Chinook Arch

Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2023

AFHS President, Marion Peterson, reminds us that there are treasures to be found at our library and extends an invitation to an open house for those who would like a tour.
Zolton Walford shares the story of his great-grandmother, Sarah Jane (Galliers) Walford who lived to age 103.
This month’s tech tip is all about how to about how to find historic newspapers online.
On the Research Round Up page, AFHS webmaster, Jim Benedict, describes the three different websites operated by AFHS.
Check out the Special Interest Groups page and Upcoming Events page for upcoming educational opportunities including a Genealogy 101 Workshop being offered by AFHS this spring.

Volume 5, Issue 2, February 2023

AFHS President, Marion Peterson, reflects on how volunteering with Alberta Family Histories Society has led to friendships with helpful members.
On our Ancestor Anecdote page, Diane Duncan shares part of a letter her cousin wrote about his adventures in 1898 working on a freighter that travelled to and from Great Slave Lake.
On this month’s Tech Tips page, Tara Shymanski recommends several excellent genealogy podcasts.
The AFHS Library has several books about Calgary churches. Our Library Committee Chair, Linda Murray, lists these on the Library Highlights page.
Check out the Special Interest Groups page and Upcoming Events page for educational opportunities including a Genealogy 101 Workshop being offered by AFHS this spring.

Volume 5, Issue 3, March 2023

AFHS President, Marion Peterson, talks about the benefits of using Facebook in genealogy research including the two AFHS Facebook pages.
Ron Gilmore shares the story of how genealogical serendipity and a hand-drawn family tree helped him find his wife’s Irish ancestors.
On this month’s Tech Tips page, John Smiley shows us an example of what ChatGPT can do for our research and he will give a demonstration of ChatGPT during the March AFHS meeting.
Jim Benedict explains how we can go “data mining for ancestors” on the new Routes to Roots section of the AFHS website.
Check out the Special Interest Groups page and Upcoming Events page for educational opportunities including a Genealogy 101 Workshop being offered by AFHS with the first session on March 19.

Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2023

In her President’s Message, Marion Peterson reflects on her use of libraries and involvement on the library committee over the years.
This month’s Ancestor Anecdote, written by Stephanie Morton, outlines how her genealogy whims lead to the discovery of new ancestor and more mysteries to explore.
For those who have wondered how much an item owned or purchased by an ancestor would cost in today’s dollars, Amber Godfrey describes a website that calculates what an historical amount would be worth in today’s dollars.
Once again, Amber has come up with lots of great educational opportunities on our Upcoming Events page.
For all the details about the Special Interest Groups offered by AFHS, see page 4.

Volume 5, Issue 5, May 2023

In her President’s Message, Marion Peterson outlines what has been accomplished during her year in this position and warns about relying on the “STP.”
In this month’s Ancestor Anecdote, Jim Benedict describes how searching newspapers led to details that enriched the story of his grandfather, Peter George Benedict.
Amber Godfrey describes the fascinating life of an interesting Albertan, Dr. Diana May Loranger.
The Research Round-Up page describes the University of Calgary’s Digital Collections and the Glenbow Western Research Centre.
The issue also includes our regular features: a Special Interest Group page, an Upcoming Events page and a page with information about our Society.

Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2023

In the President’s Message, Ron Gilmore introduces the new Board of Directors for 2023-24.
This month’s Ancestor Anecdote, written by Warren Peterson, outlines the life of his grandmother who faced many challenges in her long life.
For this month’s Tech Tip, Roy Aggarwal outlines what you need to know about USB flash drives.
On the Library Highlights page, Linda Murray describes the many books by Linda Corupe which we have at the AFHS library.
There are lots of great educational opportunities on our Upcoming Events page.
As usual, Special Interest Group News is on page 4 and other Society information is on the back page.

Volume 5, Issue 7, September 2023

AFHS President Ron Gilmore describes a family-history road trip he took this summer and highlights some of the Society’s accomplishments during the summer months.
On the DNA Discoveries page, Bev Smith tells how DNA helped knock down a brick wall which resulted in a visit with a newly found relative.
For this month’s Tech Tips page, Amber Godfrey outlines how you can use your smartphone as a scanner.
On the Research Round Up page, our website assistant, Ron Aggarwal, celebrates the 100th cemetery added to the Alberta Ancestors website and provides a link to a CBC News video about this project which features some of our amazing AFHS volunteers.
There are lots of great educational opportunities on our Upcoming Events page.
The Special Interest Group page now has a SIG News section to highlight special upcoming SIG meetings and lists some of the recorded SIG sessions available as members-only content on the AFHS website.

Volume 5, Issue 8, October 2023

In the President’s Message, Ron Gilmore highlights some of the recent activities of our Society.
On the Ancestor Anecdote page, Pat Hodge shares how a simple request to a small archive in Newfoundland led to a few unexpected family connections.
Upcoming Special Interest Group meetings are highlighted on the SIG page.
For this month’s Tech Tip, Ron Gilmore describes how he uses JPEG format to scan old photographs.
The Library Highlights page features the magazines, journals and newsletters that are available in print format at the AFHS Library.
There are lots of great educational opportunities on our Upcoming Events page.
As usual, the final page is filled with information about Alberta Family Histories Society.

Volume 5, Issue 9, November 2023

In his President’s Message, Ron Gilmore summarizes the results from the Strategic Planning Session and lists the top six items the participants felt our Society should focus on for the coming year.
On the first Ancestor Anecdote page, Leslie Dennis shares the story of Gerard Bruce Armstrong, her son’s great-uncle, who served in the Second World War. In our second Ancestor Anecdote, Ron Gilmore shares the tragic story of his grandfather Thomas McCracken Gilmore’s service in the First World War.
Upcoming Special Interest Group meetings and recorded meetings available to view on the AFHS website are highlighted on the SIG page.
For this issue’s Research Round Up, Amber Godfrey explains why you should use city directories for your research and outlines how to access Calgary City Directories in local libraries and online.
There are lots of great educational opportunities on our Upcoming Events page.
As usual, the final page is filled with information about Alberta Family Histories Society.

Volume 5, Issue 10, December 2023

In his President’s Message, Ron Gilmore shares a few of his holiday memories and encourages us to use upcoming family gatherings to collect the memories of others.
A terrible misfortune suffered by one of her ancestors is described in Marion Peterson’s Ancestor Anecdote.
The Special Interest Group page lists upcoming SIG meetings and the handouts from previous English/Welsh SIG meetings available to members on the AFHS website.
On the Tech Tips page, Jim Benedict outlines how to convert images of newspaper clippings to text using the Windows Snipping Tool.
If you are looking for maps of Alberta to add context to your genealogy, see the Library Highlights page for a description of ones in the AFHS Library collection.
There are lots of great educational opportunities on our Upcoming Events page.
As usual, the final page is filled with information about Alberta Family Histories Society.