Kaylee's Immigration Day

Can I first say how much I love this photo with Kaylee all excited and her teacher Ms. Smith cheesing in the background! This week Kaylee had immigration day. She had to research an ancestor and come to school as the ancestor. She wanted to be one from Grandma Hester's side of the family. A quick call to Grandma Brenda and she had her person. She was Armelda Damron from France. Armelda arrived in the United States with her husband and three children. A few weeks after arriving she died. Her husband got on a train with their three children and gave the conductor his money telling him to take them as far as the money would go. He ended up in Thatcher, Arizonia with 25 cents in his pocket and three children to care for. One of the children had Hester Elizabeth, who is Kaylee Elizabeth's Great-Grandma. She still lives near Thatcher in Winslow.

Part of her immigration packet that she had to prepare was a pedigree with pictures and then another with names. On immigration day, they presented their doll and character to the class and then the immigration process started. They had to pass a citizenship test with questions about the Statue of Liberty, our country's national anthem, first US president, etc. Then they had to go to various stations to check their health because the US will not take "sickly people from other countries" If they were found sick or didn't pass the citizenship test they were sent to an area with candy as medicine and help in learning about our country. When everything was passed they would receive their own green card. It was a fun day for her. I enjoyed seeing how all of the kids had dressed up to represent their ancestors. There were ponchos with sombreros, grass skirts with fowers tucked in hair, and even a little short/suspenders outfit from Germany with a hat.