It is a natural for man to indulge
in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a
painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren until she turns
us into beasts — I know of no other way of judging the future
but by the past.”
— Patrick Henry
I am a first-generation American. My
grandfather John Skonietzki and my father, William Adamski Sr.,
emigrated to the United States in 1922 and 1923, respectively.
My grandfather had tried on two previous
occasions to gain entry to the United States at Ellis Island. He
was denied both times because he had a sty on his eye.
On his third try, after conferring with a
brother who was already living in Springfield, Ill., my father came
second-class and brought along my mother, who was 19 years old and
the oldest of six living children. Five brothers and sisters had
died young, probably as a result of not having enough food or
proper medical attention.
After gaining entry and coming to Springfield,
my grandfather went to work in the coal mines and my mother went to
work at the St. Nick Hotel. Within a year they had saved enough
money to send for the rest of the family.
My mother had dated my father in Germany, and
she asked her father to send the passage money for my father. My
father was also discouraged with life in Germany, and he left his
mother and father, whom he would never again see alive. He did,
however, return to Germany in 1952 and again in 1972 to visit his
four sisters and two brothers.
My father also went to work in the coal mines.
In the evenings he and my mother went to school to study English
and get their citizenship. As part of their citizenship, they had
to study the Constitution of the United States of America. I am
sure that the First Amendment was meaningful to them. They were
married the next year.
During the Depression, work was hard to find
in Springfield, and my father and mother moved to Milwaukee, where
my father went to work in the steel mills and on the shipping
docks. From there they went to Scranton, Pa., where my father again
obtained work in the coal mines. I was born in 1934 in Throop, Pa. In 1935, my family returned
to Springfield and my father went to work at Allis-Chalmers. Within two
years he had been made a foreman in the shipping department, and he
retired from the company after 35 years.
My father didn’t march in any parades or
demonstrations, but he was very proud that he was now an American.
He was disciplined, had his opinions, called people by their names,
and practiced friendly persuasion.
My mother told me incredible stories about the
depression in Germany after World War I. For instance, in her young
life she had seen oranges in her home only three times. She spoke
of the daily cost of living. One day a loaf of bread would cost $1;
the next day it would be $5. She said that as inflation took over,
people needed wheelbarrows to carry their money to the grocery
store to buy food — that is, if they had the money. She also
told me the story of a young boy who tried to salvage the meat from
a French horse that had died in a field. He was put before a French
firing squad and executed.
Today we have politicians, ministers, and
others who quote Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy, and God as to
what is right or wrong with our country. My parents believed in
this country, God, and family. (Fittingly, they both were born on
the July 4, 1904.) Like my parents, I am proud to be an American; I
like parades, and I march in them.
Times change, but history remains. Abraham
Lincoln had a difficult decision to make with regard to our
country; we went to war to preserve the Union. It was a most
controversial and painful decision but the right one.
I believe that if we as people in 2005
believed as Lincoln did, things would be right for our country,
God, family, and the world. There were debates and negotiations in
Lincoln’s time, as there are today. I believe that when trust
is lacking, meaningful negotiations are difficult to achieve. Also,
truth, as a relative of trust, needs to be verifiable. And, last, a
little friendly persuasion and measured words might also achieve
our goals.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2005.
