) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. Second annual family reunion 3. The 'B' Consortium 4. Preparations for the year's end If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraphÂ… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer/Baur/Bro[u]wer lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bau[e]r/Bro[u]wer lines or any of the 81+ variant spellings that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowerhomestead>, or you can use our shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/Homestead>." We also have a newly opened sister site, the Bower Cottage, that we've begun to fill. There are currently only a few names there, but give us time... :) The Cottage is at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowercottage>, or you can use the shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/bowercottage>. SECOND ANNUAL FAMILY REUNION August 5th, 1998 was the official date we began coming together, so we celebrate it by holding a family reunion. You'll find this year's reunion at Bower Cottage (URL in the above paragraph>. You can click on the "hit the beach" sign on the front page just below the cottage, or you can go inside the cottage and after scrolling down a little past halway, click on the 'beach' link. Either way will take you to the reunion. THE 'B' CONSORTIUM Surprisingly, I received just two messages from cousins regarding my idea to bring all six families under one "umbrella" name, and both liked the idea because we have so many spelling variants. However, one did question if my plan was to combine all six families into one list. The answer is, "absolutely not!" My plan goes much bigger than that [heh heh heh...]. Now that I have you all scratching your heads wondering just what I'm up to now, all I need to know is if you like the "umbrella" name of "The 'B' Consortium." Please cousins, give me your opinions. I need them! Yes or no ... that's all I need - unless you have another "umbrella" name. If you're new to the family and are REALLY wondering what THIS is all about -- we are six lists of 'B' surnames - the BAUER-L, BAUR-L, BOWER-L, BOWERS-L, BROUWER-L and BROWER-L. The old records have our surnames so variated that if you post a message (for example) on Joseph BAUR from the BAUR-L, _I_ cross-post your message over to the BAUER-L and BOWER-L. Why the BOWER-L? It has cousins from all six spellings in that research group. This cross-posting gives your message a wider spread and a better chance for finding an inline cousin. This interaction causes us to become one united family in separate research groups. Hence, my wish for votes on an 'umbrella' name ... "The 'B' Consortium". PREPARATIONS FOR THE YEAR'S END What??? ... the year's end? Yes, cousins, the year's end. The reunion is past and now we have three major projects ahead of us before the end of the year 2000 ... 1.) The GEDCOM project finally online, is scheduled to be updated in October. Next month I'll begin calling for your GEDCOMs again. 2.) The WHOPBOF site fight. We're in the yearly finals after winning two rounds against some pretty good competition. The Homestead, while not needing the housekeeping we did last time, does need the front page redone. Since the fight is in December, we'll already have our winter page up ... or maybe even our Christmas one. We need to start coming up with ideas on any other changes that you think need to be done. I'll need a lot of extra time with this one because ... 3.) In November we'll start getting ready for our family Christmas. For those of you who are new to the family this year, we always celebrate Christmas together. How? "Santa" leaves gifts! :) More will come out on that in October. So cousins, we still face a busy time! There just doesn't seem to be a dull moment in the family, does there? ....And, later today, I hope I have a touch of happiness for at least one person in every research group! Nope, I'm not going to tell you ... you'll just have to wait! :) Have I told you all lately just how thankful I am that you've come into my life? I've been so blessed to be able to meet so many of you terrific cousins, that I always look forward to spending each Sunday with you ... just you. Family ... it's what we're all about. I really enjoyed this time with you. It was so nice. I wish you all a week filled with health, fun, productivity, and above all, filled with love. ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'