Minutes of the 2009
Meetings
February * March * April* May
* June * July * August * September * October* November * December
January 2009
The meeting was
cancelled due to weather conditions.
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February 2009
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met February 7, 2009 in the LeMars
Public Library at 1:30 PM.
The program was given by President Wayne Johnson demonstrating
Gensmarts.
Retiring and income officers provided lunch.
President Johnson called the business meeting to order at 2:40
PM.
18 members giving name, town and roadblocks to be solved in 2009
answered roll call.
Minutes of the December meeting were read and approved as presented.
January meeting was cancelled due to weather.
Officer reports for the year 2008 were distributed to the members
present.
Announcements: IGS newsletter and “unfound persons”. Treasurer
Madeline Meyer distributed business cards to the members who have paid 2009
dues.
The January 2009 and the 2008 Annual Treasurers Reports were accepted
as presented. Copies attached.
Newsletter Editor Lorna Brandt is starting to compile notebooks for
each of the officers of Computer Genies and gave copies to the officers this
meeting.
Moved and seconded to approve the bill presented by President Johnson
of $23.75 for the 2009 program booklets. Motion carried.
No Query reports.
The Remsen Bell owners are not willing to have the bound copies of the
Remsen Bell taken apart and micro filmed. The deadline for grant applications
is April 1, 2009. Microfilming is the only acceptable medium to preserve
records.
New Business:
Moved and seconded that when the regular meeting of the Computer
Genies falls on a National Holiday, the meeting will be cancelled. Motion
carried.
2009 Program books are available for members.
Linda Mohning presented a form for collecting the history of NW Iowa
“Low German” descendants and asked for constructive criticism to improve the
form. She also passed around a Google book, “Google Your Family
Tree”.
Iris Hemmingson noted that the 1897 Plymouth County Directory is
available on the NW Iowa Genealogical Society web site and hard copies are
available for $15.00.
News releases for meeting was discussed and which media outlets to
use.
Sioux County meeting of the NW Iowa Genealogical Society is Feb 23
7:00PM in Sioux Center.
The next meeting of the Computer Genies is March 7, 1:30 PM at the
LeMars Public Library.
The April 4th meeting, 1:30 PM, will be a tour of the Mental Health
Museum with the business meeting @ the Cherokee Depot.
Moved and seconded the meeting be adjourned. (3:48PM) Motion
carried.
Kent Erickson, Secretary
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March
2009
The Computer
Genies of NW Iowa met March 7, 2009 in the LeMars Public Library at 1:30
PM.
The program was given by
Phyllis McMillan on Citing Sources using Legacy 7.
Kent Erickson provided
lunch.
President Johnson called
the business meeting to order at 3:04 PM.
13 members and 2 guests
were present.
Minutes of the February
meeting were read and approved with minor corrections.
Treasurers Report was
presented. Copy attached.
Moved and seconded to
approve the $9.00 bill to mail program booklets to members not in attendance at
last meeting. Motion carried
No Query this
month.
Old Business,
none.
New
Business:
Announcements:
The April 4th meeting, 1:30
PM, will be a tour of the Mental Health Museum with the business meeting @ the
Cherokee Depot.
May 2nd meeting will be on
Cemetery Records.
Grant application deadlines
for Iowa Historical Society has been moved from April 1 to May 15 this
year.
Woodbury County Genealogy
Society will meet March 14 with the program on beginning genealogy and Greek
Family history.
NBC will air the program
“Who Do You Think You are?” on April 20th 7-8 PM central
time.
Moved and seconded the
meeting be adjourned. (3:40 PM) Motion carried.
Kent Erickson,
Secretary
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April
2009
The Computer
Genies of NW Iowa met at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute on Saturday April
4, 2009 @1:30 PM.
The group was given a
guided tour of the Mental Health Institute Museum and the history of
MHI.
The business meeting was
held at The Depot meeting room in downtown Cherokee.
Lunch was served by Lorna
Brandt, Lorene Letsche, & Linda Wheeler.
President Johnson called
the business meeting to order at 3:30 PM.
15 members were
present.
Minutes of the February
meeting were read and approved as presented.
Treasurers Report was
presented. Copy attached.
President Johnson reported
that he received a $45.00 check from Peter & Joan Dangerwood of Newcastle,
CA for research done by Linda Mohning.
No Queries this
month.
Old Business,
none.
New
Business:
Moved and seconded to give
$25.00 to Cheryl Gordon for patient needs at MHI and $10.00 to the Cherokee
Depot. Motion carried.
Announcements:
President Johnson has
changed jobs and will be moving to Carroll, IA, but will continue his
responsibilities as president of the Computer Genies.
