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

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!

Civil War Conference - Alliance, Nebraska - July 8-9, 2011

If you love genealogy and history, this is one conference you won't want to miss! The Heritage Seekers Society and the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center in Alliance, Nebraska are hosting a two day Civil War Conference on July 8th and 9th. Coming up soon!

Both of the You Go Genealogy Girls will be attending this one and we both will be presenting programs and classes! This should be an awesome conference and we hope to see all our friends there. We are excited to be part of this great Civil War Conference as we support our home town and it's great new museum. Come join us!!!

Titled "Remembering the Civil War...150 Years Later", this will be a premium offer for anyone interested in this part of history. We have been planning this conference for many months and it will be a first for our brand new museum facility. We have one of the finest new museums in the midwest and again, we invite all to join in our conference as we honor the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the memories of those who fought.

We are offering seventeen (17) educational, genealogical and historical presentations over the two days (lunch included both days) and you can attend all classes and presentations, no need to choose only a few. We will have many great prize drawings for attendees throughout the conference as well as huge bags of "goodies" for those attending. (Our first bag has filled all the way up with great giveaways and we are now filling bag two for each attendee--so it's an added free bonus! )  Everyone attending will get great handouts of the classes from several of our speakers so they can study again at home...as the learning never ends with a genealogist or historian! Our 11 speakers are all professionals and well qualified  in their field of study and will offer classes on genealogy researching as well as historical presentations for your enjoyment. This is a top quality conference and we invite everyone to contact us for more information.

To our local residents, your new museum is hosting this awesome event and we encourage you to support the facility and come see what is new!

Here is a sample of what we are offering along with even more...

Civil War research classes

History of the Kansas/Missouri Border Wars

Historical programs on Civil War quilts, along with a quilt show and a local quilt shop will display their wares.

Civil War character portrayals

Classes on the GAR and Lincoln's war time rule

Program featuring firearms of the Civil War........

plus much more! 

We hope to see you all there on July 8th and 9th for a great learning experience.
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For a 4 page copy of our brochure in PDF format, click on the word Brochure below. You can save and print it if you like. It takes a minute to load so be patient!

If the link fails, email me!
Brochure

Email me:   clchopkins@gmail.com  I will email you a copy of the brochure in PDF

Contact for more info:
Knight Museum and Sandhills Center
Alliance, Nebraska
308-762-2384
museum@cityofalliance.net

On the Road Again

On the Road Again is my theme song. While YGGG #2 is home working on the Civil War Conference details, I am off in Lil' Red lecturing at Family History Expos.

A great time was had by all at the Family History Expo in Rapid City, SD on Saturday the 16th. I drove home Sunday in non-stop rain from the Black Hills to south of Alliance where YGGG #2 lives. Once home, tired and wanting to go to bed early, the sirens announced a possible tornado near North Platte. My shelter is my walk in closet. I sat down and read while the sirens roared. Everything was south of town, but eventually the rain began to pour buckets here. It's been raining off and on since. If any of you have kept up with news reports, North Platte's bulging North Platte River does not need rain added to it.

I unpack, do laundry and pack again. Day after tomorrow my granddaughter and I will set out for Loveland, CO to attend the Family History Expo. I will present two classes on Saturday. It is exciting to be with genealogists. I listen to their frustrations and stories and try to offer suggestions. My hope is that they do not procrastinate, but go home and put their new ideas to work.

Once home I can unpack for a longer amount of time until I leave on July 6th for the Civil War Conference in Alliance, NE. I will be presenting three lectures at the two day event on July 8th and 9th. It will be a great learning experience ... conferences allow genealogists to learn and share.

There is still time to register for a Family History Expo. Check out their schedule. You can still register for the Civil War Conference in Alliance, NE. Don't miss out on the fun.

You Go Genealogy Girl #1 ... Ruby