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Spoiler Alert: Our Father (2022) — Article contains content regarding true crime and assaultFertility fraud is as old as fertility treatment itself, but until recently, it often went undetected. In its usual form, it involves the substitution of sperm of one person for that of another without informing the patient. Many cases have been uncovered since the advent of home ancestry kits allowed those curious about their family history to compare their DNA with that of others online – a manifestation of the modern obsession with genealogy that has made a success of such shows as Who Do You Think You Are? and African American Lives.

But, as Netflix’s documentary Our Father released this week demonstrates, the revelations that emerge as a result can sometimes be far more sinister than anticipated.

The Undetected Crime

Netflix is no stranger to controversial documentaries, but Our Father pushes the controversy to new extremes. Fertility fraud has been the subject of several documentaries in the last five years, most famously in filmmaker Hannah Olson’s 2020 film for HBO, Baby God, which covered the activities of Quincy Fortier, a doctor from Nevada who hit the headlines after having been accused of using his own sperm to inseminate dozens of his patients at a facility in Las Vegas. He was sued by several of his alleged descendants in the 2000s and settled out of court before his death (in his 90s) in 2006.

Last year, the Dutch filmmaker Miriam Guttmann released Het Zad van Karbaat (The Seed of Karbaat), a short documentary series about Jan Karbaat, a Dutch doctor whose reputation as the nation’s foremost fertility doctor seemed secure – until it emerged that he had impregnated more than 65 of his patients…

Mary Lou Raymo, 80, died Friday morning, May 13 at Clare Bridge Memory Care at Brookdale Fillmore Pond in Bennington.
She was born June 16, 1941, at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, the daughter of Dorothy and William Holland. Mary Lou grew up on the family dairy farm on Holland Road in East Dover with her parents and her younger brother Ray Holland.
She attended a one-room school house in East Dover through eighth grade. She then attended Wilmington High School, graduating as class salutatorian in 1959. It was at WHS that she met her future husband James “Jim” Raymo; he was always Jamie to Mary Lou. They were married at the East Dover Baptist Church on July 9, 1960, with a reception at the Holland Farm.
After their marriage, Jim and Mary Lou lived in Wilmington for a year and then returned to Holland Road and built their house on the family farm. It was a house designed by Mary Lou and built by her husband, her father, and neighbors. Jim and Mary Lou made Cider Mill Pasture their home for 57 years.
Following high school, she worked in a variety of jobs, including as a milk tester for dairy farms around southern Vermont and with her mother as janitors at Dover Elementary School.
In the mid-1970s she began a career in Dover town government, starting as an auditor, secretary and assistant town clerk. In 1979 she ran for town treasurer, and seven years later after Virginia Carruthers’ retirement she became the town clerk and treasurer. She retired as town clerk in 2007 having served the town for 30 years. Not completely done with town duties, in 2007 she was elected as First Constable and collector of delinquent taxes, a part-time position she held until 2015.
Mary Lou was active in the Vermont Coalition of Municipalities during the initial fight against the…

In January 2022 I came down with mild symptoms of something or other. I was already triple-vaxxed, with a French vaccine passport (“pass vaccinal”) on my iPhone to prove it, and like a true pioneer I had already suffered through a bout of COVID-19 long before, in March 2020. So I was basically unworried, but still I made an appointment for a PCR test in order to comply with my workplace protocols and to ease the concerns of my spouse. The soonest slot I could find was at the Pharmacie de Stalingrad in the nineteenth arrondissement. It stands just across from the Boucherie Stalingrad on the Avenue de Flandre, a dismal strip of brutalist apartment blocks, vape stores, and barber shops serving the neighborhood’s immigrant communities.

Inside the pharmacy, an older Muslim woman was nearly in tears. She couldn’t figure out how to complete, on her phone, the form required to receive the test. I pulled up the form on my own phone and saw the logo of the Ministry of Solidarity and Health. Like all government documents here, it featured the slogan: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. The pharmacy claimed that it could not provide a paper version of the form. She complained that old people should not be required to navigate online labyrinths on screens too small for their aching fingers and fading eyes just to comply with the rules. And in that officious, dismissive, yet technically polite way in which French petty clerks help to maintain the structures that somewhat call into question the force of the trinity of words in the Republic’s motto, the pharmacist barely looked up as he said: “Yes, Madame. You are absolutely right.”

She wandered out, untested, presumably unable to…

By Sherry Larson

People’s Defender

Everybody has a story with a historical background from whom and where they came. There is a reason why you have blue eyes, and your sibling has brown. There’s a long lineage of those who came before you, and you carry them (literally) in your DNA.

Many resources are available at the Adams County Genealogical Society for folks whose bloodline has roots in Adams County. Ethel Chambers and Becky Reed are willing and eager to assist you in finding your ancestors. And if you aren’t rooted in Adams County, Reed offers classes to guide you offering the use of their resources.

