January 3rd:  
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"What to do with your Genealogy Stuff"
 Panel discussion and audience participation event.
 

February 7th:
Meeting 1:30 p.m. 
"Sharing Keepsake Postcards"
everyone is invited to bring old postcards and share the stories behind them. These post cards may give you bits and pieces of obscure family facts. Sometimes just the postmark and address will give you a research clue.
 

March 6th:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"Tombstone Restoration"
presented by Jim Kramer of Orchard, Iowa. Jim has restored hundreds of tombstones and will tell us about general mapping, probing, and remounting, including the preparation for gluing.
 

April 3rd:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"How to Compose Your Heritage Scrapbook"
presented by Pat Fairbanks. Pat will speak about creating an heirloom album for future generations. She will include restoration, easy set-up, appropriate colors, preservation of photographs, and use of historical documents and memorabilia. Come and learn some new techniques to make your albums more personal and interesting. Use some creativity to enhance the presentation of your family history.
 

May 1st:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"Naming Patterns"
presented by Joan Sawyer. Joan will discuss the naming patterns for areas of Germany and the Scandinavian Countries. Her presentation will include patronymics and other customs used in giving names to children in the family.
 

June 5th:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN IOWA"
Presented by Galin Berrier, adjunct instructor in history at the Des Moines Area Community College and member of the Humanities Iowa Speakers Bureau.

The Underground Railroad, historians agree, is shrouded in myth and legend. Did it really exist in Iowa, and if so, when and how? Was it highly organized or did its "conductors" and "station agents" mostly improvise? Were fugitive slaves usually hidden beneath trap doors in cellars or were they more likely to be concealed in attics and garrets or outdoors in heavy brush and timber? What part did African Americans themselves play in helping fugitive slaves find their way to freedom? How many fugitives are likely to have passed through Iowa and how do we know if reputed "safe houses" actually existed in our own communities? These are some of the questions addressed in this inquiry into a sometimes controversial but always fascinating episode in Iowa's history.
 

July 3rd:
No meeting - have a safe 4th!
 

August 7th:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
Accessing DAR Records
Joan Bartel, the Regent of the Mason City Chapter of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), will acquaint us with the DAR and how we can access their very extensive genealogy records." 

September 4th:
No meeting - have an enjoyable Labor Day weekend!
Bus Trip to the Iowa Genealogy Society Library and  the State Historical Library in Des Moines is scheduled for  September 11th.

October 2nd:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"TBA"
 

November 6th:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"TBA"
 

December 4th:
Meeting 1:30 p.m.
"TBA"