Hail to you who forever holds a tender spot in this immigrant’s heart
Letters to Lady Liberty
On this day in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York Harbor—a gift from France that came to represent so much more than the friendship between two nations: sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and engineered by Gustave Eiffel, Lady Liberty symbolised hope, freedom, and a new beginning for the millions of immigrants who would soon pass beneath her gaze. One hundred years later, as her centenary approached, the statue underwent a major restoration, funded in part by donations from the public. With many of those contributions came letters addressed to the statue herself. Here are just a few.
Westbrook, Connecticut
Dear Lady of the Torch:
Our parents had often told us about you—the Lady of Freedom. They were immigrants from Austria who arrived at Ellis Island in the early nineteen hundreds.
They broke into tears as they gazed upon your gentle face. To them you were the epitome of all they had heard from friends who had arrived before them—you were the Freedom, the Opportunity and the Chance for their self betterment.
As a first generation, full fledged American and one who in her 72 years has had all opportunities made available to her—schooling & higher education, unrestricted worship in a church of one’s choice, job opportunities etc.—I send the enclosed check so that your light and all that you have represented may never grow dim but be a beacon of all that is great in Humanity. May the generations of the Future, those who may be oppressed, the subjugated, the persecuted for whatever reasons—may they always find your light—the Beacon of Freedom shining Forever and Ever.
Dear Lady, you have my heartfelt gratitude for accepting my parents so many years ago—and thus providing for me, my family, my grandchildren and their children to come—the Freedom that we Cherish.
Sincerely,
Mae L. Bothwell
Dear Miss Liberty,
Soon after WW II (in 1955) my small family was among the “huddled masses” washing ashore at America’s gateways. We were eagerly looking forward to be greeted by your majestic sight. Since gradeschool we had known about you.
Anticipation and excitement robbed us of sleep that last night at sea for in the early morning hours you would rise before our very eyes: New York harbor’s single lady welcoming committee!
Alas, for me it was not to be. Kept busy with my volunteer job for the immigration authority below deck I’ll always regret having missed you.
Now I hear you need an overhaul and I know you deserve that and more. So here is my contribution along with my thanks for the promise you symbolize to every immigrant. (Especially in those first overwhelming moments of uncertainty when emotions run high.) May you proudly proclaim this promise for generations to come!
Hail to you who forever holds a tender spot in this immigrant’s heart!
Anonymous
Vineland, New Jersey
Ames, Iowa
Dear Lady:
I am so happy to greet you now during your Centennial, and I enclose a gift to help with your new garb, as the old one was becoming shabby with years of wear.
I first saw you on the evening of May 4, 1909, from the deck of the Immigrant Ship that brought me from Norway. I was wondering, as I looked at you and the lights in all directions, “What is going to happen to me in this vast, new land of America?” But you gave me courage as I saw you standing there, with the Torch in your hand pointing Heavenward, and telling me as you have told millions of others: “You are welcome to this New Land—I’ll give you an opportunity to work and get ahead and make a good life for yourself.” You kept your word. You gave me an opportunity to continue my education at one of the great universities and at the Theological Seminary, and I have been privileged to serve God and my Country for many, many years. And now, at the age of 96, I express to you my sincere thanks. God has really been good to me in America, and I often sing, with sincerity: “God bless America—Land that I love.”
May you still stand there welcoming pilgrims from foreign lands, who come to find Freedom and Justice in this great land. America is still the best in the whole World.
From a grateful,
Naturalized Citizen,
Olaf Holen
In 1986, these letters, and many others, were published in the book, Dear Miss Liberty: Letter to the Statue of Liberty, edited by Lynne Bundesen. Published by Gibbs M. Smith, Inc.
Support Letters of Note…
May many Americans read these letters and be touched by the light of appreciation for what we often take for granted.
It was my great-grandparents who made the daring voyage. They would work in sweatshops and as labor organizers and politicians. May we continue to be a country of possibility.