|
A Tribute To |
Founding Member & Past President of Iowa City Genealogical Society |
| A Tribute to Charlene Ann Nichols Hixon (1923 - 2020) by Ann Gorman The recent passing of Char has caused us to reflect on her dedication to family research and her immeasurable contributions to the Iowa City Genealogical Society. As a charter member, along with Bev Lindsay and Sarah Rigler, she helped organize workshops that in 1967 eventually became the ICGS. For fifty years she served on the board of directors in almost every role - president, past president, recording secretary, correspondence secretary, librarian, and newsletter editor. Her activities included giving talks, teaching genealogy classes, and participating in panel discussions. Some of the many projects she participated in were indexing the old Johnson County history, walking all the Johnson County cemeteries, and publishing those cemetery records. For her home town Nichols’ centennial (1884-1984) Char edited and indexed a centennial history. In 2001 Char and a good friend completed a name and date index for the cemeteries of Pike township in Muscatine County. In her brief autobiography published in the March 2007 Newsletter of the ICGS she explained: "My interest in genealogy began when I found a packet of old, old letters in the attic of my grandparents' house. I read them and began to figure out relationships. I attended a beginning [genealogy] class in Cedar Rapids taught by Darlene Paxton and Troas Wise. Best time I ever spent! They taught me the basics of tracing family history. And I went on from there." To continue learning more about researching family history and to share her knowledge with others, Char belonged to many genealogical societies. She attended most Quad City and state conferences. "You never go away empty-headed from any of them! So much to learn - so little time." Char was born 12 Sep 1923 in Nichols, Iowa. She was a direct descendent of Samuel Nichols, for whom the town was named. To pass her family history on to her children and grands Char put together family books - one for each family line. The last family member to carry on the Nichols name, Char passed away on 26 Apr 2020 in Coralville, Iowa. The knowledge that she shared and the requirements of strict research that she passed on have encouraged us, her students, colleagues and friends to be better genealogists. Thank you, Char. We miss you. ------------------------- Char’s Message by Joni Hindman "A Message From the President" in the March 2006 ICGS Newsletter written by Char, who was ICGS President at the time, contained a nice memory of picking May Day flowers. It's also a reminder to write our stories (coronavirus anyone?). My husband has been doing just that since starting his retirement. The following serves as a reminder lesson to all from Char... "Do you remember something from when you were a child - something about March winds and April showers bring May flowers? We are having lots of March winds this past week! And April showers bringing May flowers - do you remember May baskets? We went to the woods and picked wild flowers to put in our May baskets - blue bells and violets and I can't remember what else! “I remember that we would take a May basket across the alley to the little house where two "old ladies" lived. They were widows - mother and daughter - and I thought they were really old, when they were actually not a lot older than I am now! But the point I wanted to make was this: we were allowed to go to visit Mrs. Meese and Mrs. Hesser. We went alone. “These two ladies sat in their rocking chairs facing each other by the bay window that looked out on to the street. And my! The stories they told! Mrs. Hesser (the mother) told how her father took her to hear Abraham Lincoln speak. (I have a feeling that she heard a Lincoln-Douglas debate?) Mrs. Meese told about living in Oklahoma where there were still Indians there. (Did she tell about opening the territory?) “Wouldn't it be wonderful to have those stories written down to read today? Of course, we don't have anything as exciting to tell about now. All these places have been settled and civilized, and everyone hears all kinds of political debates "live!" on the television. “Do your grandchildren - or children - know what life was like when you were the same age they are? We tease them about walking to school five miles - rain, snow or sunshine - up hill both going to school and coming back home! But will your stories about your life disappear when you "forget" them or when you aren't around anymore to remember them? “You know what I'm saying! Get busy and write a few memories. They can be short. I have started a folder with some stories in them. Some of the stories are a page long, others are just a couple of paragraphs. The older I get the more stories I think of that I should tell my kids and my grands. And try to get your kids and grands to write down some of their stories - for you! “I know! This is the same old story you've heard before. And I know that we are all agreeing that this is the thing we should do. And I know that a few of us have already done this. And I know that you'll all agree. So why don't we try it - one more time!!" ------------------------- More Tributes to Char I joined ICGS just after my son was born in 1998. Char had heard about me from a genealogy friend of hers as I had been active in rootsweb.org online genealogy groups prior to joining. It didn’t take long before I was asked by Char and the ICGS board to take the role of newsletter editor. Serving on the ICGS board was a great way to meet the membership and I enjoyed getting to know Char as time passed. We went to several of the Burlington Public Library’s spring genealogy workshops together, and had some great conversations on those drives. I learned a lot about Char’s family and really enjoyed her sense of humor and down to earth perspective on life. She was a dedicated genealogist and a true friend. - Rosemary Tiwari Very sad to hear of Char's passing. She certainly has a lot of credits to her name for all she did for genealogy and the society for over 50 years. May she rest in peace. - Diana Cox She was so dedicated to history and genealogy. - Cindy Maher She called me kiddo – don’t know if that was her way of referring to other people she interacted with, or if that was just her first impression of me. - Trudy Burns Char and I co-chaired the World War II Iowa Press Clippings project since 1995, and I know she will be missed by all project volunteers (known as the Flying Glue Stick Corp). Having worked with her on several projects, personally I would like to say: I will miss you – my mentor, my friend. - Joni Hindman |
|