February * March * April * May * June * July * August * September * October * November * December
Computer Genies of
NW Iowa
5 JAN 2002
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met in the Le Mars Public Library on January 5, 2002. President Darrell Easton called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. There were 18 members and 2 guests present. The secretary’s and treasurer’s reports were read and approved. There is a balance of $654.81 in the treasury.
Lorna Brandt has installed the Liberty Township cemetery records in the Aspen program. There are 815 names entered.
Darrell Easton showed the volume of records of the work done in Rest Haven. There are about 700 entries with 450 of these as actual burials. The pictures taken there were helpful when making the computer entries. 10 funeral homes were involved with the burials. Darrell is still working to make the records more complete by including the pictures and obituaries. Stan Bastman demonstrated the Aspen 2000 program using the television screen. The records are also available in postcard form. Frank Postma has an alphabetical listing of where each grave is located in the cemetery.
Darrell brought a recent article from the Sioux City Journal about the club’s involvement in getting the old Hinton newspapers microfilmed which gave special mention of Iris Hemmingson who did a lot of work with it. John and Betty Winterringer were included in a picture about it.
Frank Postma was appointed to see about putting some type of marker at Rest Haven stating where to find specific graves. Frank also thought that a city numbering or receipt system for Le Mars burials would be helpful.
Iris Hemmingson received 2 sets of microfilms of the Hinton newspapers. It was decided by a show of hands that 1 set would be kept in the library to use and the other one be in the museum vault in case it would be needed at some future date. Some Hinton newspapers are still missing. If these can be found they could also be microfilmed.
Larry Brangwin reported that Red’s Printing would print the napkins for the year 2002 IGS Conference in Marshalltown. It was decided to buy 500 luncheon napkins for $95.90 which would include 3 lines of printing. It was further decided to include the club logo for an additional $25.
“Happy Birthday” greetings on our 8 years as a club were extended by Darrell.
Future meetings:
February - Spencer - Marilyn Bastman will give a basic genealogy program like she gave at school.
March - Sioux City - Will try to get Don Keck to give a program on abandoned cemeteries in Woodbury County.
April, May, June - Walking a cemetery.
John Winterringer moved to adjourn. Seconded by Bill Van Wy. Motion carried.
Lunch was furnished by John and Betty Winterringer and Sally and Stan Oswald.
Edith Staab, secretary
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on February 2, 2002 at the Wilber Aalf’s Library in Sioux City, Iowa. Ten members and 4 guests were in attendance. President Darrell Easton brought the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m.
Darrell gave an update on the Resthaven
Cemetery project, noting that additional information and corrections have been
submitted by Frank Postma and Betty Winteringer from information they have
acquired in researching obituaries, courthouse records, and other sources. There
are 19 burials in the cemetery for whom there are no markers. It was also noted
there were several burials that weren’t recorded in the cemetery book maintained
by the cemetery superintendent. Frank reported there are 584 burials at
Resthaven. The goal is to compile a corrected list, to supply the city with a
copy (the city has taken over Resthaven Cemetery), and to then come up with some
kind of marker/guide to be placed at the cemetery to assist families and
researchers in finding specific gravesites.
The business meeting
was then temporarily suspended from about 2-3 p.m. in order to accommodate guest
speaker Kim Walish, Librarian, for the program. Kim provided handouts to the
group and talked about the various library holdings including city directories
and Sioux City Journals (on microfilm) since about 1870. Indexing of obituaries
started around 1980, and there are a number of files for various clubs and
organizations for which newspaper clippings have been retained, dated and filed.
A number of county and city histories are available for various areas in Iowa as
well as surrounding states. They have a number of census microfilms and will be
getting the 1930 Iowa census film as soon as possible after its release in
April. Also there are a lot of CD-ROMs available for research. She also talked
some about online researching and has been particularly successful using the
Google search engine (www.google.com).
Business meeting
resumed at 3 p.m. The minutes of the January meeting were approved as read.
