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How To Search
My name is Carmen Paquin, Class of ’62, chairperson of the Search Committee
tasked with locating over 4,000 students and staff (most of whom do not even
suspect that they are lost). This is a major task - impossible for me to do by
myself. I’m hoping to coax you (and everybody else) to help this
committee
Once you get into it and start to get the hang of it, some of you may find
searching quite a bit of fun. You may get to feeling like Super Sleuth and
find yourself getting way behind in your crossword puzzles. And,
when you finally track down that elusive classmate and hear how happy they are
to hear from you after all these years, it really beats the daylights out of
finally finding that missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle.
I have put together some instructions and suggestions, keeping them simple just
in case you are new to computers. If you encounter difficulties while trying to
find someone, send me the particulars and I will try to lend a hand. I have access
to contacts all around the world and perhaps one telephone call will connect you
with your old school friend. As soon as you find someone, send me particulars
so others don’t waste time and effort searching for someone who is already found.
Check
with me and check the list – maybe the person is already located. Please be
patient if I don’t respond immediately; there is so much to do!
Keep in mind that not everyone wants to be found and we must respect that.
Please
let me know if you discover such a person. I have a category for “does not wish
to be found at this time.” If someone does not wish to be found then we can
advise others who may be searching for them. When you do find someone who is
happy to have been found, please avoid publicly posting their location
information, unless they specifically request you to do so. Addresses and
telephone numbers are confidential and will
not be released without prior
permission from the person(s). If acceptable to the person(s) found, share your
new-found old friends. Get them to contact me by email (if available) or by snail
mail (see info below), to
have their name added to the list on the Feller site. The information will
then be entered into the main database. I’m keeping
track of where we’re at, so if they have no email, ask them to indicate if
they would like their telephone number to be made available on an individual
basis to ex-Fellerites who request it. I repeat, the telephone number will be
given only to ex-Fellerites, and only with the owner’s permission, otherwise
all information is to be used only for planning the reunion. Addresses will
not
be given to anyone. Email is preferred as this provides a contact that reveals
almost nothing about the person’s actual location, except sometimes an area
code, a province, or a country. Most email addresses could be anywhere on this
planet. And the email arrives in minutes!
The information gathered is entered into a database designed and operated solely
by me, so please remember to give me everything you have. When the time comes to
pull out what we need, it must be accurate. If you have any problems searching,
contact me.
If you need instruction on how to surf and/or chat try your local library for lessons. Anyone without access or having
difficulty from home should check with the library. You can print this and take
it to the library or a friend. They
often offer free coaching for seniors, and free internet access. If you don’t
have your own computer you might want to reconsider. Many of our age group who
previously thought computers were not for them are discovering differently.
Just
the email alone, once you get the hang of it, can make you wonder how we ever
got along without it. It can also be a lot of fun to join in on a conversation of
old school friends from years ago and learn what they’ve been up to. Ask around
for a second-hand oldie but goodie computer. You don’t need a powerful one for
the internet and email and many older computers can handle it just as well as
the latest fancy new ones. Older is better! ...or something like that.
Speed
connection is important so check with your cable company or telephone company
for what is called “high speed internet access. ” Check out paying a flat rate
for a year ahead and you might get a discount.
I mention all this because a search is time-consuming if you have only a little
bit of information. When you search, your information must be accurate and if you
are unsure, leave a blank. Remember – we need to find as many people as
possible as quickly as possible. Remember to pass on your finds. Email me when you
get stuck. And we need someone for advertising/ publicity. Know someone?
Here are some sites I have discovered that can be really useful for finding
people.
www.Canada411.ca - (All Canada White Pages) Find a Person, scroll down for postal codes
http://Infospace.com - People Finder, Canada or International, Reverse Lookup has a map
www.AnyWho.com - Try typing in telephone numbers
www.Fifty-Plus.net -
Under article search, type the word reunion (lots of articles)
www.Iaf.net - (internet address finder world-wide) – need an email (domain) address
www.Classmates.com - Browse and you will find Feller
www.Chatelaine.com - Click on read, back issues, Jan-Jun 1996, Feb 1996
Lost Friends List* (article)
www.Ancestry.com - Military, church, census, newspapers (go crazy)
www.411.com - U.S.A.
http://1800USSearch.com - U.S.A. (pay for use)
www.Switchboard.com - U.S.A.
www.People.yahoo.com - U.S.A.
* Women who change their names are more difficult to find. These "Lost Friends"
lists are excellent.
More...? Okay!
www.altavista.com
www.altavista.digital.com
www.excite.com
www.hotbot.com
www.infoseek.com
www.lycos.com
www.netscape.com
www.opentext.com
www.webcrawler.com
Any time you see the box for “Search the Web” in the above, type in
the word reunion, or class reunion, or school reunion (more articles).
An old-fashioned library search is a must for cross references, past
directories, City Hall records, etc. Get instructions from the librarian.
Cellphone numbers cannot be found.
Send us your ideas.
Finally, I will be travelling and unavailable from June 22nd til about July 20th
2001, so you have to keep the ball rolling while I’m gone.
Good Luck!
Carmen Paquin,
Secretary, Feller Reunion Committee
Chairperson, Search Committee
cbpaquin@sympatico.ca
251-3044 Bloor Street West,
Toronto Ontario M8X
2Y8
November 2000. Updated June 2001.
