Special Events in St. Charles This Weekend

On Friday, 26 July 2013 at 7:00 p.m., you are invited to the opening of an exciting new exhibit called "The Osage in St. Charles," which takes a look back to the original residents of St. Charles, Missouri. Learn what became of the earliest residents and their history. Read the treaties and newspaper accounts and see photographs and beautiful handiwork of the Osage. Bring your friends and family for this unique and fascinating new exhibit. The event is free and takes place in the St. Charles County Historical Society Archives at 101 South Main Street in St. Charles.

Also, for those who are interested, on Saturday, 27 July 2013 at 12 noon is the next quarterly luncheon of the St. Charles County Historical Society, featuring a program on the Osage in St. Charles. Special guest speaker, Kathryn Red Corn, Director/Curator of the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, will talk about the Osage Nation and its history. Ms. Red Corn is an internationally recognized historian on the Osage American Indians. Luncheon reservations, at $16 per person, are requested. The luncheon will be held at Stegton Regency Banquet Center, 1450 Wall Street, in St.  Charles. Reservations can be made by calling the Archives at 636-946-9828 or send an e-mail to <contact@scchs.org>. The society accepts Mastercard, Visa and Discover.

The St. Charles County Historical Society Archives website is at <https://scchs.org>.

StLGS Office News

Just a reminder that the StLGS office will be closed on Thursday, 4 July. We hope you have a great holiday and that you will visit us on Saturday, the 6th, when we will be back to our regular office hours.

In other news, at long last, the new road leading from Hanley Road into Sunnen Industrial has been completed, making it possible once again to get to our office from Hanley.

If you are coming south on Hanley, now you can cross Manchester Road, and look for the first traffic light, a new intersection of Hanley and Sunnen, at the crest of the hill. There is a Mini dealership on the southeast corner and a Phillips 66 gas station on the west side of Hanley just before the light. Make a left and follow the new road past the MetroLink station. Keep going until you get to the second roundabout (traffic circle) and make a right.

For those of you coming north on Hanley, go past the Deer Creek Shopping Center (which has recently been rebuilt and now boasts some excellent shopping). Go under the railroad trestle and up the hill. The new light is just past the Mini dealership; you will make a right and proceed as above. 

This afternoon, our parking lot got new stripes and a few new handicapped spaces, so parking should be a bit easier when you visit.

Missouri History Museum Special Lecture AND Update on Downtown Parking

Reminder: As we printed in the last News 'n Notes, librarian Marie Concannon will present a talk on "Researching Your Ancestors in Federal Depository Library Collections" this Saturday, 22 June, at 10:30 a.m. in the Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Marie will give strategies for researchers who would like to search Federal Depository Library Program collections for clues about ancestors. She will also speak about state government publications for genealogical research. This talk is free and you do not need to pre-register.

Also, this week, officials in St. Louis announced that beginning on 1 July 2013, meter parking in downtown St. Louis will be enforced on Saturdays. Many of us have enjoyed parking for free on Saturdays to research in our beautiful downtown branch of the St. Louis Public Library, but this perk is ending. There is a small library parking lot just a block or so away that patrons are welcome to use. If there is space in the lot, you can ask at the information desk when you leave the library for a parking token. Otherwise, there is plenty of metered street parking and several other lots nearby, but they will charge a fee.

For a map of nearby parking lots: 
http://stlouis.centralparking.com/Museums/St-Louis-Public-Library-Parking.html

Land Records Class at St. Louis Public Library

"Land Rich, Dirt Poor: Use of Land Records in Genealogical Research" is the name of a class that genealogy librarian, Tom Pearson, is teaching this coming Saturday, 8 June from 10:30 a.m. until noon in the second floor training room at Central Library. Tom will discuss book, manuscript, microfilm, and Internet sources of information on records of land acquisition and transfers. Pre-registration is recommended but not required, and the class is free. To register or for more information, send Tom an e-mail at <tpearson@slpl.org>.

Central Library is located at 1301 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. Parking is free at the meters on Saturdays, and there are several parking lots nearby. If the day is nice and you enjoy walking, the nearest MetroLink station is just a few blocks away.

Through America's Lens: An Exhibit Focusing on WWII

The National Archives at St. Louis National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has opened a special exhibit called "Through America's Lens: Focusing on the Greatest Generation, 1920–1945." The exhibit features photographs and documents and will be open Monday through Friday until 27 September from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the NPRC building in Hazelwood.

On Wednesday, 29 May at 6:30 p.m., a panel of local historians will discuss "Poverty in America" as it relates to the photographs in the exhibit. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Jonathan C. Smith of St. Louis University's Department of African-American studies. The panel will consist of three local professors who will discuss the Great Depression, post-Depression poverty, and the impact of poverty on enrollment in World War II.

This panel discussion is free, but the NPRC would appreciate your letting them know if you plan to attend. You can send an e-mail to <stlpublic.programs@nara.gov> (with "lecture" in the subject line) or call 314-801-0847.

The NPRC is located at 1 Archives Drive, just off Dunn Road and next to Hazelwood East Middle School. There is security screening upon entering and exiting the facility. You will need photo ID to enter and are asked to leave weapons, knives, etc. at home. For more information, visit the website at <www.archives.gov/st.louis>

You Can Help Preserve the War of 1812 Pension Records!

You can help preserve the military pension records from the War of 1812 and perhaps win some research treats for yourself at the same time. The Federation of Genealogical Societies, in partnership with several other genealogy groups, is working on saving and preserving these important records. They are holding a contest in hopes of generating more interest in the project, and some of you might be interested in entering, especially when you see how terrific the prizes are!

You can go to the contest blog at http://www.preservethepensions.org/blog/genealogy-road-trip-contest/ to find out more information and/or to enter. Prizes start to be drawn on Monday, 20 May and will continue all next week, so don't delay. Even if you don't win the mighty national Powerball Lottery, you might get lucky here!

Opportunity Knocks on Thursdays!

Have you always wanted to come into the StLSG office during the work week, but you couldn't make it in the morning? From Thursday, 2 May until Thursday, 29 August, we will keep the StLGS office open on Thursdays from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. During those extended hours, we hope you will visit the office to chat with volunteers who can help you with your research, use the library-research room, check out the genealogical software programs on the computers, or join in a discussion.
     Please add the following to your calendars, if you are interested:
            Thursday, 2 May: Ted Steele will be in the office until 4 p.m. to talk about DNA/genetics and/or RootsMagic, a genealogical software program for Windows-based computers.
            Thursday, 9 May: Ken Webb will be in the office until 7 p.m. to discuss Irish publications for research, a review of the most popular Irish organizations and their publications, and researching in Ireland.
            Thursday, 16 May: Ken Webb will be in the office until 7 p.m. to discuss organizing your research materials.

Please contact us at <office@stlgs.org>, if you have any questions, and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday afternoons this summer.