25 take oath as new citizens

BANGOR – It was standing room only Friday morning in the third floor courtroom at U.S. District Court.

The mass of people wasn’t there for a long list of jury indictments or a particularly interesting trial, but instead to welcome 25 new citizens to the United States.

“This is now your country, freeze this moment in your memory,” U.S. District Judge John Woodcock told the new Americans, adding, “this country is special because it was not founded on any racial, ethnic or religious identity.”

About every six months, U.S. District Court in Bangor holds a ceremony for new citizens.

On Friday, 11 countries – Belarus, Canada, China, Columbia, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom and Vietnam – were represented amid the idle chatter and curious, smiling faces gathered for the ceremony.

“This is such a special day, especially in the state of Maine,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk, who with Woodcock presided over the ceremony.

Kravchuk pointed out to the new citizens that two of her colleagues, U.S. District Judges George Singal and D. Brock Hornby, are both naturalized U.S. citizens.

“So, we take this seriously,” she said with a chuckle.

The new citizens sang “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the words meshing in many different dialects. Each was presented a certificate and a U.S. flag. Twelve of the 25 also applied for name changes.

Johanne Thibeault, who lives in St. David with her husband, drove down from Aroostook County to take part in the ceremony.

Although originally from Quebec, she has lived in Maine for 22 years and said she “was happy the way I was.”

But the more she thought about it, Thibeault realized there was no way she was going back to her native country.

“I’ve been married for 25 years and my daughter was born in the U.S., so I just felt it was time,” Thibeault said. Her 19-year-old daughter, a student at University College in Bangor, attended the ceremony to support her mother.

Gilda Franck of Van Buren also is a former Canadian citizen who moved to Maine to be with her husband.

“That’s the best reason isn’t it … for love,” Franck said in a heavy French accent. Until six years ago, she lived in New Brunswick, not far from the U.S.-Canada border.

Franck is retired but helps her husband run a seasonal restaurant in Van Buren. Like Thibeault, she said nothing has changed for her, but she realized quite simply that, “home is home.”

Also part of the ceremony was the swearing in of seven new lawyers to the federal bar: Michael R. Clisham, practicing in Bangor; Richard W. Lungstrum, Lawrence, Kan.; Sean D. Magenis, Belfast; Kristen McHenry Collins, Belfast; Phillip R. Saucier, Portland; Kenda Kay Scheele, Old Town; and Kristy M. Smith, Bangor.

“This is the culmination of years of work … of innumerable preparation – no doubt beginning in your teenage years – when you learned how to argue,” Woodcock told the new lawyers.

Kravchuk’s advice was short: “Don’t pick any arguments with me.”