A truer friend one could never find. Our Barbara Schulz, pictured in turquoise above at her 2004 installation as Osceloa (Florida) Chapter DAR Regent, passed away today following complications in care from her broken leg. She leaves her daughter and son-in-law, three grandchildren and many great-grandchildren, a sister, a half-brother and nephew and a beloved foster brother.
This isn't her obituary. It's setting down a few thoughts before I gather with the family.
It was my honor to live with Barb for many years and learn what selfless love is all about. Everyone loved her. There wasn't a need she didn't try to meet. She was just plain there for people.
There wasn't a potential DAR, 1812, Colonial Dames, DUV or UDC member in Florida that she didn't help process the application. Many a Sunday she and I, and often Audrey would pour over what was provided by a candidate, then work through research challenges to bring those applications up to snuff.
Barb was instrumental in helping bridge the divide between two local DAR chapters. You couldn't refuse her anything. Her positive outlook, and her "can do" spirit has touched us all.
Mr. Myrt and I are traveling to attend to whatever the immediate family would have us do. I'll be playing the organ at the funeral, that much I know. I'll do anything else needed to somehow smooth the rough edges during this tender time. Barb's daughter and extended family all live in Virginia, so Bradenton resources are somewhat unknown to them. I know we can rely on our lineage society sisters to assist.
I'll also be wearing bright, cheerful colors, as I know she does not want us to morn.
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I've cancelled all but tonight's FHConsultants' Hangout for the rest of the month of April.
DearREADERS,
Many US researchers have Germanic roots but don't know where to turn and are concerned about the foreign language and handwriting character set. No worries! The German Genealogy Girl's Podcasthost Ursula C. Krause will be our featured mentor during our GermanGen Study Group hangouts. She is a well-known speaker and genealogy consultant with clients from all over the world. Our sessions are scheduled as follows:
REGISTER NOW
You'll receive confirmation and reminder emails with your personal URL to join the hangouts. There is no fee for these two sessions and you must register for each separately.
Hangouts: Pay what you want. So it's simple. If you value the work Ol' Myrt,+Cousin Russandour beloved panelists do week in and week out on your behalf, please:
Check the DearMYRTLE Hangouts Calendar for upcoming study groups and hangouts. There you'll find links to the GeneaConference (in-person) and the GeneaWebinars Calendar with over over 200 hours of online genealogy classes, webinars, live streams and
tweetchats from other hosts and presenters over the next 12 months.
DearREADERS, Are you up for a lively discussion about the National Genealogical Society's 2017 Conference Social Media Policy prohibiting audio or video recording in the conference exhibit hall? This week's Mondays with Myrt attendees certainly provided opinionated feedback. Facebook Live, Periscope, DearMYRTLE's AmbushCAM and live-streamed mini-classes, say at Lisa Louise Cooke's always popular booth, will no longer be permitted unless a fee is paid in advance. You'll find the official policy listed here: http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/press/social-media-policy that reads in part:
"Except by specific prior written permission, NGS does not permit audio
or video recording devices in the Exhibit Hall or in the presentations
at the NGS Family History Conference."
👉We understand no recording during presentations in conference classrooms and that "verbatim info is to be limited to a few quotes." We agree that rude classroom attendees disrupt conference sessions by taking pictures of every slide of a
presentation. That simply must stop, as this is clearly a copyright violation. 👉 Why have exhibit hall restrictions? It is impractical to expect all to check cell phones at the door before entering the exhibit hall.
"22. Use of Exhibit a. Exhibitor shall not stream live or recorded video or audio broadcast any content from the Exhibit Hall without the knowledge and written consent of NGS. Any live streaming or other broadcast transmission of content from the Exhibit Hall will be by special arrangement only. An additional mutually-agreed-to fee to be paid by the exhibitor will be required."
ADVANCED PERMISSION AND FEES?
NGS wishes to control contact and financially benefit from every conversation that will happen at it's annual conference?
WHAT'S SOCIAL MEDIA if it isn't spontaneous? It's free publicity that builds excitement and encourages people to come to a conference. See DearMYRTLE's "Do conferences need bloggers?" Amy Johnson Crow, Dick Eastman and Ol' Myrt here, or instance, typically go around and take pics of vendor booths and attendees - sending out info via social media posts. My AmbushCAM interviews spotlight
the well-respected vendors as well as new products and services. That's free publicity for all involved. Why should NGS require advanced, written permission when such encounters happen on the fly, say, during a lull in the exhibit hall, or between classroom sessions?
Official sponsors Ancestry, FindMyPast, FamilySearch, MyHeritage use audio and video equipment to teach mini-classes at their booths - but as official sponsors they've paid much more up front than a typical vendor.
The "permission and additional fee" impacts those such as:
👉 a much smaller, multi-booth sole proprietor who holds innovative, live-streamed, 20-30 minute mini-classes in her booth 👉 others like myself who don't rent booths, do pay full conference attendance and roam the conference looking to record attendee feedback and spotlight products and services
UNKNOWN FEE SCHEDULE
The aforementioned, innovative, live-streaming vendor telephoned an NGS rep for clarification of the Official Exhibiting Regulations but found no fees could be quoted. She also reported that NGS intends to strictly enforce the no live-streaming policy.
