Three Lakes Genealogical Society January 25, 2021 Meeting Minutes If a name in the minutes is underlined, that indicates a ÒtaskÓ that person has offered to complete. Members present: Nancy Bailey (1), Marie Byatt, Nancy Brewster (2), Beth Jacobson, Noreen Rossa, Bob Bailey, Irene Farkas, Maureen Brand, Les Anderson, Mari Lynn Garbowicz, April Lambert (Demmer Library), Kyle McMahon (TL Historical Society) Call to order 1:00 P.M. INTRODUCTION OF OFFICERS AND GUESTS: Nancy Bailey introduced the officers. President: Nancy Bailey (Nancy 1), Vice-President: Marie Byatt, Treasurer: Noreen Rossa, Secretary: Beth Jacobson, Past-President: Nancy Brewster (Nancy 2). Others introduced were Publicist: Maureen Brand, Guest: April Lambert from the Demmer Library, and Guest: Kyle McMahon from the Three Lakes Historical Society. The Minutes for October 26, 2020 were accepted. TREASURERÕS REPORT: The treasurerÕs report was accepted. PRESIDENTÕS REPORT: Nancy 1 reported that she sent a letter to the membership. She and Les have been discussing updates/revisions to the TLGS website. Nancy 1 has been working with the Board on current and new projects. SECRETARYÕS REPORT: Beth reported that she has sent Nancy 1Õs letter and the membership list with contact information to the TLGS members. She also invited April and Kyle to todayÕs meeting. In addition, correspondence from The Badger Group was received along with an unused stamp as compensation for incorrect postage on a ballot they had asked us to mail back to them. Nancy 1 & 2 reported that they made the decision not to send the ballot in because they did not feel comfortable voting for people they didnÕt know. Beth offered the stamp to anyone who may need to send TLGS mail in the future. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Obituary: Bob Bailey explained that there are 50 years worth of obituaries on the TLGS website, 1970-2019. Nancy 1 collects obituary information from newspapers to include on the website. Bob shared a bar graph that shows the number of obituaries each year is trending up, and the average age of people passing away is rising. Information about the Obituary Project is being included in the TLGS section of the Demmer Library Newsletter. In about a month, Bob will have last yearÕs obituaries ready for Les to put on the website. Oral History: Irene reported that they met their goal of completing 3 oral histories last year. Their new goal is to complete 3 oral histories per month. They have 3 people who have committed to doing interviews, but dates have not been set yet. There are 3 interviews pending and one person who has been contacted, but has not responded. Irene would like more help conducting interviews, but another recorder is needed. Nancy 2 thinks she has one from Erica and will check on this. Interviews have been taking about an hour and can be done over the phone, in person, or via Zoom or BlueJeans. The Oral History group would like to know names of other people they might be able to interview. Irene will be sending April from the Demmer Library a packet of information about the Oral History project. April mentioned that the Demmer and Historical Museum have been discussing the idea of developing Òmemory kitsÓ. These kits may include historical information about local history and possibly the opportunity to do some journaling. Website: Les has been having difficulty uploading information. He is looking for a replacement app that will work better. He is aware that the officer and email information needs to be updated on the website, but will have to wait for the new app to be able to make changes. After some discussion, he will look into both free apps and ones that need to be purchased. Jan. 29, 2021 NOTE: Les installed free software and has updated the website. Nancy 1 reported that there is TLGS information on the Demmer website that has been updated. The Demmer is in the process of redoing their website and will work toward making sure our information is up to date and accurate. OLD BUSINESS: - Christmas Party: Nancy 1 reported that it was fun and went well. Plans are to have a party again this year. NEW BUSINESS: - Dues: Noreen explained that the board had discussed the possibility of suspending dues for 2021 since it is difficult for some to be able to attend meetings. If people have already paid their dues for 2021, each member could decide to put the money toward their 2022 dues or make it a donation for the year. Since this is a change from our bylaws a vote to make the change was taken. Ten voted in favor and none opposed. - Calendar: Nancy 1 explained that a calendar for the year has been created. The theme for this year is learning about DNA in relation to genealogy. Five videos from Brigham Young University will be presented at various meetings throughout the year to teach us about this topic. The remaining meetings will include programs about taking a genealogy Òfield tripÓ, Ancestry DNA, and a collaborative project being proposed by the board. - TLGS Newsletter: Tree Leaves was the name of the TLGS newsletter in the past. There is a desire by the board to still provide a newsletter as a means of communicating to members what the group is working on, providing genealogy tips, and providing information pertinent to our group. The proposal was made that we continue with the newsletter, but only doing it on a quarterly basis. The idea is to make it easier and less time-consuming than before. The length of the newsletter will be determined by how much is submitted to the coordinator. The thought is to create a template and simply fill in the template each quarter. A volunteer is needed to coordinate the TLGS newsletter. If