When museum directors decided to exhibit cultures of foreign-born residents of the parish, we had no idea how many countries that would mean. Five countries? Maybe seven? Imagine our surprise when our searching revealed 13 different countries of origin from all around the globe. Thirteen!
The representatives of those countries began meeting and planning back in the fall of 2015. Their enthusiasm grew. They gathered photos and memorabilia. They sought exhibit items in their personal collections and from other family members. Several located dazzling costumes. One crafted a scale model house from her native Costa Rica. They created videos of themselves. And we gathered flags of all 13 countries.
And now, these efforts have paid off in this spectacular international display.
Union Parish is fortunate to have among its populace such diverse individuals, all bringing unique perspectives and experiences. Most settled here decades ago. Some are more recent additions. We salute them all:
Costa Rica - Wendy Comfort
El Salvador - Claudia Escobar Wade
England - Charles Paxton and Olive Hicks
Germany - Helga Head and Barbara Romero
Guatemala - Miguel Barrios (with daughter Mary)
India - David and Dipali Patel (with son Nikesh)
Mexico - Francisco Martinez
New Zealand - Bradley Theyers
Pakistan - Malik and Noshaba Shahid
Philippines - Jen Gracela Gentry and Junie Ibanez Rowell
Russia - Lyudmila Antley
Thailand - Chaba Simpson
Vietnam - Giai Byrnes
The representatives of those countries began meeting and planning back in the fall of 2015. Their enthusiasm grew. They gathered photos and memorabilia. They sought exhibit items in their personal collections and from other family members. Several located dazzling costumes. One crafted a scale model house from her native Costa Rica. They created videos of themselves. And we gathered flags of all 13 countries.
And now, these efforts have paid off in this spectacular international display.
Union Parish is fortunate to have among its populace such diverse individuals, all bringing unique perspectives and experiences. Most settled here decades ago. Some are more recent additions. We salute them all:
Costa Rica - Wendy Comfort
El Salvador - Claudia Escobar Wade
England - Charles Paxton and Olive Hicks
Germany - Helga Head and Barbara Romero
Guatemala - Miguel Barrios (with daughter Mary)
India - David and Dipali Patel (with son Nikesh)
Mexico - Francisco Martinez
New Zealand - Bradley Theyers
Pakistan - Malik and Noshaba Shahid
Philippines - Jen Gracela Gentry and Junie Ibanez Rowell
Russia - Lyudmila Antley
Thailand - Chaba Simpson
Vietnam - Giai Byrnes
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