California Genealogical Society blog: A Toast to Georgia Lupinsky

Georgia Lupinsky (center), flanked by Pat Bonderud
and Linda Darby, was celebrated and thanked for her 10 years
as Manuscripts Committee Co-Chair

On July 19 we celebrated Georgia Lupinsky and her many contributions to the CGS library. Since 2009, Georgia has served as co-chair of the Manuscripts Committee with Virginia Turner. Georgia and Virginia took over from Linda Darby and Pat Bonderud, who did the initial organization of the CGS Manuscript Collection, a massive body of family histories, research, and loose papers donated to CGS over its 120-year history. (The searchable index to the collection is available on our website.) “I was most impressed with the way Georgia competently took over the manuscript collection," said Linda. "She did a great job of organizing all the material, was a pleasure to work with, very collegial, cooperative and very diplomatic.”

Georgia has also written for our blog, sharing some of the interesting stories she's uncovered working on the manuscript collection. They include a history of early children's welfare advocate Nellie Patterson Baldwin, and a surprising incident in the life of Swiss immigrant Martina Kurrer, said to have narrowly escaped death on a train to California thanks to a portentous dream.

Asked about highlights of her time as a volunteer, Georgia immediately cited her work on The Ancestry of Samuel Sterling Sherman and Mary Ware Allen. Based on the extensive research of late CGS president Frederick "Rick" Sherman, the book tells the stories of nine generations of the Sherman family as they moved from New England and Kentucky westward to California. "Georgia was absolutely invaluable on this project," recalled past president Jane Lindsey, who coordinated the undertaking. "She reviewed all of Rick's documentation, helped to label hundreds of scanned photos, and reviewed every detail of the manuscript. She was such a pleasure to work with; such a capable and competent volunteer." Georgia also did the detailed Finding Aid of the Sherman Collection for the book and has since created Finding Aids for the Covell and Hale collections.

No gold watch at this retirement ceremony, but we all shared a delicious chocolate cake and Georgia left with a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses. In the language of flowers, “yellow roses are used to convey a number of emotions, with friendship being the main one. The color yellow is often associated with the Sun, known for its warmth. Akin to this, the yellow rose also emanates warmth, affection and joy. When you want to show someone you care, present her with a bouquet of yellow roses” – a sentiment clearly shared by all who attended Georgia’s celebration.