May 1, 2012
** DESSERT NIGHT **
Meeting starts at 7:00 in the Sky Lounge on the 5th floor of the Mountain View Methodist Church, 355 Ponca Place

Columbia Cemetery:  Boulder’s Pioneer Treasure

Mary Reilly-McNellan

There is a genealogical and pioneer treasure that sits on the west side of 9th Street in Boulder between College Avenue and Pleasant Street. Our Dessert Night speaker will introduce us to Marietta Kingsley, a lively Boulder pioneer buried in Columbia, who will tell us stories from early Boulder. Then, Mary will bring us up-to-date on Columbia Cemetery’s current status, how people can get involved in preservation, and how important the cemetery is for anyone doing Boulder family research.

Mary Reilly-McNellan has been interested in old cemeteries since the 1980s, when she first portrayed a deceased “madam” for Historic Boulder’s popular “Meet the Spirits” program. After working as a Boulder Mountain Parks Ranger for many years, Mary’s interest in history landed her a position as the Columbia Cemetery Preservation Project manager in 1998. Since that time, she has been obtaining grants and managing the Cemetery’s preservation efforts for the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department. She also serves as coordinator for the award-winning Columbia Cemetery Conservation Corps, a group of dedicated community volunteers who perform simple repairs and documentation tasks in Columbia, and is a co-founder of the Colorado Historic Cemetery Association. Mary has provided cemetery conservation workshops for various groups around the county, and has never met a graveyard that she didn’t like.


June 5, 2012
The DAR Genealogical Research System is for Everyone

Patricia A. Johnson

Pat’s presentation will lead you through the seven topics available at the Genealogical Research System (GRS). Pat will show actual results of various search opportunities available for free from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Another focus of the program will be to help the researcher understand the DAR language involved in the seven topics. Let Pat show you how to make a complex and sometimes intimidating set of databases more understandable and valuable for your research. The data recovered from the GRS is unique because it comes from many personal records not found anywhere else.

Patricia A. Johnson’s area of expertise is in American Revolutionary research. She is a regular contributor to the Kentucky Historical Society magazine, Kentucky Ancestors. As a FHC staff member Pat aids researchers at the Family History Center in Fort Collins, Colorado and belongs to the Larimer County Genealogical Society. She is the Registrar of Friday’s Council Tree Chapter, DAR, in Windsor, Colorado. Pat presents genealogical programs in Colorado and Wyoming, and has been a speaker at the Colorado Family History Expo.


July 3, 2012
Only In Boulder: The County’s Colorful Characters

Silvia Pettem

Boulder County has captivated settlers and travelers since gold prospectors founded the town in 1859. Only in Boulder is a look at the fascinating people who make up the area’s rich and historic past. Here, you’ll vicariously mine for gold with Indian Jack, fight for temperance with Lena Dwight and dance to the tunes of Glenn Miller. You’ll also learn of Horace and Baby Doe Tabors’ elusive connection to Boulder County and visit the final resting place of outlaw Tom Horn. This will be a fun program for your holiday week.

During Silvia Pettem’s forty-year career as an author, writer, and historical researcher, she continues to write a local history newspaper column, has authored more than a dozen books and has served on nearly every historically related board in Boulder, Colorado. Her research has extended from fleshing out the life of a Victorian female professor to helping to solve the identity of a fifty-five-year-old cold-case homicide. Silvia, a grandmother of four, lives in the mountains west of Boulder with her husband, Ed Raines, and cat, Nellie Bly. Silva is a past board member of the Boulder Genealogical Society.


August 7, 2012
Genealogy Proof Standard

Diane Barbour