Article VIII - Delegates to Federation - Joan Christiano; Ann D'Amore; Grace Ehrenberg; Ellie Novara, and Ross Monteleone - need 1 more. Attend meetings 4thTuesday of each month.

"A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Italian Ancestors," Lynn Nelson

"Italian-American Family History: A Guide to Researching and Writing about Your Heritage," Sharon DeBartolo Carmack

Fund Raiser - Bev Bauda; Ann D'Amore, and Ellie Novara

Hospitality/Refreshment - done on a rotation basis each month per sign up sheet (per meeting). Host/Hostess Team will set up refreshments and greet members/guests at the door. Nancy Kistka and Gloria Sartori hosted for January team. Host/Hostess Teams for the following months are:

February - Tony DeMarie and Grace Ehrenberg

March - Ellie Novara and Denise Cirincione

April - Mary Joan D'Amore and Ann D'Amore

May - Vince Nola - Gloria Sartori

June - Joan Christiano; Fund Raiser Committee

September - Lisa Scaglione and Shirley Fischer

October - Geraldine Graziano and Ross Monteleone

November - Need a Team

December - All members involved - need a Team to coordinate Christmas Party.

Inquiries - Information/Membership - Answer inquiries and hits on web page. Vince Nola will work on a new web site and answer inquiries received on the Internet. All written or phone inquiries will be directed to the Secretary for reply. A Special book is kept in the Library with all Inquiries.

Phone - Tony DeMarie; Gloria Sartori. Need 2-3 more. These members will handle notification to all members of cancellation of meetings; emergency meetings, and special announcements deemed necessary.

Program - Grace Ehrenberg; Lisa Scaglione. Contact speakers and set up date and content of their presentation.

Workshop - Joan Christiano; Ellie Novara. Select a speaker for our workshops. Set up an agenda for the workshop. Coordinate with Program Committee. February meeting will present Ellie Tritchler, Registered Genealogist, who will talk about "data collection and available sources to help in Family Research."

Family Tree Magazine - New this year is a Premier Issue, January 2000, magazine titled "Family Tree Magazine." Visit their web site at: http://www.familytreemagazine.com.

Genealogy Tidbits

Start with yourself. What better way to begin your own story and write your memoirs than to get your own vital statistics in order. Try to focus on yourself, your family or pick a particular family to work on at one time. If you don't, you may become overwhelmed and frustrated. Chart your information either on a Family Sheet or a Pedigree Chart. This helps to verify your findings. Stay organized. Use anything that feels comfortable to you for storing all the information by surname or individual. It can be a folder, index cards, 3-ring notebooks or plain paper. Typed or handwritten (if you don't have a computer). Lastly, designate a space in your home/office for just genealogy so you can leave things when you need a break without packing up and putting things aside. It is important to verify every finding with fact (baptism, birth, marriage certificates) for accuracy. When doing your research always recheck your data to be sure you don't have any conflicting dates, names (spelling), location, etc. Be sure to get the proper documentation.

* * REMINDER - If You Have Not Already Renewed Your

Dues For This Year, Please Do So * *

Next Meeting - February 10, 2000

Hospitality/Refreshment Team:

Tony DeMarie and Grace Ehrenberg

Delegates to attend meeting of the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York on February 22, 2000, at the Romulus Club, 814 Kenmore Avenue, Buffalo, NY at 7:30 PM.

St. Valentine's Day - St. Valentine was a martyred bishop who was known back in Rome 270 AD as a "friend of lovers." Evidently he secretly married couples in defiance of Emperor Claudius II, who forbade marriages. The Emperor had put St. Valentine in prison and ordered that he be beheaded. The story goes, that while he was waiting execution he met and fell in love with the young daughter of one of his guards. All his letters to her were signed "From Your Valentine." More than 200 years later, Pope Gelasius wanted to banish the pagan Lupercian festival held in mid February. He hoped that by replacing it with another "lovers" holiday - namely, St. Valentine's Day - it would be a more modest and "suitable" festival. So, instead of the pagan festival which has long been forgotten as a day in memory of St. Valentine's religious life, it became a day for celebrating "true love."

 DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTALS: We welcome your comments, suggestions, and any small bits of information to be put in the Newsletter. If anyone is interested in helping with the Newsletter, please contact Ellie Novara at:

(716)-297-5106 or e-mail her at: enovara@aol.com.

The Deadline for information should be submitted no later than the 15^th of each month.