The monthly meeting of the Society is scheduled for 10:00 AM this Saturday, May 12, in the Conference Room of Campus South (old Doctor's Hospital building), located off I-49 via Exit 15. Bring your interested family members and friends. Refreshments will be served beginning at 9:30 AM. Come and find new Kinfolk.

All interested PUBLIC are cordially invited to attend and participate in the meeting

The May 12, 2012 meeting of the Society will be a business meeting primarily to discuss and make decisions on two primary matters, and perhaps discuss other ideas:

  1)  Use a portion of our Society treasury to finance a reprinting of our dearly deceased Susan Douget's wonderful book "Sous Cette Pierre Repose" -- Under this (Head)stone Lies --  which is out of print and there are requests for purchase for the book,

Susan's husband and our society friend, James Douget, is not at all pleased with the plans that Claitor's Publishing has proposed for a possible reprinting by them, and has asked for consideration by our Genealogical Society.

  2)  Considering the many on-going POSITIVE changes at the library and the greatly increased interest and additions to the "Louisiana History and Genealogy Collection" and the increased space and equipment there as well as the continuing lack of any appropriate physical location for a new and separate Genealogy Library in Opelousas, might our society members decide to donate our collected volumes, CD's, equipment, etc to the Opelousas Public Library to be added to the growing Collection there?

Other lesser matters, but of some importance to the society to insure it's continuing existence could be of interest to discuss:

  3)  Should we try to promote attendance -- and especially paid membership

-- and perhaps thereby increase interest by local and area individuals -- your suggestions requested here?

  4)  Should we try to return to publishing our wonderful journal N'oubliez Pas as a means of  A) compiling, recording and preserving our family and local histories for future generations and  B) develop an additional means of attracting new  guests at our meetings and new members to our Society.

Because of the increased cost of publishing due to paper, printing and postage, we may want to do as many other societies have done in recent years, and produce only one large issue of the journal per year. Would you help by submitting material from your research to help in this renewed endeavor?

See you on Saturday all fired up with enthusiasm for our Society's renewal and taking steps of progress.

The February 2012 meeting of our Imperial St Landry Genealogical & Historical Society will be held at the lovely and  recently completed Orphan Train Museum, located in the Vieux Village at the eastern entrance of Opelousas, and across Hwy 190 (which becomes east Landry Street at that point) from Myrtle Grove Cemetery, the City's Public Cemetery.

Mrs. Flo Inhern has invited our Society and its members and guests to visit this wonderful Museum and learn the circumstances of how, when and why the orphans came to Opelousas and the surrounding rural areas. We will learn the names of those who came here and the families who took them in and the different relationships that developed with the families, Not all were adopted.

The meeting begins at 10:00 AM on  Saturday, February 11 in the Museum.

After the presentation of information, attendees will be allowed to ask questions of the staff, and view all the many collected materials from various orphans.

There is plenty of parking in the area of this Museum - between the Vieux Village and the large red brick colonnaded outdoor Market and Donut Shop building, or a shell covered area behind the west side of the Museum off Academy Street, or across Vine Street to the south in the very large concrete parking lot.

Visitors coming to Opelousas via Interstate 49 should take Exit 19 and proceed west. The Vieux Village is to the left just past the first traffic signal light.

Please remember, Saturday, Feb 11 at 10:00AM at the Orphan Train Museum.

Come and enjoy a bit of Opelousas History.