A Blogoversary Thank You Card

Digging Down East began two years ago on this date, as a tribute to my father, who had just passed away in April. My first and early posts were an experiment in recalling stories he told, as we tramped through Bridgton cemeteries, and my own recollections from childhood, as I had sat spellbound at the foot of my elders. Call it eldest-child-syndrome, but I nonetheless loved every minute.

My first genealogy blog role models were Heather Wilkinson Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy fame, Bill West of West in New England, and Midge Frazel of Granite In My Blood.  It didn't hurt that they were all from New England either.

That first year was a meandering, floundering one, as I tried to grapple with the wealth of information on my mother's side of the family (all hardy Maritime Canadian stock, and wonderful picture-takers to boot), and the dearth of information of my father's side, coupled with family secrets and a stubborn unwillingness to talk about the past.  As I look back at some of those posts, I have to think they were weak efforts at best.

This second year, however, I felt energized and inspired, and it is with deep gratitude to the greater genealogy community in general and special individual genealogists and family historians, in particular, that I celebrate this second blogoversary.

A Special Thank You to Heather Rojo, Barbara Poole, Russ Worthington, Bill West, Elizabeth Pyle Handler, Shari Strahan, Diane Boumenot, Sara Campbell, Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, Midge Frazel, Liesa Healy-Miller, Marian Pierre-Louis, Michelle Robillard and all the other New England Geneabloggers.That inaugural Bash at Heather and Vincent's marked the beginning of my serious journey.

Doing New England genealogy from the shores of the Ohio presents its own special challenges. As a result, I am always following Facebook and Twitter friends to keep up with genealogy events and programs pertinent to my regional needs. Thank you to all those I have never met face to face but who inspire me with their organizational skills and their tech advice.

I was so excited when NGS came to Cincinnati this year. From the pre-Conference blogger dinner to the closing sessions, I met and got to know so many wonderful genealogy friends.  The knowledge gained and the friendships forged have become invaluable to me in my quest to document my family history. Thank you to all my followers in the genealogy Twitter-verse for your expertise and for your wonderful humor along the way.

I've just returned from my annual Maine vacation/genealogy research trip. With my trustworthy Research Assistant (my 80-year old Mom) to accompany me, I was able to solve another batch of family mysteries and puzzles.  Look for more hopefully illuminating and entertaining posts gleaned from my favorite lifetime endeavor,"digging down east."