Treasurer’s report was approved as submitted. It was noted that the meeting
places for February and March were switched around due to prior commitments of
Stan and Marilyn Bastman. The March meeting will now be held in Spencer, with
Marilyn providing the program.
Larry Brangwin had
contacted one of the funeral homes in LeMars regarding the issue of obtaining
funeral home records pertaining to burials in Resthaven to use for the
respective part of the Aspen cemetery program. They were not willing to provide
all the records, but would provide information on an individual request basis.
For the April meeting
we plan to continue the cemetery project by walking the Pleasant View Cemetery
near Meriden. Pat Behrens reported that she has reserved a room at the Meriden
Community Center for the April, May and June meetings. Darrell reported that
consideration is being given to taking photos of each grave marker, from which
information can be taken to enter into the Aspen program. The only documentation
we would need to do is to record the name, marker location (lot #, etc.), and
the respective photo/disc #. Suggestions were made to possibly use index cards,
or to use a form to list several names on one sheet, in lieu of using a whole
sheet for each marker. There are some documentation forms left from the last
cemetery walk which are available for use also. An ideal time of day needs to be
determined in order to get the best quality photos.
In order to promote
membership and encourage the submission of GEDCOM discs, Darrell offered to
provide free one-year memberships to the 3 different persons who submit the
first GEDCOM that (1) puts us over 100 families, (2) puts us over 30,000
surnames, or (3) puts us over 200,000 individuals. Larry Brangwin moved that
these free memberships come from the club funds. Seconded by Frank Postma.
Motion carried.
Kathy Fischer moved to
adjourn meeting. Seconded by Frank Postma. Meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m. Lunch
was provided by Kathy Fischer and Sally Oswald.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorna Brandt, Acting Secretary
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
2
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on March 2, 2002 at the Spencer Public Library Round Room in Spencer, Iowa. Ten members were in attendance. President Darrell Easton brought the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.
There was no secretary report given and it was reported that there is $808.18 in the treasury.
Stan Bastman updated the group on a query he received from Helmut Kaemmerer in Leverkusen, Germany. Helmut e-mailed a GEDCOM file to Stan. After discussion Frank Postma made a motion with Esther Connell seconding to give a free membership to any none member who donates a GEDCOM file to the club.
Darrell updated the group on what is happening with the IGS. IGS is trying to get all genealogists into a database for a chapter membership. The goals they are trying to achieve are for members to help each other and be notified of IGS events. We tabled any motion until we have more information regarding this membership list.
We also tabled a motion to have a vendor table at the fall conference at a cost of $40. We will discuss this again later in the year.
A motion was made by Stan Bastman with Mary Storely seconding to place a quarter page ad for $13.50 in the conference syllabus with Stan designing the ad.
Frank Postma updated the group regarding the booth the IGS would like to have at the Clay County Fair. He has written for an application but it does not sound promising that this will happen.
The meeting was adjourned. The program for the afternoon was a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation by Marilyn Bastman on “What Is Genealogy” that she did for a final class project at ILCC. Lunch was provided by Mary Storley and Marilyn Bastman.
Acting Secretary
Marilyn Bastman
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
6 APR 2002
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met Saturday, April
6, 2002 at 9:00 a.m. in the Pleasant View Cemetery at Meriden. The hardy
souls who braved the bitter cold north wind to walk the cemetery were:
Clay Nemmers, Kathy Fischer, Larry Brangwin, Lorna Brandt, Darrell Easton, Frank
Postma and
Stanley Oswald. They broke briefly mid-morning for a coffee break and
to warm up and went back until 11:30 when they ate a hot meal, compliments of
Sally Oswald and Pat Behrens. Other members brought dessert, chips, etc.
In the afternoon, the same people were back at the cemetery
with Stan Bastman, instead of Frank.
Darrell Easton, president, called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. with 14
members and one guest present. The minutes were read by Lorna Brandt in
the absence of the secretary. The minutes were approved.
Treasurer Kathy Fischer reported a balance of $804.58.
