President, Robert Ridenour, called the meeting to order.
Reports:
Treasurer LaVerne Bloemker
presented the financial report for the period ending April 30,
2008.
Publications Chairman
Barbara Hitch reported that the Ten Year Stalker Index, 1991-2000,
is complete; and we will be taking orders for either a printed
copy for $35-40 or a copy on CD for about $10. The final costs
are yet to be determined. The ordering information will be in
the next issue of the Newsletter.
Librarian/Researcher Elsie Wasser reported that we had received
two more volumes (Vols. VI and VII) of The History of Bunker Hill
by Carl Stanton. She also reported that she had heard from Shirley
Daiber who has finished her book on the life of Eulogis Leidle
of Marine, Illinois, and we should be receiving a copy soon.
Elsie reported that she has completed the recording of the death
records of St. Cecilia's Catholic Church of Glen Carbon. A copy
will appear in a future issue of The Stalker.
Elsie also asked for volunteers to assist in inventorying the
Buck Road Cemetery on Illinois Route 162. She hopes to do the
inventory this spring, weather permitting. No date has been set
as yet.
We had a new member join at this month's meeting, Mary Ann Bonneville,
from Maryville, Illinois. She is researching Benda, Drda, Krouse,
Scheibal, and Tryska in Madison County.
One guest was present at this meeting, our speaker, Cathie Lamere
from Hayner Public Library in Alton, Illinois.
Cathie's presentation was a short description of the new Digital
Alton Telegraph, which replaces the old microfilm version. She
talked about the contents every page of the newspaper from
1836 through about six months of the current date. The digitization
trails the printed version by about six months. She showed examples
of the quality of prints available from the digitized version
as compared to prints from the microfilm version. The copies from
the Digital Telegraph are orders of magnitude clearer than those
from the microfilm.
The Digital Alton Telegraph is available on almost every public
accessible computer terminal in every Hayner Library Branch. It
is, however, not available outside of the library.
The search capabilities for the Digital Telegraph are very powerful.
Searches can be performed by word (or combination of words), date,
range of dates, etc. If you wish, you can browse page by page.
Assistance with the Digital Alton Telegraph is available from
Cathie and her staff at the main library branch form 8:00 to 5:00,
Monday through Friday. Other library staffers do not yet have
much experience with the new system.