I Am American - Pt 3
My Grandfather had traveled from Colorado all the way to New York (or Canada) to welcome his family into the United States of America. He waited at the docks and for the second time, authorities notified him they were sending his wife, daughters, and son back to Russia – they would not be allowed to stay. His parents were old and soon, they would not be able to help care for his family; he must have been desperate.
Back in Colorado, Grandpa immediately began searching for a way to get his family safely from the ship and into the U.S. He met a neighbor from Morgan County who had connections with a lawyer in Canada who regularly helped passengers from ships safely across the Canadian/U.S. borders. The neighbor promised to help Grandpa as he had contacts to help with safe passage from the ship. The only problem was that the cost for the lawyer’s services was high and Grandpa had already spent much money, having made the long trip to New York already twice. However, as I said in Part 1, Grandpa was enterprising and soon, he and his neighbor struck up a deal agreeable to most parties - to the lawyer, the neighbor, and to Grandpa – but not so to anyone else.
On the day my grandfather’s family arrived aboard a ship to a Canadian port, men employed by the lawyer and Grandpa's neighbor, and under their instruction accompanied Grandpa to the docks. They stayed close to the docked ship and worked their way toward the unloading ramp. As soon as my Grandmother, aunts, and uncle stepped from the ramp, the men circled around them and then as a larger group, moved back to where my grandfather stood waiting. As a unit, they pretended to be just another family of Germans waiting to welcome loved ones from the ship. After a short while, the group turned and left the docks. Once they were miles from authorities, they were safe from deportation. It is not clear that they immediately came to the U.S.; they may have waited several months before finally coming home.
During the time spent in Canada, and the first year or so of being in the U.S., the neighbor's son was introduced to my mother’s oldest sister, Katy. My grandfather and grandmother considered the helpful neighbor and his family as friends and everyone believed the two young people would marry. Once Katy was in Colorado, however, she fell in love with someone else. It was then that my grandfather explained the payment for their safe passage to the U.S., which was due – Katy was to marry the neighbor's son, who was well known as a drunk, or alcoholic. She refused, and two years after arriving in Colorado (about the time my mother was born), Katy married the young man from Colorado. My grandfather was furious, even though Katy soon made him a grandfather.
It would be wonderful to add one last line reading, “…and they lived happily ever after.” Sadly, tragedy would wield its ugly cry through the guise of my grandfather’s smoldering anger.
More to come: The price Katy paid to marry the man she loved and a family lost.
Back in Colorado, Grandpa immediately began searching for a way to get his family safely from the ship and into the U.S. He met a neighbor from Morgan County who had connections with a lawyer in Canada who regularly helped passengers from ships safely across the Canadian/U.S. borders. The neighbor promised to help Grandpa as he had contacts to help with safe passage from the ship. The only problem was that the cost for the lawyer’s services was high and Grandpa had already spent much money, having made the long trip to New York already twice. However, as I said in Part 1, Grandpa was enterprising and soon, he and his neighbor struck up a deal agreeable to most parties - to the lawyer, the neighbor, and to Grandpa – but not so to anyone else.
On the day my grandfather’s family arrived aboard a ship to a Canadian port, men employed by the lawyer and Grandpa's neighbor, and under their instruction accompanied Grandpa to the docks. They stayed close to the docked ship and worked their way toward the unloading ramp. As soon as my Grandmother, aunts, and uncle stepped from the ramp, the men circled around them and then as a larger group, moved back to where my grandfather stood waiting. As a unit, they pretended to be just another family of Germans waiting to welcome loved ones from the ship. After a short while, the group turned and left the docks. Once they were miles from authorities, they were safe from deportation. It is not clear that they immediately came to the U.S.; they may have waited several months before finally coming home.
During the time spent in Canada, and the first year or so of being in the U.S., the neighbor's son was introduced to my mother’s oldest sister, Katy. My grandfather and grandmother considered the helpful neighbor and his family as friends and everyone believed the two young people would marry. Once Katy was in Colorado, however, she fell in love with someone else. It was then that my grandfather explained the payment for their safe passage to the U.S., which was due – Katy was to marry the neighbor's son, who was well known as a drunk, or alcoholic. She refused, and two years after arriving in Colorado (about the time my mother was born), Katy married the young man from Colorado. My grandfather was furious, even though Katy soon made him a grandfather.
It would be wonderful to add one last line reading, “…and they lived happily ever after.” Sadly, tragedy would wield its ugly cry through the guise of my grandfather’s smoldering anger.
More to come: The price Katy paid to marry the man she loved and a family lost.
Comments
Yes, I have decided this will be at least 4 parts. However, should I decide to continue on with how my Grandfather's cultural mindset has become intergenerational, it might be longer.
Thanks for reading!