RootsTech: Where Old Friends Gather To Learn New Stuff

Miriam and I are just back from attending the 4th annual RootsTech and it was wonderful. It was Miriam's first time and first time to Salt Lake City and it was fun to share her excitement. We roomed with another "old" EWGS friend, Cecily.

One of the best things about attending RootsTech is the opportunity to be among the first to hear about new and wonderful projects: "Cap'n Jack" was there telling folks about FamilySearch's new project to gather and index obituaries. With a loud AARRGGGG he would explain that "dead men tell no tales but their obituaries do!"  Everybody had their picture taken with Cap'n Jack. 

For you long-time members of EWGS, you'd never guess who I ran into at the Family History Library: Ron Bremer!  Back in the late 80s he was prominently in the genealogy news having edited the Compendium of Historical Sources, a 20-pound book that sold for $100. He came to EWGS twice, as I recall, and NeWGS once, to promote his book and give us some teachings. I well remember a Q&A time with him (back when I was a new-newbie) and I marveled at how he knew an answer to everybody's questions. I was so surprised to see him as a missionary in the Library. Do you remember Ron Bremer??

One session we attended was on finding the treasures hidden in archives............ what a wonderful lead-in to our March meeting where we will be visiting our very own Washington State archives! And while we may not have Washington ancestors (I don't) we will learn how an archives works and how to access the wonderful collections from any archives.

I'll sign off this post with a great quote I gathered:  Today is the day before.