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Facebook Helps Reunite Tornado Victims With Lost Mementos

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Becky Siegal-Harty lives in Seneca, Illinois, some 60 miles from the epicenter of the tornado that devastated Washington, Illinois.

A few hours after the tornado, her husband found a receipt from a Walgreens in Washington in the driveway. That sparked a search by her two sons for items lost in the storm that landed in their neighborhood.

Siegal-Harty then started a Facebook page connecting people from all over Illinois who found photos and other items, to the owners who lost them.

Within hours, hundreds of people began to post photos. The page now has almost 1,000 members and has helped to recover hundreds of photos lost in the storm.

Guest

  • Becky Siegel-Harty, started the Facebook page for items lost by the Midwest tornadoes.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

(From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
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(From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
First photo found by Siegal-Harty's sons. (From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
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First photo found by Siegal-Harty's sons. (From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
First photo returned to the family. It is this couples 40th wedding anniversary photograph. (From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
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First photo returned to the family. It is this couples 40th wedding anniversary photograph. (From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
Found in Morris, IL. (From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
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Found in Morris, IL. (From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
(From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")
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(From the Facebook page "PHOTOS found from Nov 17, 2013 Illinois Storms/Tornadoes")