Salt Lake City is Amazing

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

If a genealogist has the choice of one research trip per year the destination could only be Salt Lake City. Its as if every courthouse in the country were transported to one location and made available six days a week to the researching public.

The Latter Day Saints Family History Library is an amazing place. The research center is a meticulously organized five story library. The main level consists entirely of open stack United States transcript books. This floor is where you will find county record books and local histories. Heading up in the elevator one reaches level two, which houses United States microfilms. The Mormon church has gone into most of the courthouses in our country and filmed original court record books. Level two also contain priceless gems such as military and church records filed in numerous rows of open stack cabinets. A researcher checks the library catalog for microfilm number on the scores of computers on each floor, then locates and returns the microfilm herself. There are few shelving errors. Serious researchers understand that the success of their research effort depends on the applicable book or microfilm being in the correct location. If one heads up the stairs again you arrive at level three, which houses family histories – open stack, or course.

The most amazing place is below ground level. B1 is the International Floor. The large International desk is manned at all times by experts in Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Latin America. A researcher can carry her microfilm of old German church records to a machine mounted on the help desk. A translator will not only interpret your record but will also provide valuable advice regarding the customs, practices, and traditions in the area of your interest. The LDS experts are equipped with international atlas volumes, indexes that detail church parish districts, and scores of similar research aids. And yes, the microfilms are actual copies of original church records. And they are fabulous!! German Lutheran birth, marriage, and death records are like a history of the family, sometimes even containing occupations of the grandparents. Who can fault one for spending thirteen hours a day underground?

One level down from the International Floor is B2, which contains books and microfilm from the British Isles, Canada and Australia. You will also find regional experts staffing its main desk.

Each floor of the Family History Library contains row after row of computers, microfilm machines, and a copy center. The computers are all connected to the internet, the family history library catalog, and the LDS research databases. Each floor’s copy center consists of microfilm and conventional copiers and a CD writer. Microfilm copiers are dedicated to different lens and paper sizes. One can choose the machine that best fits her needs. And there’s always a missionary handy to help you operate an errant machine.

The library opens at 8am and closes at 9pm Tuesday through Saturday. It is closed on Sunday and on Monday night. Research seminars featuring varying areas of the world are conducted daily in its many meeting rooms and auditoriums. The free informational sessions are regularly publicized with flyers, bulletin boards, and over the library intercom. First time visitors are treated to library orientation sessions. Private companies specializing in genealogical research assistance conduct classes for visiting groups in nearby hotel meeting rooms. Brown bags lectures combine lunch breaks with research tips.

The Joseph Smith building contains a computer center than is open on Monday night when the library is closed. This facility allows one to access the LDS genealogical databases from a massive computer laboratory during library down time. The Joseph Smith building also houses a store in the basement which sells research guides and many popular LDS extracted record data bases on CD at very reasonable prices.

If one is a true genealogical addict she waits in line for the morning library opening and rushes up or down the stairwell to quickly lay claim to a microfilm machine on the floor of her choice. She brings instant meals consisting of tuna or pasta so that not one valuable minute of research time is lost to boring things such as lunch or dinner. When she hears the announcement that the library will be closing in 15 minutes she suffers an instant panic attack regarding the research time lost to sleep and rest. When Saturday arrives the pressure is intense – only thirteen more hours in the library before the return trip home. What secrets might still lie in the rows of microfilm that will have to wait until next year’s research trip?

Before catching the airplane bound for home, one has to speak to the hospitality of Salt Lake City and the LDS church. Temple Square is a friendly place. Wherever one wanders, there is always someone available to offer directions or assistance. “Can I help you?”, is offered at every wrong turn by a nicely dressed person with a smile on their face. They seem to not mind at all if one is a Virginia Episcopalian navigating someone else’s turf.

Thank you LDS! The contributions you have made to family research have truly allowed genealogists to step into the 21st century. One has only to look over her shoulder to see ancestors smiling.

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Why Build an Interchange Leading to Nowhere

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

It was no surprise that the recently passed transportation spending bill included funds for Hampton Roads. After all, our needs are many. Although one could always hope, it didn’t seem reasonable that we could expect assistance for all our priority road projects. Therefore it was shocking to learn that Congress had offered funding in the amount of $10.8 million for a new I-64 interchange that leads to nowhere – a project that wasn’t listed on either Hampton Roads or VDOT’s long range transportation plan.

A closer look at the project, which would provide an expressway interchange between Indian River Road and Greenbriar Parkway, reveals that it would connect to a new CBN office/residential complex that is still in the planning stages. It would also provide an additional entrance to the CBN complex, which is already efficiently served by the Indian River Road exit.

