There are many local resources that can help you trace your family roots.
An article about her grandfather in The Lima News sparked Donna Wannemacher's interest in genealogy. She was surprised to find out that he had had an airport on the east side of Lima in the 1920s. "I got to thinking, I wonder what else I don't know about my family." In the years that she's been immersed in genealogy, Donna has found a number of local resources that can help fill in the branches on the family tree. She highly recommends the library at the Allen County Museum which has a roof full of reference books and documents, and "family files" which include newspaper clippings and notes about local families, businesses, churches, schools and organizations. She says the main documents you'll need to trace your roots are birth, death, marriage, military and census records. DNA testing can be valuable as well. She discovered her family's European roots, and was surprised to find matches to her DNA with people she doesn't know. Donna attributes the recent interest in genealogy to the availability of information on the internet.
Also at Monday's meeting, the following Major Rotary Donors were recognized: Richard Evans (dec'd) - Level 1, Harold Goodnight (dec'd) - Level 3, David & Nancy Steiner - Level 1, Robert & Ann Ruehl - Level 2. And the following Paul Harris Fellow awards were presented: Jeff Tracy - PH+1, Richard Warren - PH+2, Ken Dysert - PH+1, Paul Swartz - PH+3, Jim Bronder - PH+1 and Dave Frost - PH+5. Thank you for your generosity!
Sara Cardone also did a presentation on a new non-profit organization called Bucket List Blessings which helps people achieve the goals on their bucket lists if they do not have the resources to do so.