Find Your Folks

Church Hats Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:09:00 +0000

Family History of Hats

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:59:00 +0000

Revella Ephraim McDaniel born about 1878 in Union Church, Mississippi.
Courtesy of LindaRe of Between the Gate Posts Blog

LindaRe of Between the Gate Posts Blog has s long history of hat wearing women in her family and through her assortment of photos, you can see the changes in hat styles over time. Click here to view photos.

What types of hat wearing photos do you have in your family photo collection?

The Custom of Hat Wearing

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

This question was posed by one of my blog readers and I've been also wondering the same thing---The wearing of hats was a custom for many generations---what made them go out of style/custom?

Sunday Crowns Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:13:00 +0000

I am working on a program (Sunday Crowns) about church hats for next month which will be held at a local historic house. Part of the presentation will be to talk about the hat wearing women in my family and other families. I also plan to display some of my maternal grandmother's hats. As part of my research, I would like to interview hat wearing women or their descendants. Although my research focus is hat wearing by African American women, I would also like to know about hat wearing habits of women of other races and cultures.

If you are a hat wearing woman or the descendant of one, and are interested in sharing a photo or story to be used in my presentation, please email me at professordru@yahoo.com. The program will be held Saturday, February 18, 2012, 3 PM – 5 PM.

Young Niece and Nephews Enjoy Using Flip-Pal Scanner

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:36:00 +0000

My young niece and nephews, ages 6, 2, and 10 enjoyed using the Flip-Pal scanner during a recent visit. First I showed the 10 year old how to use scanner and afterwards, he showed the 2 and 6 year olds.

Each One Teach One!

Young Niece and Nephews Enjoy Using Flip-Pal Scanner

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:27:00 +0000

It was a spur of the moment descision on my part to let me young niece, age 6 and her brother, age 10 to use my new Flip-Pal scanner. I did not intend for my 2-year-old nephew to get in on the action, but after watching his older cousins use the mache, he wanted to get it on the action. With a little guidance he sucessfully scanned in a family photo.

Webinar

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:58:00 +0000

My webinar, Let Your Voice Be Heard in the Digital Conversation, is now available for free viewing until December 5, 2011.

My Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Disclosure Statement

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:05:00 +0000

Quick Start Guide scanned using my Flip-Pal Scanner

I, Drusilla Pair aka “Professor Dru,” and six other fellow bloggers (Sheri Fenley - The Educated Genealogist - http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/; Marian Pierre-Louis - Roots and Rambles - http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com/; Caroline Pointer - For Your Family Story - http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog.html; Heather Wilkinson Rojo - Nutfield Genealogy - http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/; and Julie Cahill Tarr - GenBlog - http://genblogjulie.blogspot.com/) are affiliates of Flip-Pal and we received evaluation units of the Flip-Pal scanner from Couragent, Inc. for purposes of providing a review.

We received the scanner at no charge to us and are under no obligation to return it, but can keep it for our own personal use.

We appreciate this fantastic early Christmas present from Flip-Pal and our dear friend and fellow blogger, Thomas MacEntee.

I will be using various forms of multimedia technology (voice, text, and video) to tell my Flip-Pal story.

So come join us on this Hippity Hoppity Flip-Pal Simple Gifts Blog Hopping journey with us!

And please don’t forget to leave comments on our blogs and other social media sites.

Thanks.

Drusilla Pair aka “Professor Dru”

Flip-Pal Demo by Dear Myrtle

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000

This following video was originally posted on my blog November 15, 2011.

I had fun watching Dear Myrtle demonstrate how to use her new toy, a flip-pal mobile scanner during the 2010 Atlanta Family History Expos.

==========================================

October 31, 2011 - I am pleased to have been chosen as one of seven bloggers to participate in the Simple Gifts Blog Hop, which will run November 4th - 25th.

Congratulations also to the six other lucky bloggers:

* Sheri Fenley - The Educated Genealogist - http://sherifenley.blogspot.com
* Marian Pierre Louis - Roots and Rambles - http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com
* Caroline Pointer - For Your Family Story - http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog.html
* Heather Wilkinson Rojo - Nutfield Genealogy - http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com
* Nancy Shively - Gathering Stories - http://nancyshively.blogspot.com
* Julie Cahill Tarr - GenBlog - http://genblogjulie.blogspot.com/

Like Dear Myrtle, I look forward to having fun using my new toy and I'm sure that my other Blog Hopper Colleagues also anticipate the fun.

