Journey for a New Life

Imagine leaving the place you know and love, your family and friends, and your possessions with only the clothes on your back, entering an unfamiliar place where no one speaks the same language. For most of us, this is a situation in which we have never been placed, but for most of our ancestors, this was an unavoidable obstacle when they came to the United States from different corners of the world. Like thousands of others, my great grandparents came to U.S. in the 1920s from Eastern Germany. Their brave embark started the Oehler family history here in the United States, and collective memory has kept it alive to this day.
The little family history that has been passed down through the generations is this story, told in a recollection by my dad, of my great grandma's humor and rambunctious personality in dealing with settling in a new country. When deciding to make the journey, my great grandpa did not want to move, so my great grandma told him she would leave him and move for the opportunity whether he wanted to or not. After coming over, they worked in a meat shop and lived in everyday society, but my great grandmother had some trouble with her neighbors. One of them spilled pool water in her yard and killed her plants, so she took him to court and sued him. In addition, another neighbor purposely let his dog poop in her yard all the time. In retaliation, she put the poop on his porch, and in return was told "go back to your own country." Her personality is what helped her to deal with the stress of living on new land. Because I did not have the pleasure of meeting her, these stories I have committed to memory have been passed down to me from my dad.
My family's history lies in my great grandparent's brave journey to an unfamiliar land. Like most other history, it is based in what we learn and what we are told. Stories are passed down generation to generation and the general context is the same, but each generation perceives a story differently than the originally person might have. Because of secondary perception, this story could have possibly been missing pieces or exaggerated out of the original context. Despite these unwarranted factors, we would have no important family history without these stories.

Nicole O.
Section 012