👉 The NGS Conference Social Media Policy somewhat addresses copyright infringement issues for conference presentations. (How about requiring room monitors to eject offensive attendees, calling in backup via cell if unable to resolve the issue personally?)
👉 The NGS Official Exhibiting Regulations overly-restricts vendors who will choose to spend their conference dollars at larger, more progressive national and international conferences such as RootsTech and Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree.
PERSONALLY? Had I not researched the Official Exhibiting Regulations for this post, I would have arrived at the 2017 NGS Conference only to be turned away, owing to:
"25. Exhibitors' Protection No firm or organization not assigned exhibit space will be permitted to solicit business within the exhibit area or other areas rented by NGS."
👉 That lets out the social media work of folks like Amy, Dick, Ol' Myrt and others, unless we have a booth, obtain written permission and pay in advance for our conversations with people. (Not very spontaneous, is it?) 👉 That lets out society conference chairs soliciting door prizes. 👉 That lets out society program chairs trolling for speakers.
MYRT'S BOTTOM LINE
I've always paid for NGS full-conference access, yet I spend 95% of my time in the exhibit hall interviewing, live-streaming, networking, and posting regularly to Facebook. I enjoy learning what's new, talking with software vendors, pouring over potential book purchases and introducing new developers to potential partners in the genealogy vertical.
Mr. Myrt and I won't be attending NGS Conferences as long as this policy remains, as there is simply no place for Ol' Myrt.
I've heard NGS could make an exception for some people, but that's giving in to a subjective call on NGS' part. If there is a rule, it should be equally applied - no favorites. No prejudices. We are either including or excluding people.
You'll find our discussion in the first 30 minutes of our
Mondays with Myrt 17 April 2017 embedded below. If you'd like to read
the viewers' responses, register and view at: http://hangouts.dearmyrtle.com/17apr2017mwm.html
Hangouts: Pay what you want. So it's simple. If you value the work Ol' Myrt,+Cousin Russandour beloved panelists do week in and week out on your behalf, please:
Check the DearMYRTLE Hangouts Calendar for upcoming study groups and hangouts. There you'll find links to the GeneaConference (in-person) and the GeneaWebinars Calendar with over over 200 hours of online genealogy classes, webinars, live streams and
tweetchats from other hosts and presenters over the next 12 months.
DearREADERS,
Thank-you for joining us for Hosting Virtual Meetings - Free Tools this morning. Cousin Russ and I continue our tutorial tonight with specific details about equipment, speaker's contracts and room layout. Tune in beginning as follows:
The live broadcast begins at: 9pm Eastern US (New York) 8pm Central US (Chicago) 7pm Mountain US (Denver, Salt Lake City) 6pm Pacific US (Los Angeles) UTC-7 hours
Hangouts: Pay what you want. So it's simple. If you value the work Ol' Myrt,+Cousin Russandour beloved panelists do week in and week out on your behalf, please:
Check the DearMYRTLE Hangouts Calendar for upcoming study groups and hangouts. There you'll find links to the GeneaConference (in-person) and the GeneaWebinars Calendar with over over 200 hours of online genealogy classes, webinars, live streams and
tweetchats from other hosts and presenters over the next 12 months.
DearREADERS,
Wednesday will particularly wacky this week as both the am and pm hangouts will feature info on hosting virtual meetings. This technology is perfect for family reunions, society board meetings, monthly special interest groups even one-on-one consultations. Cousin Russ and Ol' Myrt here will show you how to setup and promote a YouTube hangout in ten minutes or less.
Hangouts: Pay what you want. So it's simple. If you value the work Ol' Myrt,+Cousin Russandour beloved panelists do week in and week out on your behalf, please:
Check the DearMYRTLE Hangouts Calendar for upcoming study groups and hangouts. There you'll find links to the GeneaConference (in-person) and the GeneaWebinars Calendar with over over 200 hours of online genealogy classes, webinars, live streams and
tweetchats from other hosts and presenters over the next 12 months.
"Hello, I recently received a old family bible for safe keeping. It's at least 100 years old (circa 1916) based on the dates in the bible and is fairly large - roughly 8 in x11 in in size and about 5-6 inches thick (so it's pretty heavy as well). The cover/binding is also starting to pull away from the pages and the pages themselves are already discolored with a few of the family history pages completely loose from the rest of the binding. I believe the cover is leather. I know I shouldn't take it to just anyone for restoration but do you have any tips or questions I should be asking when searching for a reputable bookbinder? Any advice you could give would be appreciated. Thank you."
The trouble with old family bibles is that rebinding means a portion of all pages must be trimmed off on the inside to accept the new binding.
It has been my practice not to encourage rebinding. I do however, encourage all to find a Hollinger box of suitable size, or purchase the supplies to make one to fit. See: http://www.hollingermetaledge.com and Adjustable Book Storage Boxes from the same company. Oft times Amazon.com offers the same items for less.
