Three Lakes Genealogical Society
October 25, 2021 Meeting Minutes
If a name in the minutes is underlined, it indicates a ÒtaskÓ that person has offered to complete.
Members present: Nancy (1) Bailey, Marie Byatt, Beth Jacobson, Nancy Brewster, Bob Bailey, Les
Anderson, Mari Lynn Garbowicz, Mary Ellen Williams, Cathie Russell
Call to order 1:05 P.M.
The minutes for Sept. 27, 2021 were accepted.
TREASURERÕS REPORT: The checkbook balance is $711.08. The treasurerÕs report was
accepted.
PRESIDENTÕS REPORT: None
VICE-PRESIDENTÕS REPORT: None
SECRETARYÕS REPORT: We received a thank you and donation from someone who shared
a success they had with their family tree because of the obituaries on our website. A thank
you note will be sent. A bank statement was received. Contents from the post office box were
reported on and distributed to the appropriate places.
OFFICER REPORTS FOR THE YEAR 2021
President: Nancy 1 presided over board meetings and regular meetings. She
coordinated with Les to improve the website. Project ideas were presented and supported by
Nancy 1. She also provided assistance with this yearÕs programs.
Vice-President: Marie proposed having TLGS support the We Are Three Lakes Project.
She volunteered to assist patrons on Thursday as part of the Ask Your Local TLGS
Genealogist program.
Secretary: During the 2021 year Beth recorded & reported all the minutes of regular and
board meetings, handled correspondence as directed by the President, maintained
membership records and roster, and assisted with mail duties as necessary and reported on
the contents retrieved from the post office box.
Past President: Nancy 2 organized the project Ask Your TLGS Genealogist. She
supported the President and Board by answering questions and filling in as needed.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
? Ask Your TLGS Genealogist
Nancy 2 thanked the people who volunteered to man the Local History Room in her
absence. She reported that this room should be open full time now. In the future she
would like to promote/publicize this project more.
Marie suggested a poster be put in the Local History Room advertising when help is
available.
Volunteers are needed for November 4, 11, and 18 from 2:00 - 4:00. Marie will do
November 4. If you are interested in one or both of the other dates, please contact
Nancy 2.
? Obituary Project
Nancy 1 talked with Irene. Irene is still trying to contact Kurt Krueger to find out if we
need permission to use the online versions of obituaries for our website.
? Oral History Project
Irene is editing information from oral histories that have already been collected. By
spring they hope to have all interviews transcribed so they have hard copies on file and
have the actual interviews available for the public to listen to online.
We Are Three Lakes Project
Nancy 1 talked with Erica who has talked with the historical society webmaster, Dan.
The historical society is paying Dan to design their website with the understanding that
the website will also host the TNG software for We Are Three Lakes. Erica will be
meeting with Dan again to work on moving this process forward. Marie is interested in
also speaking with Dan as well. Nancy 1 will work toward getting everyone connected
for discussion.
Since three or more entities are involved in this project it was suggested that
responsibilities for each entity be put in writing. Discussion followed.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
? A motion was made by Bob Bailey and seconded by Cathie Russell to elect Marie Byatt
as Vice-President. Marie requested that she hold the office this term until someone else
would be willing to take her place. The vote was unanimous, 9-0.
? A motion was made by Beth Jacobson and seconded by Mari Lynn Garbowicz to elect
Noreen Rossa as Treasurer. The vote was unanimous, 9-0.
? Mari Lynn Garbowicz has volunteered to be the Sunshine person. When someone is in
need of special thoughts, contact Mari Lynn so a card can be sent.
? Bob Bailey volunteered to handle publicity duties. He will work to have meeting
information be included in the Vilas County News Review and possibly other media
outlets.
? Marie Byatt volunteered to work with Nancy Bailey to generate ideas and organize
programs each year.
OLD BUSINESS:
? Bylaws: Bylaws were last reviewed in 2016. One proposed change had to do with
setting dates for our calendar year. The Board is postponing this change until after the
first of the year as more discussion is needed.
A motion was made by Bob and seconded by Marie to change Article V, Section 2, C to
the following:
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS, DUTIES, TERMS, AND VACANCIES, Section 2: Term of
Office and Limitations, C
ÒA member may serve up to 2 consecutive terms in the same office and may serve
again in that office after one year has elapsed since servingÉÓ
The vote to accept the change was unanimous, 9-0.
