Digging Up Our Roots at the Mondak Heritage Center

When you think of history most people think of the larger events in the past that changed the world on a much grander scale, but history isn't just the shock value of some life changing event that happens somewhere across the world, for some it's simply looking back in time down our own family tree. The need to learn about our family history is something that appeals to most of us. A lot of families here in Sidney have been here from the start and could probably tell you everything about their family. On the other hand Sidney could be a place you've never been to or heard of but may still be connected to. No matter what you may be looking for the people at the MonDak Heritage Center can help you. They work tirelessly there, fielding calls and e-mails from all over the world from people researching their family history or looking for a loved one lost from long ago. The Heritage Center and the people who work and volunteer there make it their mission to help you get the answers you need.

It's not just Ancestry.com, although that is one of the many popular tools they rely on, it's also their own time and smarts to research and discover. "It's a puzzle and we are helping these people put it together," says Leanne Pelvit, who has worked at the Center for 8 years. "We will help anyone who is looking to research the genealogy of their family. We have everything we need to help them and will show them how to do it. People find out some really interesting things. There was a lady from Sweden, I think, and she was looking for her mother because she came to the states and then nobody heard from her again but we found her. We determined that she had married and had died, but we were able to get her the information she needed and where she was buried." The MonDak Heritage Center has put on a Genealogy 101 class and is looking to do another one soon, they are aiming for sometime in January. Pelvit encourages anyone who is looking to explore their family tree to call her at the Center 433-3500 or e-mail her at [email protected].

In addition to the research, the ladies who work at the Center painstakingly document all the obituaries throughout Richland County. That means keeping a record of every obituary and cemetery plot in the county. They have close to 15, 000 Heritage record cards. These cards list the pertinent information of someone such as name, date of birth, mother and father's names, children and where they live. These cards are filled out and filed with every death. Now, Pelvit is working with Ramona Raffaell, another employee at the Heritage Center, to make a book. The main objective of the book is to show all these cemeteries and their plots and who has been laid to rest there. The biggest challenge is the stray graves. These are the ones usually not in a cemetery but out on someone's farmland. When these are found they are documented as well. They are not sure when the book will be finished because it is an ongoing list that is constantly changing.