The President of the United States and our Congress have made news for many months talking about changing the U. S. Immigration Laws. Their deliberations have generated many conversations about immigrations and immigrants. I looked up the definition of immigrant and started to laugh when I read the second definition. The first one read, “A newcomer to a country who has settled there.” The one that made me laugh was, “A plant or animal that establishes itself in a place where it was not found before.” That definition amused me because just this past week I was having a conversation with a friend about some plants, that she did not plant, that had grown in her garden. This concept is new to me (I don’t have a green thumb) however, it is something that happens frequently and knowledgeable gardeners are accustomed to unplanned growth.

Claudette said that she had a plant toward the back of her garden that she was going to pull out earlier in the season, but procrastinated and did not rip out the invasive weed. As the season progressed, she noticed that the intruding weed was in fact a very pretty flower that added a lot to her garden. Evidently a bird had flown over and dropped a seed, which had taken hold and added great beauty for all to enjoy.

The second definition of Immigrant, “A newcomer to a country who has settled there,” brings back many different discussions, some of which we have had in the past. Of course, our trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty is one of the trips that we took that was educational and enjoyable. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States from France to celebrate the friendship the two endured during the American Revolution. The Statue of Liberty has over the years symbolized the freedom and the democracy of the United States.

The Statue of Liberty was to be a joint effort between the United States and France with a completion date of 1876 to celebrate America’s centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. France would build and design the statue and United States would complete the pedestal that Lady Liberty would stand on.

Frederic Bartholdi, the French Artist, needed an engineer to address the structural issues with designing the sculpture so Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower, provided assistance with getting the statue to stand upright.

Getting the money to create the Statue of Liberty proved to be difficult for both sides. France used entertainment, public fees and a national lottery to help with the funds. In the United States, things were much slower. Joseph Pulitzer decided he needed to get the attention of the American people to get the necessary money; he ran an editorial in his newspaper putting pressure on the rich and middle class to help fund this important icon for America.

In France the Statue was finished in 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in 1885 aboard the French vessel Isere. On August 1885 finances in the United States for the pedestal were complete. The construction finished in April 1886.

On October 28, 1886 the Statue of Liberty dedication took place, ten years later than the centennial date of 1876. The Statue of Liberty was placed on the granite pedestal in the star-shaped walls of Fort Hood. In 1924, a Presidential Proclamation declared Fort Hood and the Statue of Liberty a National Monument. In 1933, The National Monument was placed in care of the National Park Service and by 1956, the island’s name changed to Liberty Island.

Ellis Island was transferred into the National Park Service in 1965 and became part of the Statue of Liberty Monument.

President Ronald Reagan wanted to restore the Statue of Liberty in 1982. Fund-raising for an $87 million dollar restoration of the Statue of Liberty would take place between the National Park Service and Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. In 1984, the United Nations declared the Statue of Liberty a World Heritage Site, and the  restoration of the statue was finished on July 5th, 1986, which celebrated her centennial.

The Emma Lazarus poem, The New Colossus was written for the Statue of Liberty and engraved on a bronze plaque in 1903, 20 years after it was written. Many students had to memorize this poem:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your Huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Today, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and is under the care of the National Parks Service. It is a place where visitors can spend hours learning about Ellis Island's history before, during, and after its use as America's immigration station.

The museum also tells the stories of why so many people immigrated to America and what became of them after they arrived. Ellis Island has become a place where families and individuals celebrate and honor those family members who made the arduous journey to a new life in America.

As far as we have been able to discover, my family immigrated to Massachusetts from Canada. However, I do not have much information about their past. At least, not as much information as I would like to have. Jim’s grandparents came to the United States from Italy, and probably came through Ellis Island. We will have to take some time to search the Ellis Island records and find out.

Next week I will write about some of the immigrants, why they came to the United States and what they are doing now.

Letters to veterans

On Sept. 20, Patriot Flight is taking 50 World War II and Korean Veterans on a journey to the memorials in Washington, per Darlene Stanton.

She is requesting letters written to the veterans, just like when they were serving our country. Letters can be from adults or children thanking our veterans for their service and addressed  to A Hero, and mailed to Darlene Stanton, P.O. Box 13, Clarksville, NY 12041. 

Thank you for making a beautiful memory for our heroes.

Type O blood

The American Red Cross has announced that there is a need for Type O blood. This need is for trauma victims, pre-matured babies, patients with cancer, and blood disorders.

If you are Type O and are willing to donate, call 1-800 Give Life (1 800-448-4543) or to schedule a blood donation appointment, visit www.redcross.org for more information about giving the gift of life.

Blood drive

Mark your calendar: Sept. 5, the Red Cross Blood Drive at the Guilderland town hall, located at 5209 Western Ave. in Guilderland, from 1 to 6 p.m.

Dining to Donate

St. Lucy/St. Bernadette invites the community to join with them in their golf and fund-raiser by participating in Dining to Donate. The event will be held at the Recovery Sports Grill in Guilderland on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Pick up a coupon in the gathering space at the St. Lucy/St. Bernadette Church on Grand Street. With your friends, dine at the Grill, enjoy a delicious meal and have 15 percent of your check value donated to the church.  Be sure to pick up a coupon in advance and give it to your server before ordering.

At home

Martha Crisafulli of Westerlo and a member of Helderberg Chapter 331 Eastern Star Altamont, is now at home following a recent hospital confinement.  Speedy recovery wishes are extended.

Anniversaries

Happy-anniversary wishes are extended to:

— Morag and Donald Stauffer celebrating their special day on Sept. 7; and

— Carol and Joe Donato and Dawn and Jim Munroe on Sept. 11.

Birthdays

Happy-birthday wishes are extended to:

— Jim Bourdeau, Jessica Breitenbach, Scott Freeman, Emily Louise Gokey, Alice Jacklet,  Jim Liegeot, Traci Delaney Schantz, and Greg Tymchyn on Sept. 5;

— Molly Walton on Sept. 6;

— Mark Grimm, Carolyn Ramo, John Tymchyn, and Beth Woodward on Sept.7;

— Anna Groff Bacote, John Connelly, Cheryl Farley, and Carolyn Ramo on Sept. 8;

— Joe Donato, Paul Forand, and Nicholas Murphy on Sept. 9;

— Jeff Battista, Jennifer Cardone, and Ron Pfluke on Sept. 10; and

— Kristi (Adams) Bachus, Tony Delligan, Alex Oranati, and Christopher James Young on Sept. 11.