A motion was made by Beth and seconded by Marie to add Section 3 to Article IV as
follows:
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS, Section 3 Quorum
ÒA quorum will consist of not less than three members that includes at least one officer
and at least one non-officer.Ó
The vote to accept was unanimous, 9-0.
? Christmas Party: The TLGS Christmas party will be Monday, Dec. 6 at noon.
Members and their significant others are invited. Mari Lynn and Beth have the invitation
ready to go. A sign-up sheet will be included in the email for the food each attendee
wishes to bring.
The theme of the party will be ÒTraditionsÓ. Attendees will be asked to bring a dish to
pass and a family artifact reflecting traditions in their family. Be ready to share the
stories! A game will be played to test your knowledge of Christmas traditions around
the world. Attendees will be asked to wear a festive face mask.
? Book Club: Jan. 20th has been chosen as the first meeting date of the book club. The
group will meet in the Tamarack Room of the Demmer Library at 10:00 A.M. The group
will discuss the book Hiding the Past by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. The Demmer and
Crandon libraries have a copy for check out, and it is available on Amazon.
NEW BUSINESS:
? A motion was made by Marie & seconded by Cathie to have the Sunshine person
decide on and give gifts to the Demmer Library staff as a thank you for all they do to
help TLGS. Vote was unanimous, 9-0.
? Microfilm: Beth was informed that the list of available microfilm in the Local History
Room is different from the one on the Demmer Library website. April will look into this
issue.
? Persons wishing to use the computer in the Local History Room may need to ask for the
password at the front desk. April will check to see if this is the process we should be
using.
? Nancy 1 would like to have a Board meeting early in Dec.
? In an issue of Family Tree Magazine there is an article about making family binders as a
way to organize your family tree information.
? A suggestion was made that a fun way to celebrate your background is to shop your
ethnicity. This means buying items, clothing, jewelry, etc. that reflect your ethnicity.
? Member Ideas for 2022:
More opportunities for members to help other members
Marie would like to provide members with training for the We Are Three Lakes software
program.
Reschedule the Nordic Patronomic Names program.
Provide a training/refresher on how to begin researching your genealogy to include both
traditional and digital methods.
Having members share how they do their research
Les was asked about providing training on using Newspapers.com.
Take field trips virtual and/or in person.
Having members mentor new members
Review ÒGetting StartedÓ booklet given to new members. There is information that is
confusing without someone explaining it.
GENEALOGY TIP: These tips from Familytreemagazine.com give additional advice for
working with DNA:
1. If you can get the cooperation of a person or people to whom you suspect youÕre
related, Y-DNA (if you can find male-line descendants to test) or autosomal DNA tests
can help you determine whether a relationship exists. Joining a Y-DNA surname study,
which tests individuals with the same or similar surname to find relationships, also is a
good way to make connections.
2. CanÕt find any male relatives who inherited your maternal grandfatherÕs Y-DNA? Cast
your net wider by climbing further up your family tree. See if that grandfather had
brothers who had sons, or if his father (your great-grandfather) had brothers who had
sons.
3. To wrap your head around the numbers when you get your DNA test results and keep
potential relatives in order, create a spreadsheet for your results. Set up a column for
each marker and enter values for that marker. As potential matches find you through
the testing companyÕs database, it will be easy to enter their results on the same
markers and compare them to yours.
4. Before deciding on a DNA test, clarify the research problem youÕre trying to solve. This
will help you choose the right DNA test and make sure you have the correct person (or
people) you need.
BRICK WALLS/SUCCESSES: A member found their grandmotherÕs middle name by using
the great-grandfatherÕs birth certificate to locate the grandmotherÕs birth certificate.
Program: Review the website. Les led the group through each part of the website.
Discussion included ways to improve, keep/delete, etc. We would like to ask all members
to visit the website and offer their suggestions on how to improve it as well. We
want to know what is most useful to others.
We need feedback as to whether we should keep the surname page or not.
Keep Past Programs page up for now. We need someone to volunteer to take photos
and connect with Les about having him put new content on the page.
It is best for Les if minutes are given to him in PDF format.
Should we include newsletters on the website? Should past newsletters be put up but
not ones from the current year?
The meeting was adjourned at 3:11 P.M. The next meeting is January 24, 2022
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