Once A Polish Family, now US Citizens

In 1980, while in Camping Wien Süd (Camping Vienna South) on Breitenfurter Straße, not far from downtown Vienna, a family from Poland was camped next door — two boys, and mother and father. The older boy (16 years) spoke a little English. After “talking” with them a day or so, we offered them a jar of peanut butter. (Peanuts grown in Kenya, peanut butter made in So. Africa, distributed by a London Company, purchased in Florence, Italy, by Americans, given to a Polish family, in Austria. International trade at its best.)

We talked with Jarek, several times, then they invited us to visit their home in Poland later that year. When we left Vienna we visited Switzerland, France, England, Ireland, and by late September, when we were in Berlin, the country of Poland was having strikes and many political/military problems, so we canceled our visit.

Letters went back and forth between California and Poland, and in mid-1981 the family defected from Poland to Austria in their little trailer as if they were going on vacation, but they had planned never to return to Poland. They sent us a letter that said they were going to be sent to Australia, unless there was some way we could help them get to the USA. We immediately made phone calls and sent letters to the Ambassador, and to Senators and Representatives. On September 1981, we got a call from Jarek. He said they were in a motel in New York City, and they were going to be sent to Detroit, unless we were serious that they should come to California. We were serious.

The next day we greeted them at the airport with a welcome banner printed in Polish and English, with yellow ribbons, and some flowers. A woman who was on the plane was so happy for them, she had tears in her eyes. We moved them into a vacant apartment in a building we owned, helped them buy a car, attend school to learn English, and get settled. Fantastic!

In the years since, they have become citizens, and have very solid, very responsible jobs. One son served in the Army, both sons have graduated from college, gotten married, and have children, and all own their homes. The mother had been a pharmacist in Poland, and she has a very responsible job with a pharmaceutical company.

At the 20th reunion celebration, Dana said, “I didn’t raise two Polish boys in America, I raised two American boys!”

That is the greatest consequence from any of our travel days.