Why would our so-called “leaders” choose to push a low priority project benefiting a private developer when there are so many more pressing local needs? The answer, of course, lies in the fact that the benefiting corporation’s roster includes highly partisan political contributors. Campaign promises of fair and equitable leadership appear to have desolved in the vat of pork barrel rewards.

Answers are not forthcoming from those who must have played a part in increasing the $1 million line item to $10.8 million. Members of our Congressional delegation all profess innocence or neglected to return the newspaper’s telephone calls. Are we surprised?

This funding choice amounts to nothing less than picking the pocket of taxpayers to benefit the wealthy and powerful. Its time for change next time you visit the ballot box Virginia! We need to return to a strong two party system to prevent such abuse of power.

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Don’t Stall the Southeastern Expressway

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

An unwelcome news item of the past week was the Virginian Pilot report that the US Corps of Engineers was looking at the proposed Southeastern Parkway with a negative point of view. The Corps complaints dealt with the number of acres of wetlands that would be displaced. In addition they doubted that the new road would eliminate enough traffic from current highways to justify the project.

Such criticism of this desperately needed road is truly hard to comprehend. There can be no doubt that sufficient wetlands can be created to offset those lost to the parkway. A perfect place for the new swamps would be as a buffer zone surrounding Oceana Master Jet Base in Virginia Beach and Fentress Air Field in Chesapeake. Let the environmental requirements solve a dual purpose in satisfying Navy requirements. Look to the rural acreage whose developmental rights have been purchased by the city. The owners of this land might be happy to find a willing bidder for their property.

Anyone who takes the position that the Southeastern Parkway is not needed has never driven Lynnhaven Parkway and Indian River Road at 5:00 in the afternoon. Let the Corps of Engineers planners drive from Lynnhaven Mall to the I-64/Indian River Road intersection every work day for a month to teach them a lesson in reality. Follow that up with a drive down I-64 from the I-264 intersection to Dominion Boulevard at that same time of day for a month. Then let them speak to the need for this project.

Bureaucrats with a narrow focus should not be allowed to stall Southeastern Parkway plans. For once let them think outside the box, and then gingerly step outside the box to follow the multitudes. The longer construction is postponed, the greater the cost will be to Virginia taxpayers.

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Welcome Macy’s

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

The latest press release from the Federated/May Company mega merger holds exciting news for Hampton Roads residents. The announcement that local Hechts stores would soon carry the Macy’s name is fabulous news. I’m certain long term residents mourn the loss of another regional department store name. Hechts will soon join the ranks of the Leggett and Thalheimer chains, relegated to the abyss of time. But for those of us who lived long periods of our adult life in Macy’s markets, anticipating the arrival of that store is nothing but elating.

When our family moved from Atlanta to Hampton Roads there were three things that stood out as being very strange and different: the department stores; the physicians; and the nature and character of the residential neighborhoods. Search as I might, there just was no alternative to Macy’s. Thalheimer’s was the closest choice, but it was a far distant one. And it was not many years before that store name fell victim to an earlier merger.

Gradually time passed and I adjusted to my new environment. Shopping patterns changed. Memories of doctors offices with expensive decorator perfect waiting rooms faded. And neighborhoods with widely varying prices located near commercial areas started to feel like the norm. It took a corporate announcement in the business section of the newspaper to ignite a spark of memory. Welcome Macy’s! Your arrival is eagerly awaited.

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Hurrah for Ancestor Worship!

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

So how does one become addicted to genealogical research? I’m certain many of my acquaintances must regularly whisper such nonsense behind my back. After all not everyone becomes ecstatically happy at the thought of visiting old cemeteries. Struggling through briars to raise a fallen tombstone that has long sheltered a bed of snakes isn’t a great Saturday afternoon for some with weaker constitutions. And spending 13 hours a day in a dark basement viewing old German church records might not be a perfect vacation for those born with a different genetic footprint. Of course for me those experiences produce a thrill beyond belief. Its difficult detective work with a twist. It’s the ultimate challenge for a Type A chronic over achiever.

My husband isn’t a good cemetery excursion driver. He would prefer to not be a part of my fun adventures. But when one makes a reconnaissance trip searching for family plots hidden in rural fields, one must have a driver in order to properly scope out the territory. The chosen chauffeur must drive extremely slow, allowing the rider to properly survey the surrounding countryside. A driver, such as my husband, who worries about what one’s fellow travelers think of our driving speed cannot properly perform his given duties. After all the speed limit posted is for the upper range of speed, not the lower.

