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The SearcherGarfield County Genealogists February 2012
The new president ofthe Garfield CountyGenealogists for the
year2012, Harold Cooper,opened the meeting onJanuary 14th with
apresentation about thenew, soon-to-be-released,1940 Federal
Census. Heexplained that it wouldfirst be released on April2nd to
be readied forpublication, and then tothe general public by theend
of the month. Therewill not be an index withit, which will
makesearching difficult. In the businessmeeting which
followed,Connie Hammond,parliamentarian for thenew year, gave
athorough explanation ofthe changes that weremade to the
GCGsconstitution, before avote was taken. Therevised constitution
wasunanimously approvedby a voice vote of all ofthe members who
werepresent.
JANUARY MEETING
Programs
Feb. 11 TombstonesAnn Pellow RusLocation Enid Library
Mar. 10 Germans from PrussiaFreddie BakerLocation Enid
Library
Apr. 14 War of 1812Billie FogartyLocation Enid Library
May 12 Dowsing for GravesHarold Cooper and Beverly Evans
Jun. 9 Cemetery Records Okla. Cem.Lois BurdickLocation Enid
Library
Jul. 14 To Be Announced
Aug. 11 Annual PicnicLocation North Enid Community Center
Sep. 8 To be Announced
Sep. 15 Cherokee Strip Parade
Norman Britt spokeabout the importance ofhaving a living
will.
[TOP] Harold Cooper[ABOVE] Connie Hammond[BELOW] Norman
Britt
UPCOMING MEETINGS The following schedule of future meetingswas
provided by Harold Cooper:
President Lincolns Birthday - February 12thSt. Valentines Day -
February 14thAsh Wednesday - February 22nd
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Garfield County Genealogists February 2012 - Page Two
LDS Family History Center
Are you in need of a quiet place to work onyour genealogy
research, away from thedistractions of the home or the outside
world?Think about a visit to the LDS Family HistoryCenter.
LDS Family History Center419 N EisenhowerEnid, Oklahoma
Open Wednesdays, 12-6 P.M.For an appointment, call Debbie
Cox
(580) 747-4685
MEMBERSHIP ANNIVERSARIES
JANUARY:Margaret and Don DouglasGlenn DowningBetty and Don
Herth
FEBRUARY:Marilyn and Harold CooperTeresa FialaJeanette and Gene
HeitfeldWanda & Larry HimeGinger HittMargaret and George
HughesBetty McGeePam PattilloAnne and James Reim
RESEARCH TIPS
MEET THE MEMBERS! None of our members sent in their Bio
thismonth.
There were no contributions of research tipsthis month from any
of our members.
ENID TRIVIABy Harold Cooper
QUESTION: Location in Enid, Oklahoma wherethere is a
Columbarium?
ANSWER: Will be given at the February Meeting.
DID YOU KNOW....???
....That this is Leap Year? (February 29th)
....That the city of Enid was probably namedafter a character in
Tennysons Idylls Of TheKing?
....That in Oklahoma, jurors names arecollected from drivers
license lists, not fromvoting registrations?
....That February 2nd is Candlemas Day?(It is halfway between
the shortest day andthe spring equinox.)
....That the web site of the Garfield CountyGenealogists
(www.garfieldokgen.org) has atremendous amount of information?
http://www.garfieldokgen.org
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JUROR NO. 4By Gene Heitfeld
Just before Christmas 2011, I received a call tojury duty from
the Court Clerks office of GarfieldCounty. While this was not
welcome news, Id knownthat it would most likely be coming at some
point intime. I had gotten the official letter in December of2010,
notifying me that I had been selected to serve aspetit juror in
Garfield County for the year 2011. Therewas a questionnaire to fill
out and return, and then Iwas to wait to be called. With the end of
the yearapproaching, I actually began to think that I might notbe
called, but that was a mistake! It really wasnt a traumatic moment
for me,though, because I knew what to expect, and thereforeknew
that it really isnt all that bad! After all, I haddone this before;
twice, in fact. The first time, manyyears ago, I had been selected
to actually sit on thejury for a criminal trial, while the second
time I wasnot chosen, and was dismissed. The check-in process at
the Court Clerks office isreally quite efficient and painless. You
just form aline, sign in, and, if you didnt take the directions
onyour letter seriously, you will then surrender your cellphone to
a bailiff. When youve done all of that, youtake a seat in the
hallway, and wait until everyone ischecked in. An assistant to the
Court Clerk will thenaddress the crowd with a speech that is
partinstruction, and part pep-talk. Everyone is then asked to enter
the courtroom andtake a seat in the spectator gallery. The young
ladysitting next to me said that this was her first time onjury
duty, and she dreaded it because ...what if it isone of my friends
on trial? With that assessment ofthe caliber of her friends hanging
in the air, I assuredher that if it happened, she would surely be
excusedfrom duty. After everyone was seated, the Court Clerk
beganto draw names from a hopper, and each person whosename was
drawn then took a seat in the jury box. Iwas not surprised, and
actually chuckled to myselfwhen, on the fourth draw, my name was
announced.
For some reason, I had just known that I was going tobe
selected! I made my way to the comfortable chairthat would be mine
exclusively for the next three days,all the while thinking that it
was my lucky day, and Ishould have bought a lottery ticket that
morning! Twelve people were selected for the jury, and onemore to
be the alternate juror. The potential jurorswere questioned by both
the prosecution and defense,to determine their suitability to serve
on this particulartrial. Several people were rejected, for one
reason oranother, so additional names were drawn until a jurywas
selected that was acceptable to both sides. The entire court
procedure is very ritualistic,steeped in procedure and tradition,
and the jurors aretreated with utmost respect, since they are
officers ofthe court for the duration of the trial. Also,
themembers of the jury share a sense of responsibility thatcan
create a feeling of mutual respect for each other. The experience
of serving on a jury reminds one ofthe rights that we as American
citizens are guaranteedby the law, and is a good civics lesson that
we allshould be glad to re-learn!
Garfield County Genealogists February 2012 - Page Three
Copyright 2012 G.Heitfeld
Copyright 2012 Garfield County Genealogists, Inc.P.O. Box 1106,
Enid, Oklahoma 73702
On the Web at: www.garfieldokgen.org
The Garfield County Courthouse Have you everlooked closely at
themurals in the GarfieldCounty Courthouse?Why not plan on
takingthe Downtown WalkingTour with the ChisholmTrail Coalition
when theseason begins in April?One of our members,Maxine Shepard,
willportray Ruth MonroAugur, the artist whocreated the murals!
http://www.garfieldokgen.org
