Immigrants in the U.S. in 1960
Toril Johansen
Dialogue
J: So, when did you first move to America?
T: Our, Family moved to America in December of 1963 and I was nearly 1 year old at that time when we came from Oslo, Norway. We came by boat to new york city and that was December of 1963. Before we moved to Manhattan to a called a community called chatham which is very much like Wilmette. A town where most people take the train into Manhattan to work and that is what my dad did his offices moved to the world trade center when it opened up.
J: What did his company do?
T: they were in shipping as you know tour grandfather had been a ships captain sailed all over the world Cuba, South America, Africa, far east all over Europe all around the world.
J: What was it like growing up in Chatam?
T: Chatam was a great community it was very family friendly it has excellent schools like new trier and Wilmette schools it was ranked one of the best schools in the state of new jersey. It had a small graduating class of 165. Played park district soccer played on the varsity girls soccer team in high school it was a nice way to grow up.
J: What was your most memorable moment from living there?
T: Where my house was located was near a wooded area and there was a pond and in the winter time it would freeze and everybody would skate in the winter time and take hockey sticks and sometimes we would build tree-forts. We had a lot of good memories there. Today I don't know if kids are allowed to skate on that pond, in the summer they have a fishing festival at the pond they stock the pond for the community but in the winter it is all about ice skating and playing hockey.
J: Did you ever go back to Norway where you moved from?
T: Yes, of course when I was growing up we would go back to Norway every other year if not every year. I grew up speaking Norwegian so we stayed in contact with all of our cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents.
J: Do you feel like you missed out in the summers in Chatam being in Norway?
T: No we would still do things in Chatam as well but not quite as much we would sail we go to the shore and go sailing.
J:Back in your day what was your favorite thing to do in Norway?
T: I would say that would be fishing and going on hikes in the mountains sometimes overnighting and other times just day-trips or a simple picnic. It was all about being out doors.
Toril's child hood home
Street view of downtown Chatham
Town center
Chatham Township History
People usually tend to analyze their cities and how it has changed in the recent years. Not many people tend to look back on how their city or town first originated. A fact that many people may not know is that Chatham, New jersey was founded in February 2, 1806.
Chatam Township, New Jersey was first incorporated from pieces of Hanover Township and Madison Township on February 12, 1806. Before Chatam even existed there was a village named John Day’s Bridge which was settled in 1710 and renamed to Chatham in 1773, in honor of a British prime minister Sir William Pitt. Chatham has one of the oldest forms of municipal government following back to New Jersey’s Township Act of 1798.
Chatham Township is 9.358 square miles according to the National Census Bureau. Chatham is a humid tropical climate and variates slightly more than New York City. In 1960 there were a total of 5,931 people compared to the more recent census done in 2010 which stated that there were over 10,452 people living there. In 2004-05 Chatham High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of excellence by the United States Department of Education. Chatham High School was the 1st ranked public high school in the whole state of new jersey surpassing 339 schools statewide.
Every city has history some even date back over 200 years ago there is a lot to be learned from Chatham, New jersey considering it has been around a lot longer than some cities have.
My lonely existence
Ouch! I scream as she kicks me, with her black shoes repeatedly. My life is a dismal existence which consists of me sitting in a bag and me being kicked around. Nobody ever listens to me they just juggle me, kick me, and throw me around, all while ignoring my screams. LIving in a dark bag is not a fun life, I sit in the dark and dead silence for three days straight, I do have a soft shirt to sit on and a pair of shorts for company. I sit right next to my mortal enemy, a black pair of shoes. They are the ones that cause all of the pain in my life, they are the reason my life is terrible and full of suffering, but I have to realize that it is not the shoes fault, they are used against their will
Sometimes I wonder if there is more to life than my daily routine which consists of sitting in a bag wondering when the next time I will be taken out of it. When I am being transported outside I feel like a prisoner walking to his death sentence. My life is okay, considering that I haven't had a careless owner. Some people I know that have died due to careless owners say that there life was much worse than mine. Eventually my life will come to an end and my owner will purchase a replacement and then the process will repeat itself.
Immigration In America
Immigration is a big topic today in media and politics, but not many people think back to immigration in the past. Over the last 50 years immigration has changed dramatically, from laws toughening immigration, to the actual percentage of immigrants.
Immigration in America changed drastically in 1965 due to the Hart-Cellar Act. This act stopped the discrimination against non-european countries, after this law was passed immigration rates from other countries dramatically increased. From years 1960-1969 the percentage of immigration diversity was 11% canadian and other, Europe was 40%, Asia was 11%, and Latin America 38% . There was a total of 3.2 million immigrants. In 1990-1999 the immigration diversity percentage was 51% Latin american, Asia 30%, Europe 13%, and Canada and other as 6%. This law has allowed an equal opportunity for all immigrants to get a passport/green card.
Illegal immigrants are a large problem in America as families and children are crossing the border into America and are not getting full educations and competing for jobs with legalized citizens. It is estimated that, in 2008, over one-quarter (27%) of unauthorized immigrant adults had a high-school diploma only, while 10 percent had some college short of a bachelor’s degree and 15% had a bachelor’s degree or more. Just under half of unauthorized immigrant adults lacked a high-school diploma. These immigrants are also making job competition harder as they are willing to work more for less pay.
We, our country was built on immigration and is still growing because of it. America needs to better regulate legal and illegal immigration to ensure a stable, economically viable, and equal country in the future.