Scholarship & Citizenship

Mama and Papa became U.S. citizens. I know they had to go to school for this and I know that they both went to night school and completed their 8th grade education. One of them had completed grade 6 as a child and the other only grade 3. I forget which was which. This 8th grade education was completed in English so they first had to learn to speak and read and write in English.

One story from their English classes concerns the picture book used in their class. There was a picture of a girl holding a glass of water. The text under the picture said "She has a glass." Mama, who was the faster learner, knew what it said and was quizzing Papa. He looked at the picture, saw the word She (it should be noted here that the word she in French is a form of the verb "to shit" in fact it means "is shitting") and of course his answer was "The girl is shitting in the glass".

Mama was a quick study and loved learning and school in general. She told me of a time as a very young child when she was staying with one of her older sisters. Another side note is that Mama was the second last in a line of 14 children. Most of her siblings were a lot older than her. We knew and visited with her younger sister Reine, and one brother Euclid.

I know there was another brother Arthur who was the last remaining at the homestead (which in Mama's youth included a general store and the post office, but in later years might have been just the farm). Arthur married late enough in life that I was aware that it was happening and then the new wife inherited the property. I got the impression that it was an irritant but not a really big deal.

Anyways, this older sister was a school teacher in a one room schoolhouse that had attached living quarters, lets call it a bedroom, for the teacher. Mama was admonished to stay in the bedroom while school was in session. She just couldn't do it. She kept creeping out into the schoolroom. She liked listening to the lessons and figuring out the answers. Finally the sister brought a chair into the doorway, and let her sit just inside the bedroom with the door open so she could watch and listen. I imagine she recognized a kindred spirit in me when I asked as a toddler "Why don't you let me go to school."

We were working in the kitchen of the house in Allen Park when she told me this story. She paused and said "I can hardly believe I'm the same person as that little girl. But I know it was me, I've been with me ever since". (Rough translation from the French).

Citizenship was offered by this country of ours to all children born within its borders. Eldege had several boys that were born during his stay in Detroit. As far as I know they started with John Robert and ended with Marc. That would mean John Robert, Laurent, Julian and Marc were U.S. citizens. In order to maintain their U.S. citizenship they were required at some age to live in the U.S. and at different times, John Robert, Laurent and Marc all lived with us on Navy street. Could have been for weeks, months, or years. I just know they were there, and then they weren't. I assume Julian opted not to take advantage of maintaining dual citizenship.

I remember that being drafted into the service was a concern of each of them. I believe Laurent was 4F, possibly the beginnings of the ailment that he ultimately died from. Marc married young and started a family which exempted him but John Robert did indeed have to serve. I have never met a person before or since that was so bitter about his Army experiences. Get him to tell you about it sometimes.

What with having to serve so unwillingly in the army, you might say John Robert paid dearly for his citizenship and all of his children were citizens. John's first marriage failed at some point and his wife, Loretta, moved with the minor children, back to Canada. Things happened, laws changed, laws changed back.

John's son Paul, who lives in Fowlerville got caught in the middle. There is a 3 or 4 year period of either U.S. or Canadian law where dual citizenship was no longer offered. Where you lived at the age of your majority was your country. Paul found himself without U.S. citizenship. I don't know what his status is, but he was unable to get a U.S. passport. His recourse was to apply for citizenship through regular channels with the normal requirements of sponsorship and waiting periods. He was a little bitter of being caught in this position and he stubbornly resisted for years, but now with the tightening of our borders, and his mother guilting him that he won't be able to come to her funeral, I think he has finally taken out his citizenship papers.