The report was accepted as read. Larry Brangwin presented a bill for
$142.57 for napkins printed with the Genies logo to be used at the annual IGS
Conference in Marshalltown in October. Stan Bastman moved the bill be
paid, seconded
by Frank Postma, motion carried. A bill for $13.16 for 89 copies of
obituaries will be paid to John and Betty Winterringer on a motion by Larry
Brangwin and seconded by Lorna Brandt. Motion carried.
The subject of having a table at the IGS meeting was
tabled again.
IGS would like to have genealogy groups send in their
membership data bases. Larry Brangwin and Marilyn Bastman moved and
seconded that we send in ours. Motion carried.
The winners of a free membership for 2003 for sending
in their GEDCOMs were Stanley Oswald and Frank Postma.
The meeting was adjourned.
The meeting reopened briefly for Frank Postma and Larry
Brangwin to move and second that the rent for the Meriden Community Center ($25)
be paid. Motion caried.
The group returned to the cemetery and finished.
As a result, we will meet at LeMars in May instead of Meriden.
Pat Behrens
Secretary pro-tem
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met in the Le Mars Public Library on May 4, 2002. President Darrell Easton called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. 14 members were present.
T here were 2300+ members last year. At the beginning of 2002 about 400 were dropped. At this time more than the 400 are enrolled again. There is hope that by the end of 2002 there will be a large increase. At the end of last year the organization was in the red financially but is now operating in the black again. Darrell is in charge of the Conference this year.
Program: Where and
how to keep the old records was discussed. More on this in the future.
Secretary,
Edith Staab
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
1
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on June 1, 2002 at the Le Mars Public Library in Le Mars, Iowa. Thirteen members were in attendance. President Darrell Easton brought the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m.
The secretary’s report was not available, but can be seen on our website. Darrell read the treasurer’s report, noting a balance of $645.79. This was accepted as read.
There was discussion about future programs and the possibility of using club funds to obtain speakers or to sponsor a special program with another genealogy club. No specific programs or recommendations were made at this time.
The issue regarding the present server for our club website, and alternatives, as well as the issue regarding obtaining a domain name to better reflect the group’s purpose, were discussed. Stan Bastman then moved that we remain with the present server and provide payment for this service at $60 for a year server lease and new domain name, and that we obtain a domain name to better reflect the mission of this group, namely computer.genies.com. The website can still be accessed by using the current address “acsnet.com/genies” as long as we are using this server, and the new domain name could also be used to “point to” that site. Clayton Nemmers seconded the motion. Motion passed.
A concern was brought up by Clayton Nemmers regarding the member’s addresses all showing up on email correspondence we receive from Darrell. Does this increase the potential to pick up or spread viruses, or could this be prevented by putting the addresses into a “blind copy” rather that under “to” or “cc”? It was noted that all the addresses are still available on the website. No specific motion was made at this time.
The next meeting, July 6, will be held at the Le Mars Public Library again.
It was moved, seconded, and passed to adjourn the meeting.
A program was provided by Stan Bastman. He responded to questions from the group, and also showed us various things we can do with Family Tree Maker and the Windows programs, including transferring Family Tree Maker reports to a word processing or spreadsheet program, utilizing the “right mouse button” for various functions that most of us were unfamiliar with, reviewing the flexibility of report writing in the Family Tree program, etc. Stan encouraged all of us to experiment with using the “right mouse button” in various programs and on the desktop to see what all functions can be done with that, including using it at the Start button and click on Explore.
Refreshments were provided by Sally Oswald and Frank Postma.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorna Brandt, Acting Secretary
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on July 6, 2002 in the Le Mars public library meeting room at 1:30 p.m. with President Darrell Easton presiding. There were 16 members and 1 guest present.
The secretary’s report was read and approved. Darrell reported a balance of $665.79 in the treasury.
A guest from California, Mike Delperdang, introduced himself. He is researching his family history and has also had some done for him by Betty Winterringer. He came especially to attend a family reunion in Marcus on Sunday.
