Immigrant Park

Pretty cloudy today, & expecting thundershowers any minute now! Stopped on my way home from work to take this, as I wanted to beat the rain. This statue is about 2 miles from our house, in a neighboring city. Back in the early 1900's, this area had a huge influx of immigrants, the majority being from Poland, Germany & Czechoslovakia. For years the city's Historical Society talked about ways to commemorate the contributions of these immigrant ancestors. Finally, they hired a Wisconsin sculptor, Michael Martino, to create a statue that would represent an immigrant family & that would reflect the experience of so many people. In a small park filled with flowers & benches stands this bronze statue of a man carrying a valise in 1 hand & a satchel slung over his shoulders. He's accompanied by his wife, who holds a baby in her arms & the hand of a young boy......The Park was dedicated in 2006 to all the people that left their homes & everything familiar behind to bravely come to a new land in search of a new life.