The October 14, 2010, meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library.
Reports:
In the absence of LaVerne Bloemker, MCGS Treasurer, Barbara Hitch presented the financial report for the month of September 2010, as follows:
Elsie Wasser, MCGS Librarian, presented the
following report.
Marlene Maedge's mother donated 1920 and 1921 Edwardsville High
School yearbooks to MCGS We have duplicate copies of the early
ones now and all the 1920 through 1940 have been hard bound and
are in the closet. Since we have had people cutting out pictures
and other items in the past these are not on the regular shelves.
Andrew J. Bozza of Baselton, Georgia, has sent in his family tree
and it will be on the shelf soon. He has been in contact with
the Society for over seven years and is still working on his family
history as he is able but decided to send in what he has so far.
So look for the The Bozza Family...Italian immigrant. This family
was in the Madison County area for some time as well as Tennessee,
Kentucky, Canada, and San Diego, California. When the oldest died
while in California, his body was taken back to Nashville, Tennessee,
for burial.
An addition to the vertical files are German Alphabet with corresponding
English Alphabet that are found in the German churches, these
files were donated at the last MCGS meetings.
Randolph Genealogical Society in Steelville, Illinois, has had
trouble with complaints about their web site not being up to date.
They also want to state that their new address is RCGS, 13 Westood
Dr., Steelville, IL.
A Mr. John Robinson was in the library and is trying to trace
his family which consists of the following names, John Thompson,
Ella Aubuchon, Elisha and Emily Lanham, as well as Frank and Mabel
Wheeler. You can contact him at 8 San Isidro, Pevely, MO 73070;
phone 636-475-9562, or email him at [email protected].
Do you have a family
member that is interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy?
A membership in the Madison County Genealogical Society would
be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will be sent to the recipient
of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Barbara Hitch, at [email protected],
about a gift membership.
On October 14, 2010, the Madison County Genealogical
Society meeting was co-sponsored by the Edwardsville Public library
as part of a book signing by Cheryl Eichar Jett. Cheryl discussed
her new book, Route 66 in Madison County, published by
Arcadia Publishing. The book is a nostalgic photo trip on old
Route 66 through Madison County, Illinois. The towns included
in this trip were Worden, Hamel, Livingston, Edwardsville, Mitchell,
Granite City, and Collinsville.
Cheryl had a Powerpoint presentation of many of the photos in
her book. The photos were of many of the businesses along the
old Route 66: cafes (including an A&W Root Beer drive-in),
taverns, service stations, car dealerships, motels, tourist cabins,
and trailer courts. There were photos of travelers on the highway,
State Police motorcycle patrol, and even a steel mill. Many of
the photos were of signs for businesses along the highway, including
a barn with the familiar Meramec Caverns paint job. [The owners
of Meramec Caverns in Stanton, Missouri, painted many barns along
the highways leading to Stanton for no charge to the owners. The
catch was that the barns were painted black with large white letters
saying "Meramec Caverns, U.S. 66, MO."]
Many of the attendees at the meeting were individuals who had
traveled old Route 66, lived in the vicinity of the highway, or
had patronized businesses along the highway. Many people had questions
and comments during this interesting presentation.
The Madison County Genealogy Society would like to thank the Edwardsville
Public Library for their co-sponsorship of this meeting and their
generosity in furnishing refreshments.