Warrens Will Speak At ‘State Fair’

‘Come To Our State Fair!”

is the theme of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society’s spring seminar, April 17 and 18, with dozens of genealogy-related events occurring simultaneously.

James and Paula Warren of St. Paul, Minn., personable and knowledgeable genealogy speakers known nationwide, will conduct sessions on a variety of topics.

One subject is “Old Settlers Records,” discussed by Paula. I heard this talk at the National Genealogical Society conference last May, and it’s well-worth hearing again.

She tells how many area settlers formed groups or clubs in their later years and, with their descendants, realized the importance of preserving the memories and records of their pioneer experiences.

These recorded memories are often the only extant records for the beginning years of a town, county or state. Paula will tell where these records might be located now and how to contact an old settlers society.

The EWGS State Fair will also include 12 miniclasses, a full room of vendors from across the country, society tables, door prizes and super raffle items. There will be an early-bird event from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday; and sessions from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The State Fair will be at the Doubletree Hotel in the Spokane Valley at Sullivan and I-90.

Registration fee includes admission, syllabus, door-prize tickets and three meals: lunch and dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday. The cost is $90 for EWGS members, $100 for non-members. After March 1, the fee will be $130 for any registrant. Send your check to State Fair, EWGS, P.O. Box 1826, Spokane, WA 99201.

Contact Shirley Penna-Oakes, seminar organizer, at 276-1740 for more information.

And mark your calendars now. You don’t want to miss this event!

Marvelene Carney, an EWGS member with Texas roots, is spending the winter with her husband and cat in their motorhome in Texas. She recently sent me some Texas information to share with you. Here goes:

The Confederate Research Center, on the Hill College Campus, east of Hillsboro, Texas, has more than 5,000 Civil War-related reference items, especially for the Confederate South. There are capsule histories of all 3,220 Confederate regiments and a large archive of original material. This is the place to supplement your search for your Johnny Reb ancestor.

For $15, center officials will do a preliminary check of their holdings for information on your ancestor. Contact them at P.O. Box 619, Hillsboro, TX 76645. (It’s open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays but closed during the noon hour.)

The Dallas Morning News runs a weekly genealogy column written by Lloyd Bockstruck, who is also supervisor of the Dallas Public Library’s genealogy section. Bockstruck accepts queries and questions pertaining to Texas history. Contact him at P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265.

Marvelene included a clipping from the Dallas Morning News that clears up an old mystery:

Most biographies of actor Tom Mix say he died in a car crash. While that’s true, the rest of the story is that Mix, not trusting banks, demanded silver dollars in payment for his performances. When the accident occurred, a heavy bag of silver coins, which was resting on the window shelf behind him, crashed forward, breaking his neck. Now you know.

, DataTimes MEMO: Donna Potter Phillips welcomes letters from readers. Write to her at The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. For a response, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review