Clinton Township Newsletter

3 j u l y 2 0 1 9 My first American ancestors came to this country as immigrants. They spent two miserable months traveling through dangerous waters in a small, crowded boat. "The passage," according to Wikipedia, "was a miserable one, with huge waves constantly crashing against the ship's topside deck, fracturing a key structural support timber. The passengers had already suffered agonizing delays, shortages of food and other shortages, and they were now called upon to provide assistance to the ship's carpenter in repairing the fractured main support beam... The crew had some devices to assist them en route, such as a compass for navigation, as well as a log and line system to measure speed in nautical miles per hour (knots). Time was measured with the ancient method of an hourglass." Several passengers died, some on the passage, some due to the bitter winter weather in their new land, to which they were unaccustomed. Also according to Wikipedia, "the modern writer Nathaniel Philbrick claims that the settlers stole the corn and looted and desecrated the graves, sparking friction with the locals." Philbrick goes on to say that they explored the area... for several weeks as they moved down the coast... looting and stealing native stores as they went. He then writes about how they decided to relocate... after a difficult encounter with the Native Americans." (Please know that there are differing accounts). Why did they come to America in the first place? They came seeking religious freedom and a better way of life. I never fully appreciated my own US citizenship until it was called into question. I was born on an American Army base in Germany, but grew up in the USA. Despite my dual-citizenship, I always felt fully American... that is until I had to prove to my first real employer that I was an American citizen. "Not a problem!" I thought, and had my father send me both my birth certificate, and those of my parents, just to be on the safe side. The same week (while at lunch in Times Square) my purse was stolen, and along with it all of my identification and said birth certificates. Amazingly, the birth certificates were mailed back to me in a plastic bag, still in their envelope with my address. (By whom? I still wonder. The thief perhaps, feeling a bit guilty? I'll never know). I quickly found myself in a very bad situation. My birth certificate was all in German, which I promptly had translated. It said nothing about my citizenship status, and thus was not enough for the Social Security office nor the DMV. My employer then reluctantly threatened to fire me for fear of being fined for hiring a person with no legal citizenship papers. Suddenly I was facing not only the prospect of being jobless, but also homeless and penniless –1,000 miles away from home. I also began to shudder at the possibility of being deported – to a land whose language I did not speak. Desperate, I called my father, who promptly sent me my Army birth papers. Whoever had originally typed them decided to x out one line – which rendered them illegitimate. To add insult to injury, at this point my wicked friends began to sing Phil Collins' song: "It's No Fun... Being An Illegal Alien" to me every chance they got– which left me laughing through my tears. To this day, I'm not a fan. Finally, I found a breakthrough when, at the desk of a government official (I'm not saying who, where or which department!) I burst into tears at the utter hopelessness of my situation. This person begrudgingly issued me one form of ID, with the strict warning that I was to come up with official papers in one week's time, or else they'd have the authorities after me. I then spent a long day on the phone with every government agency I could think of – those were pre-internet days, of course. Desperate, I even called the Pentagon. I told my story to anyone who would listen, and finally I found a government source who, after checking my background and taking my $4(!) check, sent me a rather large legal document signed by then-Secretary of State James Baker, stating that I was actually A Legal American Citizen. God Bless America! I promptly went out and had the thing framed. I often remind my children how incredibly lucky they are to have been born in this country (for many reasons). And I've made damn sure that they have the papers to prove it. As you may have already guessed, that boat I described above was called the Mayflower. I'm grateful that my ancestors came to this country and, despite the many hardships, survived, The way I see it, unless you're 100% Native American, you either descended from immigrants or you immigrated here yourself. How, then, dare we try to keep others from immigrating to our land of the free and home of the brave? In my opinion, that's one of the things that makes America great. I hope you all have a Happy (and Safe) Fourth of July! – Julie Fl�nn from Carol Beder's Become a Friend of The Clinton Guild! Do you LOVE Downtown Clinton and want to help? The Guild of Clinton, a not-for-profit group, promotes the shopping, dining, services and culture of historic downtown Clinton and all it has to offer to residents and visitors. Call: 908.735.4020 and say, "I want to help the Guild!" | www.VisitClintonNJ.com Go to: www.VisitClintonNJ.com for more information.

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