Co-workers are won over at an uneven pace, some coming around quicker than others. The difficult process of uncovering their heritage always requires assistance from those of us who thirst for more mysteries to solve. This requirement usually places us in the uncomfortable position of having to continually correct them when they misstate a familial relationship. “No, she was not your gg-grandmother. She was the third wife of your ggg-grandfather’s third brother.” Get the idea?

But for those of us who have become addicts, each day brings marvelous new opportunities. Each new fact uncovered is a stepping stone towards the goal of rescuing family members who have been lost to time. Any moment in a library might be the one that breaks open a previously unsolvable family line. And there’s always a new path to venture down.

After all who are we but a composite of all those who came before? And how can I completely know myself without fully exploring the life experiences of my forefathers and foremothers? So give me bright sun, a digital camera, knee boots, and pruning sheers. And let the fun begin!

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The Reverse Robin Hood Effect

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

Whatever would the Founding Fathers think of America’s recent loss of property rights? Has the 21st Century interpretation of their vision relegated cherished freedoms to the abyss of time?

The Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing government the power to take personal property from one and give to another is a gross constitutional violation. Article V reads as follows: “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

The question is a definition of public use. There can be no doubt that the Founding Fathers envisioned public use to be a necessary government owned facility such as a courthouse, school, or road. Would the Founding Fathers have approved of taking a plantation and giving it to another individual to build a privately owned tavern, store, or stable? Of course not! The Founding Fathers would have assumed that the individual planning to build the tavern would negotiate with various landowners until he reached an agreement regarding the sale. He would then consummate the transaction in the prescribed legal manner. Should a property owner not wish to sell, then the person planning to build the tavern would approach another property owner who might have a greater propensity to sell.

Would the Founding Fathers have approved of the “Reverse Robin Hood Effect” where property is taken from the poor and given to the rich? They would have, instead, thought our government had lost its mind. Public use is not a municipality’s desire to maximize their tax base at the expense of private property owners. Private property is not theirs to take. And shouldn’t government be in support of its people rather than an adversary?

Its time for our citizens to step back and evaluate the extremes to which governmental and judicial authority has been taken. Possibly the next trip to the ballot box should be to vote for change.

Posted in The Nation, Tidewater, Virginia | Leave a comment

Row After Row of Closed Cash Registers

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

Have you ever shopped in a chain discount store and left frustrated with the check-out experience? I’m certain most Americans fall into this category. The stores seem designed to facilitate a speedy checkout. Row upon row of modern computer controlled cash registers stand ready to rush one speedily through the process of paying for merchandise.

Rarely is the actual experience pleasant. Most large discounters man those many check-out counters with only 2-3 employees. Therefore one waits in line for what seems an excruciating amount of time. Adding to the insult are the scores of empty cash registers, all reading “Closed”.

Even though the stores try to liven up one’s wait by surrounding the captive shopper with impulse purchase displays, boredom rapidly sets in. How long can one amuse oneself by staring at the National Enquirer cover article featuring a three-headed pig that lives on a dairy farm in Nebraska?

Just when it appears that the wait holds promise of ending, the most dreaded thing of all happens. Your cashier flips a switch and the light above his register starts to flash. The shopper ahead of you in the line has chosen an item that has no price tag. Everyone waits. After an unbelievable length of time the cashier decides to page the department head in charge of the offending item. The clerk appears and immediately disappears with the untagged item into the vast canyons of merchandise. Will the store close before the check-out line starts to move again?

A supervisor notices the stalled line and begins the process of opening another register. Individuals at the end of the offending line have the quickest line of sight to the new register and move their buggies quickly into place. The added cashier is useless to the person stuck at position #2 in the line awaiting price-check.

Finally the transaction is concluded and our frustrated shopper reaches position #1. The payment process seems anticlimactic after the torture of the wait. As our shopper wheels her cart towards the automatic door she glances back at those who must still endure the wait. Bon Voyage fellow shoppers. May secure price tags and empty shopping carts pave your way to a speedy check-out end.

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Not a Pretty Bubble

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

Profiting from a real estate bubble seems quite unimportant to those individuals who plan to spend their retirement years in a house they worked for decades to purchase. The growing appreciation of their home is, instead, a frightening liability for seniors living on a fixed income. Each year brings a double digit assessment increase for those who cannot afford any additional cost. City governments, benefitting from greatly increased coffers at the expense of its citizens, splurge on beautification projects, replace perfectly good school buildings, and construct high rise parking decks to benefit wealthy businessmen.

