Family Tree

bonnieb@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, PA. - A sign hanging in the hallway of a Waynesboro-area church reads, "To a genealogist, a step backward is progress. " At the Fairview Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Mentzer Gap Road, genealogists, whether new to the hobby or old hands at it, can find a variety of aids to researching their ancestry. Local speakers are presenting classes and workshops on such topics as Tips and Rewards for Using family.

kevinc@herald-mail.com Claire Pirrello used to be a fan of puzzles, locking jigsaw pieces into place to form pleasant images. Then she stumbled into a generational mystery. She shelved the visual hobby to make room for a more personal pursuit. "It's the ultimate puzzle," the 62-year-old Waynesboro, Pa., resident says of tracing her family's history. "It's a lot of fun, and it's amazing what you can find. " Unlocking Your Past, a three-day event beginning Thursday, March 6, aims to provide information and resources for novice and experienced genealogy researchers interested in preserving family history, while also introducing the wealth of local services with documents to search.

kevinc@herald-mail.com When Wesley Culp left Gettysburg, Pa., for a new life Shepherdstown, Va., in the 1850s, he was following his career. Who could have known it would later represent the first, small step to isolation from members of his family? Culp relocated to what would eventually become the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, then part of Virginia prior to the Civil War, to work as a saddle and harness maker. Brother William remained in Pennsylvania. When war broke out between the states, William joined the 87th Pennsylvania Regiment.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Omer McClellan Long Sr.'s research of his family's genealogy has taken him to county courthouses, libraries, cemeteries and family reunions in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. It also created a bit of controversy when Long discovered that a family tree previously published by a relative in Illinois was incorrect. Long, 87, said there were two Longs in the area -- one in the Broadfording area, the other, Isaac Long, who lived south of Hagerstown. When Jacob Long of Illinois did research at Washington County Courthouse, he claimed the wrong Long as his relative.

kevinc@herald-mail.com It is a small, narrow, nondescript room off a hallway of Hancock's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Along one wall are a couple of filing cabinets and a series of microfilm readers. No more than five feet away, along the opposite wall, are three computers and additional filing cabinets. Inside, Genaiavie Stafford sits at a computer. Alternately scrolling across the screen or popping in a new CD, she is trolling the past to unearth branches on her family tree.

On Saturday, families will offer an alternative take on what it means to pull together. Washington County Tractor Pullers Association is hosting a pulling event with the East Coast Pullers, the local division of the national Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, at the Washington County Agricultural Center south of Hagerstown. But during the event, brothers will go against brothers, husbands will go against wives, and sons and daughters will go head-to-head with their parents in an effort to spend quality time.

J.R., "Life by Stereo" (Cross Movement) Kevin Max, "Blood" (Infinity) Vanessa Paradis, "Divinidylle" (Universal France) The Radio Dept., "Lesser Matters" (Xl) Radiohead, "In Rainbows" (Ato Records/Red) September, "Dancing Shoes" (Family Tree)

Vickers family Sunday, Sept. 24, 1:30 p.m. Fellowship Bible Church pavilion, 160 Daniel Road, Shenandoah Junction, W.Va. Bring a covered dish to share, family photos and information for the family tree. Paper products and utensils provided. Call Florence Ann at 304-876-6727.

By DON AINES Staff Writer, Martinsburg SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Until recently, it was just known as Bridge No. 19-3405B. Earlier this year, however, the U.S. 340 bridge over the W.Va. 9 bypass near Charles Town was named the John Adam Link Bridge in honor of an early settler and Revolutionary War soldier. That made the Link family reunion at the Uvilla Lutheran Church a bit more special this year. More than 60 members of the family gathered Sunday beneath a pavilion dedicated to John Jacob Link, the first Link to come to America.

Following are some ideas for nontraditional gifts: · A handmade quilt, which could be made from items with sentimental value. · A handmade afghan or throw. · A savings bond. · A handmade wooden item, such as a bookshelf or trunk. · A scrapbook filled with family photos, mementos and written memories. · A copy of the family tree, with descriptions of the people on some of the earlier branches. · A handpainted picture.

