{"id":8912,"date":"2018-06-20T15:53:51","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T19:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=8912"},"modified":"2018-06-20T15:53:51","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T19:53:51","slug":"he-was-displaced-from-his-homeland-pittsburgh-welcomed-him-with-open-arms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/06\/20\/he-was-displaced-from-his-homeland-pittsburgh-welcomed-him-with-open-arms\/","title":{"rendered":"He was displaced from his homeland. Pittsburgh welcomed him with open arms"},"content":{"rendered":"

On August 28, 1951, The Pittsburgh Press documented Czeslaw Sikorski\u2019s fifth day in the U.S. <\/span><\/p>\n

The paper\u2019s second page featured a photo of the 3 1\/2-year-old refugee enjoying a doughnut \u2014 a \u201cnew treat\u201d for the \u201cnew American,\u201d the Press said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A three-and-a-half-year-old refugee from Poland, 1951. (The Pittsburgh Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Czeslaw and his parents appeared in the paper in 1951, but immigration is far from old news. Czeslaw\u2019s story is worth revisiting on Wednesday \u2014 World Refugee Day \u2014 and at a moment when migrant children have been detained in camps along the U.S. border. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Czeslaw and his parents were Polish refugees, forced out of their homeland during World War II. The National Catholic Welfare Conference brought the family of three, along with 538 other refugees, to the U.S. from a displaced persons camp in Germany. <\/span><\/p>\n

The war displaced an <\/span>estimated total of 40 million<\/span><\/a> Europeans between 1940 and 1945, and western Allies established displaced persons camps to house them in the post-war years. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon arriving in the U.S., the Sikorskis were connected with a sponsor, the Rev. Eugene Harkins of St. Anne\u2019s Church, who found a home for the family and a farm job for Czeslaw\u2019s father. Harry Sable, the owner of the farm, was charmed by the tiny refugee\u2019s athletic skills. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d he said. \u201cThe little fellow can kick a football farther than most men of 25. I think we\u2019ve got an all-American on our hands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On August 28, 1951, The Pittsburgh Press documented Czeslaw Sikorski\u2019s fifth day in the U.S.…<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesHe was displaced from his homeland. Pittsburgh welcomed him with open arms<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":8911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1399],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/img007-1.jpg?fit=3300%2C2550&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6783,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/05\/25\/military-mascots-can-be-such-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":8912,"position":0},"title":"Military mascots can be such animals","date":"May 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Listed under \"mascots,\" a trove of photos, some by staff but many others from wire services, was stashed in the PG's library and included people dressed up in all their faux fur and papier mache glory.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Digs.ArmyAnimals006b.jpg?fit=1200%2C1109&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2533,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/11\/march-10-1951-wabash-railroad-station-and\/","url_meta":{"origin":8912,"position":1},"title":"Wabash Railroad Station and Building","date":"September 11, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Built at the intersection of Liberty Ave and Ferry St, currently known as Stanwix St, the building served as a station of the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_ma049mwdsC1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C953&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6993,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/10\/13\/if-an-atomic-bomb-strikes-pittsburgh-you-can-still-eat-the-pumpernickel\/","url_meta":{"origin":8912,"position":2},"title":"If an atomic bomb strikes Pittsburgh, you can still eat the pumpernickel","date":"October 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A series of stories in The Pittsburg Press sought to reassure folks worried about an attack","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Digs.20161013DigsAbomb003a.jpg?fit=1200%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2272,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/20\/mysterious-war-planes-over-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":8912,"position":3},"title":"Mysterious war planes over Pittsburgh","date":"November 20, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We\u2019d love to learn more. If you have any information that would help tell the story of this photograph, please contact us.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_mdlqxvLksP1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=666%2C910&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2306,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/08\/smoke-steel-bridges-and-rivers-of-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":8912,"position":4},"title":"Smoke, steel bridges and rivers of Pittsburgh","date":"November 8, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The picture was made during a race between two steamboats, the William Larimer Jones and the Homestead.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_md54teP4xb1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8291,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/11\/07\/no-sidewalk-no-traffic-at-the-rankin-bridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":8912,"position":5},"title":"‘No sidewalk, no traffic’ at the Rankin Bridge","date":"November 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWe don\u2019t want our kids to get killed,\u201d one woman told The Pittsburgh Press.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Digs.RankinBridge001.jpg?fit=1200%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8912"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8913,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8912\/revisions\/8913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}