Stockbridge – In an emotional ceremony Friday morning (September 20) in the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Honorable Joan McMenemy, First Justice in the Berkshire Juvenile Court, presided over the formal admission to American citizenship for 16 immigrants from countries as diverse as Columbia and Hungary.
The museum hall was packed with friends, relatives and children of the citizen candidates, who sat in the front row, each holding an American flag.
On the walls overlooking the proceedings hung the iconic portraits of Americans and American life painted by Norman Rockwell, artwork that embodied the character of Americans as did the hopeful expressions on the faces of these new citizens.
The master of ceremonies for the naturalization ceremony was Garrin Schlink, Immigration Services Assistant for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Following the adjournment of the court the museum hosted a reception for the new citizens and their families.
