Preserving Memories ~ My Adorable Mom

As I've mentioned previously, I've worked on a large family history project. I've scanned photos, slides, and negatives of various sizes that I inherited from my parents and my maternal grandparents. I have also scanned photos and negatives from my own collection. I'm not finished with this scanning project yet, but I'm taking a break at the moment.

Today I'm sharing this photo of my adorable mom.

Thankfully, there is a photo studio stamp on the back of this photo that provides the date and place this photo was taken.

Information from Back of Photo

Photo Studio: Foto Studio Trianon

Date: 17 June 1952

Place: Sao Paulo, Brasil

My mom was born on 24 July 1938, so she was just shy of her 14th birthday when this photo was taken.

Additionally, this photo was taken about a month before my mom and her family immigrated to the United States of America.

Regular readers of my blog may remember that my mom was born in Brazil and she and her parents, siblings, and grandmother immigrated to the United States of America in the summer of 1952. I wrote a series of blog posts about their immigration trip, which can be found by clicking "The Debs Webster Immigration Story" tab at the top of my blog.

This is such a cute photo of my mom. I hadn't shared it on her FamilySearch  person page yet. But now I have done that so it can be preserved forever and available for other family members.

I'll share more photos from my scanning project in future posts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2026 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Remembering 9/11 ~ 25 Years Later –“The Unthinkable Has Happened!”

This is a reprint from a post I wrote in 2012 with a few edits. I can't believe it's been twenty-five years since that horrible day on September 11, 2001.

World Trade Center Wreckage
Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain

Flag at Pentagon on September 12, 2001
Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain

“The unthinkable has happened!” Those are the words I wrote as I began writing about 9/11 in my journal. I can’t believe it’s really been twenty-five years now since it happened. Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers suggested we write a post recalling our memories of that horrific day.

I live on the West Coast. I was awake when 9/11 happened, getting ready for the day. The news was on our TV. An alert came on saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We thought it was just a terrible accident. But then the next plane crashed into the other tower. My husband saw it happen live on TV. Then we knew it was no accident. We were being attacked. We watched this all unfold as if mesmerized. I wrote in my journal that I felt like I was in a nightmare. I was in shock. I went through the motions of getting the kids to school but was gripped with fear of what had just happened.

Our five kids ranged in age back then from high school age down to elementary school. I remember taking my youngest kids to elementary school and as we were waiting out on the playground for the bell to ring, a strange and foreign thought ran through my mind. The vague thought of concern about planes that were in our skies that morning. We live not too far from an Air National Guard station.  Also our city airport isn't too far away. I really wasn't too concerned about our little corner of the world, but still.

After coming home from taking the kids to school, I was of course glued to the television, watching the horrific and unbelievable events of the day taking place.

Then there was the void of airplanes in the sky in the coming days. That was very eerie.

Because we live close to an Air National Guard Fighter Wing, those planes kept flying, but no commercial planes were in the air. One of my sons, who was in elementary school at the time, woke up at 4:00 am on Wednesday morning. He woke me up and said he heard an airplane - he was scared. I told him that it was the military—that it was one of ours. I wrote in my journal, “Isn’t that pathetic that I would have to say those words to one of my children?”

Our world has changed since 9/11. Our sense of security has changed as well. We had the attack at Pearl Harbor, but that was a generation or two ago. Now our generation has it’s own attack on U.S. soil to remember.

I hope that we will always remember 9/11 and those who perished that day, as well as those who risked their lives trying to save others.

And I hope we remember those in the military, some who have made the ultimate sacrifice, who willingly serve so that we can enjoy freedom and safety.

Thanks for reading.

Jana

© 2026 Copyright by Jana Last