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1979 - Worked with Duane Borden and two other people in finding and researching all of the old cemeteries in Shenandoah Co. as well as in Hardy, Page, and Rockingham counties. These cemeteries were put into book form and copies were made available to libraries across the country.
1984 May - The Virginia State Library microfilmed all church records in the county free of charge as a security method. I attended church meetings and spoke to representatives, explaining what I wished to accomplish and also explained the filming process. In Nov. of 1984 I received the records at the Shenandoah County Courthouse from those churches interested in the service. The records were filmed at the courthouse and the original records were then returned to the churches. Some of these records can be viewed in the Shenandoah County Library as well as the VA State Library.
1985 Feb. - Worked with Mr. Sigler, Clerk of the Court and worked with the VA State Library in getting the microfilmed copies of our marriage records back here in our county. These can be viewed at the Shenandoah Co. Library.
1986 Jan. - Became Director of the Shenandoah County Archives where I reorganized the archives. Before this, not all items were stored in acid free boxes and they had used a museum system of cataloguing instead of an archival system. Paperwork was brought up to date, as well as giving each person who contributed a collection number.
1886 May - Karen Cooper and myself saw a need for a countywide historical group which would serve the needs of the community through preserving the past. We sat at her kitchen table drawing up goals and purposes of the group and contacted as many people as we could. The first meeting of the Shenandoah County Historical Society was held in May 1986.
1986 - Two other people and myself went through the original wills in the Shenandoah Co. Courthouse, indexed them and flat filed them in acid free boxes. These documents were then put on security microfilm by the Library of VA in Richmond.
1986 - Made copies of WPA records at the Library of VA. Later, in 1997, a friend and I copied the rest of the WPA records from the microfilm and I made an index for them. These records are now at the Shenandoah Co. Library.
1987 - I inventoried all of the old records in the Shenandoah School Board office from ledgers to photographs. I helped to make arrangements for the Library of VA to put some of the oldest of these records on security microfilm.
1987 - I worked on the committee under the Shen. Co. Historical Society that did research on the old schools in the county. This information along with pictures of the schools was put together and a display was made from the information. This was taken to different festivals during the year for the public to view.
1988 - Made arrangements with the Mormon Library to microfilm some of the records in the archives and private collection so that they would be available to the public at the library. Made arrangements with the Forest Service to have their grant maps microfilmed. This information is now at the Shen. Co. Library.
1988 - As a member of the Historical Society Preservation Committee, I helped to compile a notebook on how to identify structural differences in houses, what to look for and how to fill out the Landmark Commission forms. This is at the Shen. Co. Library for the public to use.
1989 - Applied for a grant for preservation of records from the Humanities with help from Vincent Poling, John Cutlip, and David Steinberg. The grant was for one year and took in the earliest county court records dating back to 1772. The Library of VA began a grant program and our county was one of the first to apply and be accepted. Through various grants, the records have been preserved from 1772 - 1913. When the project is completed, a microfilm copy of the records along with an index will be placed at the Shenandoah Co. Courthouse, Shenandoah Co. Library and Library of VA for the public use.
1991 - Made arrangements to have the Edinburg Sentinel microfilmed by the Library of VA. A duplicate copy would be placed in the Shenandoah Co. Library.
1990's - Volunteered my talent in drawing a picture of Peter Muhlenberg. This picture was given to people who contributed $200 or more to the Daughters of the American Revolution for the bronze bust that was placed in front of the old courthouse.
1990's - Helped a family to trace the history of a cemetery that had been sold as a building lot. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in that area with the last burials being about 1900. The family has since bought the land and preserved it as a cemetery.
I have been working on my own family history for the last twenty-five years.