The 1940 United Stated federal census will be released to the public in a few weeks (April 2, 2012). As part of the effort to get the word out, I signed up to be a 1940 ambassador.

What does that mean?

In addition to the regular posts about life in Fort Dodge in the early days – meaning articles originally published before 1923, I will post items about the 1940s, following prompts from the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project. These will be original, not transcribed, and will address life in the 1940s.

This week’s post will be about transportation, science and/or technology, and so I will be doing some research today at the Fort Dodge Public Library and post either tonight or tomorrow.

In addition to using my blog to get the word out about the census release, I will be doing indexing on the census once it is released. If you are in the Fort Dodge area and want to learn how to do indexing, contact me. If you know me personally, you already know how to contact me. If you don’t, leave a comment – comments are moderated and I check them regularly.

I’m excited about this opportunity. This is the first census my parents will be listed in. I will have a chance to see their family’s information at the time my parents were just toddlers. My dad was adopted at a young age, so I’ll see if he was with his adopted family during the census. My mom is the oldest child, so she and her parents were all the family at that time.

To join the fun:

• The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project website (sign up for indexing here)
• Like The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project on Facebook
• Follow the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project on Twitter
• Download and install the Family Search indexing software. Try some batches out before the census rollout, so you have some experience.