you are interested, please contact Nancy Bailey. Demmer Library Newsletter: TLGS has been invited to include an article in the monthly Demmer Library Newsletter The Library Page. All we need to do is submit the information/article/tip to the Demmer, and they will format it for their newsletter. This would be a way to ÒadvertiseÓ what our group is doing to a larger audience. A volunteer is needed to coordinate this article/information. If you are interested, please contact Nancy Bailey. Nancy 1 submitted information for the Jan. and Feb. issues of The Library Page. - Other business Ð Nancy 2 asked those who have been checking the TLGS email to ÒfileÓ the emails they have answered and/or taken care of into the proper folder. That way, those who check the email know what has been taken care of and what hasnÕt. **Nancy 1 reported that both in person and virtual options will be provided for all meetings until further notice. **Previously in these minutes, opportunities for members to actively participate have been mentioned. Maureen Brand has volunteered to be our Publicist and head the Sunshine tasks. If members are interested in volunteering in other ways, ie: TLGS newsletter, Demmer newsletter, providing assistance to those who have genealogy questions, please contact Nancy Bailey. **Ancestry-At-Home is free until March 31, 2021 with your Demmer Library Wisconsin Valley Service library card. Instructions per Erica: 1. Click on https://ilsapp/wlvs.org/iii/cas/login 2. Enter your card number and 4-number PIN 3. Click ÒAncestry LibraryÓ at the top of your account page. BRICK WALLS : - Nancy 2 was contacted by people with brick walls. One had to do with finding more information about one of their family members. Because of changes in the family situation, they had information about one side of the family, but couldnÕt find information about the other. Since they lived in the Milwaukee area, it was suggested that the County ClerkÕs office be contacted. Sometimes the clerk has a Vital Records department that can be contacted. Looking at their website could be helpful as well. The other brick wall had to do with a familyÕs last name where the spelling was changed several times over the years. The person wondered if a legal process was required to make the spelling changes. In this case the suggestion was made to check with the County Courthouse. PROGRAMS: - Ask Your TLGS Genealogist: Nancy 2 explained that in the past a service called Ò1 on 1Ó was offered to people who had genealogy questions. She is proposing that this type of opportunity be re-established with ÒAsk Your TLGS GenealogistÓ. Nancy is asking that a day/time be established where a member of TLGS would make themselves available in the Local History Room of the Demmer Library. People could then visit during that time to get help, ask questions, and/or learn about the genealogy resources that are available for them to use. Options to provide this service could be in person, on the phone, or via BlueJeans. - We Are Three Lakes Including Sugar Camp and Clearwater Lake: Marie discussed the possibility of having a website that would link genealogy with the history of the Three Lakes area. First, Marie showed a Powerpoint outlining the possibilities of this project. She is proposing that TLGS, the Three Lakes Historical Society, and the Demmer Library would collaborate together in getting this started. In the future other entities within our area could be included such as the schools, organizations, or the Chamber of Commerce. Families could also provide information outlining genealogy information and/or their familyÕs history in the Three Lakes area. A grant opportunity also exists if money is needed in the future. This project would involve using a software program called TNG (The Next Generation). Marie showed an example of what the TNG website might look like. The website is capable of taking information that already exists from all entities and consolidating access to all of it, via links, into one place. Questions that arose included: Do we need a privacy policy? Should we worry about verifying information provided or provide a disclaimer related to this. How would this get organized between TLGS, Demmer, and Historical Society? There was some concern, also that this project is quite big and may seem overwhelming to tackle. Others felt it could be broken down into manageable pieces and that this project could take as long as it needs. It will not be done in a year. It would be a long term project. Representatives from the Demmer (April Lambert) and the Historical Society (Kyle McMahon) attended today. They had positive comments about what they saw and will share what they learned today with their respective entities. TLGS members in attendance today gave the OK to spend $35 for the TNG program. Marie will begin putting information into the program and present what she has done either in March or April. In addition, the group felt more discussion was needed in regard to this project so questions and concerns could be addressed. The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 P.M. The next meeting is February 22, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. You will be able to attend the meeting in person at the Demmer Library OR virtually using BlueJeans. The program topic will be ÒNow Is The Time To Plan Your Genealogy Field TripÓ and a listing of DNA books available in the Local History Room at the Demmer Library will be presented. Submitted: Beth Jacobson, TLGS Secretary TLGS contact email Ð familyhistory@demmerlibrary.org TLGS website Ð www.3lgs.org Sugar Camp, Three Lakes Family Tree site Ð https://dentonlk.tribalpages.com