Hope that the UPS man drops by today with my toy like he did at Julie Cahill Tarr's house. Will post more later about my plans for using this fantastic gift.

Let Your Voice Be Heard in the Digital Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:33:00 +0000

http://legacyfamilytree.com/Webinars.asp

Legacy Family Tree Offers African American Webinar

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 09:57:00 +0000

Legacy Family Tree will offers it’s first African American focused webinar on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at (2:00 PM Eastern U.S., 1:00 PM Central, 12:00 PM Mountain, 11:00 AM Pacific, 6:00 PM GMT). This free webinar, Best Internet Resources for African American Genealogy, will be facilitated by Afrigeneas member, Ms. Angela Walton Raji. This webinar examines resources that provide guidance for the unique problems facing descendants of slaves and will include information on the usage and resources of the Afrigeneas website. Register now for this FREE webinar at http://legacyfamilytree.com/Webinars.asp.

Melvin Collier’s "150 Years Later" Book

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:22:00 +0000

I am currently reading the book, 150 Years Later, Broken Ties Mended (www.150yearslater.com) by Melvin J. Collier, which is a first person account from the family researcher’s point of view. I love this style of writing where the author takes you on the research journey explaining along the way the who, what, when, where, and how of the research process. Throughout this book, you get into the mind and logic of the researcher.

One of my favorite lines so far from the book is the opening of one of the chapters which reads:

“Going back into the past and uncovering my ancestor’s story had now become an addiction, and I did not desire any form of rehabilitation whatsoever.”

Family historians around the world all understand this addiction which Melvin speaks of, and like him, we DO NOT desire any rehabilitation either.

This book reads like a historical mystery or family historian memoir and chronicles how Melvin discovered the whereabouts of the family and descendants of his great grandfather Bill Reed, who was a slave in Abbeville, SC. Although Bill Reed experienced the tragedy and breakup of his family during slavery, 150 years later his descendants would discover the missing broken links which would mend broken family ties that would turn tears and sorrow into triumphant celebration for his family. This book is a must read for family historian of all ethnic backgrounds and I look forward to reading and blogging about the remainder of the book.

Grandma’s “The Help” Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:35:00 +0000

My maternal grandmother, Emma Johnson Thornton (1922 - 2011).

Photo taken in Newport News, VA around 1950s.

“The Help” book and movie is bringing out a multitude of emotions—good, bad, and indifferent. My maternal grandmother openly talked about her experiences as “the help”, but she referred to this employment as “day work.” I am proud that she took the time to share such a rich oral history through her stories about being “the help”. The point of many of Grandma’s “the help” stories was to teach us about life and it’s challenges.

Through Grandma’s “the help” stories, I learned about racism, budgeting, motivations for migration, and about challenges in life. Grandma frequently recalled various racist comments made by some of her employers and having one job working as a live-in maid where she had to sleep on the porch with the family’s dog.

During the early 1940s, my grandmother moved from Ridgeway, NC to Richmond, VA where she lived with a maternal Aunt and worked as a Domestic for white families. Later she moved to Washington, DC around 1942 for better wages before getting married in March 1943 and settling in Newport News, VA. Through these stories, I learned about her motivations for migration.

One of the other stories she repeatedly told my family was about how she earned $3 a week and budgeted this wage: $1 to give her aunt for rent, $1 to get her hair done, and the rest for food which was not enough for the week. This story taught us about budgeting and hard times. “I should have listened to my mama and not jumped out so fast,” Grandma would often remorse about her decision to leave home at age 19 and head for the city to get out her rural hometown. This was the story she would tell to her grandchildren and great grands who were anxious to leave home and get out on their own.

After seeing “The Help” movie on opening night, I left the theater with a smile on my face and pride in my heart for my grandmother and other ancestors who endured the abuses of segregation, Jim Crow, and working as “the help.” I know that quite a few African Americans are upset by this movie and book, however my response is to reflect on my grandmother’s life and her stories about being “the help” as well as to honor her and other known ancestors who worked in this capacity.

Irregardless of how you feel about it, author Kathryn Stockett has told her version of “the help” story through a book and film which has ignited the emotions of Americans of all races around the country. But Stockett’s story is not the one and only story, so I encourage people of all races to share their “the help” stories. There is something liberating about sharing these types of stories and we saw this demonstrated in the book and film as the black maids of Jackson, MS began to share their stories with Skeeter (Emma Stone).

