Mechanics Institute: Our Story

Diana Edwards with members of IOOF

CGS Board Members Todd Armstrong and Diana Edwards

Dr. Henry Snyder and Linda Harms Okazaki

         


           Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Spring Specials

Interested in volunteering at CGS? Don’t miss our 2015 Spring Specials!

By Kathleen Beitiks, Volunteer Coordinator

Photo by CGS member Jan Brandt

Spring is here – our native poppies are blooming, birds are singing (sometimes too early in the morning for me!), and the sun is warm and mellow. It’s also a time of new beginnings, new plans, and new ideas. 

At the California Genealogical Society (CGS), it’s a time to welcome new volunteers who come with fresh ideas, lots of energy, and a contagious enthusiasm for the world of ancestral mysteries.

And…if you forgot to make a New Year’s resolution, this is your chance to redeem yourself!  Donate your time and talent to CGS — become a CGS volunteer.

On our website, we maintain an ongoing list of volunteer positions that need to be filled. For our purposes this month, however, we have three jobs that we would like to highlight as our 2015 Spring Specials! Please take a look:

Tech Guy/Gal – We have a crack team of tech-savvy members who are responsible for maintaining our computer system. Maintenance is scheduled 3-4 hours on Mondays. Commitment is once a month. Training is provided. If you’ve got the skills, we’ve got the keyboards!

Wordsmiths – You love to write. You can be cryptic. You are pretty sure someday scientists will discover a writing gene in your family (wouldn’t that be fun?). Meanwhile, CGS needs: a Blog Editor (preferably who knows about “Blogger”); proofreaders; and members who have worked with publications in general. Training? Of course!

Desk Duty – Basically, this is the receptionist position in the CGS Library. And you know that receptionists rule. They are the pulse of the organization. They are the go-to-guys-or-gals. And they only have to work once a month! (Library hours: Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.) A great way to get to know the ins and outs of CGS and some ancestry gossip!

Interested? Contact Kathleen Beitiks for all the details.        

Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Obāchan

May Is Asian Pacific Heritage Month
The following article celebrates the life of Japanese immigrant, Yae Takahashi

Written by guest blogger, Adelle Treakle

Yae (far left) and Takahashi Family

Picture Bride

Yae Kawakami was born in the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, in 1889. She was my grandmother.

She was the oldest of nine, and she had a fierce, independent streak.  Yae was allowed more freedom than many girls at the time. She enjoyed riding the streetcars of Tokyo and fishing in the small streams near her home. 

As a young woman, Yae taught elementary school and was a talented artist. In her early twenties, she became a “picture bride.” Selected by her husband’s family, she was married by proxy to Yoshizumi Takahashi. As was the custom, she lived with her in-laws for a year in order to prove her worth before immigrating to the U.S. 

In 1914, she sailed alone to Seattle where she stepped off the ship, the SS Yokohama Maru, and married a man she had never met. 

Her life in America was not what she expected. Her husband was a foreman for Japanese farm workers in California’s San Joaquin Valley. She was put to work cooking for them, though she had no experience.

Yae raised seven children on a farm leased in the central California Valley. The entire family participated in the planting, harvesting, and selling of the crops, which included grapes, watermelon, and lettuce.

In 1941, her world changed forever. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she and her native-born children were looked at with suspicion and distrust. One of Yae’s sons joined the U.S. army within one month of the Japanese attack. The rest of the family was “evacuated” to the Poston Relocation Center in Arizona. [Editor’s note: the acceptable terminology today is incarcerated.]

They spent two years in Poston, trying to build a community out of the sand. After being released, Yae and her family farmed for a time in Utah. Eventually they resettled in California. Yae continued to paint and to watch over her growing family until her death at age 83.

Takahashi Family at Poston WRA Camp (Yae is 4th from right)

"Songbird" by Yae Kawakami Takahashi

The California Genealogical Society aims to connect people to their diverse family heritage. If you would like to contribute an article to the blog celebrating your own family history, please contact the editor. 

                 Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Internet Archive: Building Libraries Together

Internet Archive Is Coming to CGS

Robert Miller, Global Director of Digital Books and Media

Internet Archive Global Director Robert Miller is coming to CGS on May 16. Please join him in a spirited discussion of what it takes to build an end-to-end Digital Library Solution, with a deep dive in genealogy.

Miller leads Internet Archive's global eBooks digitization project. Blending his successful entrepreneurial startup experience with his tenure in the Fortune 500 world, he is a passionate advocate for public Internet access and is committed to making information free and accessible through digital means. With more than 1250 global content partners, plus teams he manages on five continents, the vision he champions has resulted in one of the largest free, digital public libraries in the world, with over 2 million eBooks online and more than 20 million downloads per month. 

Please visit our Eventbrite page to register for this class. Seats are limited. 

Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library

Please Pass the Salt...And Tell Us About Your Ancestors

Volunteering at genealogical societies is a time-honored tradition. In 1915, the California Genealogical Society (CGS) organized the International Congress of Genealogy, held in San Francisco. 100 years later, CGS volunteers still keep the organization thriving and alive, and carrying on the excitement of ancestral discoveries!

By CGS Volunteer Coordinator, Kathleen Beitiks 

Many years ago I was invited to a dinner party with a dozen people who worked in a variety of occupations. One of the guests was a psychologist. At some point, the conversation turned to labor and delivery stories. We all had a great time laughing at stories about the near mishaps racing to the hospital or about the doctor who thought a breech birth was imminent, only to discover that the darling bundle of joy just had a big head – like his father.

“I hope you all tell your children these stories,” said the psychologist. She then went on to tell us that in an informal survey of her clients through the years, she realized there was one common thread – very few of them had stories to tell about their own birth or heritage. 

She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she theorized that it was very important to have sense of how we came into this world and the connection to our roots with family stories – both happy and not-so-happy. 

I have thought about that evening since I began volunteering for the California Genealogical Society. There are myriad opportunities to volunteer in our community and I know many of us give our time to food banks, homeless shelters, youth activities, hospitals, and other organizations. Volunteering with CGS is one of those “intangible” activities that may not have obvious results, but does impact the human condition - helping people discover who they are and where they came from. 

Volunteer researchers at CGS have a first-hand opportunity to see the joy of discovery in the face of someone who has learned about an elusive ancestor. Our library volunteers may have a chance to help dig up an old directory that contains the address of an ancestor from 100 years ago. Our tech volunteers make the ancestor quest easier in this new cyber world. Event organizers bring experts to us – saving us time and money in our individual roots searches. Our database volunteers help keep it all organized. And I could go on and on….

The world of genealogy has expanded rapidly in the past decades. Not only are we learning about the lives, loves, and wanderings of our ancestors, but now it is possible to learn about our DNA and medical implications for our descendants. 

This may be the New Millennium, but I suspect we will be making many more new and exciting discoveries about the past and future human condition in the years to come. And CGS volunteers should know that their time and talent has contributed to the world of genealogical discoveries and progress.

April is National Volunteer Month. If you are a CGS volunteer, we salute you. You are all invaluable and we could not keep this organization alive without you!  If you are not currently a volunteer but have thought about becoming one, check out our current list of Volunteer Opportunities or send me an email (Kathleen Beitiks) and I will put you to work!

Again – I can’t say it enough - a million thanks to our loyal, dedicated CGS volunteers (and you know who you are!)

        Copyright © 2015 by California Genealogical Society and Library