DID YOU INHERIT A FAMILY BIBLE? Surprises! My parents had an interesting way of getting rid of “things” as they aged. I lived with my family in the Puget Sound area. My parents lived in eastern Washington, so when they came to visit us, it was usually several days, or at least overnight. The first thing I remember “finding” was an unfinished piece of needlepoint that I remembered hanging around my parents’ home for years. I recognized the box as soon as I saw it under the bed in the guest room. The next time I talked with my Mother, I asked her about it, but a funny thing, she knew nothing about what I was talking about. I learned to do needlepoint and finished the piece. My husband refinished an old dressing table bench, which had also come from my parents’  home, and we mounted the needlepoint.   The bench now resides in my son’s home. I did not leave it as a “surprise” for him to find. The next “surprise” I found in my ...

By Valorie Zimmerman and MaryLynn Strickland While gathering contact information from Washington state genealogy societies, historical and heritage groups, and museums, a gem became obvious: The Jefferson County Historical Society , which has some fascinating places to visit also has a Research Center, which they say, “ .serves as both the primary research facility and the repository for the Society's archival collections. Staff and volunteers are on hand to assist researchers.” See their website for more information: http://jchsmuseum.org/Sites/ResearchCenter.html .  This group is also active on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffcountymuseum . Even more exciting: you can access part of their collection now, sitting at your computer! See https://cdm16785.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/ to search. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here are a few more interesting societies.  We do not wish to overlook anybody but space does not allow ...