Frenchtown Rendezvous, Oct. 7

WALLA WALLA – The annual Frenchtown Rendezvous will be held on Sat., Oct. 7, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Assumption Church Parish Hall located at 2098 E. Alder St. in Walla Walla. The free event is the main fundraiser for the Frenchtown Historical Foundation.

This year’s event kicks off at 2 p.m. with a hands-on family history workshop about census and church records at the Assumption Church Parish Hall. Attendees will use church records, censuses, and online sources to research their own family history. Printed computer records will be available to explore. Bring stories and questions.

Silent auctions and history displays, including drafts of the new cemetery signage will be available all afternoon. Visit with fellow history buffs and enjoy cookies, coffee, beer, and wine. Attendees can even join in a hand of Pinochle.

At 4 p.m. Frenchtown researchers Sarah Hurlburt, and Jessie and Nicki Day-Lucore will talk about the St. Rose cemetery and Frenchtown Interpretive plan and cemetery restoration project. In their presentation titled “Buried Lives – the St. Rose of Lima Cemetery,” they will discuss Catholic records, French-Canadian mobility and frontier mortality in their work on the Frenchtown cemetery restoration, as well as present new themes for Frenchtown research.

A tri-tip dinner, catered by Marty Bray, will take place at 5 p.m. and a Pendleton Woolen Mills Turtle Legend Blanket will be raffled off. Dinner tickets are $35 each and are available online at http://tinyurl.com/frenchtownrdv or from any Frenchtown board member. The meal is catered and advance purchase is appreciated. Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5/$20 and may be purchased from any FHF board member or at the event.

The Frenchtown Historical Foundation is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Frenchtown Historic Site, located at 8364 Old Highway 12, eight miles west of Walla Walla. The site is free and open to the public from dawn to dusk. Learn more at http://www.frenchtownwa.org or email frenchtownhistoricfoundation@gmail.com.