The Historical and Genealogical Societies share the space at 507 N. Cherry Street in West Union. John Wickerham curates the next-door Historical Society Museum. Chambers is the only existing active charter member of the Genealogical Society and became a member in 1978. Chambers started genealogy in 1975 when her mother-in-law passed away, and she was left with photographs and started to research. Chambers relayed, “We were able to get names that nobody knew, and if they did – they did not talk about family. The older people just did not talk about family.” Reed adds, “Life was hard, you know. Things were going on, and family situations were often not good.”

The ladies discussed DNA tests and the sometimes-shocking findings. Reed stated, “You get 50% of your DNA from your mom and 50% from your dad. Well, they got 50% and 50% and so on.

The mixtures aren’t the same. You get all variations.” Chambers warns, “I tell people that if there’s anything in your DNA you don’t want to know, you better not do it.”

Chambers, Reed, Rheta Campbell, and Linda Worley (who was absent from the interview) are volunteers and instrumental to folks…

EDITOR’S NOTE: While some clubs have informed The Union of meeting cancellations or reopenings due to COVID-19, we have not heard from them all. Please call ahead to confirm future meeting times and/or cancellations. We encourage club members to inform us of any changes.

The Union publishes Club News each Saturday. To share the latest from your western Nevada County club or organization, email readers@theunion.com. Unfortunately only a small fraction of club submissions are published in the print version of The Union due to space constraints. To see the complete list of clubs, visit http://www.TheUnion.com, scroll down to the bottom and click on “announcements.”

Gold Country Senior Services

To help meet the increasing needs of homebound local seniors, some of the meals we provide continue to be prepared by our own Gold Country kitchen staff. Meals on Wheels drivers make deliveries on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while similar meals are available for drive-through pick-up at the Nevada City Senior Apartments, 841 Old Tunnel Rd., Grass Valley. Phone 530-273-4961 to register. Visit http://www.goldcountryservices.org for further information about our services and volunteer opportunities.

Golden Empire Sams RV Club

Are you one of the thousands of RV owners feeling guilty that you only got your RV on the road once in 2021? Are you telling yourselves that 2022 will be better with multiple trips planned? Well we can help you with those plans, we are the Golden Empire Sams RV Club, centered in the Northern Foothills around the Grass Valley/Auburn area. We typically host nine trips between March nd November. Our June outing will be from June 12-17 at Klamath Ranch Resort/Blue Heron RV Park in Hornbrook Calif. For more…

Town hall. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and City Council District E member and Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin outline the redistricting process and invite public comment during a town hall at Space Center Houston. 6 p.m. 1601 NASA Parkway. Free. Info: 832-393-3008, districte@houstontx.gov or www.LetsTalkHouston.org/redistricting.

WASP history. Lynn Miller, of the Air Force Nursing Corps and International Order of Flying Rotarians, previews the Women Airforce Service Pilots exhibit at Lone Star Flight Museum — “Fly Girls of WW II” — during a talk at Evelyn Meador Branch Library. 1 p.m. 2400 N. Meyer Ave. Free. Info: www.hcpl.net/events/59359.

Pasadena Strawberry Festival. Annual community festival will feature performers including Jake Bush and Tracy Byrd and a carnival, car show, Kid Zone, mud volleyball and the world’s largest strawberry shortcake. 3 p.m. to midnight May 20; 10 a.m. to midnight, May 21 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 22. Pasadena Convention Center and Municipal Fairgrounds, 7902 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena. Ticket information: https://bityl.co/C2wd.

Happy Feet. Evelyn Meador Branch Library’s walking group meets Fridays. All ages, species and abilities are welcome. 9 a.m. 2400 N. Meyer Ave….

Stratagem Market Insight’s latest market research findings on the Global “Genealogy Research Services Market” offer a detailed analysis by Player, Region, Type, Application, and Sales Channel, Forecast 2022-2028. The Genealogy Research Services market analysis comprehensive study also incorporates growth projections year 2028. Data on the country, regional, and sub-regional levels are provided in the report to make stakeholders better understand the supply and demand forces with their impact on the industry. Information concerning trade share, growth expectation, future analysis, opportunities, and challenges are all covered in this study. The trade-in terms of production and consumption by region are all presented in this report.

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Global Genealogy Research Services Market includes an analysis of major companies, expansion strategies, company models, and other industry elements to help key players better their present strategy. It investigates and profiles leading companies as well as other notable ones in the industry.

Top Companies Covered In This Report:

Ancestry, Genealogists.com, Genealogy Bank , Geni, FamilyRelatives, 23andMe, Primmbiotech 

Scope of the Genealogy Research Services Market:

The Genealogy Research Services market report provides detailed insights on trends, market share, market size, market value, and trading volume. The global Genealogy Research Services market report provides a comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 infections and how it has impacted market growth. This study explains the future opportunities for market participants. In addition, the market includes recent collaborations, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships…