General

On April 18, 25 attendees to our monthly meeting, including nine guests, were treated to a very lively and informative presentation by Jo Lichten. Based on the experience with her own family, Jo explained how to preserve cherished memories for future generations. She showed how to convert photos, slides, and videos into digital formats, either by doing it yourself or by hiring a reputable company for the job. She reviewed equipment for DIYs, where to outsource and what costs to expect. We also learned about the advantages and disadvantages of storage places such as computers, jump (thumb) drives, external backup devices, and the cloud. Thank you, Jo, for a great program!

During our Annual Meeting, on November 15, members had the opportunity to talk briefly about a family heirloom or tell a family history, as part of our traditional show-and-tell. Marcia Pertuz started us off with a PowerPoint presentation on town bands in the early 1900s. We also learned that in NY State each city, town, village, or borough has a town historian, who can be an invaluable source of information. Jim Shroads put time, place and information into context, based on a 90-year-old newspaper that he had found under his house during renovation work. Jean Mann went even further back in time. She showed us a 19th century Nassau County ballot box, and explained how elections were held in those days. Gus Reinwald told us the story about his father’s uncle, an inventor and held many patents, in particular of carnival rides which he opened all over the US and Canada. His story was illustrated by many photos, drawings and other documents. Finally, Dennis Partridge described the accomplishments of Thomas Hanson Braddock (1931-2022), culminating with his induction into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame. Tom had given Dennis a pair of expensive boots, but as Dennis concluded: “I fit in Tom’s boots, but I don’t think I’ll ever fill them”. We thank all the presenters for their very entertaining and informative contributions.

Our October 18 program was a virtual presentation on Finding Women in County, State, and Federal Records: What You Really Need to Know by Margo Fariss Brewer. The presentation was followed by 26 attendees in the Library meeting room and 3 members who signed in from home. Despite some technical difficulties, Margo gave us a comprehensive overview of various records that are most likely to include information on female ancestors.