Tag Archives: Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society

Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society Meeting

by Charles Hansen

Monday, February 11Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Local society meetings)Douglas County PUD Auditorium1151 Valley Mall Parkway, East Wenatchee WAGS members and guests are invited to a round table discussion on”Your Research: from ‘the Pits’ to the Mountaintops!” where we will share, first, mistakes we have made; and second, things we did well in our research. Come and profit from others’ experiences!
For more information, call 509-782-4046, or visit the WAGS website (www.wags-web.org)

Five Societies Earn Innovative Grants

by Roxanne Lowe

In an announcement made at the WSGS Annual Meeting on 26 May 2018 in Vancouver, five local societies were  awarded Innovative Grants for special projects and purchases. The grants, up to $100, are designed to support the inventive and creative efforts of WSGS-member societies and organizations. Each society’s proposal was scored and ranked by a review team.

2018 Innovative Grants were awarded to:

  1. Eastside Genealogical Society to help pay for “The Photo Detective” Maureen Taylor workshop to celebrate the society’s 40th birthday. Ms. Taylor will present “Finding Family History in Your Picture Mysteries” on September 15 in Bellevue. Society members will get to attend for free while the public will pay a small fee. For more information about this workshop, click here.
  2. Lower Columbia Genealogical Society to purchase genealogical books to donate to the Longview Public Library for public use. Lower Columbia has generously donated books for a number of years, using money from membership dues and their coffee stops.
  3. Okanogan Genealogical Society to help purchase supplies to repair and preserve books holding the “Tonasket Times” newspaper from 1913 – 1952. Each book uses an entire roll of special archival document repair tape. This grant will buy a few rolls of tape to stop the destruction of the collection.
  4. Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society to help publish a book on “Early Stillaguamish Valley Schools” in the Arlington Area. It’s taken years to gather historical documents and photographs for this project from the 1800s to the early 1940s and now they’re ready to publish.
  5. Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society For the 4th consecutive year, WAGS has applied for an Innovative Grant to promote genealogy in their area. This year, they’re focusing on the digital preservation of family records, library holdings and archival documents. They plan to preserve family histories and archival materials of their society, its members and the community.

The Innovative Grant program was started in 2015 to support the inventive and creative efforts of local societies and organizations. When created, Recognition Chair Roxanne Lowe explained, “We know that local societies can do a lot with very little, so we’re hoping the Innovative Grant Program will be what you need to jump-start a project that has been dreamed about for some time.”

WAGS Leadership Team Awarded 2017 Outstanding Volunteer Honor

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 500 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2017 award recipients and learn why they received the 2017 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society Leadership Team

Today we’re introducing the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society’s Leadership Team (WAGS). The team members are Shirley Acheson, Phyllis Barnett, Barbara Congdon, Hank LuBean, Sandra McBride, Patty Ostendorff, Lynda Pheasant, Susan Rumble and Mary Swartz.

This team made an extraordinary commitment to the value of planning for long-term success of WAGS. Each year the team has participated in a series of strategic planning sessions, and has diligently pursued the process of building leadership skills. The former broad mission statement was reformatted into the concise statement: “WAGS connects, collects, and protects family histories.” The Board Operational Calendar, established as an outcome of previous strategy sessions, was revised to better reflect current operations. Key committees now provide written reports each month for Board meetings. Budget requests are submitted in advance of the coming year, available for year-end review and planning by the budget/finance committee. To raise the overall leadership skills of its board members, an educational component is incorporated into each monthly meeting.

In addition to serving an elected or appointed position, each person on WAGS’s Leadership Team also voluntarily contributes in multiple areas to create the successful genealogical organization that WAGS has become.

The dedication and commitment of the WAGS Leadership Team illustrate that it richly deserved being a recipient of a 2017 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Roxanne Lowe, Interim Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.

The Legend of the Coyote Mascots — and a Happy Reunion!

by Roxanne Lowe

WAGS Coyote (right) sitting with twin brother AppleSox Coyote on the steps of the WAGS Museum Annex Building. (Photo by Barbara Congdon)

Many years ago, two coyote brothers were romping the hillsides around Wenatchee. Playing hide and seek, the twins exuberantly worked their way into the mountain heights, losing track of time and place. The coyote youngsters were lost – neither twin could find tracks made by the other brother.

Before long, one of the youngsters was found by a coach hiking in the high hills, and taken to a beautiful ballpark in the city to spend his days. The other coyote was eventually rescued by a librarian and taken to Wenatchee just in time for presentations of the first Art on the Avenues. The Coyote was shaped into a new role, creating within him a voracious appetite for reading. He eagerly devoured a book of poetry by Blue Flute, and read whatever else he could get his hands on, most often a candy wrapper.

