Ingram and Kilwien lead four Casper sessions

Genealogical researchers are faced with many challenges, and one of them is trying to translate and understand other languages critical to their research. Attendees of the 2008 International Convention of Germans from Russia will have a rare opportunity to make sense of Cyrillic script, identify Cyrillic letters of the alphabet and transliterate names from Russian into English. Workshop leaders for Reading Cyrillic Script are Valerie Ingram of Spokane, Washington and David Kilwien of Aberdeen, Washington.

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The session is one of more than 40 workshops that will take place during the convention in Casper. Ingram and Kilwien say Cyrillic script isn't as hard as you think, and they promise that handouts will be available! Their session is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 31st in the Wyoming Room of the Parkway Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

Valerie Ingram was born in Solen, North Dakota and has lived in Spokane since childhood. After the death of her father in 1995, she began searching for her siblings from her father's first marriage, which sparked her obsession with genealogy. She is a GRHS Board Member and is GRHS President for 2007-2008. She also serves on a variety of other GRHS committees and groups; additionally, she is Village Coordinator for the Catholic villages of Karlsruhe, Katharinental, Landau, Speier, Sulz (Beresan) and Gross-Mangeapunar (Dobrudscha). Valerie is married with three grown chldren and seven grandchildren.

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David Kilwien is a building contractor in western Washington. Ten years ago his grandmother explained the story of his German-Russian heritage, and he has been hooked on genalogy ever since. His main focus of interest has been on the Catholic families from the Beresan region. He is a Village Coordinator for Rastadt and Munchen. David is a Life Member of GRHS and currently serves on the Board of Directors as Vice-President. He's an active participant in the Beresan Interest Group, GRHS Clearing House, Computer Committee, and Translation teams. David and his wife, Debbie, live in Aberdeen, Washington.

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Ingram and Kilwien will lead three other workshops:

~~Beresan Area presentation (2:30 p.m., Thursday, July 31, Wyomng Room) will take beginners and advanced researchers alike into the sources available for both Lutherans and Catholics, as well as focusing on new files from the Ukranian archives;

~~Lost in Russia (3:30 Friday, August 1, Tiffany Room and repeats 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 2, Wyoming Room) - Valerie's father left behind two children from a marriage in Ukraine when he went back to Germany in the 1940s, never to see them again and thinking they were dead. This is the story of how the siblings were finally found 60 years later!This session will be repeated at , in the Wyoming Room.

~~Town Meeting (4:45 p.m., Saturday, August 2, Adrian's Room) offers answers to your questions about what's happening with projects or record retrievals in you society. This is a joint AHSGR/GRHS Town Meeting. Velma Jesser of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will join Valerie and David in moderating the Town Meeting.

Kilwien donates beautiful afghan

Debbie Kilwien has been knitting nearly half her life, and she has a deep commitment to helping the Germans from Russia Heritage Society youth programs. So it was a no-brainer for her to step forward and offer her talent in creating the beautiful afghan shown above.

Measuring about 45 inches by 70 inches, the red, white and blue American flag is sure to be a hit among attendees at the International Convention of Germans from Russia this summer in Casper, Wyoming. The creation will be the prize in a drawing that will benefit the GRHS Youth Program. Debbie says she started work on the afghan last fall, but the project was interrupted for several weeks last winter.

A native of Bremerton, Washington, Debbie and her husband, Dave, live in Aberdeen, Washington, not far from the Pacific Ocean. She and Dave own their own construction business, which focuses on residential restoration for homes that have been damaged by fire, flood, or other incidents.

“I married in to the German-Russian community,” says Debbie. Both she and Dave are lifetime members of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society. Dave serves as Vice-President of the national organization and also belongs to the Puget Sound and Inland NW chapters.

Lodging accommodations for the international convention are filling fast, so persons wishing to attend the July 28-August 3 convention at the Parkway Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Casper should try to make their reservations immediately. A number of lodging possibilities are listed in the right hand column.

Conference registration forms will be in the mail any day now, and we’ll also be posting registration forms on-line in the near future!