YOUR essay is very good. I didn't read the other one. And I thought you'd be interested because the author is from Wisconsin.
Just noticed, your mood is "sad." I'm sorry to see that! Obviously, we lost most of the European stories, too. I think people were so sad, too, to leave their home countries--mostly not by choice I think, unless young and believing the America has streets paved with gold myth, but refugees from war, starving, etc. So yes, they wanted to be Americans, but I think to forget the sorrow they ran from, the families left behind, more than wanting to be American for the sake of that. I think the older folks did not want to leave. Also, all the pain of not belonging, each new immigrant group took the pressure from the group previous, like when all the Irish came, how they were hated by the Italians (or vice versa), do you know what I mean? And did they change their own names at Ellis or were the names changed because the American agents couldn't be bothered with getting the names right? Could the agents and immigrants even communicate with each other?
My grandfather's name was Konstantine Stjernquist, and it got changed to Konstantine Werner.
Now that is interesting, I never considered that the name changes happened on this end, due to spelling or laziness.
I recently read something about London's East End, which is where the most of the immigrants came starting as far back at the 1700's when the Huegenots left catholic France. Each succeeding group, the newbies, were either tolerated or hated, but each group left something behind, in plantings or street names or architecture.
Just noticed, your mood is "sad." I'm sorry to see that! Obviously, we lost most of the European stories, too. I think people were so sad, too, to leave their home countries--mostly not by choice I think, unless young and believing the America has streets paved with gold myth, but refugees from war, starving, etc. So yes, they wanted to be Americans, but I think to forget the sorrow they ran from, the families left behind, more than wanting to be American for the sake of that. I think the older folks did not want to leave. Also, all the pain of not belonging, each new immigrant group took the pressure from the group previous, like when all the Irish came, how they were hated by the Italians (or vice versa), do you know what I mean? And did they change their own names at Ellis or were the names changed because the American agents couldn't be bothered with getting the names right? Could the agents and immigrants even communicate with each other?
My grandfather's name was Konstantine Stjernquist, and it got changed to Konstantine Werner.
love, me
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I recently read something about London's East End, which is where the most of the immigrants came starting as far back at the 1700's when the Huegenots left catholic France. Each succeeding group, the newbies, were either tolerated or hated, but each group left something behind, in plantings or street names or architecture.
Life is certainly not ever stagnant, is it?
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