A First Thanksgiving as Immigrants Brings Lifelong Memories
A young couple and their 2-year-old son Mark – that’s us! – arrived in the United States in 1965. My husband Sasha, a brilliant scientist, was invited to work at the world-renowned Bell Labs in Murray Hills, N.J. after his post-doctoral time at Birmingham University in England. An impossible dream came true for Sasha, as […]
A young couple and their 2-year-old son Mark – that’s us! – arrived in the United States in 1965. My husband Sasha, a brilliant scientist, was invited to work at the world-renowned Bell Labs in Murray Hills, N.J. after his post-doctoral time at Birmingham University in England. An impossible dream came true for Sasha, as he loved working at this iconic research institution as a young engineer–a post desired by all geniuses in those years.
Settling down in an apartment in the picturesque colonial jewel of a town that is Westfield was the beginning of a new life for this small immigrant family in America. Two years later, our daughter Leora was born in Summit, New Jersey–the first American-born citizen in our family.
At that time, Bell Labs recruited the best engineers from around the world for its research work at its headquarters in Murray Hill. Sasha befriended Dave Robinson, a Bell Labs colleague, who with his British-born wife Peggy, opened their lovely home to all of the new immigrants at Bell Labs for their first Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone had to bring a special dish typical of the country they immigrated from, thus creating the first International Thanksgiving Buffet Dinner, a tradition we cherished and repeated every year for the 14 years we lived in New Jersey. Sasha loved it, as I committed to bringing a potato dish, his favorite food. He always used to say that a dinner with no potatoes is not a dinner – just an appetizer.
When we left New Jersey for the glamorous, high-tech world of Silicon Valley, we departed full of warm, unforgettable memories of this special holiday that we were introduced to and came to love and appreciate at the Robinsons’ warm and welcoming home. Sadly, both Peggy and Sasha have passed away, but our tradition of this very special holiday lives on with our families’ younger generation. Heaven was waiting for Peggy and Sasha to get together for an afternoon tea and some roasted potatoes.
I hope your Thanksgivings are memorable and delicious gatherings for all. You may enrich new immigrants’ dreams by inviting them to your next Thanksgiving dinner. A potato dish is a must in honor of Sasha.
Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England, she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.
