Friday, 9 June 2017
Jamboree!!! The first day was great! Classes all day, vendor hall opened, and a splendid dinner banquet in the evening. I saw several, actually more than I expected, friends, from San Diego. We should have organized a picture of all of us! A lot of the bigger vendors I just saw in Raleigh, but there were several local ones I haven’t seen in a while. I was glad to see the BLM there again. Last year I had them print out all my 3x great-grandfather's land patents in Alabama. This year I forgot to have them print ones from another family line… errrgh. Nice to see Christine Woodcock of Genealogy Tours of Scotland all the way from Ontario (no, not Ontario, California… Ontario, Canada!). Also, it’s always a pleasure to see author and genealogy lecturer Ron Arons of Criminal Research Press. Ron has a profound sense of humor and quite the intelligent tap dancer (he went to Princeton and tap dances!). My good friend Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings was in full Jamboree mode (again) this year.
The dinner banquet was grand. Jane Van Tour of SCGS asked if I would like to sit at the VIP table. Again, I had to explain that I am not a VIP, I’m just a genealogist wanting to learn. I gave in though! Who wouldn’t want to sit with Lisa Louise Cook and her family! The main event was called “Texas Ranch House: Unveiling “Keeping House” in the Census”, a recalling by Lisa Louise Cook of her family’s experience on the PBS reality show “Texas Ranch House” about a family living in 1867 Western Texas. Lisa was very revealing in her details and the behind the scenes adventures they endured. It was quite emotional at times. Lisa’s husband and one of her daughters were there at tonight’s banquet. I bought the DVD right before I can’t to Jamboree from Amazon. I can’t wait to see it!
Today’s classes I attended:
· Why Become a Professional Genealogist: Preparing for an Exciting New Career or Avocation – Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, MA.
· Google Apps for Your Society – Randy Whited.
· Too Many Marys: Solving Identity and Same Name Conundrums – Jill Morelli, CG.
· Generating Genealogy Blog Content – Michael John Neill.
· Treasures in Township Records – Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG.
· Decoding Secret Societies: Sisterhood in Fraternal Organizations – Michael L. Strauss, AG.
Here are some pictures from this day: (some are blurry)
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| The original blogger lounge with Randy & Linda Seaver and Thomas MacEntee (far right). |
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| One of the new digital signs. |
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| Registration tables. |
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| Getting ready for the first class. I like my back corner seat! |
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| Books! And I forgot to browse them! |
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| Do I feel lucky? Lots of prizes! Randy Seaver won a prize! |
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| Busy vendor hall. |
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| I spy the Genealogy Guys Podcast team! Drew & George! |
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| Bruce Buzbee of RootsMagic. |
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| Family Tree Maker booth. Thanks again to Mark Olsen! |
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| LegacyTree Genealogists all the way from Salt Lake City! |
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| The one and only, Randy Seaver! |
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| Diahan Southard presenting at the Genealogy Gems booth. |
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| Christine Woodcock of Genealogy Tours of Scotland. |
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| Ron Arons of Mind Maps fame. |
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| Jill Morelli, CG. |
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| Good friend Elyse Doerflinger-Morales expecting "James" soon! |
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| The hipsters sit in front for Michael John Neill. |
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| Wolf Leverich of Linkpendium and Richard Sherer. |
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| Friday banquet |
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| Texas Ranch House memorabilia. |
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| Hannah Fullerton and father, Bill Cooke. |
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| Jane Van Tour introducing Lisa Louise Cooke. |
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| Dessert! |
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| Lisa Louise Cook. |
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| Such an in-depth look into Texas Ranch House! |
That's it for Day 1... stay tuned for Day 2!