May 2nd meeting at LeMars
Public Library will be on computer Cemetery Records.
June 6th meeting will be at
the LeMars library, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Sioux County Genealogy will
meet April 27 with Ruth Postma giving the program on German
Hausbarns.
Frank Postma would like
some help updating the list and pictures of stones at Resthaven Cemetery, rural
LeMars. Wayne Johnson volunteered.
On April 24th Western Iowa
Tech will have a program on the Khrushchev visit to the Roswell Garst
farm.
Moved and seconded the
meeting be adjourned. (4:05 PM) Motion carried.
Kent Erickson,
Secretary
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May 2009
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Le Mars Public Library,
on Saturday, May 2, 2009. Due to technical difficulties, the business meeting
convened at 1:53 p.m. Vice President Timblin called the business meeting to
order at 1:53 p.m. 14 people were in attendance. The minutes of the April 4,
2009 meeting were read. Karen Harrington made a motion, seconded by Janet
Manning, to approve the minutes as presented. All voted aye to approve the
minutes.
The Treasurer’s Report was presented by Madeline Meyer. Copy
attached. Emma Ballinger made a motion, seconded by Frank Postma, to approve
the Treasurer’s Report as presented. All voted aye to approve the Treasurer’s
Report.
Old Business: None.
New Business: Discussion was held about receiving the meeting
minutes in electronic format. President Johnson said he can send the meeting
minutes, via e-mail, with the meeting agenda. Discussion was held about having
the minutes posted to the website. The minutes have been submitted, but have
not appeared on the website. Further discussion was held about putting the
minutes into a pdf format prior to e-mailing them to the members.
Next month’s meeting will consist of a computer workshop at the Le
Mars Public Library, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Madeline Meyer asked about
refreshments for the day. It was the consensus that beverages will be
furnished and lunch will be “on your own”.
Announcements:
June 18 – 21 Kingsley 125th Celebration
June 20, 2009 – Ice Cream Days in Le Mars. In place of the
genealogy meeting, information will be available at the Museum.
Linda Ziemann published a book about Plymouth County; it will be
available 6/15/09 for $21.99.
There will not be a Computer Genies Meeting in July.
Frank Postma talked about updating burial records for Resthaven
Cemetery; and stated he might not need Wayne’s help with the computer records
project. Frank stated that Scott Langel stated the City of Le Mars will pay
the expense of $271.42.
Linda Ziemann has found information on the birth of her mother, who
was adopted.
The photograph on the cover of Linda Ziemann’s book, “Images of
America Plymouth County” is a picture of the Brunsville Booster Club Band,
which was provided by Karen Harrington. One band member was identified as
Henry Jelkin, on bass drum.
Lunch was provided by Wayne Johnson.
Karen Harrington made a motion, Janet Manning seconded, to adjourn
the meeting. All voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
Following the business meeting, Mary Holub presented a program
about cemetery records.
Maureen Timblin, Vice President
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June
2009
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at
the Le Mars Public Library on Saturday June 6, 2009 @10:30
AM.
13 members were present during the day, with 7
bringing laptops to log on to the different programs they
use.
After a lunch break Frank Postma led a discussion on
the different ways various cemeteries mark the graves of
veterans.
President Wayne Johnson told of the programs, SMOG
(Start Menu Organizer) and Keypass, a program to keep track of passwords that
also encrypts the information.
President Johnson called the business meeting to
order at 2:10 PM.
Members introduced themselves, home town, and
favorite vacation location.
Minutes of the May meeting were read. Moved and
seconded to approve the minutes as presented, motion carried.
Treasurers Report was presented. Copy
attached.
No Queries this month.
Old Business, none.
New Business, none
Announcements:
Discussed meeting notices, need to better utilize
the Computer Genies web site and keep it up to date.
There will not be a meeting on July 4, 2009 as the
library will be closed for the holiday.
The August 1, 2009 meeting will be held at the Sioux
Center Library.
The Sept 5, 2009 meeting will be held at the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sioux City.
Moved and seconded the meeting be adjourned. (2:30
PM) Motion carried.
Kent Erickson, Secretary
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July 2009
No meeting held
due to July 4th Holiday
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August
2009
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Sioux
Center Public Library on Saturday August 1, 2009 @1:30 AM.
6 members and 4 guests were
present.
Frank Postma introduced Wilma Vande Berg who
gave the group short tour of the library and an in depth description of the
genealogy area within the library (books, newspapers, & plat
books).
Lorna Brandt served lunch.
President Johnson called the business meeting
to order at 3:00 PM.
