Dear JGS Member: Greetings! Here's a listing of special upcoming Genealogy Reminders for your review. Another, mid-March notice will follow details on our March Meeting as well as other meetings and genealogy events of interest being held this month and beyond throughout the Bay Area. Reminders: 1. *Special BJE & SFBAJGS Presentation* - Wednesday, March 4 7:30pm in San Francisco – Frances Dinkelspiel - *Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California *- Jewish Community Library, San Francisco, CA 2. Jim Van Buskirk - *My Grandmother's Suitcase: Unpacking Generations of Secrecy* - Wednesday, March 11 - Temple Israel, Alameda, CA 3. *Sutro Library* - Once a Month Open Saturday DAY to change 4. 2009 *NARA* Workshop Schedule - Starts this month ======================= *1.* *Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California* Speaker: *Frances Dinkelspiel* When: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 Time: 7:30 p.m. Where: BJE Jewish Community Library *Map <http://tinyurl.com/3bwhzm>* 1835 Ellis Street San Francisco 94115 Free parking: enter parking garage on Pierce Street Isaias Wolf Hellman left Bavaria at age 16 and within 10 years of arriving in Gold Rush-era California founded Los Angeles' first bank. A brilliant entrepreneur and financier, he was integral to the founding of Wells Fargo Bank, the establishment of the University of Southern California, and the financing of the burgeoning oil industry. Frances Dinkelspiel (Hellman's great-great-granddaughter) will talk about Hellman's impact on early Los Angeles and his role in the development of San Francisco as a major financial center. Frances Dinkelspiel is an award-winning journalist. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, People, the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Magazine, and other publications. She lives in Berkeley. This presentation is sponsored by the BJE Jewish Community Library and cosponsored by the SFBAJGS. Contact: Rose Katz (415) 567-3327 x703 http://www.bjesf.org/library.htm ======================= *2.* *"My Grandmother's Suitcase: Unpacking Generations of Secrecy"* - A talk with slides Speaker: *Jim Van Buskirk* When: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Time: 7:00 p.m. Where: *Temple Israel Map <http://tinyurl.com/ctnglt>* 3183 Mecartney Road Alameda, California phone: 510-522-9355 web-site: *http://templeisraelalameda.org/*<http://templeisraelalameda.org/> If you missed Jim talks at the Jewish Community Library, the San Francisco Public Library or most recently in January at Temple Beth El in Aptos, here's another opportunity for you to hear him. Shortly after publishing "At the Museum of Jewish Heritage," an essay which explored his mysterious lifelong attraction to Judaism, Jim Van Buskirk was told a secret by his mother: "You are Jewish." She went on to show him his grandmother's suitcase filled with photographs, letters, and documents. He continued to look for answers to his family's history --and his own identity -- by researching his genealogy, talking to previously unknown relatives, and examining the contents of his grandmother's suitcase. This audio-visual presentation is adapted from his memoir-in-progress. ======================= *3. Notice:* *Sutro Library - Once a Month Open Saturday **DAY Change* Beginning in March, the open Satruday for the Sutro Library will be the * SECOND* Saturday in each month except when that Saturday is a state or federal holiday or part of a weekend holiday. This means that this month it will be open on *March 14*, NOT March 6. Hours: Monday - Friday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm 2nd Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Address: 480 Winston Drive *Map* <http://tinyurl.com/bagkkl> San Francisco, CA 94132 email: *sutro@library.ca.gov* <sutro@library.ca.gov> web: *www.library.ca.gov* <http://www.library.ca.gov/> telephone: 415-731-4477 Sutro Library is a part of the California State Library, It is located "behind" the Stonestown Shopping Center off Highway 1 (19th Avenue), and just north of the San Francisco State University campus. ======================= *4. 2009 NARA Workshops begin this month!* *All workshops will be held from 9am to 1pm* National Archives and Records Administration - Pacific Region (San Bruno) *Map* <http://tinyurl.com/33e2rm> 1000 Commodore Drive San Bruno, CA 94066-2350. *www.archives.gov/pacific/san-francisco/*<http://www.archives.gov/pacific/san-francisco/> *Genealogy Workshops*: *Census Records Research – Friday, March 20* Passenger Arrival and Naturalization Records – Friday, April 1 E-VET Records Research – Friday, May 15 Military - Part I: Revolutionary War to the Civil War - Friday, June 12 Military - Part II: Spanish American War to the Vietnam War - Friday, June 26 Federal Land Records - Friday, July 17 Preserving Your History – Friday, August 14 To Register for Genealogy Workshops and for more information contact Rose Mary Kennedy at 650-238-3488 or send her an e-mail at * rosemary.kennedy@nara.gov* <rosemary.kennedy@nara.gov>. Cost: Fees for Genealogy Workshops are $15, payable in advance. =======================