Those Places Thursday ~ A New House In A New Country

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

About seven to nine months after my Grandpa Debs and his family arrived in Glendora, California, they bought a new house.  It turned out that their Sponsor, Mr. West, was a home developer.  Debs and his wife Willis bought a home in one of Mr. West's housing tracts in Pomona, California.
 


GoogleMaps

Debs and his family moved into their new house in early 1953.  The house was brand new.  Grandpa kept this photo postcard of their new house.






I really don't know the particulars regarding this photo postcard that was sent to my grandparents.  And I don't know who Ernie Kearns and Bill Tillman were.  An interesting thing about this photo is that it looks like it was taken after my grandparents moved in.  Upon closer examination of this photo I noticed two little boys sitting on the front lawn.  They're my two uncles.




This house wasn't very large.  It was a 1,008 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 1 bath home.   I found the home listed on Trulia.com.



Within the walls of this modest 1,008 sq. ft. home lived six people - Grandpa and Grandma Webster, Helena Quillin (Grandma Willis' mother), my mom, who was fourteen at the time, and my two uncles.  Remember, there were only 2 bedrooms.  I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma Webster got the master bedroom.  So, who got the second bedroom?  My mom thinks she may have shared it with her Grandma Helena.  I guess my two uncles must have slept in the living room.

My Grandpa Debs was a very generous and kind man.  He helped his relatives a great deal.  A year or two after my Grandpa and his family immigrated to the United States, other family members emigrated from Brazil as well.  These were my Grandma Willis' relatives.  Where did they stay?  At this very house.  My mom remembers that at one time there were eleven people living in this modest little home.  I really can't imagine eleven people living in this 2 bedroom, 1 bath home!  I'm not sure how long they stayed at my grandparents' home.  Probably long enough to get themselves established in the United States.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: California ~ A New Home

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

It's been a few weeks since the last installment of my Grandpa Debs Webster's Immigration Story.  In that post, I shared my uncle's memories of traveling across the country in a crowded unairconditioned car in the middle of summer.  I also shared some photos of an interesting early air conditioning system that some people were lucky enough to have on their cars.

During this long trip, Grandpa Debs Webster and his family had many exciting experiences and visited some very interesting places as they immigrated to the United States from Brazil.  It was really quite an adventure!

But it was probably a bit sad as well.  They had to say goodbye to the only home most members of the family had ever known.   That must have been very difficult.  But, they said their goodbyes and looked forward to whatever adventures awaited them.

As it turned out, these adventures included:  a port of call in Trinidad on their voyage to America, arriving in New York City in July, and staying in an unairconditioned upper floor hotel room, buying a car and camping equipment in New York in preparation for their cross-country trip to California, and foraging for watercress to add to their picnic meals. 

After about a month's travel time by ship and automobile, Grandpa Webster and his family finally arrived at their destination in Glendora, California.

When my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family emigrated from Brazil to the United States, they had a Sponsor named Mr. West.  He and his family lived in Glendora, California along Historic Route 66.  Mr. West graciously let my Grandparents and their family live in a house on his property.

The photos below are some of the last ones in my Grandpa Debs' 1952 Photo Album.  I'm so glad he put this album together which photographically documented their immigration trip.

See the house behind the shed?  (The shed is the building in the foreground next to the huge tree.)  That house is where my Grandparents' family lived until they bought a house of their own.

I think this photo is especially fun because it shows my uncles learning the All-American sport of Baseball.

  
See the car parked next to the shed in the photo below?  That's the 1951 Chevrolet Sedan Grandpa Debs bought in New York before their cross-country trek to California.

  
After arriving in California, it was time for the Webster family to see the sites in their new home state.  Here they are visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  My two uncles are the little boys in the photo and my Grandma Willis is to the left of them.

 

I hope you've enjoyed reading the Debs Webster Family Immigration Story as much as I've enjoyed sharing it.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2013

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: California or Bust!

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

On July 7, 1952, my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family boarded the S. S. Brazil in Santos, Brazil on their way to a new life in the United States.  When they arrived in New York, they bought a car and traveled across the United States to their final destination in Southern California.

