Evening star., 1940-08-25
They CHOSE AMERICA
Z by Peggy Won der Goltz

work in a restaurant flower shop fruit stand,
become furer Nick ddn do any of those things
Nick wanted to be a cowboy But he took job waiter
Greek restaurant He probably the waiter in the
world Instead of saying The et of sole very today
he'd ask anxious, Have you been Arizona Could
fea make living there? And then he bring you
beef instead of lobster.
He continued to be waiter for about year before he
saved enough get Arizona He there and Nick
who had been horse in his life became cowboy
After while he bought interest in the small ranch where
he worked In time he bought the ranch He married red
headed girl named Kelly.
This summer Nick brought his wife and children East to
show them New York. He he had developed
a big sun-browned Westerner with drawl in which
there scarcely hint of his hard voweed language
His wife pretty and smart The children nice.
Now that you We made your pile, said, ARE you
going back Greece? You d be rich there you know
Go back to Greece? Nick roared. Say. I'm going
for sheriff this fall Go back? American before got
off the boat only nobody knew it but me-.
AND there my friends Finns who in the
ninees because they could hope for independent
Finland and Papa determined that his children should
grow up free men and women
Papa had been printer he became printer here He
went home every night and said his wife, The things they
print here At you wouldn't believe They print what they
think and nobody puts them jail His wonder of it is still
alive, after nearly fifty years.
The wonder lasted through hard work and sickness
and spells of obessness and raising children Furniture
expensive Papa bought lumber made benches tables
bedsteads he built them strong and true, that children
and many grandchildren haven't been able to them
He made Att loom which she wornout dresses
into rugs, and cold nights the rugs served auxiliary
coverlets That's why we're all flat Chested. Ano says
from sleeping under the heavy rugs But nobody minded
much because Papa let them forget that here they
free. Being poor didn't matter being free did
With the integrity that all honest must have, Papa
worried about Finland prayed for Fnlands freedom After
ALL the land born in can't be laid aside yet
forgotten So when at last Finland achieved her independence
Papa to the who creating the Republic of
Finland. One thing must do, he told them you must
make Finland just like America where everyone free
Papas children and women teachers writer
mechanic artist musician, and mothers of young
Americans They intensely proud of little Finland They
go Finn hops dance Karaan sabbo and koivon bOkka
But they forget that Finland copied the United States
and that Papa told inland how do it. They forget
that matter what happens the rest of the world here
they can say what they think
Papa wasn't the only American who wanted Europe be
like the United States. Thousands of people of European
backgrounds have hoped that Europe would learn follow
American example, and did look for time if Europe
might That hope dead for the present But they deter
mined all of them that know and know of them
from every part of Europe that the America they travelled
the world find the America they worked for and
helped build shall be that their children and
their chdrens children may be free citizens of free country