Nebraska State Genealogy Society 2018 Spring Conference

The Nebraska State Genealogy Society 2018 Spring Conference will be taking place April 27 & 28, 2018 in Columbus, Platte County, Nebraska. You can register online here. The non-member cost is $109 for both days, including lunch or $60 for one day. Members get a $10 discount. If you become a member with your registration, the discount you get pays for half of your annual membership fee. You can count on me being there. I've already registered. Columbus is where I was born and raised and where my parents lived out the majority of their lives. In addition, it takes place the weekend of my mother's birthday. I'm sure it will be emotional for me, but you can bet I won't miss it.

The featured speaker is Judy G. Russell, "The Legal Genealogist".

Topics include:
Don't Forget the Ladies: A Genealogist's Guide to Women & the Law

When Worlds Collide: Resolving Conflicts in Genealogical Records

DNA and the Golden Rule: The Law & Ethics of Genetic Genealogy

Death by Undue Means: Coroner's Records

Through the Golden Door: Immigration After the Civil War

Local presenters will hopefully present on topics like:
Steamboat Captain Research
Organization
World War I
Orphan Train
Grave Witching
and more!

I will definitely be at the Orphan Train discussion because of the discovery of my grandfather's first cousin being on the Orphan Train and Immigration After the Civil War because my Menke, Panther and Miller ancestors all came over in the 1870s. Other than that, I'll play it by ear.

While in town, be sure to swing by Glur's Tavern. It's the oldest continuously operating tavern west of the Mississippi and was patronized by Buffalo Bill Cody while he prepared his wild west show near town. You can read more about this in True West Magazine.

The conference is at the River's Edge Conference Center at the Ramada Inn next to the Loup River. This is near Pawnee Park and across the highway from the Andrew Jackson Higgins memorial. Higgins, a Columbus native, was the inventor of the landing craft used on the beaches of Normandy to get troops onto the beach. General Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying, "Andrew Higgins ... is the man who won the war for us. ... If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different." I encourage you to visit the memorial. Along with a replica Higgins landing craft, it has a piece of the World Trade Center and sand from every beach these craft have been used.

Who of my readers is going to be there? Please let me know!

I hope to see some of you there and meet up with some I already know. For those attending, I recommend dinner at "Husker Steak House" on 33rd Avenue near 18th Street. This has been a local favorite for decades. It's a family-friendly, casual steak restaurant. Yes, I'm a bit biased because it is owned by my sister and her husband. People's favorite dinners there are the prime rib steak (definitely my favorite), the Jack Daniel's sirloin and the seafood platter. However, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. It also has a full bar. My brother-in-law is one of the hardest working men I know and he'll be sure you are satisfied. You'll need to call for reservations. It's full most nights but on Fridays and Saturdays you can be sure the prime times for dinner will be booked if you don't call early enough. Tell him Matt Miller sent you.

--Matt