Meeting Places and Romance

A Summer Destination: Genealogy Workshops Across the US

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain perpetually a child. For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?

- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 B.C.

We've referenced the National Archives and Records Administration a number of times* on SeniorWomen.com and want to remind you of the genealogical workshops and records research offered by the Administration:

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.

Xeno-Canto; Sharing Bird Songs From Around the World And Investigating a Victorian Ornithological Adornment

"One winter morning the President electrified his nervous Cabinet by bursting into a meeting with, 'Gentlemen, do you know what has happened this morning?' They waited with bated breath as he announced, 'Just now I saw a Chestnut-sided Warbler and this is only February.' "
— Corine Roosevelt Robinson (on her brother Theodore Roosevelt)

A birding walk on the Filoli estate in Woodside, California a few years ago and inspiration from an unknown warbler some weeks ago in our backyard, led us to this site. Regardless of your attachment to birding, the search might of be of interest to all who hear a song and wonder about the singer. Here are some of the new species entered onto the site:

Green Sandpiper
Canivet's Emerald
Yellow-throated Longclaw
Sharpe's Pied Babbler
Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush

Digging for Roots

by Julia Sneden

About 30 years ago, my husband, who is possessed of an inquisitive mind and remarkable organizational skills, was asked if he could help a relative figure out a genealogical question. It didn’t take much to set John off on a search that answered the question, and his success eventually led him to what has become his avocation. He’s this family’s go-to source for information about my family as well as his, and as the word has gotten out, about the families of a number of friends, too. He has made some surprising discoveries.

Insecurities - Past and Present

Rose Mula writes: Though I desperately wanted a boy to ask me, at the same time I was terrified that one would because I really didn’t know how to dance. As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry about my two left feet. The first of my friends who was invited to boogie thrust her pocketbook at me to hold before she sashayed away. The next two did the same thing. And, incredibly, I let them! So there I stood, wretched and alone, clutching my own purse and three others. I might as well have had a sign around my neck that said REJECT in large, bold letters.