After many years of sitting on the steps of the Museum Annex Building, in 2016, the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society officially adopted WAGS Coyote as its mascot. No more reading just a candy wrapper – this astute WAGS Coyote became a genealogist. He researched books, maps, and even census records, and inquired of all the people he greeted at the Genealogy Library if they might know about his brother. At last, WAGS Coyote located his brother at the AppleSox ballpark in Wenatchee!

The ballgame on Sunday, July 23rd is celebrating their reunion at Paul Thomas Field in Wenatchee! You are invited to join in this celebration as the Coyote mascots make history! For more information, visit the WAGS website. Cheers to AppleSox Coyote and WAGS Coyote!!!

Story by Lynda Pheasant, Past President, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society

Joanne Calhoun Honored with President’s Award

by Roxanne Lowe

President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement honoree Joanne Egbert Calhoun

In an announcement made at the WSGS Annual Meeting on 22 Apr 2017, Joanne Egbert Calhoun was awarded the WSGS President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award, made by WSGS President Virginia Majewski, is designed to single out that rare individual, society or organization that has demonstrated exemplary service above and beyond expectations. And Joanne certainly exemplifies that.

Veterans memorial shrine, Wenatchee City Cemetery

Joanne has been a member of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) and its predecessor since 1945, and is often called the “glue” that has kept the society active and strong.  Her willingness to serve as WAGS Treasurer for over 40 years, as well as president for three years, demonstrates exemplary service above and beyond expectations.

Over the years, Joanne has recorded and indexed cemeteries in Chelan and Douglas Counties, as well as indexed 38 years of society’s “Appleland Bulletin” (1972 – 2010). But a few years ago, she really stepped up her involvement, turning a community project that began with the observation, “somebody ought to…” into a full-time commitment.  She identified and collected the histories of World War I veterans once honored in an American Legion Memorial Shrine located at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall, which, sadly, was abandoned when the Hall was destroyed by fire. In 2009, representatives of WAGS, the Wenatchee Valley Museum and the City of Wenatchee arranged for relocation of the memorial building to a place of honor in the Veterans’ section of the Wenatchee City Cemetery.  Joanne’s extensive research and compilation of records included those whose identities had been desecrated or were missing from the monument. After completing four large notebooks containing records for all Chelan and Douglas County veterans serving in World War I, Joanne summarized her efforts, “I thought they shouldn’t be forgotten.”

In determining the award recipient, President Majewski said, “There were some great nominations for the President’s Award and all are certainly deserving, but Joanne stood out as demonstrating a lifetime of contribution to the community.” We honor her accomplishments.

Wenatchee Area GS Adopts Coyote Using Innovative Grant

by Roxanne Lowe

WAGS Coyote

Hello, Mr. Coyote, how do you fare
Sitting and reading on the museum stair?
You are so handsome—really, quite dapper
Completely absorbed in your candy wrapper.

This excerpt of a poem written in 1996 by Mrs. Ella Dillon, a local writer and poet, was the perfect coda at the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society’s (WAGS) recent “adoption ceremony” of “Coyote Reading a Candy Wrapper.” Renamed the WAGS Coyote, the sculpture by renowned Northwest artist Richard Beyer, was originally installed in 1995 by Art on the Avenues, a non-profit promoter of the arts in the Wenatchee Valley. That same year, the coyote was voted Wenatchee’s favorite sculpture, purchased by the city and placed on the steps of the Museum Annex at 217 S. Mission Street — the home of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society Library.

Since 1996, Coyote has been “fostered” by Terry and Suzanne Sorom, supporters of the Art on the Avenues program. At the adoption ceremony, the Sorom’s were delighted to officially transfer to WAGS their baton of care and concern for WAGS Coyote.

Using their 2016 Innovative Grant, WAGS hosted the not-so-serious adoption ceremony and celebration as the WAGS Coyote became their official mascot. The event was also an excellent opportunity to promote WAGS and its resource library with approximately 600,000 pieces of information. Local dignitaries, including the Mayor of Wenatchee, attended the unique event and toasted the occasion with Tree Top apple juice, a local favorite.

The WSGS Innovative Grants, up to $100, are designed to support the inventive and creative efforts of WSGS-member societies and organizations. Up to five grants will be awarded in 2017.

In addition to WAGS, last year’s grant awards were made to:

• Jefferson County Genealogical Society – upgrade software designed to index and preserve more than 400,000 local records.
• Whitman County Genealogical Society – assist with the purchase of a new society computer, 22” monitor and portable hard drive to ensure back-up of files.

The deadline for the Innovative Grant application is March 1, 2017. The simple application is only ONE page and is available here. Additional guidance on the program is here.