About
Why That Name?
As more than one person has asked — how did you come up with the name White Dome?
Location
White Dome is a small, 800-acre nature preserve in the Saint George, Utah area. As one can see from the picture it is not the most photogenic. In fact, it only has two interesting features: biotic soil and a plant. Both are intertwined.
Soil and Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy
The biotic soil is alive. It forms a crust that makes it extremely difficult for plants to survive. It's a very brittle crust — not soft at all. Being so brittle, walking on it destroys the soil. It seems impossible that anything pretty could survive.
The Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy loves the biotic soil. In fact, it loves it so much the plant will only grow in places with the exact same biotic soil. That limits the plant to pretty much the 800 acres of the nature preserve and a few smaller areas in the Saint George area. The plant only grows and blooms in the late April to early May timeframe.
Connecting the plant to genealogy
What does this plant have to do with genealogy? Well, if one wants to see the Dwarf Bear Claw Poppy — and it's amazing to see them popping up in the preserve — you must combine two things. It's not just where you go but when. You can stop by the preserve, but if you aren't there at the right time, you won't see them.
The same with genealogy: locating an ancestor is more than looking in one place. The search must factor in many nuances, from spelling of names, to boundary changes, to record loss, and other such details. The end result when it comes together is that wonderful feeling when another brick wall falls.
The company name is then an invite to look for obscure sources and deeply analyze records found, as the solution to a genealogical question may only be found in a special record at some remote archive. The beauty of the poppy reminds us that taking time to truly search can reveal hidden gems.
More About White Dome
Name
How and why did you pick White Dome as the company name?
Purpose
Why do genealogy and why teach genealogy.
Experience
What experience do you have in research and genealogy in general.
Level Up
Description of the level up process along with a scorecard.
Education
Where did you learn to do genealogy? How did you get your certification?
Technical
What did you do before being a genealogist?
Personal
What is your family like? What do you do besides genealogy?