Twitter and The Help Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:14:00 +0000

Viewing comments on Twitter about the movie and book, The Help, for the past week has been social media at it’s best. Twitter is a micro or mini blog where movie goers or book readers can share their thoughts in bite-sizes from their computers or various mobile devices.

Having a dedicated column in Tweetdeck (a desktop application for Twitter and other social media applications which allows users to send and received tweets and view profiles) for hashtags #thehelp or #thehelpmovie enables me to see the latest tweets about the movie and book. These tweets contain links to movie reviews as well as the reactions to the book and movie from numerous people around the country.

I noticed references from several tweeters regarding the following:

Number of book reading friends in groups they have formed, “I’m reading The Help with ____ others;”
Movie dates, “I’m attending The Help with ____ others” These movie dates included girls night out, boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife dates, and a large number of families which include mothers, sisters, aunties, and grandmas. One tweeter posted that they would be attending the movie with their great-grandmother;
Reactions and commentaries about movie where some say “they loved it, a must see, book was/was not as good as the movie,” memorable lines from film such as “you is good, you is kind, you is important;”
Criticisms of movie or book and expressions of emotions which range from laughing during the funny scenes and crying during sad ones,

So if you want to know the latest and up-to-date news about The Help or any other topics, use Twitter . If you have not tried Twitter before, below is a tutorial to get you started.

Song - The Living Proof

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:13:00 +0000

This is a very inspirational song which is part of the soundtrack for the movie, "The Help".

A New Blog is Born!

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:51:00 +0000

Youth Genealogy and Historical Research
www.youthgenealogy.com

Movie "The Help"

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Watching the trailer for "The Help" movie reminds me that I need to record my grandmother's story about her working life as a Domestic for white families from the early 1940s to sometime during the 1970s. She refers to her working life as “Day’s Work” and I’ve heard others from her generation use this term to refer to Domestic work.

Thanks to Robin Foster of Saving Stories for posting this link on Facebook today. The trailer certainly ignited oral histories I’ve heard over the years and motivated me to revisit these memories from my grandmother. In Grandma's china closet are various items given to her by some of her employers and I recall conversations with her about which items were given by whom. However, I don’t recall who gave what so this time I plan to record these memories.

Therefore my genealogy priories for the week are as follows:

Write down what I remember Grandma saying about her life as a Domestic.

Write down questions to ask her about her life as a Domestic.

Take photos and inventory items in china closet which were given to her by her employers and record her memories of these items.

Begin recording and writing her memories of her life as a Domestic in Richmond, VA, Washington, DC, and Newport News, VA.

Trailer for Movie, "The Help"

Mary J. Blige records New Song For the Help

Guest Appearance on Blog Talk Radio Show

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:28:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce that and I will be a guest on Geneabloggers Blog Talk Radio Show this Friday night, July 15, 2011 att 10:00 EST, along with Nicka Smith of The Atlas Family blog, Jari Honora of Bayou Roots, Elyse Doerflinger of Elyse’s Genealogy Blog.

The show, Cool Ideas for Involving Youth in Genealogy, will be hosted by Dear Myrtle. Nicka and I will be sharing about the successful youth genealogy/historical research programs we just completed. Nicka’s program was in California and mine was in Virginia. Jari and Elyse will be sharing about their experiences as young genealogy/family historians.

Hope you will tune in to this great show on Friday night as the four of us share “Cool Ideas for Involving Youth in Genealogy.” BTW, I will be giving a surprise announcement on the show, so you’ll want to be among the first to hear.

See you Friday night!

Closing Program of Youth Historical Research Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:48:00 +0000

Next week, we will have a closing program for the youth historical project I have been teaching during the past eight weeks. This program taught middle and high school youth how to conduct historical research of their faith-based institution through the researching of historical documents, artifacts, and by conducting oral history interviews.

This has been a fantastic experience and the youth participants from Ivy Baptist Church and Gospel Light United Holy Church in Newport News, VA have made this pilot program a great success.

Genealogy Niche

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:02:00 +0000

Do you have a genealogy specialty or niche? “Often the niche finds you. It’s another form of genealogical serendipity” say Paula Stuart-Warren, CG. In her presentation Niche Planning and Marketing, Paula tells us what steps to take to further develop and market our genealogy niche and how to transition from being a generalist of genealogy to a specialist.

Genealogist may have more than one niche and I feel that mine are African American genealogy, Virginia and North Carolina records, Technology, and most recently Youth Genealogy. The tips shared by Paul in this presentation were invaluable.

