Exploring the family tree

Transcona

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This article was published 13/01/2023 (1161 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new workshop being offered by RETLife and the Transcona Museum should help keep budding genealogists from barking up the wrong tree.

On Tues., Feb. 14, museum curators Alanna Horedja and Jennifer Maxwell will provide insight into preserving family heirlooms, including archival materials and other items.

“We’re quite excited about this, we could probably talk for hours,” Horedja said. “But we’ll try to keep it concise. We’re happy to pass this information along to help people out.”

While the Transcona Museum shared some of this information via the Small Talk series it held virtually during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the return to in-person workshops is a welcome one.

“We’re going to be talking about the different types of items that people have in their collections, and what are the best ways for people to care for them so they last into the future,” Horedja said.

“Say someone has a photograph collection, it’s great to talk to older individuals who may be in the photos, to help tell more of that story — who was in the photos, where it was. Without that information, you might not know. We deal with that all the time.”

“When trying to put together your family history, what a mess it can become,” said Naomi Kruse, RETLife’s program co-ordinator and an amateur genealogist. “You can go down all kinds of rabbit holes, with a big shoebox full of stuff that maybe you’ll pass on to your kids or maybe it will end up in the dump.”

RETLife is part of the River East Transcona School Division and is based out of the McLeod Adult Learning Centre, providing continuing education opportunities.

“We’re back and we’re trying to get dynamic programming back in the community’s hands,” Kruse said, noting that programming had been on hold for the past two-and-a-half years owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re trying a variety of programs to see what people are interested in. People are ready to meet in person again and do things. YouTube only takes you so far. People want to talk to people with similar interests.”

The workshop on Feb. 14 can be taken in conjunction with a series of workshops RETLife is presenting on genealogy, which will be offered on three consecutive Wednesdays — Jan. 25, Feb. 1, and Feb. 8. Bill Curtis, a member of the Manitoba Genealogical Society, will lead the first three workshops. All four workshops will take place at École Regent Park (411 Moroz St.).

“He had taken a program with (a precursor to) RETLife way back in the day, 20 years ago,” Kruse noted. “He’d taken the workshop about finding his family tree, and he’s now been a long-standing member with Manitoba Genealogy Society, so it’s kind of come full circle.”

For more information visit transconamuseum.mb.ca or retlife.ca