created by Bing ImageGenerator, February 4, 2024 As we approach the end of 2024, the South King County Genealogical Society (SKCGS) is brimming with exciting opportunities for community-minded individuals passionate about preserving local history. We see a bright future and many opportunities ahead in 2025. Leadership Positions Available Our society is seeking motivated individuals to step into key roles: Society President With our current president completing a second term in May, we're looking for a new leader to guide our organization. No prior experience necessary—just a passion for genealogy and community! Interested? Contact Board@skcgs.org or President@skcgs.org to learn more about this rewarding leadership opportunity. We are waiting to hear from you. Resources and Outreach Team Leaders We have vacancies in both our Resources and Outreach teams. While our current president has plans to lead Outreach beginning in May, we welcome enthusiastic volunteers. Want to make a dif...

Miners Day Sign on the way to the event Join SKCGS at Black Diamond Miners Day! We'll be there all day. Early birds can show up around 7 am to help us set up, or show up any time before 4 to help us greet people, answer their questions, or ask them about their family history.  At 4 pm, as the event ends, we would welcome help to pack up  and clean up.  Please write to Outreach@skcgs.org to volunteer.  Chalk drawing from 2023 Miners Day Black Diamond Area a Favorite Topic Over the history of SKCGS Blog and our previous newsletter, the Black Diamond and Franklin Mine areas have been a great source for stories.  We are especially grateful for the volumes of information available at the Black Diamond Museum and Historical Society. People who live in South King County, especially on the eastern side are familiar with the coal mining communities of Newcastle, Renton, and Black Diamond; some may even remember the names of Franklin, Cedar Mountain and other towns from l...

Courtesy of Islington.gov.uk Thank You! Volunteer Recognition Day is observed every year on April 20. In addition, National Volunteer Week is celebrated from April 14 to 20. During this week, volunteers are recognized for their selfless contributions to help others and promote good causes. At SKCGS we are always appreciative of the efforts of our many volunteers, regardless of the size of the job or amount of time of involvement.  As in an exquisite machine, every cog, regardless of size, is important for the smooth operation of the whole. SKCGS operates totally on the service of its volunteers.  Among those are the elected officers of the Board of Directors.  Nominations are now open for the positions of Vice President and Secretary, to be elected at the annual meeting, May 18, 2024. We are happy to announce that we have a candidate for each of the pending positions, but more nominations are welcome.    Nominees Alexis Hacker Scholz Currently Vice President of...

Do you remember 40 years ago? Our SKCGS newsletter does!    South King County Genealogical Society Newsletter, V. 1, No. 1 Above is the top of Volume 1, Number 1 of the Newsletter, which later became SoKingNews. Thank you to Katie Hanzeli who scanned these newsletters from her own collection, Rich Thayer who kept our digital files safe, Michele Mattoon who uploaded them, and Tina Lawson who has been getting them onto our website .  SKCGS incorporated in September 1984  and put out the first newsletter one year later. Amazing to look at that old tech - remember typing  mimeograph "masters?" not a fun job.  What fun that they were celebrating their first picnic!  We've been searching for creative ways to celebrate our 40th anniversary, and a picnic this summer would be lovely. We just need someone to volunteer to organize it.  You can see MaryLynn's contribution of the top image in this post, and in our new blog header, at  https://skcgs.blogs...

Winona Hahn Laird, SKCGS Volunteer of the Year Winona Hahn Laird is our Volunteer of the Year 2023. The Washington State Genealogical Society asks each member society to select one volunteer or team to honor, and in 2023 Winona was chosen unanimously by the South King County Genealogical Society Board.  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ How it Started Winona has been doing genealogy for over 60 years.  She started as a young girl in a church class. One of the projects was to get her mother, father, and grandparents to write a one-page story of their lives and they all wrote their stories.  Some years later, after Winona’s grandmother had passed, the family found reams of paper among her possessions which contained notes and stories she had written. Winona used this information to write and publish a book about her grandmother,  "Have You Ever Lived in a Mining Town;" see on Amazon or her website store . Winona has researched most of her family lines back to the 16th and 17th centurie...

If you are living in the midst of a story, as all of us are, do we know how it turns out in the end?  What if there is more than one story happening, and more than one challenge along the way? Courtesy of Steve Czajka creativecommons Once upon a time, there was a girl who was given the responsibility to care for her younger brother and sister after school. She was unhappy with these duties, and her siblings did not obey her and do the things she told them to do. She began to grow apart from her sister and brother, and once they were all adults, was not close to them.  As life continued, she thought about making peace with her brother. Perhaps it was losing her younger sister which prompted her to visit him, and ask how he remembered their childhood. To her surprise, her brother said, I was always jealous of you. Our mother trusted you to care for us; why didn't she trust me? I could have helped out. Many of us have compared stories and memories from our childhood with fam...

Greetings family history researchers, near and far, especially Members of the South King County Genealogical Society. Thank you for reelecting both Michele Mattoon as your Treasurer and me as your President. This past two years have been a challenge, but together with the Membership we have accomplished a lot.  New SKCGS.org One thing everyone has noticed is the new website , which is much less costly than our older site, and much easier to keep up-to-date. In addition, by building Zoom registration into our public calendar there, we've improved the security of our Zoom meetings. Each team now updates their part of the new site as needed. Thank you Tina! Tina has also streamlined much of the back end of SKCGS, making it easier to bring in new volunteers, and to share handouts and video to both Members and visitors alike.  To stay up-to-date, check https://www.skcgs.org/home/announcements .  Planning Our Five-Year Planning committee has finished its work, which involved co...

For years there has been periodic emphasis on "growth of our genealogical societies." While we always welcome new members, we must not overlook another important task--sustaining the function of our existing societies. Successful societies have established a mission such as that of SKCGS: Stimulate interest in genealogy and aid individual members in compiling their family records Seek genealogical and historical knowledge Preserve and perpetuate the records of our ancestors Promote the preservation of public and private genealogical materials While the mission may be tailored to fit the needs of its members by time and location, one thing remains constant--who is sustaining the operation of the society?  Does the society meet the needs of its members?  Who is working behind the scenes to to accomplish that goal?  How do leaders, members and newcomers contribute? SKCGS works toward our purpose through monthly meetings featuring knowledgeable speakers on a range of topics i...

How would you like to have free genealogy lessons? On random topics? Once or twice a month? At your convenience--weekday, weekend or evening? With free access to Ancestry Library Edition and other online sites? All this can be yours if you take advantage of this opportunity: Become a Genealogy Research Volunteer at the library! SKCGS Genealogy Reference Collection at Auburn Branch of King County Library System The SKCGS collection of historic and genealogical books and periodicals has been located at the Auburn Branch of the King County Library System for many years.  During that time, society volunteers have provided free research assistance with the collection in particular and with genealogy in general. In March, 2020 the Covid lockdown interrupted our volunteer service. Many of our members have helped out over the years; and we  have loved it, wishing we were able to use the libraries during lockdown. Our  recent,  most faithful volunteer, Jan Emerson has chosen ...