To all genealogist, tell us about your genealogy niche(s).

Thanks for sharing, Paula.

Going Social With Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:35:00 +0000

Check out Robin Foster’s new online course, Going Social With Genealogy. In this course, you will “learn how to identify principles and tools which will help you to have more enriching relationships in finding, sharing, connecting and engaging with genealogists and others using social media.”

I learned about a few social media sites which I have not yet tried. Great job, Robin!

Incorporating Music into Youth Genealogy Lessons, Part 2 (Moving Back Further in Time Through Music Traditions)

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 22 May 2011 03:57:00 +0000

Handclapping (and even foot tapping) can provide natural instrumental music to a song.

Note: Both performances of this song were videotaped. However since I have not yet obtained parental consent from the parents of these young people to share photos or video with the public, I will not post these videos online. The videos were viewed in class as part of the lesson.

===================================
Musical Section #2 - Finding the Right Song
(For Part 1 of this story, click here)

During the third week of the program as I prepared my lesson, I was looking for an older song like “Precious Lord” on the MP3 downloads of http://www.amazon.com/. I went back and forth between renditions of this song by Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin. Then I decided to listen to other songs on an album by Aretha Franklin which included “Precious Lord.” I heard a variety of songs including the voice of her father, Rev. C. L. Franklin , who was a popular minister and gospel singer during my childhood. The version of “ This Little Light of Mine ” caught my attention because this tune was sung in a style without instrumental music, but only with handclapping and foot tapping. This would be a perfect song to talk to the youth about the period when many churches sung without instrumental music, I thought.

Performance #1
I decided to use this song as an ice breaker at the beginning of the lesson and to line up chairs in two rows where the youth and their mentors would sit like a congregation. Prior to playing the song, I gave the young people a brief lecture and demo of this hand clapping/foot stomping style of music. Then I played the song and asked them to sing along.

The song was slower than we normally sing it today and it took a little getting used to it. As the group sang, I encouraged them to get into character like the old people they heard singing from the recording. I could tell that three young men (ages 13 and 14) were into it the character of the music because they made faces, sounds, and gestures like old people as they sang.

Performance #2
At the end of the session, I decided to have the youth sing the song again for the benefit of one of the group members who came in late. During this singing session, the group had trouble keeping with the pace of the song and on several occasions began singing at a faster pace than the recording. The old people singing in this recording took their time singing this tune which is typically sung at a much faster rate today. Nevertheless, we got though this second performance of the song.

Spontaneity in the Room
But what happened next blew my mind and I knew at that moment that incorporating his song into the lesson was phenomenal. Immediately after we finished singing “This Little Light of Mine” with the recording, one of the young men spontaneously belted out singing “I Don’t Know What You Came to Do.”

The group, without prompting, responded singing, “I Don’t Know What You Came to Do.”

“I Don’t Know What You Came to Do,” sang the young man as he and the group clapped and stomped to the beat of the fast paced song.

The song leader repeated the line followed by the group repeating the same line.

“I Came to Clap My Hands,” the young song leader sang. Rather than responding in song this time, the group clapped twice at the end of this line.

“I Came to Stomp My Feet,” he sang and the group answered back with two stomps.

"I Came to Shout for Joy,” he sang on.

“I Came to Praise the Lord,” the young man sang. By now he had fully embraced his role as song leader and he even raised his hand in praise to God at the end of this line.

I’m not sure why the song ended abruptly, but it appears that one of the young people sung something offbeat from the way the song was supposed to go. Whatever it was, it got the attention of his mother who was one of the mentors sitting on the back row and she stood up laughing and hit her son lightly on the back in a playful manner. The group all responded with laughter.

We were way past the end of class by this time, so it was good that they did stop the song.

The atmosphere in the room was electrical as we packed up to leave and by this time everyone was hyped up. One of the young ladies began chanting or cheering C-H-R-I-S-T or something like that. The youth from her church responded with the spelling of other religious words and I assume that this is something that the youth in their church do. I was busy packing so I didn’t ask them about it.

The Benediction
As the youth who remained in the room proceeded to leave, the same young lady who had previously started the chant/cheer stopped and raised her right hand, bowed her head, and said as if she were conducting the closing of a church service, “May the Lord watch between me and thee.” We all knew the directio she was going with this statement and I joined in with her and the others.

“While we’re absent, one from another, Amen!” we all recited in unison in this familiar benediction. This act was like icing on the cake.

