| February 2008 Newsletter |
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| Written by Audrey Cannady Massingill | |
| Wednesday, 13 February 2008 | |
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THE AMARILLO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2008
MARCH MEETING Monday, March 3, 2008 Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. upstairs at the Amarillo Central Library downtown. Visitors are always welcome.
OUR PROGRAM WILL BE
RESEARCHING AT WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY CORNETTE LIBRARY IN CANYON by Mary Jarvis
Mary Jarvis is Head of Reference Services at the Cornette Library at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, a position she has held for the past 7½ years. She has been a librarian for over thirty years including positions as school librarian, hospital medical librarian, and academic reference librarian.
Mary, a member of the Amarillo Genealogical Society, has been interested in her family’s history for a number of years and been working on both her own family and her husband’s family–off and on–for the last ten years.
LAST MEETING "If you want something done, you’d better do it yourself," Barbara West said, opening the evening’s dynamic program. And where better does this apply than to your own obituary? Wouldn’t it be a shame if all the things you did-- that were important to you--were forgotten?
Barbara told us how, as a teenager, she and a friend babysat at the funeral home in Matador, Texas. As a result, she grew familiar with the details of funerals and became at ease with them. "We must remember that dying is a part of living," she said.
The Wests recommended that we write two obituaries: one for the newspaper and one for our families. They handed out checklists for what to include in each version.
They explained the different types of death ceremonies: Celebration of Life—where the minister gives a short talk, and family and friends tell stories about the deceased. Funeral—where the minister conducts the traditional service. Memorial—the same as the funeral but without the body.
Beth Netherton told us how she recently organized a service for a relative where she used a slide show of favorite pictures of the deceased.
The Wests showed us examples of various obituaries and explained the costs of having them printed in the Amarillo Globe News. It was pointed out that prices vary for each newspaper in the country—going from free to thousands of dollars.
To answer a question from one of the members, the Wests advised that the best place to put your finished obituary was with your will. Also, if you want a picture published, you might pick out one now and include it with your papers.
Barbara and Jimmy, as usual, gave us a good program and lots of questions and comments from the audience helped to make this an educational and enjoyable evening.
OPPORTUNITIES At the April 7, 2008, meeting, we will vote for a new slate of officers for the coming two years.
Pattie Easterday has agreed to be the Chairman of the Nominating Committee, but she needs your help in filling these positions.
President: chairs the board meetings and society meetings. 1st Vice President: puts together programs for the meetings.2nd Vice President: prepares the monthly newsletter and mailing labels and delivers them to the printers. Recording Secretary: takes minutes at board meetings and society meetings. Corresponding Secretary: answers any letters received by the society and arranges publicity for the society meetings. Treasurer: handles the money and prepares financial reports. Picks up the newsletter from the printers and gets it in the mail. Historian: takes pictures at meetings and keeps the society scrapbook up to date. Parliamentarian: advises on points of order at meetings. E-Mails: keeps a list of members’ e-mail addresses and sends out notices of meetings and other events. Website: keeps the society’s website up to date. Refreshments: sets up a schedule of volunteers to bring refreshments for the meetings and calls to remind them when their turn comes around.
Here is your chance to spend a little time to help your society and enjoy a closer relationship with fellow members. Please contact Pattie at 806-358-4712 if you are willing to serve in any of these positions.
IN THE MONTHS TO COME April 7, 2008: Researching on the Internet – Aric Brown May 5, 2008: How to Care for Photos and What to do with Old Photos – Cindy Eastland, Hertner’s Camera Store.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Dr. Wayne Atchley informed us that The New Book Section in the genealogical department at the central library, which used to be on top of the file cabinet at the front of the department, is now at the back section where the exchange newsletters used to be. There are still a few handbooks from the October Conference available for purchase at $7.00 each. Pick one up at the next meeting or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , our Treasurer, at 806-383-7119.
The next time you need to make genealogy copies, go to the U.P.S. Store in the Puckett Shopping Center (34th and Bell). Steve, the manager, will let you make copies for 5¢ a page. To get this special price, tell him that you are a member of the Amarillo Genealogical Society before beginning your copying.
The League of Women Voters are hosting a meeting on Monday, February 18, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. at the meeting room in the Sunset Center on Plains Avenue. This is a chance to meet the people who are running for offices in our local election. Spring Seminar of the Oklahoma Genealogical Society. April 5, 2008, Oklahoma History Center, 2401 North Laird Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The event will be an all-day seminar devoted to Military Research, conducted by Craig R. Scott, CG., a leading expert in the field. Details are posted on the website: http://www.okgensoc.org. Pre-registration is advised.
Family Tree Magazine (October 2006) notes that school districts periodically did censuses of their enrollment districts in order to predict future school enrollments. The information contained in these censuses varies by district. Since records for children are hard to come by, these censuses are very valuable to family historians. To find out if a school district in your locality did a census in a time period that is useful to you, check the Family History Library at http://familysearch.org Go to Family History Catalog, then to Place Search for your state and county and click on "school" when the results come up.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY Dues for 2008 are now over due. If you haven’t paid yet, please send your check to Myrtle Jones, Treasurer, P.O. Box 2171, Amarillo, Texas 79189. The cost is $15.00 for individuals and families and $25.00 for a contributing membership.
COFFEE AND COOKIES DEPARTMENT Nadyne Lynn provided a delicious assortment of cookies to go with our coffee at the February meeting.
GENEALOGY WEB SITES YOU CAN USE: Ancestor Hunt Free Genealogy Search Engines
Ancestrally Challenged
Ancestry.com (a few free databases, but most are only accessible through a paid subscription.
Ancient Faces
Archive Grid
Ask.com
Association of Professional Genealogists (APG)
Behind the Name: Etymology and History of First Names
BirthDatabase.com
Black Studies Center (Pro Quest) http://bsc.chadwyck.com/marketing/infoCenter.jsp
And sometimes when I have become A quiet portrait on the wall Will you, my fair descendant, stop To think of me at all? Suppose your hands are shaped like mine. You have my nutmeg sense of fun Will there be one to tell you so There, when my days are done?
If you love books and fire and songs, And slipper moons on lilac skies, Toss me a look of shared delight From these, my own dark eyes. For there is kinship in a curl, And keepsake in a spoken name And wine of life may yet be poured By hands within a frame. Author Unknown |
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