Editor's note: Each Sunday, The Herald-Mail runs "A Life Remembered. " Each story in this continuing series takes a look back - through the eyes of family, friends, co-workers and others - at a member of the community who died recently. Today's "A Life Remembered" is about Florence M. Binau, who died Oct. 23 at the age of 92. Her obituary was published in the Oct. 25 edition of The Herald-Mail. Florence Binau's family tree had famous connections - in both her family and her husband's family - but she preferred life in the background instead of the limelight.

Vickers family Sunday, Sept. 24, 1:30 p.m. Fellowship Bible Church pavilion, 160 Daniel Road, Shenandoah Junction, W.Va. Bring a covered dish to share, family photos and information for the family tree. Paper products and utensils provided. Call Florence Ann at 304-876-6727.

On Saturday, families will offer an alternative take on what it means to pull together. Washington County Tractor Pullers Association is hosting a pulling event with the East Coast Pullers, the local division of the national Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, at the Washington County Agricultural Center south of Hagerstown. But during the event, brothers will go against brothers, husbands will go against wives, and sons and daughters will go head-to-head with their parents in an effort to spend quality time.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Omer McClellan Long Sr.'s research of his family's genealogy has taken him to county courthouses, libraries, cemeteries and family reunions in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. It also created a bit of controversy when Long discovered that a family tree previously published by a relative in Illinois was incorrect. Long, 87, said there were two Longs in the area -- one in the Broadfording area, the other, Isaac Long, who lived south of Hagerstown. When Jacob Long of Illinois did research at Washington County Courthouse, he claimed the wrong Long as his relative.

J.R., "Life by Stereo" (Cross Movement) Kevin Max, "Blood" (Infinity) Vanessa Paradis, "Divinidylle" (Universal France) The Radio Dept., "Lesser Matters" (Xl) Radiohead, "In Rainbows" (Ato Records/Red) September, "Dancing Shoes" (Family Tree)

Name of business: Family Tree Re-Wholesale Nursery Owner: Becky Evans Address: 9915 Garis Shop Road, Hagerstown, Opening date: March 21 Products and services: "We will provide quality plant material at reasonable prices, including a large selection of dwarf flowering trees, long-blooming shrubs and hardy evergreen screening plants. We will also carry perennials, planting supplies and mulch. "Customers will benefit from free plantscaping design services and, if desired, fast plant installation services by some of the area's finest family-owned landscaping companies.

Commentary I hate to bring you down in the middle of the week, but we have nearly two more years of this. I truthfully had not realized it. With the mudslide of presidential candidacy over the past month, I naturally assumed the election was this year. But then in one of my rare glances at the calendar (when you get older, kiddies, the years tend to ooze together) I realized it was 2007. And I remembered that odd-year presidential elections don't happen. Yikes, we have to put up with this for another 20 months?

Following are some ideas for nontraditional gifts: · A handmade quilt, which could be made from items with sentimental value. · A handmade afghan or throw. · A savings bond. · A handmade wooden item, such as a bookshelf or trunk. · A scrapbook filled with family photos, mementos and written memories. · A copy of the family tree, with descriptions of the people on some of the earlier branches. · A handpainted picture.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - 'Tis better to give than receive and Liane and Jerry Clever gave a piece of their family holiday history to Chambersburg for Christmas. "This was my wife and I's first Christmas tree when we moved to Cypress Street 26 years ago," Jerry Clever said as a borough crew used a crane Monday to lift the 35-foot Douglas fir from a trailer that was only about half that long. "We decided to share it with the community. It's a gorgeous tree," Clever said as the tree was set in place on Memorial Square.

If it is not too late, this morning I beg of you: Leave your turkey alone. Just leave it alone. Do not soak it. Do not submerge it in 40 gallons of boiling oil. Do not rotate it. Do not cook it upside down, sideways or on coathangers. Do not tie it up, surgically remove the bones, stuff it with other fowl or in other fowl. Do not inject it, brush it, flip it or put it into any of those other trampoline acts they show on the food channels that are desperately clawing for some "new technique.