Old Newspaper Ads Are Hilarious

If you read the blog post for Nov 5th, you know where this next comes from:

We of the EWGS Obit Indexing Project get slowed down a bit in this work because our eye is drawn to the old newspaper ads:

Think Perma Tweeze worked?????? 

EWGS Obit Indexing Committee Update

The hard-working members of the OBIT committee have now been working for a year to create a database of where to find a specific obit from the Spokane papers since day one. 

 

Above are Jeanne Coe, Sonji Rutan, Donna Phillips, Lynn Krogh, Duane Beck, PJ Farrance-Rabel, Sandi Gaffney, Patricia Flint, Lynda Keenan and Charles Hansen. 

This photo shows a huge step toward completion of the project. Thousands of obits have been clipped from newspapers and glued onto cardstock and then alphabetized in archival boxes down at the MAC. The upright cards indicate those needing indexing. (Sandi is The Queen here; she's indexed hundreds of names/obits already!) 

Goal is to have a Guide To Finding Spokane Area Obits on the EWGS website soon.................. interested in helping? Contact Donna. 

Did Our Ancestors Mark Halloween?

In your family stories, do you have any mention of how your ancestors might have marked Halloween? Or is this just a 20th Century Wall Street phenomenon? Did they at least maybe carve a pumpkin? (Or were pumpkins FOOD in days of yore?)

Have you a carved squash on your front porch yet? Know when/where that custom originated? Thanks to Wikipedia, here's the answer:  It is believed that the custom of making jack-o'-lanterns at Hallowe'en time began in Ireland. In the 19th century, "turnips or mangel wurzels, were hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces," were used on Halloween in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.

November Meeting: WWI and WWII Research

Happy reminder of our next EWGS meeting, this next Saturday, November 2nd. 

EWGS member Sue Richart is coming down from Colville to teach us about doing World War I and World War II research. 

Her handout is available on our EWGS website; please print it out for yourself to bring along as there will be very limited copies that day.

Hope you'll come and learn about doing some military history research taught by a really knowledgeable presenter.

Boxes Of Books: Goodbye To Our Books

Soon, very soon, we bit goodbye to our EWGS Genealogy Collection housed for over 80 years (since 1935 when EWGS was formed) at the downtown Spokane Public Library.

As you may or may not know, SPL is closing for a major remodel that will take two years. When reopened, the downtown SPL will be a Community Resource Center and not a "book library" like we oldsters remember and love. 

Some 85% of the books in all areas will be removed. Imagine that... of 100 books on the shelf, only 15 will be left. That, of course, includes the Genealogy Section. What few of our book SPL wants will be merged into the Northwest Room.

The rest of our genealogy resource library have been distributed to various places. The LARC Center on Whidbey Island took some 500 books. Members will be/have been invited to come pick. And the bulk of the collection will be happily given to the Family History Library in Salt Lake at their invitation. They are sending a truck on Monday, November 4th.

Now you know the rest of the story; rumors are true. Somewhat. 

Good News & Bad News

Good news and bad news for today. This "news" came up in the discussions of your EWGS Program Committee at our follow-up-to-the-Fall-Workshop meeting. 

While we all realize there is no Magic Pill to swallow to help you find all your genealogy answers

but there are Magic Pearls!!! 

And where do you find or obtain or get Magic Pearls?? By looking for them, duh. 

Think of this oyster. First you had to deep dive in cold water to find the rascal, then risk your fingernails to pry it open, but VIOLA, look at the pearls! Each colored pearl represents a fact about your ancestor for which you've been seeking. 

The point of this silly post, and of our recent EWGS Fall Workshop, are that answers ARE, indeed, out there. We have but to go looking.

It's October! Leaf Peeping Time!

I love the changing colors of fall; I think everybody does. Do you think your ancestor "loved" it too or felt gloomy at the obviously approach of cold weather??

As a third grader, I read this in my folks' Readers Digest:  "Nature blushes before she disrobes." Or more recently, "In the fall, Mother Nature puts on her party colors." Or this: "Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day."  (Shira Tamir)

I snapped this photo at our MAC museum. Go down to Browne's Addition and walk about for yourself to see our glorious colors.