quite narrow, especially in comparison with its length of nearly 6000-feet (the third-longest suspension bridge in the world at the time).” The roadway plate girders were also shallow, another detrimental factor.

You can watch on YouTube a newsreel taken on the day of the collapse. It is a sobering sight.

Source: Wikipedia

NGS 2025 Family History Conference

Dec18 by Charles Hansen

Registration is Now Open for the NGS 2025 Family History Conference

Discount Information for Organization Members

Dear NGS Organization Members, Administrators, and Delegates,

Registration is open for the National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2025 Family History Conference, Tales & Trails, in Louisville, Kentucky, 23-26 May, at the Galt House Hotel. More than one thousand genealogists and related organizations are expected to attend to connect with family history researchers while enhancing knowledge and skills.

Check out the conference website to learn more about our in-depth program covering a wide range of interests, exceptional speakers, fascinating events and tours, and more. Start preparing your entry for the 2025 SLAM! Idea Showcase and encourage people from your organization to participate in FOCUS on 23 May 2025.

Register for the conference by 31 January to get the early bird $50 discount!

Visit the Conference Website and Register Now

Visit the Conference Website

Conference Registration Discount Offer for Organization Members
NGS member organizations can register up to three leaders, volunteers, or employees to attend the NGS 2025 Family History Conference at the individual membership rate if those people are not members of NGS. To use this offer, organizations must submit the 2025 Family History Conference Organization Request Form by Friday, 25 April 2025.

Once the form is received, NGS will create the registration in our system for each individual (up to three people) listed on the submitted form. Each person will be emailed an invoice and can pay their registration with the discounted rate by phone or online by logging in to their account.

The discount offer is only valid at the time of the initial registration, and refunds will not be authorized for existing paid registrations. Please make sure your organization submits the necessary form to receive the discounted rate per person and communicates the process to your leaders, volunteers, or staff to avoid potential confusion.

For complete details and the link to the form, please visit the Organization Registration page on the conference website.

Get Organization Registration Details

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Honors and Awards Luncheon 2025

Dec18 by Charles Hansen

Don’t Miss This One!

The EWGS Honors and Awards Luncheon is Coming Soon!

Register Today!

Don’t miss out on celebrating ourselves and our accomplishments!

Raffles Free Stuff Fascinating Speaker Friends Fabulous Food

Saturday, January 4, 2025

Annual Awards Luncheon

12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Southside Community Center at 3151 E 27th Ave. Spokane, WA 99223

PLEASE NOTE START TIME OF 12 NOON

TOPIC “The Future of Genealogy Societies”

Handouts are available now on the website (print them at home)

Guest Speaker : Dr. Joshua Taylor, president of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, is a nationally recognized speaker. His contributions to the field have been acknowledged through numerous awards, including Rootstech’s Distinguished Presenter Award.

(the Zoom link will be sent to registrants via email the day prior to the presentation.)

Program will include:

Recognition of 2025 Board Members and 2024 outgoing Board members and Past President
Committee volunteers and chairpersons
Recognition of our amazing volunteers! We couldn’t do this without them!

Lunch: Clam Chowder, Creamy Italian Sausage & Pasta and Lentil Soups, Caesar Salad and Bread. Assorted cupcakes for dessert.

**Cost: $40 for members, $50 for non-members, and $20 for zoomers.

How to Register:

DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS DECEMBER 31, 2024

YOU MUST LOGIN TO GET MEMBER RATE

1. TO PAY FROM OUR NEW WEBSITE: On the event listing Click on “register here” YOU WILL BE TAKEN TO THE ‘DONATION’ PAGE. FILL OUT THE FORM AND CLICK SUBMIT. YOU WILL HAVE A NEW SCREEN WITH ‘PAY NOW’. CLICK ON PAY NOW TO ENTER Credit Card DATA.

2. YOU MAY ALSO PAY IN OUR STORE (Click on Store and follow the directions there)

3. You can mail your registration to: EWGS – 816 W Francis, Suite 572, Spokane, WA 99205 (Deadline for mail-in is December 27th)

No refunds after December 31, 2024

The Ways and Means Committee is planning a book auction for April.

Please bring your best genealogy-related books to Paula Davis. She will accept your donations at any meeting.

Let’s Talk About: Farragut Naval Training Station

Dec17 by Donna Phillips

At the south end of Lake Pend Oreille, where Farragut State Park is now near Athol, Idaho, was once nearly the biggest settlement in Idaho. Did your ancestor train at Farragut Naval Training Station?

December 7, 1941, slammed Americans wide awake. U.S. Naval ships in commission on 1 Jan 1942 was 913. By 1 Jan 1944 there were 4167 ships…. over three ships commissioned each day during those two years. Hence the demand for trained men to man this enormous number of vessels. Hence the establishment of the Farragut Naval Training Station on 22 April 1942. Ground was broken that day and a mere five months later recruits started boot camp training.

The logistics of establishing and running this camp were monumental and boggled the mind. A new highway east from Athol was needed; electrical and telephone lines were strung; water and sewer lines were dug. Some 98,000,000 board feet of lumber were used to build the enormous facility on some 4200 acres.

Farragut was divided into six camps. Each camp accommodated 5000 recruits and was nearly self-sufficient with twenty barracks, mess hall, admin building, drill field, sick bay, rec hall, drill hall and swimming pool. (This was the Navy; the men HAD to swim….but why build pools when the lake was right there? Because it’s COLD.)

Procurement of fresh food was a continuing problem. The bakery produced 8000 loaves of bread A DAY and 700 pies AN HOUR. Milk was trucked in, sometimes from 100 miles away.

Farragut soon became Idaho’s largest city with 9 ships’ stores, 8 barber shops, a cobbler shop, a tailor shop, a photo department, 9 cafes and soda fountains and a laundry which handled 225,000 items each week requiring 2500 pounds of soap!

By September 1945, when Farragut was decommissioned, over 300,000 men had been trained there.

Images of America (www.imagesofamerica.com) offers a book; if your ancestor trained there, or worked there, this would be a wonderful read.

Source: The Pacific Northwesterner, Vol. 27, Summer 1983, article by Everett A. Sandburg.”