Greetings to All, I am sitting here trying to figure out where to start.  I just read an article I wish I had read before our October meeting.  October, Family History month, we are always trying to find interesting stories, trivia, something to add to what happened to our ancestors and in history. 

The title of the article is “First Wartime Use of an Airplane, October 1911”.  The first airplane to fly in war was a Bleriot XI, designed and built by Louis Bleriot of France .  It was used for aerial reconnaissance over North Africa in the Italo-Turkish War on October 23, 1911 .  It was the first time that anything more airborne than tethered observation balloons was used for strategic military purposes.  Balloons had been employed for decades and were widely used by both sides of the Civil War for bird’s-eye views of the terrain and enemy positions.  They were typically tethered to prevent them being shot down or landing in enemy hands.  The superiority of a plane in the air, covering more ground, was soon obvious. By 1914, in World War I, Bleriot was one of many aircraft designs deployed in great numbers for aerial reconnaissance as well as for use in battle.

This was taken from Fold3.com (formerly Footnote.com) and there were reports, photographs, and squadron histories written in the words of the airmen who flew in battle.

On October 15^th, 12 people from the “Beginning Genealogy Class” held in July, went to the Indiana State Library.  We took a tour of the Genealogy facility and each time I am on that tour I find out something I had forgotten from previous tours.  Each tour guide has their own way of showing and telling what is available.  This is good because you can get new ideas, hints, to possibly break that “Brick Wall”.

November is the time of year we are “Thankful.”  Thankful for what God has given us and thankful for our ancestors who have given us the opportunity to be whom we are.  They guided families through the years and infused them with good ethics in church, family, and work.  Some of the traditions are still being passed down today.  We may not realize it, but when you go back and think about how our ancestors and parents lived and worked, you can see some of this in yourselves and undoubtedly are passing down to your children and grand-children.

December brings us Christmas, the birth of our Savior which is our primary thought.  We also have our family traditions and celebrations.  We have celebrations with friends too.  We, TIPCOA, will also have our annual Christmas carry-in on December 14^th, and have a party and good time.  Oh, all of the celebrations that seem to stack up and come one after another.  We say we are going to watch ourselves at this time of year, but what do we do, what we have done the years before and then have to make those “breakable” New Year’s resolutions.

The winter months, when we are in because of the cold and snow, we use the time to search the web and see what some of the websites have added to give us one of those “Yes!!!” moments when we make a great find and possibly “tear down that wall”.

I want to wish everyone “Happy Holidays” from October through December.  Good luck in your research!  Be ready to share your “finds” on February 8^th, 2012 , when we get together again for our TIPCOA meeting.

Barbara Kirkpatrick, 

TIPCOA President