Volume 5 Issue 8 The Mason Log Mason County Genealogical Society  Thursday, April 1st  7:00 p.m.  12th & Connection—Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  Membership Dues to: Charlotte Martin  Singles: $15.00 yearly Couples: $20.00 yearly The News That Was 2 Brick Wall? Collaborate! 2 April Fool’s Day 2 Understanding Land Records 3 Evaluating Evidence 4 Inside this issue: Take the time during the next week to do this exer- cise please. If you wish, share with the group how you did. 1. In first-person, pre- sent tense, write a scene of a very early, vivid memory. Try to use as many senses as possi- ble—sight, smell, touch, taste, sound—even if you feel like you’re making it up. If you get stuck, keep repeating the phrase “I remember” to start off your sentences; allow this rhythm to take you further than you thought you could go. 2. Look through what you wrote and see what calls out for further ex- amination. What are the odd details, the ones that don’t seem to fit? Zero in on these details and ex- pand them. 3. Now ask yourself: Why do I remember this? What is the emotional undercurrent of this mem- ory? Write out some speculative answers to this “why” question. 4. Now list other, later memories in your life that might carry this same emotional theme. 5. You now have mate- rial for an essay that pin- points a core theme or idea or emotion that has strong resonance throughout your life Variation I: Do you have an ideal “earliest mem- ory”? Write this out and see how your imagination and your memory inter- sect or diverge. Is there an essay in the process of memory itself? Variation II: Talk with family members about their memories of the time you pinpoint as your first memory. How do they corroborate or deny your own memory? How can you create a “collaborative” memory that includes their ver- sions of the events? How does this memory enact a family “myth”? Is there an essay about the way these divergent accounts work together? Adapted from Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction, by Brenda Miller and Suzann Paola. Excerpted from Now Write! Nonfiction; Memoir, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction, Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers, edited by Sherry Ellis, The Penguin Group, New York New York, 2009 Writing Exercise April 2010 National Bank Note First National Bank of Seattle, $50, 1902 The locomotive, a symbol of westward ex- pansion and economic growth, is depicted on the back of this Third Charter National Bank note. The National Bank Act levied a 10 percent tax on all state bank notes to eliminate the profusion of non- federally issued notes April Meeting Don’t be a fool and miss this meeting! It’s this Thursday April 1st We’ll see you there Dictionary of Occupational Titles: http://www.theodora.com/dot_ index.html Old Occupation Names: http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/ , OCR Text: Volume 5 Issue 8 The Mason Log Mason County Genealogical Society  Thursday, April 1st  7:00 p.m.  12th & Connection—Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  Membership Dues to: Charlotte Martin  Singles: $15.00 yearly Couples: $20.00 yearly The News That Was 2 Brick Wall? Collaborate! 2 April Fool’s Day 2 Understanding Land Records 3 Evaluating Evidence 4 Inside this issue: Take the time during the next week to do this exer- cise please. If you wish, share with the group how you did. 1. In first-person, pre- sent tense, write a scene of a very early, vivid memory. Try to use as many senses as possi- ble—sight, smell, touch, taste, sound—even if you feel like you’re making it up. If you get stuck, keep repeating the phrase “I remember” to start off your sentences; allow this rhythm to take you further than you thought you could go. 2. Look through what you wrote and see what calls out for further ex- amination. What are the odd details, the ones that don’t seem to fit? Zero in on these details and ex- pand them. 3. Now ask yourself: Why do I remember this? What is the emotional undercurrent of this mem- ory? Write out some speculative answers to this “why” question. 4. Now list other, later memories in your life that might carry this same emotional theme. 5. You now have mate- rial for an essay that pin- points a core theme or idea or emotion that has strong resonance throughout your life Variation I: Do you have an ideal “earliest mem- ory”? Write this out and see how your imagination and your memory inter- sect or diverge. Is there an essay in the process of memory itself? Variation II: Talk with family members about their memories of the time you pinpoint as your first memory. How do they corroborate or deny your own memory? How can you create a “collaborative” memory that includes their ver- sions of the events? How does this memory enact a family “myth”? Is there an essay about the way these divergent accounts work together? Adapted from Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction, by Brenda Miller and Suzann Paola. Excerpted from Now Write! Nonfiction; Memoir, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction, Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers, edited by Sherry Ellis, The Penguin Group, New York New York, 2009 Writing Exercise April 2010 National Bank Note First National Bank of Seattle, $50, 1902 The locomotive, a symbol of westward ex- pansion and economic growth, is depicted on the back of this Third Charter National Bank note. The National Bank Act levied a 10 percent tax on all state bank notes to eliminate the profusion of non- federally issued notes April Meeting Don’t be a fool and miss this meeting! It’s this Thursday April 1st We’ll see you there Dictionary of Occupational Titles: http://www.theodora.com/dot_ index.html Old Occupation Names: http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/ , Mason County Genealogical Society,Mason Logs,Mason Logs,All Years,April+2010.pdf,April+2010.pdf Page 1, April+2010.pdf Page 1