Here is the car Grandpa Debs purchased in New York.  It’s a 1951 Chevrolet Sedan.  My mom just recently showed me this awesome photo of the car with my uncles standing in front of it.  The car is parked in front of their new house in Pomona, California.  The lumber on top of the Chevy indicates to me that my Grandpa was working on some kind of project.  He was a very handy guy and always liked to have projects to work on.

1951 Chevrolet Sedan
Click to Enlarge

My uncle (the boy on the left in the photo above) wrote an email to me about his memories of their immigration to the United States and subsequent road trip from New York to California. As you read what he said, please keep in mind that they were traveling during the summer.  Here's a little snippet from his email:

"The trip was long—made longer by the heat!  We rolled down the windows and tried to be cooled by the wind as it passed through the car.  Unfortunately, the air was usually hot and we got little relief from it.  At the time, some people had a device that hooked on to the top of a window on their cars which they filled with a quantity of ice or dry ice (I really don’t know which).  This served as a scooping device that would chill the hot air from outside and circulate it inside.  This served as air conditioning in those days.  We had no such device!  Evenings were more comfortable, except that I found the concept of sleeping outdoors to be uncivilized.  After all, people were meant to sleep inside, or so I thought!  As I grew up I learned to enjoy camping out until being in Korea in the Infantry cured me of it forever!  Typically Pop would find a wide shoulder on the side of the highway where we could pull over and set up for the night."

I was intrigued by my uncle’s description of the cooling devices attached to car windows.  I had never heard of such a thing.  I did a little research on the internet to see if I could find anything about these cooling devices.  And, to my surprise, I found not only information about them, but photos too.

Wikipedia referred to this device as a car cooler.  The website stated , “A car cooler is an automobile window-mounted evaporative air cooler, sometimes referred to as a swamp cooler.  It is an early type of automobile "air conditioner."

If you’d like to read more about this fascinating early air conditioner for cars, just click HERE.

Below are photos of these car coolers from Wikimedia Commons.

Car Cooler on 1950 Chevy
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Doug Coldwell
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Thermador Car Cooler
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Doug Coldwell
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Car Cooler Front View
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Doug Coldwell
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As “cool” as these early air conditioners look, I’m so happy for the modern air conditioning systems we enjoy today!

The next installment of my Grandpa Debs and his family’s immigration story will find them arriving at their sponsor’s home in Glendora, California.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Arizona and Nevada

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

My Grandpa Debs and his family are on the road again.  My uncle remembers that they visited Grand Canyon National Park on their way to California.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any photographs or postcards from their visit there.    But, there are postcards from Las Vegas, Nevada in Grandpa Debs' Scrapbook.  These postcards were between the postcards from Utah and California.  Whether this means Debs and his family actually stopped in Las Vegas on their way to California, I don’t know.

But, it would be a logical place to stop for food and fuel along their way to California, so I’m going to assume they did stop there.  With that in mind though, I’m not sure if they visited The Grand Canyon before they visited Las Vegas, or if it was the other way around.

If they visited the Grand Canyon first, here's a map showing their possible route from Manti, Utah to the Grand Canyon. 

Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

The following photos are from the National Parks Service.  They are stunning views of the Grand Canyon.



Grand Canyon Mather Point
NPS - Public Domain Photo
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Grand Canyon Mather Point
NPS - Public Domain Photo
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Grand Canyon Mather Point
NPS - Public Domain Photo
Click to Enlarge

If Debs and his family visited the Grand Canyon before stopping in Las Vegas, here is a possible route from there to Las Vegas, Nevada.




Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

And here are those Las Vegas vintage postcards from Grandpa Debs’ Scrapbook.












Debs Webster and his family are getting SO close to their new home now, although I’m sure they didn’t look like that poor fellow in the last postcard.  The next stop on their road trip is California, the place they would call home for the rest of their lives.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Utah ~ Salt Lake City

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

My Grandpa Debs and his family are heading south.  They’ve completed their visit to Idaho, and are now driving to Utah.

The next photographs in Grandpa Debs’ 1952 photo album are from Salt Lake City, specificaly Salt Lake City Temple Square.

