New citizens for a growing city, September 22, 1983

Devlin writes that, "the groups of immigrants who came to Danbury after 1883 were largest in numbers and most visible in impact." The people brought languages, customs, skills and sometimes new religions. Immigrants lived in many different sections and social circles in Danbury, and were not restricted to poverty. The immigrants included 1,500 Slavic immigrants, 600 Polish immigrants, and 15,000 Portuguese immigrants, then some from Czechoslovakia, Syria, and Lebanon, and considerably smaller groups of immigrants from Hungary, Greece, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. Many immigrants worked in farms or factories. Groups like the Polish-American Club, The Polish National Alliance, Portuguese-American Club (who hosted Portuguese radio, WFAR), the Lebanon-American Club, the Hungarian-American Club, and the Greek-American society were founded. It was common for the Polish immigrants to be active in politics. Slovak individuals such as Thomas Balash won the Sokol annual national championship and Dr. Michael Skandera won the National Sokol Golf Tournament five times in 20 years. |Identifier: ms069_devlin_1983_09_22c