Members introduced themselves, hometown, and
favorite book.
Guests from Clay county were Sue Rehberg,
Sharon Heschbeck, & Mary Storley.
Minutes of the June meeting were read. Moved
and seconded to approve the minutes as presented, motion
carried.
President Johnson mentioned the Iowa
Genealogical Society Newsletter, Family Tree magazine, Family Chronicle, &
Internet Genealogy.
Treasurer reported there was no activity this
month, the balance is $1038.51
No Queries this month.
Old Business, none.
New Business
June Pallesen has submitted her resignation as
web master for the Computer Genies. Wayne Johnson & Linda Mohning are
working with Westel and Midlands.net to change who has authorized access to the
web site. The last time we were billed for the web site by Westel was May 7,
2008. Wayne 7 Linda will check into the billing and keeping the web site
current.
Announcements:
The Sept 5, 2009 meeting will be held at the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1201 West Clifton, Sioux City,
Iowa.
Moved and seconded that we give a $30.00
contribution to the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society. Motion
carried.
Moved and seconded the meeting be adjourned.
(3:30 PM) Motion carried.
Kent Erickson, Secretary
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September 2009
The Computer Genies of NW
Iowa met at the Family History Center of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints on Saturday September 5, 2009 @1:30 PM.
17 members and 3 guests were
present.
President Johnson introduced Becky Knepper
who gave a brief explanation of how and why the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints keeps family and genealogy records. Ms. Knepper demoed the
computer programs and explained the data files available at the Family History
Center.
Maureen Trimblin served
lunch.
President Johnson called the business
meeting to order at 2:13 PM.
Members introduced themselves, hometown, and
genealogical “brick walls”.
Minutes of the August meeting were read.
Moved and seconded to approve the minutes as presented, motion
carried.
Computer Genies web site update. Wayne
Johnson & Linda Mohning are the authorized persons with access for the web
site. Currently the Genies owe Westel $45.00 for May to September 2009. Linda
will have the web site billed through her personal phone account, as the charge
will be $120.00 per year instead of the normal $240.00.
The nominating committee will be selected at
the October meeting, a slate developed, and the election of officers at the
November meeting.
Treasurer’s report. Paid $30.00 to the
greater Sioux County Genealogical Society, the balance is
$1008.51
No Queries this month.
President Johnson asked for any ideas for
the Genies web site be emailed to him.
Old Business, none.
New Business
Joretta Mohn’s volunteered to provide lunch
for the October meeting.
Frank Postma told of the possible closing of
the Mental Health Institute at Cherokee and is concerned about keeping patient
records intact and available in the future. The HEPA (patient privacy act) law
may determine how those records are kept or disposed of.
Announcements:
The October 3, 2009 meeting will be held at
the Le Mars Public Library @ 1:30 PM.
Moved and seconded that we give a $30.00
contribution to the Family History Center. Motion carried.
Moved and seconded the meeting be adjourned.
(3:30 PM) Motion carried.
Corrected minutes
Kent Erickson, Secretary
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October 2009
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa
met at the Le Mars public library on Saturday October 3, 2009 @1:30
PM.
12 members and 2 guests were
present.
Vice-President Timblin presented the program
on interviewing people who may have the needed genealogical
information.
Lorna Brandt & Madeline Meyer served
lunch.
Vice-President Timblin called the business
meeting to order at 2:40 PM.
Members introduced themselves, hometown, and
the person they would most like to interview, living or dead.
Minutes of the September meeting were read.
Moved and seconded to approve the minutes as corrected, motion carried.
Corrected copy attached.
Treasurers report was given, copy attached.
Moved and seconded the report be accepted. Motion carried.
Queries: Linda Mohning received a request for
information on George & Lucinda Wallrath.
Madeline Meyer was asked for recommendations
on genealogy software to run on a Mac.
Old business:
Moved and seconded that the Genies form a
committee to put together a directory of resources for genealogy research.
Motion carried. Included in this directory could be court houses, churches,
and cemeteries and to have the directory on our web site and the web site and
direcory “linked” to other genealogy web sites.
Maureen Timblin & Linda Mohning
volunteered to be the nominating committee for the 2010 election of
officers.
New business:
The following are ideas for the 2010 programs:
have Earl Belt speak on some of the resources available in the counties to our
south, keeping your password secret, visit the Cherokee Archives, have a
professional genealogist speak and describe how they became a professional
genealogist, devote a meeting to answering members questions about genealogy
and/or have panel speak to common questions and how to find
information.
Announcements:
The November 7, 2009 meeting will be at the Le
Mars public library @ 1:30 PM with a program about writing and publishing
books, also the election of officers for 2010.
