Ways to engage family members in family history
UMRA's Family History Interest Group (FHIG) met via Zoom for two presentations on ways to engage family members in family history.
Ways to engage family members in family history
Wed, Feb 15 2023, 10am
UMRA's Family History Interest Group (FHIG) will meet via Zoom from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 15, for two presentations on ways to engage family members in family history.
Donna Weispfenning is currently working on a graphic memoir inspired by a visit to her grandmother in 1976. Donna will show us an eight-page draft of how she is transforming images from black and white photographs into drawings, paintings, and woodcuts to recapture the spirit of her time with the then-82-year-old family matriarch.
Jan Morlock and her brother, Jerry Morlock, will describe their efforts preparing for a major family reunion. Here is Jan's short take on the experience:
"It’s one thing to enjoy the solitary hours of research into your family’s history, but another thing when you need to find a way to share that enthusiasm with 100 members of your far-extended family—most of whom aren’t interested in the humdrum details of family records, or maybe not even in how they are related to each other and YOU! That was the challenge in front of us when Jerry and I, along with two cousins, found ourselves named as the History Committee in preparation for the 100-year family reunion of my mother’s family. At the February FHIG meeting, Jerry and I will show some of the things we cooked up to engage our diverse and distant relatives in learning about how we all are connected to each other."
A Zoom link will be sent to all UMRA members about two weeks in advance of the February 15 meeting. Please contact Lynn C. Anderson or Craig Swan if you have questions. We hope you can join us!
Upcoming Events
UMRA’s spring Armchair Traveler Program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, will take us to South Korea with Marilyn DeLong and to Germany with Lynn C. Anderson. Please mark your calendars and save the date.
Silk Parachute, an anthology of essays and the 40th of 44 published books by author John McPhee, will be the topic of discussion when UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meets via Zoom from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CDT on April 26.
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.