Maine Genealogical Society Annual Conference

If you can be in Northport, Maine (near Camden), next Saturday, you might enjoy spending the day at the Maine Genealogical Society's Annual Conference. I will be there and expect a few hundred other people will do the same.

The conference will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010, at the Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center, 67 Atlantic Highway, Northport, Maine. The location is about 10 miles north-northeast of Camden, Maine, where the coast is well known for its scenery.

You can see a map of the location at http://goo.gl/maps/H95q

I have never been to the Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center before, but the Center's web site at http://www.visitpointlookout.com/ looks great. The Center is located on 387 acres of picturesque property overlooking Penobscot Bay in mid-coast Maine. The fall foliage season should also be well underway, making for a very scenic location on Saturday.

I also expect to be sampling the local lobsters at least once during my visit!

I'll be delivering four presentations on Saturday. The one that I am especially looking forward to is Maine Outhouses I Have Known and Loved. Yes, that presentation will focus on the most "necessary" part of our ancestors' homes and what seems to be the least documented part of the house. I plan to describe the impact that outhouses had on our ancestors' lives. Many people overlook the importance of these "facilities."

Here's a slight preview: I plan to show pictures of what I believe is the last functioning, three-story outhouse still in use today. I find it interesting that the three-story outhouse is located only about 100 miles from the conference location.

No, this is not a joke. It really is a working and practical, three-story outhouse.

Other presentations will be offered by Jack Battick, Mary Lee Fowler, Marlene Groves, David Mishkin, Kathy Montejo, and Kay Sheldon. The annual meeting of the society will also be held in mid-day. Finally, a number of vendors will be available at the conference, offering books, software, and other items of interest to genealogists.

You can view the full schedule of events at http://www.maineroots.org/conference/program.htm

I am looking forward to this trip to Maine. My own ancestry is all from Maine for the past 175 years, and I was born and raised about 55 miles from the conference location. I'm delighted to be going "back home." I'd love to meet you there.

You can learn more about the Maine Genealogical Society's Annual Conference at http://www.maineroots.org/