Great Weekend in Portland, Oregon

I just returned from a great weekend in Portland where I presented an all day seminar for the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. The audience was attentive and the folks who got me from one place to another treated me so wonderfully. I thank Connie, Leslie, April, Gerry, Tom, Jeanette, and all the others who did all the work to make the seminar and my weekend run well.

As usually happens I had some fun conversations with fellow genealogists who had roots in Minnesota or who had lived here themselves. I only wish some of them were distant cousins who could fill in some of my missing ancestral details!

I had a surprise after my first lecture as I was talking to some of the registrants and answering their questions. A woman walked up and I realized it was Luci Baker Johnson from the Seattle area. She took the train down (with Peri Muhich) to surprise me. Luci is a former resident of St. Paul, Minnesota. She wasn't the only longtime friend I saw at the event. Ruth, Janice, Sue, Jim, Eileen, Pat, and a few others were there. A fun day!

After the seminar I was fortunate to spend some time at the GFO library. This is a huge collection covering all parts of the U.S. and many foreign locations. I was impressed with the many shelves of WPA Historical Records Surveys of courthouses! And these included counties far beyond Multnomah. I also liked that current issues of various genealogical, historical, and family periodicals are right out on easily accessible shelves. The library has an extensive microfilm collection, some original records from the county, and indexes to many Oregon and Portland area records. If you live in the area, be sure to visit this library. Check the GFO website for the address and hours.