On February 10th the West Nebraska Family Research & History Center in Scottbluff provided the venue for a book talk/signing. Floyd Smith, III created the Center after he became interested in genealogy and began to amass a collection of local and county histories, obituaries from old newspapers and a staff of helpful volunteers who assist pilgrims searching for lost relatives. Floyd did a fine job publicizing the signing, which helped boost the crowd on a bitterly cold afternoon.
Allen and Ruth Vance served as gracious hosts and helped us set up for the signing and the book talk. Except for a punk newspaper reporter, Kathy and I were the youngest in attendance. Three couples had been married for over 60 years, giving us a worthy, if a bit lofty goal. We met Lucien Kicken, a shirtail relation of the Sandoz clan, who shared a story about Old Jules locating his family and scaring small children half to death in the process.
Anyone interested in family history would find a treasure of useful resources at the Center, including access to all the data bases so handy for in depth research.
