Township Historian Meeting

The Otter Tail County Historical Society's annual Township Historian Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 12, at the Ottertail Community Center in Ottertail. A potluck will be served at 6 p.m. followed by a program featuring Ruth Rondeau.

      Ruth worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in various states for 35 1/2 years. After retiring she began work on her genealogy which included taking photographs of gravestones for her family history. Her research eventually led her to the Otter Tail County Historical Society where she was amazed at the amount of information available. She was so impressed she volunteered to visit county cemeteries to do what she liked best, take photographs of gravestones.

      The museum staff instructed Ruth on how to develop a database. 

By the end of 2011, she had completed photographs and databases for

13 complete cemeteries, a total of over 5,000 gravestone images for the historical society's collection.

      Ruth will speak on her volunteer work and discuss techniques she has learned to get clear photographs of the writing on headstones.

      The Township Historian Meeting and potluck is free and open to the public. Please bring a dish to share.

      For information on this fun and informative event, call 218-736-6038 or visit www.otchs.org