As you read in the last installment of Debs Webster’s family travels, they had just arrived in the United States. Now it’s time to buy a car and get ready for their road trip across the U.S.A. Their final destination will be Glendora, California.
My mom was 14 years old when she arrived here in the U.S.A. About two years later she wrote a bit about her immigration experience. In her story, she said,
“We had a chance to come to the United States in 1952 so on that same year on June we took a boat which brought us to New York. From there on to California we bought a 1951 Chevrolet and made the trip from coast to coast.I think she did a very good job expressing herself in her newly acquired language of English, don’t you agree?
This will be remembered by all of us as being [a] wonderful experience. We visited about 15 states and several parks such as Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. We also visited the Temple Square in Salt Lake and also the Museum of it. We visited other temples also which were wonderful experiences.”
My mom and her family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while they were still living in Brazil. That’s why she mentioned visiting LDS temples along their way.
In addition to buying a car, they bought some sleeping bags and camping equipment so they wouldn’t have to stay in motels along the way. Yes, they were trying to be frugal.
Here’s the family stopping somewhere for a bite to eat. My mom is sitting on the far right, Willis is next to her, and Willis’ mom Helena is to the left. The two little boys are my uncles.
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Grandpa and Grandma Webster collected lots of postcards during their travels. And there are quite a few from the state of New York. Here are several from Long Island:
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| John Howard Payne Home - Historical Long Island Postcard |
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| John Howard Payne Home - Historical Long Island Postcard |
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| Montauk Lighthouse - Historical Long Island Postcard |
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| Montauk Lighthouse - Historical Long Island Postcard |
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| Montauk Point - Long Island, New York Postcard |
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| Montauk Point - Long Island, New York Postcard |
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| Water Tower at Jones Beach, Long Island, New York Postcard |
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| Water Tower at Jones Beach, Long Island, New York Postcard |
Hope you enjoyed reading about my Webster family as they started on their journey across the United States.
The next installment will find the Websters still in New York, so stay tuned for more vintage postcards and photos.
Thanks for reading!
Jana
Copyright © Jana Last 2012
It's wonderful that your family kept the postcards all these years. It sounds like they were careful to get a few to mark their trip. I admire their willingness to camp along the way. I would think that would get old but maybe the kids didn't see it that way.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy! Ya, those postcards must have meant a lot to them since they were displayed in their scrapbook.
DeleteCall me a wimp, but I don't know if I'd like to camp my way from coast to coast. :) I can't imagine how the adults handled it, especially Willis' mom who was about 66 years old at the time. What a trouper she was!
You are so lucky to have such memories written down, supported by the wonderful vintage postcards. Yes - I am enjoying your Webster travelogue and look forward to the next instalment.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan! I really am thankful to have these memories written down as well as the plethora of postcards belonging to my grandparents.
DeleteThanks so much for following their immigration story!
What serendipity! I just took my first trip to Long Island to see the burial place of an ancestor. It is one of the few ancestors I have outside of New England. We had to take three ferries to see this place, so it was quite a memorable trip. I'm sure that your grandparents had a similarly memorable trip and it meant a lot to them. No wonder they bought the postcards. I'm just realizing that in the day of digital cameras I didn't buy a single postcard...
ReplyDeleteHi Heather! Wow! Three ferries to get there!
DeleteI like your observation about not buying postcards on your trip. I think we take for granted our modern conveniences today, ie. digital cameras. That would explain the large amount of postcards in the scrapbook.
Thanks for stopping by!