[Fred Nerks]

Some were used for mailing lists, others for directories such as Polks.

thanks, now I think I understand the 'usefulness' of such a directory...handy for tracing people and stuffing mailboxes; are these directories still being published?

[RummyChick]

Someone I know did a free trial. Worthless. Lots of info not there. But maybe back then they were reliable.

[El Gato]

thanks, now I think I understand the 'usefulness' of such a directory...handy for tracing people and stuffing mailboxes; are these directories still being published?

Yes, but there are on the internet now as well, or you can get the directory on CD-ROM. Although some of the information is probably harder for them to get now.

Polks still has a printed directory for Hawaii. Yahoo has a people search, I put in "Nordyke" and clicked on "Eleanor", it told me that she is 82 years old, (correct based on being 34 when her twins were born) it also told me that she was related to Robert (her husband) Susan and Gretchen (the twins) and James Nordyke. It told me that she was a "Population Research Fellow", a Member of a board of Managers and an Associate Editor. Intelius will give you even more information, and fill in more details, for a fee.