Blog

The November 2008 issue of the CGS News, Volume XXXIX, No. 6, has been mailed out and will be arriving in members’ mailboxes this week. This month’s issue is a scaled back version – only four pages:

• Membership Meeting – Thanksgiving at CGS! – page 1
• Proposed Changes in the Newsletter – page 1
• News for Family Researchers – page 2
• New Members Welcome – page 2-3
• Calendar of Events – page 4

The four-page newsletter was a cost-saving measure that the board took in September. The U.S. economic downturn was just beginning to make headlines so the board took some preliminary steps to curtail non-essential spending. Newsletter Editor Jane Hufft suggested the abbreviated newsletter as a way to save on production and postage costs.

The front-page article – “Proposed Changes in the Newsletter” – addresses some changes that the CGS board has been discussing about the way that the society communicates with its members. Included in the proposal is an exciting plan to resurrect a serial publication similar to the former Nugget. As these plans are finalized, I’ll be reporting them in future posts and in the CGS e-News.

The CGS News is edited by Jane Hufft and produced by Lois Elling.

Thanksgiving at CGS!

Wine Reception at CGS for Volunteers
Hear Their Stories and Visit the Book Sale
Saturday, November 8, 2008
1:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway at 22nd, Oakland, Lower Level

Please join the CGS board of directors for a special wine and nibbles reception to honor our volunteers.

We are so thankful for all the wonderful volunteers at the society who carry out for CGS many kinds of significant and valuable projects, while serendipitously making many discoveries for their own research. Please join us for this delightful celebratory event. Volunteers will be entertaining us with stories of their greatest, best and most surprising discoveries as well as sharing how they assist the society and its members.

Our volunteers are perfect examples of the many rewards and benefits one can gain from being an active part of a genealogical society. Not only have the volunteers improved the society and helped many people conduct successful research, they have made their own discoveries while working at the library. They are the proof that there is so much more to genealogy than solitary online searching.

Everyone will have nametags listing areas of research to help us connect. To acknowledge our volunteers and all the work they do, we’re celebrating them with wine and nibbles and hearing their stories, and you are invited to be part of the fun!

***Please note: An encore presentation of Breaking Down Brick Walls had been scheduled for this date. The presentation has been postponed until early in 2009. If you would like to submit a research problem for consideration, please email Carolyn Steinberg.

Randy Seaver started this meme among the genea-blogger community. I was tagged today by two blogging friends who I have had the pleasure of meeting in person: Schelly Talalay Dardashti Tagged: Fives and Tens of Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog and Maureen Taylor Tag I’m It! An Online Game of Family Tree Magazine’s Photo Detective Blog. I don’t usually participate in memes but I’ll just consider this a continuation of Terry Thornton’s Getting to Know Me Challenge.

Ten years ago I was:

1. planning a trip to Puerto Vallarta with 20 of my husband’s closest friends to celebrate his 50th birthday.

2. the mother of two in elementary school which meant soccer games every Saturday and a lot of carpooling the rest of the week.

3. in a Greek folk dance group with some other moms.

4. giving disaster preparedness presentations to local neighborhood groups.

5. just on the cusp of serious genealogy research after several years of collecting family information.

Five things on today’s “to-do” list:

1. Order a copy of Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol. 20: Co. Tyrone II, 1825, 1833-35, 1840 from the Ulster Historical Foundation. (done)

2. Organize materials obtained from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. (made a dent)

3. Upload and tag photographs from Ireland trip. (done)

4. Clean off my desk (looks better).

5. Work on the CGS Branding project. (tomorrow)

Five snacks I enjoy [the healthy version]:

1. Edamame
2. Blueberries
3. Apple slices
4. Hummus on baby carrots
5. Tzatziki on whole wheat pita

Five places I have lived:

1. Western Pennsylvania
2. Downriver Detroit suburb
3. Ann Arbor (Go Blue! – okay, I’m still saying it but seriously – Toledo? In the Big House?)
4. San Francisco
5. East Bay

Five jobs I have had:

1. Clerk in the corner drugstore – applied at age 4; hired at age 16
2. Cashier/hostess in hotel restaurants – college
3. Retail and hospital staff pharmacist
4. Supervisor, Inpatient pharmacy services
5. Mom (the toughest, by far!)

Schelly included two more categories:

Five places to visit again:

1. Northern Ireland
2. Tzintsina, Greece
3. Sendai, Japan
4. Paris
5. Florence

Five places I want to visit for the first time:

1. Northumberland Co., England
2. Smyrni/Izmir, Turkey
3. Costa Rica
4. Venice
5. Hong Kong

This meme has been passed to many already so I’m tagging some international genea-bloggers:

1. England: Kate Gilby – Kate’s Family Tree
2. Ireland: Rachel Murphy – Irish Family History Blog
3. Sweden: Anna-Karin Schander – Anna-Karin’s Genealogical Blog
4. The Netherlands: Henk van Kampen – Trace Your Dutch Roots
5. Australia: Carol Riley – Genealogy in New South Wales