It is my belief that the only fair method of assessment for a family’s primary residence is to fix that value at the purchase price of the home. The family may then choose the mortgage cost and tax burden that they can afford. And they can plan a retirement strategy based on the costs they choose. When a home is sold it is then subject to an automatic assessment increase based on its higher value. Individuals purchasing at higher prices would pay at higher values. It would be an individual’s choice whether to remain in one’s present home with its fixed assessed value or move into a more expensive home with a much higher assessment. Under the current system a family is forced into higher costs that are completely out of their control.

Will the municipalities be able to afford this method of assessment? Of course! Millions of dollars are currently being spent on projects that have little value for the average citizen. Lots of us would like a new home rather than continuing to live in a 1950’s model. But we remain in the home we can afford. City government should learn that same lesson in frugality.

Ownership of private property is a legacy of our Founding Fathers that should be cherished and preserved. And government should never threaten its citizens’ senior years.

Posted in The Nation, Tidewater, Virginia | Leave a comment

Town Center – A Downtown Rising from Nothing

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

It began as the vision of a small group of businessmen. There followed years of political maneuvering before it became a reality. A plethora of citizens, espousing positions both pro and con, made their opinions public on the issue. Numerous City Councils debated a proposal that would change the character of our city.

How could the largest city in Virginia not have a downtown? Some envisioned our prime commercial area to be the resort strip at the oceanfront. Others considered the area’s one downtown to be in sister city Norfolk. Some felt it was not an issue that even needed to be addressed. But the true dreamers saw a downtown rising from nothing, a fresh urban start for 21st century Virginia Beach.

Against all odds City Council and a willing developer reached agreement. A majority agreed that it was time to venture towards a more aesthetic, urban architectural plan. The concept of Town Center was on track to become a reality.

Even in its early stages of development the Pembroke area, now Town Center, has an urban feel. One can walk well manicured streets and be in any city in America. Its businesses and restaurants are thriving. Upscale urban housing, currently under construction, will only add to its vitality. When completed, our new Performing Arts Center will catapult the city from its cultural abyss of amphitheater rock concerts. Town Center’s streets will be filled with evening visitors seeking food and drink after a night at the theater.

Town Center is good for Virginia Beach. In fact, its very, very good. May it continue to grow, both upward and outward.

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Never Wear White Shoes Before Easter

Posted on October 6, 2008 by administrator

Growing up in the Deep South instills deeply held behavior patterns that are quite obviously not so important in other parts of the country. In my adult life I am genuinely shocked when I observe an acquaintance wearing white shoes in February. Number one rule on the list: Never wear white shoes before Easter or after Labor Day!

Easter in the Deep South is much, much more than a celebration of the resurrection. It is also a celebration of the beginning of spring. Nature chooses that opportunity to restore its plumage. Trees are beginning to sprout leaves. Jonquils push their way through the warming earth with their yellow glory. And someone please tell me how the dogwood trees always know its Easter, since it falls on a different day every year.

Easter is nature’s way to let us know that winter is not forever. Life begins again. In the Deep South this is cause for celebration. Planning begins well in advance. One must always visit the local department store to obtain a new frock and shoes for the morning church service. In the time of my youth the ritual also included a hat and white gloves. The shoes must, of course, be white and NEVER worn before Easter morning.

Southern sorority girls are regularly subjected to manners boot camp, which instills even more deeply ingrained behavior patterns. It has been almost thirty five years since I graduated from my Southeastern Conference alma mater but the rules instilled in sorority “charm school” are still overpowering.

It seems a perfectly ordinary thing to offer one a stick of chewing gum. But my immediate reaction to this type of offer is to recoil in horror with a deeply offended “No”. I can’t control myself. It just comes out. Of course the party offering the gum is somewhat surprised by this reaction and does not understand that their innocent offer is as abhorrent as if they had offered illegal drugs. “Ladies do not chew gum!” That statement, forever repeated in sorority boot camp, has been ingrained into my being for time eternal. Should I ever be captured by terrorists the perfect torture tool would be to force a stick of gum into my mouth.

“Ladies do not walk with a cigarette in their hand.” This is Rule #3. Of course I have never smoked. But if I ever choose to I certainly know the rules.

There are other important behavior patterns not completely understood by those who lack the great fortune to be born in the Deep South. But I can’t give away all our secrets, can I?

Posted in A Little Bit of Everything Else, Mississippi | Leave a comment