The December 5, 2009 meeting and program on
transferring audio and video from cassette and VHS to computers will be at the
Le Mars public library @ 1:30 PM
Moved and seconded the meeting be adjourned.
(3:30 PM) Motion carried.
Kent Erickson, Secretary
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November
2009
The
Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Le Mars Public Library on Saturday,
November 7, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. Ten members and one guest were
present.
A program on Writing and
Publishing Books was presented by Maureen Timblin, Lorna Brandt, and Linda
Mohning. Several different types of family history books were available for
display and review.
Refreshments were
provided by Linda Mohning.
Vice-President Maureen
Timblin called the business meeting to order at 3:12 p.m. Minutes of the
previous meeting of October 3 were read. One correction was noted: Under
Queries, the sentence “Madeline Meyer was asked for recommendations on
genealogy software to run on a Mac” should read “Madeline Meyer asked for
recommendations…”. It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes as
corrected. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s report was
given by Madeline Meyer. The balance last month was reported as $978.51. A
check has been issued to Wes Tel for our web page in the amount of $135.00.
One check for $30.00 has not cleared the bank as yet. There was $40.00
received for research done by Linda Mohning, and a check for 2009 dues received
today. The balance in the checkbook as of today is $893.51. Motion was made
and seconded to accept the treasurer’s report. Motion
carried.
Unfinished
Business
Regarding ideas for our
website, there was some discussion on a Directory of Resources and what to
include in the directory. Linda Mohning and Maureen Timblin will form a
committee to come up with a format of various items to include. Linda will
send an email to all members in December to gather input and to invite members
to help on the committee to collect the needed information in order to provide
web site users references to help them in genealogical research, to include
available places for research, dates and times the places are open,
etc.
Frank Postma encouraged
people to take advantage of state grants that are available yet to get old
newspapers onto microfilm and digitized. Jeff Brown of Heritage Microfilm
would be a good person to talk to for assistance in getting started or if you
have specific questions. More information available at
www.heritagemicrofilm.com or www.newspaperarchive.com .
Election of Officers for
2010
The nominating committee
of Linda Mohning and Maureen Timblin presented a slate of nominees for each
position. Lorna Brandt requested removal of her name from the position of
Newsletter Editor. There were no nominations from the floor. Paper ballots
were distributed for voting. Election results: Larry Epling, President;
Maureen Timblin, Vice-President; Lorna Brandt, Secretary; Madeline Meyer,
Treasurer; Maureen Timblin, Newsletter Editor; Wayne Johnson, Webmaster; and
Frank Postma, Librarian.
Announcements
The next meeting will be
held December 5 at the Le Mars Public Library. Members are reminded to bring a
Christmas potluck item (treats) to share with others for
refreshments.
The January 2, 2010
meeting will be held at the Le Mars Public Library. This will be the 16th
Anniversary of the club.
Moved and seconded that
the meeting be adjourned at 3:56 p.m. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted
by Lorna Brandt,
Acting
Secretary
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December
2009
The
Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Le Mars Public Library on Saturday,
November 7, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. Twelve members were present.
Wayne
Johnson gave a program on various options for us to transfer our old audio and
video recordings to CD/DVD for storage.
Refreshments were provided by members attending.
President
Wayne Johnson called the business meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. Introductions
were done with each person giving a special holiday memory.
Minutes of
the previous meeting of November 7 were read. It was moved and seconded to
approve the minutes. Motion carried.
No report
available from the Treasurer.
Query:
Wayne
Johnson reported briefly on a query received from a person in Washington state
who had photos from her grandmother who was originally from the Emmet/Dickinson
counties. He will forward more information regarding the query to all
members.
Officer
reports:
Wayne
expressed appreciation to all outgoing officers for 2009 for their service, and
to incoming officers who will be serving in 2010. Lorna reported that the
newsletter will be coming out, although later than normal.
Unfinished
Business:
Ideas for
website: Wayne will be checking into the possibility of a member log-in to a
members-only site on our web site. Also may just have a link to Plymouth
County Teachers information on the GenWeb rather than maintaining the listing
on our web site.
New
Business:
Larry
Epling brought up the idea of starting our regular meetings at 1:00 and having
a half hour to 45 minutes of “computer clinic” prior to the regular program,
followed by the business meeting.
The January
2, 2010 meeting will be held at the Le Mars Public Library. Larry Epling has
also reserved this meeting room for February and March.
Moved and
seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 3:56 p.m. Motion
carried.
Respectfully submitted by Lorna Brandt,
Acting
Secretary
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