New York - Welcome to the land of freedom - An ocean steamer passing the Statue of Liberty

Listen to the following stories written by second and third generation immigrants telling why their parents and grandparents came to America and what challenges they faced on the journey and in the new world. You will see more similarities than differences in how a Lithuanian-American, a Polish American, a Ukrainian-American and a Canadian-American all became part of the American Experience. The stories were written and recorded in a class taught by Dr. Ann B. Canning at OASIS Pittsburgh. The stories were documented with photographs from the author’s family collection and images from the Library of Congress to make the video files. This class was part of The Immigrant Experience Project made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to The OASIS Institute.

An Immigrant Life: Snapshots
By Joan Zekas

This is the story of Grammie Rose, a Lithuanian immigrant who raised her family in a company coal town in Northeast Pennsylvania. Joan Zekas, a granddaughter describes the hardships and the finer points of this American Experience.

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Baba’s Journey
By Kathryn Romey

This is the story of Catherine Mazepa Sawich who traveled alone to Ellis Island to escape the tyranny of a wealthy Ukrainian father. Her granddaughter, Kathryn Romey, tells how hope and self determination brought the expectant Casu and her oldest child to Monessen, Pennsylvania to find Janko, her husband.

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Dad’s Photograph
By Helena Frey

This is a story about Walter Ivory Omar, a second generation Canadian American. His mother, Antoinette R. Matthews immigrated to Eastport Maine in 1894. The story is told by Walter’s daughter, Helena as she combines illusion with the reality of an American immigrant’s life. The story is based on a Lewis Hine photograph of Walter Omar located in the National Child Labor Collection at the Library of Congress. This story has also been submitted to the “Tell Us Your Story” Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation website.

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I’m An American and I’m Beautiful
By Mary Demski

This is the story of Mary Sherba Tokich, a Polish immigrant who met her husband, Joseph on the boat which brought them from the “old country.” The story is told by Mary’s daughter, Mary Dembski, the sixth child of eleven. This story has also been submitted to the “Tell Us Your Story” Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation website.

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Ann B. Canning © 2009 Teaching With Primary Sources Eastern Regional Partnership , Waynesburg University.