Yearbook Find ~ My Mom, Member of Future Business Leaders of America

My mom, Elizabeth Webster, graduated from Pomona High School in 1957. I'm fortunate to have three of her high school yearbooks in my possession.

On page 33 in the yearbook for 1957, I found this photo of my mom. I put a red rectangle around her and her name. This is the page for the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) at Pomona High School.

Here's a cropped portion of the photo so we can get a closer view of my mom.

It's so fun to see this photo of her. I love her outfit. Look at her smart blouse with the standing collar. So cute! And look at those adorable flats she's wearing!

It's really neat to know that my mom was a member of the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) in High School. It looks like the FBLA went on some interesting field trips including visits to Lockheed Aircraft Company in Ontario, the Metropolitan Junior College at Los Angeles, The Southern California Edison Light Company in Los Angeles, and the Carnation Milk Company in Los Angeles. I wonder if my mom was able to go on all of the field trips listed on this yearbook page.

My mom was born on 24 July 1938, so depending on when this photo was taken, she would have been around 18 years old. She immigrated to the United States from Brazil in July 1952, so she graduated from high school only about five years after arriving here. From what I understand, she didn't speak English when she arrived. Her father, Debs Warren Webster, did speak English. He also spoke Portuguese and Spanish.

Those who follow my blog will probably remember that Debs was the son of Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. Debs' mom, Esther Matus Villatoro, was from Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico, and his father was from Athens, Ohio, USA. So, it's not surprising that my Grandpa Debs spoke Spanish, English, and Portuguese. He traveled with his father while he was young. And "The Traveling Dentist" did travel quite a bit.

I have more yearbook discoveries from the pages of my mom's yearbooks that I'll share in future posts.

Have you found photos of your parents or other relatives in yearbooks?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Beginning My Last Semester at BYU Pathway Worldwide

Here we go! My last semester at BYU Pathway Worldwide officially starts today. This is my third and last semester in this program. I began BYU Pathway Worldwide in April of 2019. After this semester I will be transferring to BYU-Idaho's online program.

After transferring to BYU-Idaho's online program, I plan to earn a Certificate in Family History Research. The Introduction to Family History course listed in this semester's course list (above) is one of the Certificate in Family History Research courses.

BYU-Idaho's online program also offers an AAS in Family History Research, which I may earn as well. They don't offer a Bachelor's Degree in Family History Research at this time.

Before I was married, I attended BYU-Provo for three semesters and I've taken a few college courses over the years, but I never earned a degree. BYU Pathway Worldwide is providing me with a wonderful way to further my education.

To learn more about BYU Pathway Worldwide, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Questions for Grandpa Debs

While looking through my draft blog posts today, I came across this one. I don't know why I never published it as it seems like it was pretty much finished. So, I've decided to go ahead and finally publish it today. Nancy's blog post that inspired this post was published back in 2015. Wow! That was five years ago already. I think it's about time I published this post. Haha! The following is what I wrote back then except for a few things I added at the end.

Nancy, author of the My Ancestors and Me blog, recently wrote a blog post titled If You Could Spend an Afternoon With an Ancestor..... In this blog post Nancy imagines spending time spent with an ancestor and being able to ask him questions. She also invited her readers to share their thoughts and questions they'd ask an ancestor if they could spend time with them.

I'm going to take her up on her invitation. I wish I could spend an afternoon (or longer) with many ancestors. I have plenty of questions I could ask of them. Today I'm going to share what I wish I could ask my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, if I could spend an afternoon with him.

I remember my Grandpa Debs very well. When I was young, our family visited with my Grandpa and Grandma Webster many times. When Grandpa Debs passed away, I was already married and was a mother of four children. You'd think I would already know pretty much everything about him right? Well, unfortunately, that's not the case. You see, I began my family history research AFTER his death. And he didn't talk about his family history at all, as far as I can remember. From my research, and talking with my mom, I know he led a very interesting life. After all, he was the son of Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog.

Debs was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 27 April 1914. He traveled a great deal with his father both before and after the death of his mother, Esther Matus Villatoro. Frederick practiced dentistry in three countries - The United States, Mexico, and Brazil.

Debs, his wife, and children immigrated to the United States in July of 1952.

What I wish I could ask my Grandpa Debs:

• Did you enjoy traveling with your father?
• Where did you go to school when you were a boy?
• How did you learn to speak Spanish, Portuguese, and English?
• What was life like as the son of "The Traveling Dentist?"
• What were your favorite memories of your mom?
• What was she like?
• What was your father like?
• How did you meet your first wife Sarah Vasques Madeira?

What questions do you wish you could ask an ancestor? Also, do you have blog posts in draft form from way back when? How many do you have waiting to be published?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved