Shaking the family tree by Buzzy Jackson tells a wonderful story of a woman’s search to find out if her family stories were true. A historian and skilled storyteller, she makes her genealogical quest into a delightful read.

Beyond Belfast is author Will Ferguson’s story of his two-month hike along the Ulster Way in Northern Ireland. He says, “I was on one of those ill-advised ancestral homeland treks of which we North Americans are so inexplicably fond. My grandfather was a Belfast orphan, you see, and I thought that somehow I could reconnect with my past by walking through muddy fields for two months on feet so blistered they had come to resemble bubble-wrap.”

Genealogy makes history come alive. I knew that my grandfather was born in Belfast and that he never wanted to go back.

I never thought to ask him why when he was alive, but a decade later it was all I could think about. I found myself reading everything that I could get my hands on about Northern Ireland, fiction and non.

I discovered and was able to meet distant relatives of my grandfather. I visited the graves of his father, mother, and brother in Belfast.

I was taken to the home where he spent four years as a boy, and met the most amazing people.

The Invermere Public Library now has Ancestry.com — the Ancestry Library Edition — for use in the library.

If you have ever thought about delving into your family history, now is the time. Tonight (January 30) at 6 p.m., we are hosting an entertaining and informative talk about how to get started.

Please give us a call 250-342-6416 and let us help you get started!

—Contributed by Ginny Walker