Old business: Domain name
The name www.computergenies.com is already being used.
www.computergeniesofnwiowa.com was suggested. Stan Oswald moved that we adopt this as our domain name; seconded by Larry Brangwin; motion carried. Our web page can also be found under the title “Iowa Genealogy Club”.
Darrell suggested that we try to get speakers for our meetings and encourage more people to attend. One suggestion that he had was to invite Marilyn Finke to speak. She works in the Kansas City archives. She would charge a fee and would also need some other expenses such as meals and transportation paid. Darrell has quite a number of other suggestions listed in a folder. He would like to have some members volunteer to be on a committee to bring suggestions for this to the other members. Please volunteer for this if you are interested in helping with this.. It will be brought up at the next meeting.
Larry Brangwin is going to find out how much a bus trip to Des Moines would cost if we would decide to stay overnight at the genealogical library. He will also find out how much it would cost if we took the bus to South Dakota to see Cindy Howell’s presentation.
New business:
Darrell brought a folder displaying different styles of lapel pins that are for sale. They are $6 each and a minimum order is 50. Not much interest was shown for this at the present time.
Larry Brangwin has a new e-mail address: brangwil@lemarscomm.net.
Stan Bastman said that any warnings about a virus should be checked before passing them on.
Larry Brangwin suggested that we have a noon pot luck lunch at West Floyd Park in Le Mars for the September 7th meeting. There would be a short business meeting and then spend some time visiting. The August meeting will probably be in Spencer and will be a continuation of last month’s and today’s programs on the basics of computer genealogy by Stan Bastman.
Sally Oswald provided snacks and John Winterringer prepared the coffee.
Larry Brangwin moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Loretta Mohns. Motion carried.
Secretary,
Edith Staab
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
3
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa
met on August 3, 2002 at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. Eleven members and
five guests were in attendance. President Darrell Easton brought the meeting to
order at 1:30 p.m.
The secretary’s report was approved as
read. Treasurer’s report was approved as read. There were two new memberships,
five discs were sold, and no checks written, leaving a current balance of
$710.79.
All were reminded to get signed up if
you wish to take advantage of the bus trip to Chamberlain, SD to attend Cyndi
Howells’ presentation. Plans are to leave LeMars at 4 a.m. on September 21 and
pick up additional passengers at Luverne, MN. Program registration is from
8:30-8:45 and the program starts at 9:00 a.m. Will be back in LeMars about 7:30
p.m., unless we stop for dinner. Need to get reservations in so that a bus can
be reserved, and we need about 30 passengers in order to cover minimum costs of
bus transportation. Seven had signed up, with 3 more indicating interest at the
meeting. Other local societies will be receiving this offer at upcoming
meetings. Reservations and money need to be in to Larry Brangwin as soon as
possible. Registration will then be handled by Larry. Deadline for registration
is September 1.
There was continued discussion about
future programs, including the possibility of a one-day or 2-day local
conference in Sioux City, LeMars, or other location. No specific recommendations
made. Larry Brangwin will check two facilities in LeMars regarding room charges
for such an event. Due to time constraints, plans for a conference will probably
be delayed until spring.
Stan Bastman reported that the website
with new address is completed, and the re-direction from the old address is in
place. Stan is rebuilding the surname list for Gedcoms received before June. He
asked for member’s help in totaling the number of surnames for each letter of
the alphabet.
Darrell Easton displayed a couple aerial
photos provided by Stan Bastman showing the layout of the Akron Cemetery. Stan
obtained the aerial photos from an Iowa State website.
The September 7 meeting will be held at
West Floyd Park located on 3rd Street S.W. in LeMars. This will be a
noon potluck followed by a business meeting and social hour. Participants were
asked to bring a main dish plus either a dessert or salad.
Larry Brangwin moved the meeting be
adjourned; Stan Bastman seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
Refreshments were provided by Marilyn
Bastman.
The program was provided by Stan Bastman,
addressing additional information and education on various Windows programs,
including Paint, more on copy/paste, and mouse tips, as well as
MS Word, and review of our Computer
Genies website.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorna Brandt, Acting Secretary
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
The Computer
Genies of NW Iowa met
at noon on
September 7, 2002, in the West Floyd Park in Le Mars. A potluck lunch was
enjoyed by the 11 members present.
