Monday, July 27, 2009

Next PAF Users Group Monthly Meeting

Our next class will be September 19, 2009, no class is held in August as that is our summer recess.
10:00 a.m. to noon. Morningside Stake Center on River Rd. - St. George, Utah

Robert Booth, Director of the St. George Regional Family History Training Center will enlighten us on the New FamilySearch.org.

Saturday, July 16, 2009 Member Meeting

The meeting started with President Connie Stewart welcoming those in attendance. No announcements were reported.
The meeting was turned over to presenter Bob Kroff.
Bob Kroff is a retired Teacher/Administrator from the Tooele School District. He taught and was principal at Hurricane Middle School in the early 70's, and has owned a grocery store in Springdale, adjacent to Zion National Park.
While employed in the District Office in the Tooele School District he was a Teacher Trainer and traveled Utah and Idaho presenting skills in teaching.
Bob is currently serving a Mission at the St. George regional Family History Training Center, with a special interest in personal histories, as well as currently serving as Vice-President of our Washington County PAF Users Group.
Bob has given several presentations on the importance of personal family history and personal journal keeping to local family history groups and will present at the up-coming Family History and Genealogy Jamboree in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 12, 2009. (We'll get more information out on that Jamboree in August.)
Bob and his brother Joel first presented their Uncle Verl to our group several months ago. Since then they have added more to their presentation.
Due to a prior commitment Joel will not be with Bob today with this presentation.
'Revisiting Uncle Verl' - Bob began his presentation with the song 'Remember Me' written by his son Rob Kroff. http://kroffproductions/com/Remember%20Me.pdf
Remember Me
Words and music by Rob Kroff
Copyright 2007 Kroff Productions
When the golden wheat fields bend and speak of summer
When the autumn colors glide upon the wind
In the winter cold or when spring gives birth to flowers
Remember me
But not for trophies I have won for they do not matter
Fortunes I may have gained mean nothing in the end
But if I was a friend to you or lent to you my shoulder
Remember me
And if you'd grant me one last wish,
I wish that you could see
The wonder that I saw
In every tree and flowing river
All the beauty there.
I hope you learn from all the things I've done
Mistakes that I have made
My humble legacy
Is to leave with you my story
Then you will remember me
As you turn the pages, chapters of a lifetime
As you open memories sketched upon the soul.
Smile when you come across the colors of my journey
Remember me
Let the joy around you, ease the aching spirit
I have only passed beyond the realms of what you see
I am not so far, I am just a thought away
When you remember me
(Chorus)
I am just a thought away
When you remember me
What is personal history? To LDS members it is sometimes just looking for ancestors name and ordinance data. The rest of the world perhaps it's wanting to know who their ancestors were and a bit about their history. Our personal history is just as valuable as that of our ancestors.
And so we were introduced to the personal history of 'Uncle Verl' through his small note books and the video of 'Uncle Verl' put together by Bob and Joel Kroff - the music by Rob Kroff and the video narrated by Bob's niece.
Some excerpts from just the fishing note books of Uncle Verl. There are other note books about deer hunting, goose hunting, etc.
A quiet man who walked, rather than driving when possible, who lived in Tooele, Utah, left for those of us privileged enough to hear his story, a great legacy.....
Every personal history is important. Learn from Uncle Verl and keep those every day thoughts and begin, or continue with your personal history for those generations to come.
Thanks to Bob and his family who put this great lesson on how important and exciting personal histories are.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

July 2009 Monthly Meeting

Saturday, July 18, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the Morningside Stake Center - St. George, Utah
Bob and Joel Kroff will return with 'Uncle Verle Revisited'.
When they first introduced us to Uncle Verle they had a great presentation. The family had gone through Uncle Verle's belongings, after his death, and found Verle's life story in many interesting ways. Misc. items for living and working, items for hunting and fishing. And pocket size notebooks, diaries containing his thoughts and daily activities.
Using all that they found, they put together a video which was enjoyed by all.
Since that first presentation a song has been written to go along with an updated video.
We think you will enjoy this presentation and we invite you to join us.

Third Edition of Crash Course in Family History now available.

Unforeseen delays from the printer delayed the arrival of this book, but the book is now available at your local bookstore. The cost is $34.95.
I just received my copy of Paul Larsen's Third Edition of 'Crash Course in Family History' and sat down to look through the pages. WOW, so much information and so many pages got my attention, and I finally took out a pad of Post-it-notes and started sticking them on pages.
I took an afternoon to go through the entire book and each time I'd come across an area I wanted to check out better I had to tell myself to mark it and move on. Well, 15 sticky notes later I now need to decide where to start.
"Using a computer and the Internet has taken research to such a level in searching information, but with so many sites and ways to go it can just become overwhelming. 'Crash Course in Family History, Third Edition, gives us pages and pages to help us".
Shanna Jones reviewed this book in the Senior Sampler, July 10, 2009 issue, and said, "......If you are serious about learning how to do family history, this is the book for you. The book is a great resource directory for everyone interested in genealogy and family history work, expert and novice alike. It contains up-to-date information for connecting to your ancestors using today's technology."
EasyFamilyHistory,com said, "The companion website EasyFamilyHistory.com is also available to help stay current with all of the new web sites launched regularly, and the new tools and technologies that are taking place in family history everyday".
We recommend you take a look!

Crash Curse in Family History now available