KANSAS ... I'm here

After a very enjoyable trip across Nebraska and south into Kansas, the Family History Expo gals and one guy arrived at Overland Park, KS close to midnight last night.  Opening the vehicle door we were greeted by a heat wave and wind.  What did we excpect?  It's July.  As we drove through Seneca, KS I noticed a bank temperature sign reporting a whopping 104 degrees. 

For the most part we will be inside for a while.  No worry about what's going on outside.  Today is set up day to make sure everybody enjoys their Family History Expo experience.  Tomorrow morning we will early greeted by the words and wisdom of Lisa Louise Cooke.  She is that amazing gal who hosts Genealogy Gems podcast and has all those great Google tools for genealogists.  Then everybody scatters to their appropriate classes.  The chatter begins as people exchange ideas as well as surnames.  Never know where you will find a relative or at least somebody who will share their genealogical frustrations as well as success stories. 

Stay tuned with the You Go Genealogy Girls and I'll keep you posted on the latest and best of the Expo.  As a lecturer I do know genealogists like to learn.  If they come away with just one idea from my classes, I have succeeded. 

You Go Genealogy Girl #1 -- Ruby

This and That with the Girls

The You Go Genealogy Girls are busy filling summer hours with genealogy, traveling and family commitments.  One thing for sure, we are having fun.  We e-mail each other and chat on the phone, sharing our experiences and plans.  Sometimes our schedules change, but we still focus on genealogy and history and try to put hours into the day for personal time.

Since returning from the YGGG's trip to Salt Lake City in June, I have been traveling with the Family History Expo.  It has been a fantastic summer of meeting people who have a desire to learn about their ancestry.  I have met relatives along the way, enjoyed visiting and sharing tidbits of family information.  The Civil War Conference in YGGG #2's hometown of Alliance, Nebraska was a great experience.

Here it is July 23rd and I leave on the 27th for Overland Park, Kansas.  The Family History Expo there will be another adventure.  Wonder who I'll meet there?  If you are planning to attend, you will have a great genealogy experience.  We are like one big family and all of us, whether beginning or advanced in our research knowledge, are learning.

The weather in west-central Nebraska has been extremely hot and humid for several weeks.  That has necessitated that I spend more time inside going through genealogy files, preparing future lectures, writing a book and also reading books.  I have also enjoyed spending time with my family.  My granddaughter reminded me yesterday that school starts in less than a month.  What?  How did that happen.  Guess the days and weeks of summer are going fast.

Cooler days of September and October will not slow me down.  I am already calculating where I will be going in search of ancestors.  I can always stay inside later and watch it snow.

You Go Genealogy Girl #1 .... Ruby

"Shades" of Fame and Fortune!

The newest issue of Shades of the Departed Magazine has hit the internet and You Go Genealogy Girl #2 has a couple pages of featured scrapbooking designs in the new issue. I am thrilled to have my work included by the footnoteMaven in this issue which is all about "OCCUPATIONS". Most of my scrapbook pages are three dimensional and many end up framed as wall art. They are one of the ways that I like to honor my ancestors and loved ones. fM has included one of my designs that features the Railroaders in my family and another that honors my Great Grandmother. Grandma Effie Gardner had the full time occupation of being Mom to 15 children, raising 12 to adulthood!

I am a regular reader of all of the Shades issues and anxiously await each new issue. I especially enjoyed the article on Barbers in this latest issue and the photos of firemen as I have several ancestors including my Dad who were volunteer firemen.  I love old photos, collect them  and cherish them all...even the ones  in which I will never know the people; my orphan photos! Every issue of Shades of the Departed Magazine offers great insights into the world of antique photographs. If you have not seen the magazines, you can click here and read to your hearts content. Every issue also contains great live links for additional learning and entertainment.

I offer a lecture/presentation about identifying, dating, caring for old photos and learning about vintage fashions in your own collections and the Shades magazines often offer inspiration! My lecture covers the years of 1850 through 1940 and I just gave that program at the recent Civil War Conference in Alliance, Nebraska. I will continue to add to that presentation for future use and will always suggest the Shades Magazines as very helpful for those wanting to learn more about old photos, especially in a very entertaining format.

John and Mary Copsey come to America

I have included a photo in this post of another framed page that both You Go Genealogy Girl #1 and myself worked on to celebrate the lives of our Copsey ancestors who immigrated to America in 1834. It hangs in a place of honor in her home.You can also see my two entries in the Shades of the Departed Magazine on pages 54 and 55.

Thanks again to the fM for giving me fame and fortune!

You Go Genealogy Girl #2, Cheri

Behind the Conference Scene

Getting ready for any conference is no easy task.  There is a lot of work for many months to a year before the conference begins.  The planning takes time and a good deal of volunteer help to pull it off.

On July 6th I arrived in Alliance, Nebraska to get things ready for the Civil War Conference to be held on July 8th and 9th.  Instead of going to YGGG #2's house, I went directly to the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center where I found #2 hard at work with staff members and volunteers.  I pitched in stuffing hand-out bags and figuring out door prizes.

The next day we returned to the museum to assist in decorating, setting up displays and vendor tables.  YGGG #2 decided she needed some photographs to display.  We went to the acquisition room in the basement of the museum.  Actually that is more fun than touring the museum.  Don't you often wonder what lies beneath a museum?  While she looked at many shelves of old photographs, I discovered old hats.  Feeling somewhat silly, I decided to start trying on old hats.  I encouraged #2 to lighten up and do the same.  Eventually we each had an appropriate hat.

One of the staff members wanted the horse "Newberry" in the museum entrance lobby to be decorated for the Civil War.  We found an American flag plus an old tattered quilt.  The flag was draped around the saddle horn and the quilt was rolled up behind the saddle.  I must say "Newberry" looked like a typical Civil War horse.

The You Go Genealogy Girls did not look like Civil War matrons, but we had fun pretending.  Putting on our hats, we posed for pictures, pretending that our husbands or lovers had just gone off to war.  As you can see by the photo, I was very sad, but #2 looks like she may have had mixed emotions.  Maybe she's thinking good riddance.  I have not had that much fun since I was a little girl playing dress-up.

Eventually we returned to the serious job of decorating the museum in Union and Confederate flags and displaying old photographs. By late that afternoon everything was in order for the conference to begin the following morning.  "Newberry" looked grand and the hats were back in the acquisition room.  The show was on the road!