The meeting
was called to order by Larry Brangwin at 1:15 p.m. The minutes were read and
approved. The treasurer’s report was not given.
Larry had
checked on the prices for meeting rooms in Le Mars. The museum board is asking
$20 per hour or $200 a day for the use of the gym and kitchenette. The Le Mars
convention center charges are $315 for the lower level, $365 for the upper
center, and $105 for the boardroom. There will be more discussion on this at a
later date.
Many aerial
photos can be viewed on a computer at the Iowa State website.
Stan Bastman
presented a bill of $238.74. John Winterringer made a motion to pay this.
Seconded by Lorene Letsche. Motion carried.
John Stephen
Kostick of Miami, Florida, has a website that shows photos of all the cemeteries
on the Island Fehmarn in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
The trip to
Chamberlain to attend Cyndi Howell’s presentation has been canceled.
The October
meeting will probably be at the Cherokee library. November - possibly Le Mars.
December - noon at Uncle Albert’s in Le Mars followed by the meeting in the
library meeting room.
We need a
nominating committee. Volunteers would be appreciated.
Besides Salt
Lake City, Utah, there is a large genealogy library in Mesa, Arizona.
Marilyn
Bastman moved that the meeting adjourn. Lorene Letsche seconded it. Motion
carried.
Edith Staab,
secretary
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on October 5, 2002 at 1:30 p.m. at the public library in Cherokee, Iowa. There were 10 members and one guest in attendance. Vice-President Larry Brangwin brought the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m.
The
secretary’s report was approved as read. Treasurer’s report was not given, but
Larry noted there was no activity during the past month. A new bill was
submitted by Lorna Brandt in the amount of $85.00 for newsletter expenses. It
was moved by Stan Bastman and seconded by Mary Storley to approve the bill for
payment. Motion carried.
Clayton
Nemmers and Stan Bastman agreed to serve on the Nominating Committee. Election
is scheduled for November. Clayton Nemmers and Stan Oswald agreed to serve on
the Auditing Committee.
Larry Brangwin
introduced guest Yvonne Amundson of Cherokee.
Stan Bastman
reported that the updating of surnames on our website has been completed. There
are over 20,000 surnames and over 100,000 individual names in the database. Nine
new GEDCOMs were submitted this year. Members were reminded to submit a new
GEDCOM when information has been added to our family file. Stan also noted that
the most recent newsletter has been put on the website using a different format.
If any problems viewing it, contact Stan.
Emma Ballinger
noted that a special program will be presented on IPTV in December, featuring
the Lewis and Clark expedition traveling up the river. Emma will be part of the
presentation.
Motion made by
Doris Dunn and seconded by Emma Ballinger to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried
and meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
Lunch was
provided by Sally Oswald.
Following the
meeting, there was discussion of various issues regarding the club, including
concerns and ideas to encourage more attendance at meetings, trying to obtain
facilities/equipment for more hands-on computer training, etc.
Respectfully
submitted,
Lorna Brandt,
Acting Secretary
top of page
Computer Genies of NW Iowa
The November 2nd meeting of the Computer Genies of NW Iowa met in the Le Mars Public Library Meeting Room. President Darrell Easton opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. with 12 members present.
The secretary’s report was read and approved.
Darrell gave the treasurer’s report:
Old balance:$710.79
Paid to Stan: 238.74
New balance: $472.05
Stan moved that we accept the treasurer’s report. Seconded by Joretta Mohns. Motion carried.
Update on the Aspen 2000 program:
The man who we received the program from has died. Darrell asked if he could purchase the program. The heirs are asking $4,000 for the program so it was decided not to do anything about it unless an acceptable offer was made.
