BILLINGS — The Yellowstone Genealogy Forum was housed in the Billings Public Library for 40 years before it was asked to vacate the space in April.
Monday marked the first day in a new space for the nonprofit at an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The genealogy forums materials are open to the public during the same hours that the community center is open at 360 N. 23rd St. Volunteers will be available from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to help assist anyone who needs it.
With a passion for history, Billings resident Connie Genger was one of the first to check out the nonprofit's new home.
"It's very exciting. Very time consuming but really fun," said Genger Monday at the community center. "In the pandemic, I spent eight to 10 hours a day on my computer."
She has her dad to thank for her love of genealogy.
"My dad used to travel once in a while for DC and he always looked up in the telephone books to see if anybody had his last name and he never could find anybody that did," Genger said. "And so I picked up that habit and I found out that there were other people with my same last name."
She tries to use as many resources that she can find, like the Yellowstone Genealogy Forum's materials.
"I just started doing research up there in the room at the library about the time that they were told that they had to move out," said Genger.
After the Billings Public Library informed the nonprofit that they would need the space housing the forum's materials back in April, members went to work searching.
"The Billings Community and Senior Center offered some space down here for some of our books and our programs in exchange for us doing some programs for them on a regular basis," said the nonprofit's recording secretary Mary Parker. "We're now open for the public every afternoon from one to three. And we'd like to see anybody that has any questions about genealogy, we'd like to start there."
The forum will host a slew of programs at the center, like Beginner Genealogy on Oct. 10 and a Constitution and Naturalization program on Oct 22.
That's not the only change, however, that the nonprofit has faced.
"We downsized our book collection from 4,000 to about 300. And we didn't throw anything away. We made it known that we had all these books and we were able to give books to Fort Missoula to their military museum up there. And those books that went up there were the official record of the U.S. Civil War," Parker said. "And then the Great Falls and the Missoula Genealogy Societies took some of our books. Museums in Columbus and Big Timber took some of our books. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City took some books."
For Genger, there is peace in knowing others will benefit from what the nonprofit lost as it's another resource in keeping the hobby and history alive.
"I was interested and curious about my genealogy, particularly my dad's side of the family because of the German connection that I felt was there that I still haven't found. But I think that it just gives you a sense of self and where you are," said Genger. "I think it's good for everybody to get involved and connect with their history."
