Troy Historical Society Presentation

We want to share with you a presentation given by one of our Whitman County Genealogical Society members, Joye Dillman. 

 Joye Dillman of Pullman will give a historical presentation on toys and games enjoyed by children before computer games and the internet at 6:30 PM, Wed., Nov. 20, at the Troy Historical Society.  Joye's presentation is titled "For the Fun of it:  American Childhood Toys and Games."  She is a museum correspondent docent with the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and a retired professor of human development at WSU.  Attendees are welcome to bring their antique toys to add to the displays at the event.  The society is located at 421 S. Main St., Troy, Idaho.

Love This Apartment Name!

Spotted this small apartment building on West Riverside. I just HAD to get out of the car and take a photo. I think it's just the darlingest name for an address I've ever seen.

TAG Meeting Today: Patricia Flint Shared Her Story

Our TAG meetings are the second Thursday of the month, and soon to be relocated to the Indian Trail Library on the far northwest section of Spokane. Marge Mero does an over-the-top job keeping the group on track with her meeting details and email reminders. All are welcome to this group.

Today was a wonderful meeting of TAG (The Ancestry Group). Patricia Flint told the tale of finding out the details of Esther Ewer, her third great-grandmother's, life. And it was a hard one to be sure. Patricia explained some of the resources she used and how networking with Betty Ellis helped her search. 

It moved all of us when she read the affidavit from Esther that explained that her husband went off to the Civil War a strong and healthy man and came home sick with consumption and was never able to work again, leaving Esther penniless with five children to raise. 

Patricia's mother, step-father and "auntie" came to hear Patricia's talk which made it all the more special. 

Another Crazy Newspaper Ad

I spotted this little ad in The Daily News from Nelson, B.C. for September 28, 1906.  What do YOU make of it???

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.