Update on membership in the IGS:
10 years ago when we applied for membership we were not accepted because some of the counties in our organization were already represented in other clubs. We were accepted only as a Special Interest Group and not as a chapter. Since then the by-laws have been changed and we may again apply for membership., Publications provided by the chapters are printed by the IGS. The chapter receives 40% of the money from the sales and the IGS retains 60%. Stan Bastman made the motion to reapply for membership. John Winterringer seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Stan moved that a position for “Webmaster” be added to the slate for elected offices. This is to be inserted in the by-laws. Clay Nemmers seconded the motion. Discussion followed about having Webmaster an elected or appointed office. The motion carried. We will have a Webmaster position from now on.
Stan Bastman, a member of the nominating committed reported that all incumbent officers agreed to another term of 1 year with the exception of vice-presidency. Frank Postma volunteered for this position and Stan Bastman volunteered for the new Webmaster office. Ethel Heidesch moved that nominations cease, seconded by Pat Behrens. Motion carried. A unanimous vote was cast by a show of hands.
Officers:
President: Darrell Easton
Vice-president: Frank Postma
Treasurer: Kathy Fischer
Secretary: Edith Staab
Librarian: Stan Bastman
Editor: Lorna Brandt
Webmaster: Stan Bastman
Frank suggested that a program committee be organized to plan the next year’s meetings in advance. Marilyn and Stan Bastman and Darrell Easton will be on this committee headed by Frank.
The December meeting will begin with lunch at Uncle Albert’s in Le Mars at noon on December 7. The business meeting will follow in the Le Mars Library Meeting Room. Please bring Christmas treats for the afternoon coffee.
Coffee was served by John and Betty Winterringer.
After the coffee an update on the club’s progress was given by Darrell. The group was organized in 1994 with 39 members. To date it has 36 members. For various reasons people have joined and left over the years. A discussion was held to help come up with suggestions to attract more members including the form and length of the meetings, programs, and advertising.
Ethel Heidesch reported that a museum for Luxembourg research is set up in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Anyone having copies of family trees, etc., to donate is asked to give it to Ethel who will forward it.
Marilyn Bastman moved to adjourn. Seconded by John Winterringer. Motion carried.
Secretary,
Edith Staab
top of page
Computer Genies of
NW Iowa
7 DEC 2002
The
Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on December 7, 2002 at the Le Mars Public
Library, following a noon Christmas lunch at Uncle Albert’s in Le Mars.
President Darrell Easton brought the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. Fifteen
members were in attendance.
The
treasurer’s report was approved as read. Account balance was $387.05. The
November minutes were read. Motion was made by Stan Bastman to accept the
minutes as read, seconded by Kathy Fischer. Motion approved.
A bill was
presented by Stan Bastman for $18.36. Motion was made by Emma Ballinger to
approve the bill for payment. Seconded by Larry Brangwin. Motion carried.
The Auditing
Committee of Clayton Nemmers and Stan Oswald reported the treasurer’s books to
be in order.
Frank Postma,
Vice-President elect, presented a listing of tentative programs for each month
of the coming year. Many have been confirmed and some need yet to be confirmed.
Members were asked for input, and Frank also has a number of other topics in
mind for possible use. It was noted that on the last Monday in January, and the
next three Mondays, there will be adult classes available through WITCC on a
variety of computer topics, including My Computer, Word, Windows 98, scanning,
organizing your computer, etc.
Frank also
noted that he has a video on Family Tree Maker available for viewing, with the
plan that he would show the video prior to the next meeting, around 12:15 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS:
Darrell reported that the Computer Genies of NW Iowa was unanimously accepted by
the Iowa Genealogical Society as a full-fledged chapter member.
Motion was
made by Larry Brangwin and seconded by Kathy Fischer to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Several
members provided a variety of Christmas snacks for lunch.
Darrell Easton
made a presentation on the history of our group and current membership status,
reviewed the group’s mission, and gave us many things to think about to
encourage growth and to attain a stronger organization through assessing our
current strengths/weaknesses, defining and conveying our mission with new
visions, supporting the needs of our current members and potential members, and
engaging the assistance and cooperation of all members in the opportunities that
are available to us.
Respectfully
submitted by Lorna Brandt
Acting Secretary