BIRTH CERTIFICATES NOW AVAILABLE AT HEALTH CENTER

Birth certificates are almost as popular as back-to-school immunizations at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center these days.

Laura Fulks, who handles most of the requests for birth certificates, said the center averages 15 to 20 requests a day.

"Right now I think the reason we're having so many is that everybody's getting ready to go back to school," Fulks said. "Also, with it being summer we have a lot for people traveling."

County health centers throughout the state are now on line with the Missouri Bureau of Vital Records' central computer and can print out the certificates within about 20 minutes.

There is a fee for the birth certificates, which are notarized, Fulks said.

Previously, written requests had to be submitted to the bureau in Jefferson City.

Birth certificates are required for students entering school and for getting a Social Security number, driver's license, passports and other official documents.

Birth records are also gold mines of information for people researching their roots.

Diane Runnels of Jackson uses all the resources she can find for her genealogical research, including birth and death certificates, census records, land transfers, marriage certificates and family histories.

Runnels said she has traced some of her ancestors as far back as the 1500s.

State records miss that mark by a few centuries, Fulks said. Records available on the computer go back to 1920, and records at the Jefferson City office only go back to 1910. Birth records prior to then were kept by cities, counties or local churches.

"It's great" that birth certificates are now available locally, Runnels said. "It will save a lot of time, because you can get them right away."

Runnels, a member of the Cape Girardeau Genealogical Society, got involved with genealogy about 12 years ago.

Written records are good, she said, but first-hand accounts are invaluable.

"The best is if you can get somebody and sit them down and get them started. They can tell you all about Cousin This or Aunt That and they remember all kinds of things," she said.

The Mormon Church maintains extensive genealogical records, and many census records are available on computer CD, Runnels said.

"You can do a lot of your work at home," she said.