GENEALOGY SOCIETY CELEBRATES 10^TH ANNIVERSARY

            The Roger Mills County Genealogical Society met Thursday, September 7 at the Library and celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the Society. Judy Tracy presented the program to 16 members and quests. The society was especially pleased to welcome returning founding members Loretta Fults and Alan Atha. Also special guest, Jeanette Wesner Scott, daughter of the late Betty Wesner who was the first President and guiding light. For it was Betty Wesner joined by Wanda Purcell who began holding the meeting and inviting interested community members to join the group. Genealogy is a personal search for one’s roots but as a group the society launched a service a to the community with a mission to preserve the county’s history and honor the pioneers. The focus of the Society lies within the boundaries of Roger Mills County but the service area has stretched across the Internet. It was the late David Kirby who designed the first WEB site for the Society and entered all of the marriage licenses for the county. Geneeva Cook, from Texas, now maintains the site. Wanda Purcell took on the task of entering the county obituaries on-line. This service has brought countless thank-you and acknowledgments from all over the county. At present counting, Purcell in nearing the 1000 mark. I addition to these services the Society established a paper file of obituaries, a microfilm file of the Cheyenne Star Newspaper and other county newspapers and a Reference Book Collection of family, county and cemetery histories. The Society publishes a small newspaper for the Old Settler year, has reprinted Nat Taylor’s “A Brief History of Roger Mills County” and has indexed Klina Casady’s book “Once Every Five Years”. In close Co-operation with the library the Society maintains the Genealogy section and holds its meeting there. The County can be proud of this service. Attending the meeting and enjoying the refreshments and visiting were Dolores Davidson, Doris Minor, Dorothy Alexander, Linda Maddux, Donna and Bob Manhart, Helen Smith, Dale and Judy Tracy, S. Allen Atha, Lorita Johnson, Loretta Fults, Jeanette Scott, Virginia Reynolds, Anna Damron and Allison Lockard.