Drawing of the Kenai bluff by James Evenson

Welcome to the Kenai Community Library

163 Main Street Loop, Kenai AK 99611
Telephone 907-283-4378 Fax 907-283-2266

 Totem Tracers Genealogical Society - April 2008

The next meeting will be Wednesday May 14th at the Kenai Community Library in the Conference room at 6:00 p.m.

Totem Tracers Genealogical Society - totemtracers@hotmail.com -2nd Wednesday of the month 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Kenai CommunityLibrary

Ancestor Research Saturdays - 2nd Saturday 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Kenai Community Library

Kenai Community Library, 163 Main Street Loop, Kenai
M-TH 10 :00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. , Fri & Sat 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Sunday noon - 5:00 p.m.
Membership dues . . . $18 per year plus $1 per meeting for the book fund

Totem Tracers Officers
Loretta Mattson, President
Tracy Miller, Vice President
Betty Idleman, Secretary
Gladys Nichols, Treasurer
Virginia Walters, Library Liaison
Elaine Howell, Member-at-Large
Send items for the newsletter to Elaine at cmgirl@acsalaska.net

A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT:
Hello Everyone

Get ready People!  Here comes summer!  No—Wait a minute—It’s snowing!

So goes my day. Perfect weather to do research on weather. Well it is a good time to reflect on the weather you have experienced in your life time. I can remember the big snow of 1947 in Wisconsin and I was very ‘young’. Or the time the rabbit and chicken barn collapsed during a tornado.  Never did find all those rabbits.

Be sure to write this down for future generations. Dig around in your pictures and I’ll bet you will find someone standing on a snow bank or next to a roofless building. A little short story with pictures never hurt any relative.

What I am getting at is: You are important……. and the future generations will wonder what you did and what you thought during a big event whether it was weather related or something else like the Kennedy assassination or 9/11.

Happy May Day, Mothers’ Day, Memorial Day and great and productive researching.
Loretta Matts

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May meeting will be a refresher course on resource materials we have.

June, July and August will be work sessions.  Feel free to bring projects to work on, questions and brick walls.  We can brainstorm with the group and see what suggestions are brought up for brick walls.  If you need help with filling out forms, or other areas of research feel free to come in and ask for help.  WE WILL BE THERE TO HELP YOU!

!!!!ELECTION NEWS!!!!

• Every two years Totem Tracers holds elections for Officers and Committee members – it will be time for elections again this fall.  If you would like to run for office or be on a committee, please let a current Officer/Committee member know and we will be happy to see that your name gets added to the nominations list!  All positions are up for election.
• Officer Positions are: President, Vice President/Program, Secretary, Treasurer, Library Liaison, and Member at Large.
• Committees are:  Membership, By-Laws, Book selection, Newsletter, Cemetery Book, Research, and Historian.
  

WEBSITES OF INTEREST:
www.newspaperarchive.com – subscription site
American Cultural History, the 19th Century: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/19thcentury.html
Resource for Military History:  www.wtj.com/portal
Sources for Genealogy cartoons: www.offthemark.com and www.genetoons.com

THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF RESEARCH

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance. George Bernard Shaw

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future. Gail Lumet Buckley

I trace my family history so I will know who to blame.

Genealogy: A hay stack full of needles. It's the threads I need.

Summertime usually means Family Reunion time and that means pictures.  To be sure that you get the best pictures possible from this year’s reunion, here are a few photo tips.

• Make a list beforehand of the different pictures you want to be sure to get;  i.e. each individual family, generational groups (3,4 + of same family, cousins from same generation, etc), a group shot, oldest & youngest
• To get the best Group Shot have someone outside the family take it.  Have him or her stand on a ladder, if one is available, or table in order to get above the group.  Make sure the photographer can see everyone’s face!!
• Turn your flash on!  Even outside the flash is helpful in preventing faces from being in shadow.
• Don’t forget those location shots – whether your reunion is at the family farm or a special place be sure to get area shots as well
• Look for different angles to shoot from; when photographing a child get down on their level, shoot down on a group of people talking or up from the middle of them, use your imagination and have fun!
• You won’t always want to get “head to toe” shots of everyone so being careful where you cut people up is important.  For example, if you include someone’s waist, include their arms & hands; you can cut someone off just above the knees but if you go mid-calf then please include their feet, and cutting someone off at the shoulders is fine but you must include the head.
• Remember, the most memorable photographs are those that just happen.  It’s not necessary to pose every shot.  Pictures of people, especially children, when they don’t know the camera is on them are always the best.

If you will have access to a computer with a cd burner, you can download and copy the pictures for everyone right there; be sure to bring plenty of blank cds!
Have fun and Happy shooting!
Elaine