Pegg Ridolfo
Well, hasn’t 2020 been an experience? It’s unfortunate that we were only able to have one meeting this year even though several were planned but had to be cancelled. As of December 2020, my two-year term as moderator is up and it’s time to give the reins over to someone new. At this time unfortunately, there is no one to pick up the reins. We’ve had a lot of new residents move in over the last year and I am hoping someone will be interested in continuing the club.
Let me give you a little history on how the club was started.
In July of 2012, Carol Sorensen and Martha Sampson met at the pool while going through the design of their new homes which led to a conversation on genealogy. After both had moved into their new homes, they held the first meeting in Martha’s house and shared their recent discoveries in genealogy research.
Soon after, the club meetings were moved to La Hacienda each month. At that time, we had a reciprocity agreement with SaddleBrooke residents and Gloria Quigg, who is a seasoned genealogist and often shared her expertise. Genealogy can be a solitary hobby but we discovered that by sharing our stories or advice on how to get over the proverbial brick wall often gave insight to others. Over the years we heard some amazing stories. Some of those stories were emotional, loving, laughable, and always worthwhile to hear.
Initially the club was organized to have two functions: 1) sharing research finds and 2) learning how to do research. Soon Mike Neal became our DNA expert and Carol Andrews took on the other club responsibilities. Late in 2016 I joined Mike and Carol and took on some of the responsibilities as did Linda Chonle. During this time, Mike gave many talks explaining DNA and the benefits of following our DNA to discover our ancestors. Carol also completed her family tree and it was amazing to see all the work she had done. Soon clinics were organized to help those who didn’t know where to start. We also had a guest speaker from time to time to explain about the resources available, how to organize your information, and how to use computer programs and other tools to compile that information.
Now it is time to have some leadership in the Ranch Roots Genealogy Club. Typically, we would need three to four people to take over, where each would have their own responsibilities and would only require two to four hours of time each month. Linda and I will happy to help guide anyone willing to continue this great club. You may contact me at 317-691-3950 or by email at [email protected].