Salt Lake City is the headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a worldwide church consisting of approximately 14,441,346 members.  As recent converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this visit to Salt Lake City must have been very special to my Grandpa Debs and his family.

The first photograph is of the Salt Lake Temple.  This magnificent temple took 40 years to build.  The cornerstone was laid on April 6, 1853 and the dedication was April 6, 1893.

Salt Lake Temple
1952
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Here’s a photo my husband took of the Salt Lake Temple while we were on our vacation to Utah this last summer.

Salt Lake Temple
2012

I just LOVE this spectacular photo of the temple at night (photo from lds.org).

Salt Lake Temple
Photo from lds.org
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Below is a photo by my Grandpa Debs of what looks like the Salt Lake City Temple Square grounds.

Salt Lake City Temple Square
1952
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And here we have the Assembly Hall.  It is a beautiful Gothic-style building constructed between 1877 and 1882.

The Assembly Hall at
Salt Lake City Temple Square
1952
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Here's a photo of the Assembly Hall from our 2012 family vacation to Utah.

The Assembly Hall at

Salt Lake City Temple Square

2012

And here are a couple photos from the lds.org website showing the inside of the Assembly Hall. 

Interior of the Assembly Hall
Photo from lds.org
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Don’t you just love this circular staircase?

Circular Staircase in the Assembly Hall
Photo from lds.org
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If you are ever in the Salt Lake City area, I hope you take the opportunity to visit Salt Lake City Temple Square.   It is well worth your time.

I’d also love to share with you the vintage postcards of the Salt Lake City area from my Grandpa Debs’ scrapbook.  They are really cool!  But, this post is already getting quite lengthy, so I’ll have to wait until next time.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Idaho

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Welcome to the continuing story of my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family's trip across the U.S.A.!

As my regular readers may remember, Debs and his family immigrated to the U.S.A. from Brazil in July of 1952.

They traveled by ship to New York and decided to travel by car to their final destination of Glendora, California.  We've been following their journey to various states along the way.

The last installment of their road trip story recounted their fascinating trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, including a story about Grandma's foraging skills.

The next photo in Grandpa Debs' 1952 photo album shows a stop at Pocatello, Idaho.

Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

Why did they stop in Pocatello?  They were visiting the family and friends of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whom they met in Brazil.



Left to Right:
Willis Webster, Helena Quillin
My Uncle, Two Unknown Ladies,
Possibly My Mom, My Uncle
Click to Enlarge

Unfortunately, I don’t know who’s house this was or who the people were that my Grandpa and his family were visiting.  It must have been a very sweet visit though.  And interesting as well.  And since Grandpa was the only one of the Websters who spoke English, he probably had a "conversation workout" translating for everyone.

The Webster family is almost done with their trip across the United States!  They have a few more stops along the way though.  The next stop is Utah.  Then it’s on to The Grand Canyon in Arizona, then Nevada and finally California!

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Wyoming ~ Yellowstone National Park

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Debs and his family are on their way to another fun adventure.  They’ve left Mount Rushmore and are heading to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

I don’t know the exact route they took, but here’s what Googlemaps.com shows as a route today.

Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

My regular readers may remember that the Webster family bought sleeping bags and camping equipment to use on their journey across the U.S.A.

They would often stop along the way and use their camping equipment to prepare their meals.

The Webster Family - 1952
Back Row L to R:  Willis, My Mom, My Uncle, Helena
Front Row L to R:  My Uncle, Debs
Click to Enlarge

Previous photos of the Webster family eating at picnic tables along their way haven’t included my Grandpa Debs.  So this is a really fun photo of the whole family.  Hmm, I wonder who took the photo.

My uncle (the little boy seated on the front bench) shared his memories of their trip across the U.S.A.  I love what he said about their mealtimes.

“Dinner usually consisted of Campbell’s soup heated over a Sterno stove.  If there was a creek nearby, Grandma would wander off to it and usually return with an armload of watercress which we made into a salad (how I wish I had her foraging skills!).  Lunches were usually sandwiches and during the day we would beg for Pop to stop at a root-beer stand so we could get something cold and carbonated to drink.  He didn’t spoil us, but did, on many occasions succumb to our pleadings.”

