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From:
Subject: Re: [APG] RE: Ancestry Marketing
Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 23:04:38 EDT


In a message dated 5/5/05 12:05:03 AM, writes:
> In this world of instant potatoes, instant coffee and
> instant messaging, how can we tell them that it can take months or years to
> find grandma's town of origin in the old country?
>
Elissa's absolutely wonderful quote above suggests to me a possible future
"ad" of APG's own. I envision a picture of a grocery list with checkmarks next
to the following:

- Instant potatoes
- Instant coffee
- ....Instant ancestors?!??

Then we could have our spiel, along these lines: "Much as we would all love
to push a button and find our great-grandparents, tracing family history is
not that easy, even in this age of email and websurfing. It's not easy, but
it is worthwhile, and it can be the beginning of a lifelong love affair. When
you take the time to learn how to put together the pieces of your family
puzzle, you will learn the fascinating stories of your ancestors, the times they
lived in, and how you came to be the person you are today. Sure, you can
find some great information online, but much more of it will be found in
courthouses, historical societies, archives, cemeteries and more, where wonderful
secrets are waiting for you on bookshelves and on microfilm.

"Just like great-grandma's cooking, tracing your roots needs to be done from
scratch -- but we promise you this: The results here, too, will truly be
something to savor.

"Happy researching, from the Association of Professional Genealogists."

Could an approach like this get the message across, once and for all, to many
of the "can't we find grandpa in five minutes on the web" folks? :-)

Best,
Linda Courtemanche.

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