KDGS UPCOMING MEETING PROGRAMS, FALL 2024
The KDGS has some great programs lined up for this Fall! Of course, these are all free to our KDGS Members but non-members will have to pay $10 to attend. Most of the main presentations will be followed by our short “Bite-size” talks – see topics below. Due to our limitations on Zoom, KDGS Members and non-members all need to register for the Zoom programs. To register, please visit our website at www.KDGS.ca to find the link to our registration form. Our meetings start at 7pm but please sign into Zoom by 6:50pm – thank you! Remember that a KDGS annual membership is only $40 which will buy you all the presentations plus many more benefits – join up on our website.
September 9: S.S. Sicamous Society – Our Structures and Their Stories
The Sternwheelers and tugboats on Okanagan Lake were vital to the development of the Okanagan, helping to settle and serve the developing communities along the lakeshore. Almost everyone in the Okanagan was served by these ships: many new inhabitants arrived this way, orchardists and farmers relied on the ships to bring supplies and take their products to national and international markets and mail was sent and delivered via the ships. There were several ships that served on the lake but very few have survived, four of which now reside at our park, where we at the SS Sicamous Marine Heritage Society are devoted to preserving and sharing their memory and their contribution to the development of the Okanagan.
Date: Monday, September 9, 2024, 7pm
Presenter: Robert Nield
Location: via Zoom
Price: KDGS members Free; non-members $10; REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Bite-size: Using Find-A-Grave, presented by KDGS member, Anne Harrison
Robert Nield qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and moved to Hong Kong in 1980. He spent most of his working life there as a partner in one of the world’s largest accountancy practices. Since retirement, Robert has been involved in many not-for-profit organizations. His interests include history (he gained an MPhil degree in 2018), sailing, writing songs, and playing the guitar. Robert came to Penticton with his wife in 2019 and is currently the treasurer for the S.S. Sicamous Marine Heritage Society. Robert is also a member of the KDGS and coordinator of our Family Tree Software SIG.
 
October 7: Making the Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana Your Research Assistant
The presentation will cover how to explore the international holdings and datafiles of the Genealogy Center both to plan a research trip to Fort Wayne and, especially, to use the Genealogy Center remotely.
Date: Monday, October 7, 2024, 7pm
Presenter: Curt Witcher
Location: via Zoom
Price: KDGS members Free; non-members $10; REGISTRATION REQUIRED (will be available September 10th)
Curt Witcher is the Director of Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library, managing the widely acclaimed Genealogy Center as well as the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research. He is a former president of both the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society, and the founding president of the Indiana Genealogical Society. Curt currently serves on the Indiana State Historical Records Advisory Board and on the executive committee of the Friends of the Lincoln Collection of Indiana’s Board of Directors. He also serves on the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society board of directors as well as an advisor for the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne.
Curt is distinguished as a fellow of both the Indiana Genealogical Society and the Utah Genealogical Association.  Over the decades he led collaborative national efforts to preserve and make more accessible historical data. For those efforts he has received the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Humanitarian Award and the National Genealogical Society’s P. William Filby Award for outstanding, life-time contributions to genealogical librarianship. Curt’s passion for finding families’ stories and his belief in the power of those stories to change lives has been recognized by numerous organizations. He is the recipient of the Indiana Historical Society’s 2019 Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award for extraordinary contributions to the field of history, the 2024 “I Love My Librarian Award” from the American Library Association for outstanding public service, and a 2024 Distinguished Hoosier Award from the Governor of the State of Indiana.
 
November 4: The Italians in World War II Canadian Internment Camps
Description to follow
Date: Monday, November 4, 2024, 7pm
Presenter: Gord Hotchkiss
Location: via Zoom
Price: KDGS members Free; non-members $10; REGISTRATION REQUIRED (Will be available October 8th)
Bite-size:  Using Libby, presenter KDGS member, Beverley Brooks
 
December 4: Christmas Social – Join us for Fun, Games, Raffles and Food!
Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 7pm
Location: Reid Hall at Benvoulin Heritage Church
KDGS Members only

S.S. Sicamous Society – Our Structures and Their Stories
The Sternwheelers and tugboats on Okanagan Lake were vital to the development of the Okanagan, helping to settle and serve the developing communities along the lakeshore. Almost everyone in the Okanagan was served by these ships: many new inhabitants arrived this way, orchardists and farmers relied on the ships to bring supplies and take their products to national and international markets and mail was sent and delivered via the ships. There were several ships that served on the lake but very few have survived, four of which now reside at our park, where we at the SS Sicamous Marine Heritage Society are devoted to preserving and sharing their memory and their contribution to the development of the Okanagan.
Date: Monday, September 9, 2024, 7pm
Presenter: Robert Nield
Location: via Zoom – Registration required
Price: KDGS members Free (have you renewed for our 2024-2025 year?); non-members $10; REGISTER HERE 
Robert Nield qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and moved to Hong Kong in 1980. He spent most of his working life there as a partner in one of the world’s largest accountancy practices. Since retirement, Robert has been involved in many not-for-profit organizations. His interests include history (he gained an MPhil degree in 2018), sailing, writing songs, and playing the guitar. Robert came to Penticton with his wife in 2019 and is currently the treasurer for the S.S. Sicamous Marine Heritage Society. Robert is also a member of the KDGS and coordinator of our Family Tree Software SIG.
Bite-Size Genealogy: Find-a-Grave presenter by Anne Harrison
Anne attended a Kelowna and District Genealogical Society (KDGS) conference in 2005 and joined the society in 2007 when she retired from work. For 25 years she had been with the provincial government in the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance as a caseworker, district supervisor and adjudicator.
In 2010 she joined the KDGS executive board as the Archivist and took photos at events and scrapbooked their memories for 9 years. From 2019 – 2021 she was the Vice President and from 2021 – 2024 she was the President. Anne has gone back to being your Archivist now.
Anne hopes to find more time to do her own genealogy this year and do some research in Ontario, England and Newfoundland. She also likes doing puzzles, knitting baby blankets for future great grandchildren and enjoying the great outdoors on her e-bike.
Anne is currently involved in Emergency Support Services (ESS) and helps the team with local and wildfire evacuations. In the past she has volunteered with Hands in Service, Pets & People and Shoe Bank Canada. She likes to stay busy and involved in the community that she calls home.