GenealogyClassBlog

The Tulsa Genealogical Society will be offering a series of mini-workshops at their facility, starting this Thursday, January 27. According to the society’s publicity, at the first workshop, “Scrapbooking – Genealogy Style,” “Peggy Blodgett and Linda Quinn will demonstrate ‘hands on’ how to organize a family scrapbook that will find a space on your coffee table, and a special place in your heart.” Doors open at 6:30pm; workshop 7:00-9:00pm.

The suggested donation of $10.00 benefits the Tulsa Genealogical Society. There will also be a $2.00 charge for scrapbooking materials. For more information, call 918-627-4224.

Additional workshops have been scheduled (including the workshop I will present on February 24)

• February 24, 2011 — Barbara Meehan, “What’s New With FamilySearch.”
• March 31, 2011 — Janet Cottrell, “Cemeteries”
• April 28, 2011 — Laura Martin, “Oklahoma Historical Society”
• May 26, 2011 — Steve King, “Steamships & Early Migration Routes
• June 23, 2011 — Kathy Huber, Topic To Be Announced

The suggested donation for each of the mini-workshops is $10.00. TGS is located at 9136 East 31st Street, at the southeast corner and back of the Briar Village Shopping Center.

For those of you ladies with an interest in scrapbooking, here is some news about an upcoming scrapbook camp. While this is not exactly genealogy, those who have an interest in preserving their family’s photos and keepsakes have a lot in common with those who have an interest in preserving their family’s history. It is because of that connection, this will be the second time that the retreat’s hostess, Becky Luster, has asked me to come present a program on genealogy to those attending the scrapbook camp.

My sister, Becky Becker Luster, is a Creative Memories consultant and she has put together her third scrapbooking getaway, called SAY Retreat III. SAY stands for “Scrappin’ and Yappin’. She has a large building at Camp Christian (near Chouteau) reserved for the event. Each attendee has a large, clear table to spread out her personal photographs, her own scrapbooking supplies from home, and she can use Becky’s tools and shop for new papers, albums, embellishments, and more, right on the spot. Becky provides yummy meals and gives out prizes (I hope that wasn’t a secret), and gives a presentation the first evening to explain the latest news from Creative Memories. I’ll be giving a very basic talk on researching in the federal census on Saturday. She’ll be promoting Creative Memories products, but she isn’t an arm-twister, so you don’t need to worry about high-pressure sales tactics. Having the products there just makes it convenient for the attendees to buy what they need as they work. I must admit, though, that the “store” is very tempting.

The ladies at the last SAY Retreat I attended were very fun and had a friendly competition going to encourage each other to get some very cute scrapbook pages completed. This is limited to ladies because one of the attractions of the retreat is being able to wear pajamas while scrapbooking. They share sleeping quarters and bathrooms, too. Many stay for the entire weekend, but there are registration rates for those who elect to come for only part, as well as for the whole 55 hours.

Visit Becky’s website and click on “My Files” for details. There is an online registration form that you’d mail in with your registration fee (listed on the form), but since the retreat will be so soon, I’d suggest contacting Becky to let her know you’re interested, too. There is a Contact Me link on her website.

I hope to see you there!