Christina becomes an American Citizen ! ! !

click the photo to see the gallery click to go back to Events & Archives

“American Baby”

Although there are many of you who know the story, there are even more who don’t.
And as it has come full circle, there is no better time to share.

Christina was born in 1973 across the pond in a small town in Poland,
In 1976 Christina came to this great land known as The United States of America...
Her parents "Stephan and Eugenia" came to find "Krysta" in a Convent Orphanage while visiting family,
The immediate attraction was because of Christina's beautiful blonde hair
But soon it was much more that words can describe and the process to bring Christina home began.
Typical to most governments, the process is a slow one and Christina was not immediately allowed entry to the USA.
But she was in good hands, her aunt and uncle came forward and opened there home and heart.
Christina lived in Poland with them until 1976 when the time came to be reunited with her new parents.
Stephan and Eugenia immigrated to United States from England in 1968,
During this time they established lifelong friendships and a “family” network within the Ukrainian community in Boston.
When Christina arrived in the United States she had more of a family than she could have wished for.
The local American-Ukrainian community embraced Christina with open arms.
Christina’s arrival and transition to the American way of life was seamless.

As a good and patriotic citizen she went to school,
registered and voted in every national election, paid her taxes and has even been called to jury duty, not once but 3 times...
In 1995 she even went on to marry a fantastic American born Acadian-Canadian, handsome too.

As Eugenia and Stephan were already citizens of the United States when they adopted Christina,
The general understanding was that Christina automatically fell into the same status.

In 2002 Christina went to renew her Driver’s license, surprisingly, she hit a snag.
The DMV was now linked to the Social Security office and the error became apparent.
After living here 30 years and adopted by U.S. citizens, we learned citizenship wasn’t automatic.
So after lots of research and many phone calls, the solution was to petition for citizenship and go through all the red tape.
Photos were taken, forms filed and paid, Biometrics Finger Printing and FBI screenings and background checks finally gave us the "ALL CLEAR".
Interviews were scheduled and Civics test administered, Christina passed and kept her eye on the prize.
After many months the day came for the Oath Ceremony, appropriately held in Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall.
Present were over 430 “to be named” citizens who also embraced this occasion.
Among them, our 8 months pregnant Christina took her Oath.
It was an amazing moment, shared with loving husband and baby Robichaud very actively making his/her presence known.
Christina is now a citizen...

The only regrettable fact of this journey is that Alan can no longer go to the window and tell his beautiful wife,
" I think I.N.S. is pulling up,,, run,,, La Imigra... La Imigra..." TRANSLATION: "Run… Immigration is here to take you away..."

He was also recently overheard saying,
"There was something exciting about being with an illegal... Alas, no longer and lost forever..."

;-)

click the photo to see the gallery

Star Spangled Banner lyrics
Not just the first and second verses, but all four!

Listen to the Star Spangled Banner by Thomas Chalmers, circa.1914

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'T is the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Who Wrote the Star Spangled Banner?
Francis Scott Key

Francis Scott Key was born on August 1, 1779, in western Maryland.
His family was very wealthy and owned an estate called "Terra Rubra."

When Francis was 10 years old, his parents sent him to grammar school in Annapolis.
After graduating at the age of 17, he began to study law in Annapolis while working with his uncle's law firm.
By 1805, he had a well-established law practice of his own in Georgetown, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
By 1814, he had appeared many times before the Supreme Court and had been appointed the United States District Attorney.

Francis Scott Key was a deeply religious man. At one time in his life, he almost gave up his law practice to enter the ministry.
Instead, he resolved to become involved in the Episcopal Church.
Because of his religious beliefs, Key was strongly opposed to the War of 1812.
However, due to his deep love for his country, he did serve for a brief time in the Georgetown field artillery in 1813.

During the War of 1812, Dr. William Beanes, a close friend of Key's was taken prisoner by the British.
Since Key was a well-known lawyer, he was asked to assist in efforts to get Dr. Beanes released.
Knowing that the British were in the Chesapeake Bay, Key left for Baltimore.
There Key met with Colonel John Skinner, a government agent who arranged for prisoner exchanges.
Together, they set out on a small boat to meet the Royal Navy

On board the British flagship, the officers were very kind to Key and Skinner.
They agreed to release Dr. Beanes.
However, the three men were not permitted to return to Baltimore until after the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
The three Americans were placed aboard the American ship and waited behind the British fleet.
From a distance of approximately eight miles, Key and his friends watched the British bombard Fort McHenry.

After 25 hours of continuous bombing, the British decided to leave since they were unable to destroy the fort as they had hoped.
Realizing that the British had ceased the attack, Key looked toward the fort to see if the flag was still there.
To his relief, the flag was still flying!
Quickly, he wrote down the words to a poem which was soon handed out as a handbill under the title "Defence of Fort McHenry."
It was renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner" by an adoring public.
It became a popular patriotic song. It was not until 1931, however, that it became our national anthem.