The New Year not only brought cold weather but memories from the 4 ladies of the Williams County Genealogical Society (Alice Meuleman, Pat Goebel, Pam Lash and Marty Richie) about their trip to Washington DC. They shared at the January Meeting their exciting, frustrating but fruitful researching trip to Washington DC during the shutdown the first of October. They joined with a group from the Toledo Area Genealogical Society to take the bus trip to DC with the purpose of Researching at the National Archives, Library of Congress and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Oct. 1 brought the government shutdown for some sight-seeing, the National Archives and the Library of Congress.
Since the DAR is mostly private funded, it was open, to the delight of the ladies. Besides researching their wonderful library, a tour of the facilities was given with looks into the period rooms of most of the states in America. Pam Lash told about the tour showing slides of the Ohio, Tennessee, DC, Maryland, Louisiana, Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Missouri rooms. Special interest was given to the Ohio room showing the 1920’s décor.
Even though the shutdown closed many of the buildings for sight-seeing, some of the open air sites were available, for example, Arlington Cemetery. Pat Goebel told about their experience seeing the burial site for John F. Kennedy and Audie Murphy, with slides and a video of the Changing of the Guards which they were lucky enough to see.
Alice Meuleman told about touring the Capital Building led by a retired secretary from the Capital Building with help from a current secretary. They were able to view both the Senate and House in session. Alice showed several rooms in the capital, and the scene painted in the Capital stairway of the Battle of Erie.
Marty Richie told stories about her experience with a WW11 vet while searching for his buddy’s name on the Memorial Wall. She showed pictures of the 911 Park near the Pentagon and what everything meant. Marty also shared more pictures showing places around DC, Alexandra and Georgetown.
Even though the places they original wanted to research were closed, the DAR held many “treasures” about their ancestors.
The next meeting will be February 10, 2014, 6:30pm in the Harmon Room, West Annex, Bryan Public Library, Bryan, OH. The theme is “Monday Night at the Movies”. A DVD of Samuel Clemens will be shown. Bring a snack and or drink, relax and watch the DVD with them.
The purpose of WCGS is the preservation of county records and family research. Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of each month, excluding July and August, at 6:30pm, in the conference room of the West Annex of the Bryan Public Library. The public is invited for all the meetings.
For further information concerning WCGS, visit the Website at www.wcgs-ogs.com or write to WCGS, P.O. Box 293, Bryan Ohio 43506.
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