As you can see from the image seven images in this post, Ol' Myrt is in the same boat. In fact the cover has completely separated from the pages of the Weiser Family Bible in my possession. The title page is missing about 2 inches on all sides and a handkerchief and other papers have been inserted inside the front cover.
But I think you'll agree we wouldn't trade this tattered bible page for anything in the world.
This certifies that
Charles Switzer Weiser of Dehli, Delaware Co., Ohio and Eliza Maria Wasden of Gunnison, Sanpete Co., Utah were by me united
In Holy Matrimony
According to the ordinance of God and the Laws of the Terr. of Idaho at Shoshone on the 25th Day of July in the year of Our Lord One thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty three. TS White, Justice of the Peace WG Martin & EE Cunningham, Witnesses.
Some things are so old and fragile there is nothing more we can do than to make digital copies of the pertinent pages and store the original items in archival safe materials.
My good friend Elsie Naylor sent a circa 1690 family bible to be rebound. Removed completely were the inside covers where family name/date notations were made. The book binder said "I threw away those scribbled pencil notations." Elsie was heartbroken.
Hangouts: Pay what you want. So it's simple. If you value the work Ol' Myrt,+Cousin Russandour beloved panelists do week in and week out on your behalf, please:
Check the DearMYRTLE Hangouts Calendar for upcoming study groups and hangouts. There you'll find links to the GeneaConference (in-person) and the GeneaWebinars Calendar with over over 200 hours of online genealogy classes, webinars, live streams and
tweetchats from other hosts and presenters over the next 12 months.
DearREADERS,
It is currently best if you use Chrome to access hangouts, as other web browsers have not updated to permit viewing. We're looking forward to these hangout topics this month including:
Document Show and Tell (bring a few from your research)
Champollion (software for savvy paleographersO
Why Host Virtual Meetings? (2 sessions)
GermanGen Study Group (2 sessions)
DNA Study Group (read Chapter 4 in advance)
The Archive Lady
and of course, our flagship Mondays with Myrt hangout
HOW
Now everyone can log in to VIEW and COMMENT on DearMYRTLE Hangouts. YUP! Log in with your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email or G+ account. You'll only need a G+ if you wish to JOIN the panel as an "official" participant.
VIEW and post COMMENTS before and during each hangout. The comments are right there with the video now that we're hosting them at: http://hangouts.DearMYRTLE.com
We open the "green room" 15 minutes early if you'd like to test out your microphone and webcam. Consider JOINing the panel as an official "participant". We may even "scramble" to mix up the conversation a bit with new panelists.
ARCHIVED VERSION
If you miss the live events, catch the archived version at your convenience. It's usually available within the hour after the *live* recording has concluded. http://hangouts.DearMYRTLE.com
Noon Eastern US (New York), 11am Central US (Chicago)
10am Mountain US (Denver, Salt Lake City), 9am Pacific US (Los Angeles), UTC-7 hours
DOCUMENT SHOW & TELL (60 minutes)
Wednesday, 5 April 2017 Come
prepared to share an unusual document. You must log in with Google+ to
be on the panel. Arrive 15 minutes early for a mic check. Noon
Eastern US (New York), 11am Central US (Chicago) 10am Mountain US
(Denver, Salt Lake City), 9am Pacific US (Los Angeles), UTC-7 hours
Cousin Russ and Ol' Myrt will discuss equipment considerations when hosting personal, business and society hangouts. 9pm Eastern US (New York), 8pm Central US
(Chicago), 7pm Mountain US (Denver, Salt Lake City), 6pm Pacific US (Los
Angeles), UTC-7 hours
Wednesday, 19 April 2017 - with Ursulc C. Krause, host of The German Genealogy Girl's PodcastNoon
Eastern US (New York), 11am Central US (Chicago) 10am Mountain US
(Denver, Salt Lake City), 9am Pacific US (Los Angeles), UTC-7 hours
Read in advance and complete the homework at the end of Chapter 4 "Genealogical Applications for mtDNA" in Genetic Genealogy in Practice by Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne.
9pm Eastern US (New York), 8pm Central US (Chicago)
7pm Mountain US (Denver, Salt Lake City), 6pm Pacific US (Los Angeles), UTC-7 hours
You must attend this hangout live as it will not be available for access later, due to copyright restrictions.
Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - with Ursulc C. Krause, host of The German Genealogy Girl's Podcast Noon
Eastern US (New York), 11am Central US (Chicago) 10am Mountain US
(Denver, Salt Lake City), 9am Pacific US (Los Angeles), UTC-7 hours
Hangouts: Pay what you want. So it's simple. If you value the work Ol' Myrt,+Cousin Russandour beloved panelists do week in and week out on your behalf, please:
Check the DearMYRTLE Hangouts Calendar for upcoming study groups and hangouts. There you'll find links to the GeneaConference (in-person) and the GeneaWebinars Calendar with over over 200 hours of online genealogy classes, webinars, live streams and
tweetchats from other hosts and presenters over the next 12 months.
DearREADERS,
