Submitted by Mel Fishman
(reprinted
from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Southern Alberta's newsletter, Shorashim,
Dec. 2000 issue)
During
the summer of 2000 I was fortunate to attend the 20th annual
International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies’ Genealogy Conference
in Salt Lake City, Utah. With over 650 attendees from all over the globe, the
conference generated reams of information concerning the genealogy of our
ancestors from every area and time frame of our history.
One of the facilities offered by the conference was the ability of attendees with like interests to get together and discuss their common goals. These “Birds of a Feather” venues offered myself, Florence Elman and others the opportunity to meet and greet each other with the prospect of comparing information about our similar searches, in this case Kaminesk Padolsk, a shtetle where our ancestors originated located in the Ukraine.
Following our original meeting with fellow genealogists from all over the globe, it was decided that we would pursue the possibility of forming a SIG, a Special Interest Group to explore and exchange information about the Ukraine with like-minded individuals. Although there were many SIG’s in operation at the time, none had our interests at heart, concentrating on the history and population of the towns and cities from the Ukraine we were researching.
JewishGen, created by Susan King, the largest and most respected Jewish Genealogy website on the Internet fosters the communication and research of our people throughout the world to discover and remember our ancestors. With the unique occasion of the Salt Lake City conference and the wealth of resources and information at hand we were fortunate to have in our midst personnel from both the IAGSA and JewishGen who agreed to support us in our mission to create our Ukraine SIG.
A SIG is a strange all encompassing animal. Like an octopus it has many arms; like a gazelle, it can speed along at a ferocious pace; like an elephant, it can lie down and crush you.
As Florence Elman originally proposed the idea for the Ukraine SIG, she took on the onerous task of coordinating the infinite aspects of creating a Special Interest Group and mailing list for the Ukraine. The mailing list is a forum for discussion for all matters pertaining to the SIG. Due to my internet knowledge and interest in the Ukraine with my initial calling of the Birds of a Feather meeting I was asked to produce a website to be placed on the JewishGen site. This would allow all of our members and indeed anyone interested in Ukraine research to have a valuable asset in the search for their roots.
As Florence quickly discovered, there was much interest in the Ukraine SIG. Within days of her announcement we had over 900 names of interested members. Florence was immediately inundated with putting together the infrastructure to operate this SIG. With JewishGen and Carol Skydell’s assistance in training and facilities to set up a mailing list on their site I began work on creating a website. Now our members could increase their knowledge of our ancestry by compiling, publishing and distributing pertinent information, maps, stories, pictures and search materials on people, places and things Ukraine. As the website was being developed with the input and assistance of Warren Blatt and John Berman from JewishGen, it was decided to also incorporate an older site from Volhynia. This site had been created and operated by the Volhynia SIG, which now opted to merge into our new Ukraine Site and mailing list.
The rest is ( as they say ) history. Our Ukraine SIG and mailing list was operational within 60 days of the Salt Lake City conference and our website was up and running only 30 days later. Today our members communicate daily, trading information and requesting advise from fellow researchers on the Ukraine SIG mailing list. Our Ukraine SIG Website contains over 66 pages with over 300 links to additional resources enabling researchers to quickly access information and resources to aid them in their research..
Timeline:
July 9-14, 2000 - IAJGS Genealogy SLC Conference
July 13, 2000 - Ukraine Birds of a Feather meeting
July 14, 2000 - Ukraine SIG Proposed
Sept. 14, 2000 -Ukraine SIG Mailing List operational
Oct. 11, 2000 - Ukraine Website goes live
Subscribe to the Ukraine mailing list by going to the JewishGen WebForm at www.jewishgen.org/listserv/sigs.htm
Experience the Ukraine SIG Website by going to: www.jewishgen.org/ukraine