Conference Is Heady Time For Genealogy Buffs
‘There is a MAGIC in the air at a national conference,” says Karen Mauer Green, publicity chairwoman for the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
“This same magic is certainly present at smaller meetings, just in smaller doses. Never is it as potent or exhilarating as it is when a couple of thousand genealogists gather for four days of genealogy.
“And, although we can document its existence, we can’t quite determine its source.
“What causes the magic that brings national conference attendees back time and time again?”
I add my voice to Green’s in urging you to attend the upcoming FGS conference in Seattle, Sept. 20-23. Why shouldn’t you, too, have that for-genealogists-only experience?
Green details why that special feeling exists at a national conference:
“Is that feeling there because there are thousands of genealogists in the same place at the same time who all understand exactly what it feels like when you’ve finally found a record you’ve been seeking for years?
“Is it because someone tells a joke that only a genealogist could understand and the whole room laughs? Very unlike the blank faces you might see on your family and friends at home.
“Is it because you overhear a woman mention her Lefflers in Washington County, Penn., and just like that, you’ve found a cousin? Is it because you have lunch with her to discuss your Leffler families and discover that you didn’t find only a cousin, you found a friend, too?
“Is it because the huge exhibit hall makes you feel like a kid in a candy store? Never have you felt so pleasantly overwhelmed by all the choices. Even if you don’t intend to buy, looking is such great fun.
“Is it because you meet such interesting people that you continue your conversation until well past your normal bedtime, completely unwilling to let the evening end? You can always sleep when you get home.
“Is it because everyone present understands that your ideal vacation involves sitting in libraries and/ or pulling dusty books off shelves in a courthouse attic and/or fighting poison ivy in a neglected cemetery - and you love to talk about it?
“Is it because not a single person there thinks you’re a bit odd for spending all your spare time tracking people down who are long dead? What’s more, they respect and share your obsession!
“Is it because you go home with your head swimming with ideas on new places to look for those elusive ancestors, and new methods to go about the search? A national conference is like a four-day college course in genealogy.
“Is it because you go home knowing that you would never hesitate to attend another national conference if you had a half a chance? You certainly go home with a renewed dedication to attend every local seminar, workshop and conference possible!
“Actually, the MAGIC of a national conference derives from all these factors, but it isn’t something the conference committee can supply. Instead, the magic comes from folks like you and me who come to learn, see, visit and enjoy.”
I wholeheartedly agree with Green. Come to a national conference for the program, for what you’ll learn, for the expertise of nationally recognized speakers. Come for the exhibits and demonstrations. But definitely come for the MAGIC.
As FGS is a federation of genealogical societies, one of its goals is to furnish help to local genealogical societies. Accordingly, the first day of the conference (Wednesday) will be mostly filled with classes designed to help society board members with program planning, bulletin problems, financing … Wednesday evening Jean Roth of Seattle will present a slide show on cemeteries titled “The Late Great.”
Curt Witcher, FGS president, will preside at the official opening of the conference at 8 a.m., Thursday. Opening keynote speaker, Marsha Hoffman Rising, will discuss the goals and motives of the 30,000 people who traversed the Oregon Trial.
From then on - 8 in the morning until 8 at night - dozens of lectures, demonstration and presentations will be offered each hour. Speakers are even scheduled during the luncheons!
While sessions go through Saturday, the closing banquet will be Friday. James Arrington will present “The Farley Family Reunion,” a one-man comedy based on the happenings at everybody’s family reunion.
The cost for the entire conference is $90 (by Aug. 1; $130 thereafter). The luncheons and banquet are extra. There is, however, a small food court, and other eateries are nearby. The Red Lion Hotel/Seattle Airport, south of downtown Seattle, is conference headquarters.
It’s not too early to call and book your FGA room; call (206) 246-8600. There are other hotels nearby.
For a brochure detailing lodging, costs and a complete program listing, contact Sally Gene Mahoney, FGS/SGS Conference, 8511 15th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98115. You can leave her a message at (206) 368-8393.
On another subject: Thanks to those readers who wrote about contacting genealogical societies in England. If you’ve been timid about writing across the ocean to those societies, go right ahead!
Reader Leanna Morice from Bonners Ferry, Idhao, wrote saying she had four positive responses to her 13 letters within two weeks!
Also, as a postscript to a January column on Norwegian bygdebokers (farm/family name books), the University of North Dakota sent me an updated guide to its collection of these special books. A copy of this 72-page guide will be placed in the Genealogy Section of the downtown Spokane Public Library. But, if you’d like a copy showing the county (“fylke”) or community (“kommune”) where your ancestors lived, with an eye to accessing that bygdeboker, send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope in care of this paper.
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review