This issue is Part Two of what I originally thought would be a two-part series on the “Roaring Twenties”. The decade is so significant and I didn’t want to scrimp on details, so I will wrap it up with Part Three in the next issue. Again, in honor of the magazine’s fifth anniversary I have spliced in some articles from the archives.

● Mining Genealogical Gold: Finding Records of the Nineteen Twenties (and the stories behind them). The 1920 census has a great deal of information pertinent to the decade known as the “Roaring Twenties”. There are also a number of post-World War I records available – and some interesting stories!

● Fads, Flappers and Feminism. America had survived not only a pandemic which killed millions around the world, but a tumultuous year of anarchy and the “Great Red Scare”. It was time to learn how to relax and enjoy the new diversions and amusements, fads and toys just over the horizon.

● Family History Toolbox

● Bootleggers, Cow Shoes and Tommy Guns - Prohibition: America Goes Dry (and Lawless). At the stroke of midnight, January 16, 1920, the United States “went dry”. Prohibition, the so-called noble experiment, more often remembered for gangsters, violence and corruption, made an indelible mark on “The Roaring Twenties” and beyond.

● May I Recommend

● Up in Smoke and Genealogy’s “Black Hole” (or is it?). Put on your thinking caps. What event which took place ninety-nine years ago has since become an ever-present challenging obstacle to genealogists? On January 10, 1921 most of the 1890 census went up in smoke – “most” being the operative word. This article from the archives reminds us of alternatives to what is called genealogy’s “black hole”.

Enjoy the issue! I am looking forward to wrapping up this fascinating series in the next issue – featuring an extensive article on “The Roar” and a few more related articles, plus all the regular columns featured in each issue.