The kids exited the room and I followed shortly thereafter with a huge smile on my face and overflowing joy in my heart at a lesson well done.

Incorporating Music into Youth Genealogy Lessons, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Tue, 17 May 2011 22:53:00 +0000

I’m still having a ball teaching young people how to conduct historical research. On two occasions, I decided to incorporate music into my lesson. For more about this youth project, click here.

Musical Selection #1
During the second week of class, I decided to incorporate music on the opening slide of my PowerPoint. I used the song, “Come this Far by Faith”, because this was a popular tune sung by African American choirs during my youth in the 1970s and 1980s. I call this the ‘march in song’ because it was the tune that numerous African American choirs across the country sung as they marched during the processional at the beginning of church services back in my day. The ladies in the video below are marching into the church similarly to how we did it. However, our choirs wore robes and not elaborate hats like they are wearing. (I’m assuming that the occasion of this video was some type of special service like Women’s Day.)

“Do your choirs still march?” I asked the youth as the song “Come this Far by Faith” played.

“No.” they all responded.

“Have you ever seen choirs march in?” I asked. These youth, who were born during the 1990s, all said they had witnessed the choir march, and a few even mimicked the march in class the following week.

Incorporating music into presentations and teaching is always an attention getter and it certainly made a difference in setting the tone for the lecture that week. Since styles and musical taste typically change from one generation to the next, incorporating it into genealogy and history lessons is perfect for teaching about traditions and practices of various time periods.

Next Posting, Part 2 of Incorporating Music into Youth Genealogy Lessons (Moving Back Further in Time Through Music Traditions)

Happy Easter!

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:14:00 +0000

Happy Easter!

The Thrill of Teaching Historical Research and Genealogy to Youth

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:24:00 +0000

I would like to thank all those who gave me tips about teaching genealogy to young people. I talked to numerous people I know, both genealogists, educators and/or parents, and also asked for tips on Facebook, Twitter, and Afrigeneas, and my Find Your Folks blog.

I am excited to announce that after months of planning, I have finally begun conducting youth genealogy classes and workshops. Entering into this realm has not been as quick as I anticipated, but we all know that “good things come to those who wait.”

Opportunity #1
Eight Week Program in Partnership With a Local City Agency. I have partnered with a local city agency and am working with two persons from this organization in a program in which the three of us designed called Back in the Day - Faith-Based Institution Historical Research Program. Both of these individuals have history degrees, but their full-time positions are working with youth or managing youth related programs rather than something in the field of history.

We decided to focus on collecting and documenting church history in our city because we believed that religious institutions were a great place to start in teaching young people how to do historical and family research. The community in which we are teaching and researching is predominately African American and since historically major movements such as the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s have been ushered in through religious institutions, we felt that it was fitting to begin our youth research project through these institutions. We began planning the program in late September and sent out invitations to older churches in our community in October to participate in this program.

Response was slow, but two churches eventually committed to participate in our pilot program along with six young people from their congregations who are ages 13-16. Each church has an adult mentor from their congregation who also attends the sessions with their youth. We started the program two weeks ago with an interest meeting and began the first week of the eight week program on last week. Both the adult mentors and the young people seem to be getting a lot out the program and I am energized by their enthusiasm each night I teach. My two partners in this endeavor will also be teaching the youth during designated weeks in this eight week program so that will be a relief for me during those weeks, and I Iook forward to just just sitting, observing, and enjoying these sessions.

At the end of the eight weeks, the youth are expected to 1) write a report summarizing their research findings; and 2) prepare some type of creative project/activity such as a skit, poster board display, PowerPoint presentation, etc. which will be showcased in a program for their families, friends, church members, and others.

Opportunity #2
My Family History: Link to the Past, Bridge to the Future. This will be a three hour workshop which I am scheduled to conduct at a local historical and cultural center in May. The goal of this workshop is to introduce young people to methods to get started in tracing their family history in hopes that they may begin the discovery process to find a link to their past and a bridge to their future.

Now it’s SHOWTIME after all these months of waiting. I’m glad that I thought to buy school supplies such as paper, pencils, pens, pencil boxes and other supplies during the back-to-school sale last year. All of these things are coming in handy now.

I'm looking forward to many more opportunities to share my genealogy and historical research knowledge with young people. I hope that other genealogists and family researchers who have not done so already, will also find opportunities to share their knowledge with the young people of their communities.