They’ve finally arrived at Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful Geyser ~

 


Old Faithful Geyser
Yellowstone National Park - 1952
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Old Faithful Geyser
Yellowstone National Park - 1952
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And there she goes!



Old Faithful Geyser
Yellowstone National Park - 1952
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If you’d like to make a “virtual visit” to Old Faithful, here’s the link to the Old Faithful Live Webcam:

Old Faithful Live Webcam

A few interesting facts about Old Faithful:

• During an eruption the water temperature at the vent has been known to reach a whopping 204 degrees.
• The steam temperature of the geyser has reached above 350 degrees.
• The height of an eruption averages near 130 feet and lasts between 1.5 and 5 minutes.

(Source:  National Park Service Website - Old Faithful FAQs)

The Webster family also saw some Bison during their visit to Yellowstone National Park.




Here’s another interesting fact ~

More visitors are injured by bison than by bears each year at Yellowstone.  Park rules state that visitors need to stay at least 25 yards away from bison or elk and 100 yards away from bears.

(Source:  Yellowstone National Park Website)

I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Yellowstone National Park.  The next stop on the Webster family’s road trip is Idaho.

Until next time,

Thanks for reading!


Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: South Dakota ~ Mount Rushmore

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Debs Webster and his family are still in South Dakota.  They’ve made it through The Badlands.  If you’d like to read about their experiences in The Badlands, you can read about it HERE.

Now it’s on to visit the amazing Mount Rushmore.

From GoogleMaps.com

As we look at this map showing the distance from The Badlands to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, we need to keep in mind that Interstate 90 was not there in 1952.  I really don’t know the route my Grandpa Debs and his family travelled.  Did they travel to Rapid City on their way?  That would make sense to me as that would be a great place to stop for supplies, etc.

Unfortunately, I don't have any personal information about or photos from their visit to this iconic national treasure.  We'll just have to imagine what these recent immigrants thought as they gazed up in awe at this magnificent sculpture formed on the side of a mountain.

Here are some interesting facts about Mount Rushmore (taken from the Mount Rushmore National Park Service website).

• Over 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved using dynamite
• The sculpture cost $989,992.32
• Mount Rushmore took 14 years to build ~ from October 4, 1927 - October 31,1941
• Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers created the sculpture

And now for some fun photos of this remarkable monument!

Through Tunnel
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
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Mount Rushmore - Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Scott Catron
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Mount Rushmore and Avenue of Flags
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
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Mount Rushmore
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
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Full View of Mount Rushmore
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
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Mount Rushmore at Night
National Parks Service Image - No Copyright
Click to Enlarge

I hope you’ve enjoyed our visit to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The next stop for Debs Webster and his family is Yellowstone National Park.  And yes, this stop on their cross-country trip will include old family photos from Grandpa Debs' photo album.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: South Dakota ~ The Badlands National Park

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Well, Debs Webster and his family are heading west.

In today’s world of Interstate Highways that sounds like a simple thing right?  But not so much in 1952.  Interstate 90, which would be the logical route they would have taken, didn’t exist until 1956.

The Webster family left Illinois, traveled a great distance, and entered the area known as The Badlands of South Dakota. 

Video by the National Park Service

Maybe it was the name “Badlands,” or the eerie landscape, or the thought of the wildlife in the area such as rattlesnakes, bobcats and coyotes; whatever the reason, the family was so scared of this place that they slept in their car!

No camping out of doors for them!  And this wasn't tent camping either.  Nope!  This was sleeping in a sleeping bag under the stars camping.

I don’t think I blame them for sleeping in their car either.  What about you?  Would you camp outside, under the stars, along a lonely road in The Badlands of South Dakota in 1952?

Check out the video above and the photos below before you decide.

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Wereldburger758
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Scott Catron
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Scott Catron
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
NPS Public Domain Photo
Click to Enlarge

Badlands National Park
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Patrick Bolduan
Click to Enlarge

Rugged beauty? Yes! Kind of scary at night by yourselves? Absolutely!

The next stop on the Webster’s trip is a visit to Mount Rushmore.

 Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012