Dear Listers: After reading letters on the mail list, and some private email from Wash. Co. in the last couple of days, I have formed my personal opinion on how I would approach the matter of the release of the court house records for archiving/preserving. That means ALL of them. Yes I was informed last year that there are records there we do not see (stored in boxes), and are in too delicate a condition to be handled by the public. This was told to me by a resident of Wash. Co. who has viewed the court house records many many times over the past many years. Opinion: Get the Pro's in to deal with these mystery records. (IRAD) Opinion, I feel it highly unwise to HASSLE the court house by bombarding them with letters. I think this would only get their backs up and make things worse. Opinion: I feel the answer to this lies within the people of Washington Co., and if I lived there, I would start talking to them about the preservation of the old records right today. Not the court house, but the people of the county. Before I go further, I would NOT, I say again NOT, mention anything about putting the records on the INTERNET, that would come later if and when they ever did arrive at IRAD. If you poled the people of the county about putting records on the internet they would immediately be "put off", and there goes sympathetic support for the main objective, "preserve the records". My object would be to get the BACKING of the people of Washington Co. for the sole purpose of having a backup copy of the records stored at an alternate location, so they would not be lost forever in the event of some catastrophe at the court house. i.e.: fire/flood/tornado/comet from the sky, et al. These records should be safeguarded for ALL, including future generations, and should be accessible to the public, including any that might be stored in boxes in the basement, out of site. (Will throw this in, I myself would drop the words genealogy/genealogists, and say I was (my) family historian, researching my family Washington Co. "roots"). Opinion: The people who have made the decision not to release the records to IRAD are not the majority, the "voters" of the county are. We need them. Opinion: Bring the preservation of the records to the attention of the people of the county through "sympathetic" media coverage, and through the backing of any service organizations in the county. Such as (don't know what they have there?) The Legion (Vets) SAR/DAR Kiwanis Eagles Lions Chamber of Commerce Scouts and Guides (and others) Ask them for a vote of support at their meetings, and put it in writing. Think about circulating a well organized "save the records petition". (take a petition to your family reunion John, get them all to sign twice) I can't go on with this forever, hope I made a point. The people who live in the county or who have family in the county have the solution to this. Get your heads together on this preservation of records matter. Write or phone your relatives in the county and get their support. Get some signs and walk up and down in front of the court house, the "tree/cougar/bear/whale/everything huggers" out here do it. (media attention). To me the key is with the "voters" of the county, did they not vote into office the "people who say "NO" to IRAD ??? Once again, keep the subject of records on the Internet OUT OF IT for now. We on the mail list and the people at the court house are a minority. The majority are the people of the county. They might have to be the ones who can achieve our goal. Robert J. Middleton Robert John Middleton P.O. Box 1114 Ladysmith, B.C. CANADA V9G 1A8 Fax/Phone (250) 245-5643 email [email protected] The ILGenWeb Project Washington Co. co-ordinator. My GENEALOGY home page URL is: http://mypage.direct.ca/m/mid/northam.html