42—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 20, 1976
Solanco family opens
home to refugees
By SUSAN KAUFFMAN
Feature Writer
Twin Pond Farm in Little Britian Township, Lancaster
County, is very different from the people-packed city of
Saigon Vietnam but it has become the home for two
brothers • Dat and Thanh Tran.
The Jesse Wood family, Nottingham, R 2 has sponsored
the brothers since July 10,1975. The two were not the first
young people from other parts of the world to live with the
Woods. Opening their home and the warmth of their
family to others began five years ago when their oldest
daughter, Cindy, wanted to be an exchange student to a
Spanish speaking country as an extension of her Spanish
classes. In January, February and March of 1971, the
Woods had a vary pleasant experience with an exchange
student from Lima, Peru who came to stay with them.
Cindy went to South America in June, July and August of
that year.
Just previous to the first exchange student’s arrival, the
Woods had remodelled and built accommodations for up
to fourteen guests. From 1971 to 1973 the Woods had guests
stay during the summer months. Their guests enjoyed the
rural setting so much that their appreciation of it touched
the Wood family into realizing how much they had to
value. “The Lord has been so good to us - we have so much
to share with others,’’ Ruth Ann says. In 1973 Ruth Ann
accepted a full-time employment as a rural mail carrier
thus ending the farm vacation business. “This left us free
to take on a responsibility such as this sponsorship,” Ruth
Ann remarked.
Jesse and Ruth Ann have five children: Cindy-22, Jesse
- 21, Edna Sue -19, Linda -17 and Jeff -13. Edna Sue,
Linda, and Jeff are at home. Jesse is married and works
with his father on the 265 acre dairy farm where they milk
65 registered Guernsey cows, feed 30 steers, farm 300
acres of crop ground and do custom work for neighbors.
Cindy is a Physical Education and Health teacher in
North Carolina, and so making Dat and Thanh welcome
was primarilly Edna Sue’s, Linda’s and Jeff’s op
portunity.
Prior to making any inquiries into sponsoring Viet
namese refugees, Jesse and Ruth Ann talked with their
children and all were in favor of such an undertaking.
Ruth Aim talked with their pastor about such a plan and
he suggested they wait to see what support the church’s
refugee family might need. The Woods really weren’t
satisfied with that and hoped something more specific
might materialize. “It was really very strange how things
worked out,” said Mrs. Wood. One day her mother called
and said she had been contacted by friends in the
Lutheran Placement Service to ask if she knew of a family
who would sponsor two non-English speaking brothers at
Indiantown Gap. The boys had been difficult to place
because they were without a parent, spoke almost no
English, did not want to be separated, one was 11 and the
other 23. They needed a home to leam the English
language and American customs without having to earn
their keep.
“This was just what we wanted,” Mrs. Wood remarked.
After approval of sponsorship through the Lutheran
Placement Service and a short three-week processing of
applications, Dat and Thanh came to Twin Ponds Farm.
The boys spoke almost no English - in sharp contract to
the foreign exchange students the Woods had had in their
home. The exchange students were taught English as a
second language from the beginning of their schooling and
were easy to communicate with from the start of their
visit. Thanh, the younger brother, said, “I am fine, how
are you?” - and that was all. Eleven year old Thanh
picked up the English language fast and mixed with other
children much more spontaneously than did his older
brother Dat. The Woods took Dat to special English
classes in Lancaster during the summer and he presently
attends weekly English classes at the Mechanic Grove
Church of the Brethren, Quarryville R 2.
At first the family had to rely on translations through
other English-speaking Vietnamese in the area. If the
Tran brothers and the Woods came to a point in their
discussion were sign language couldn’t get the point
across, they would call the English-speaking Vietnamese
and have them relay the meaning to the boys in Viet
namese. Thanh, m a few short months, has learned
enough English to accomplish grade level work in a
regular fourth grade class at Little Britain Elementary
School. His bright shining black eyes and his friendly
contagious smile have endeared him to his adoptive
family, his classmates and his teachers.
r omestead
Notes
A family portrait plus is what the Jesse Wood family posed for during a recent visit. Shoi
above are (back) Edna Sue, Linda, Ruth Ann and Jesse. (Front) Jeff, Thanh Tran and Dat Ti
The older brother has successfully adapted to life in his
new country. “Dat was very lucky to get and keep a job,”
explained Ruth Ann. He has been employed as a baker at
Willow Valley Restuarant, Lancaster, since September.
“At first, during Hie summer months, it wasn’t too bad for
him out here in the country, but when the children went
back to school, it was so quiet here on the farm - so dif
ferent from the city of Saigon he was accustomed to,”
commented Jesse. Getting and keeping a job has brought
a real change in Dat. He has contact with other people •
both Vietnamese and American-and be has something to
do during the day. “These two were big-city boys,” says
Jesse, they are very willing to do whatever we suggest as
a family or parent, but they had no experience with rural
life before coming to America.”
Dat and Thanh’s father was killed by the Viet Cong five
years ago. Their mother worked during the day and Oat
took his little brother Thanh with him to work on a boat in
the Saigon harbor. Sometimes they would be out on the
boat three days then return home for a day or two. Oat
was out on the boat when the take-over of the city started.
He wanted to leave the boat and return to the family, but
those who tried to return were immediately captured.
Thus, Dat and his brother Thanh stayed on the boat which
traveled to Guam. From there they boarded a plane which
flew them to Indiantown Gap. TTiey were at the Gap a
month before being placed with the Woods. They have not
been able to contact their natural family since their
arrival here.
In sharp contrast to the very Americanized foreign
exchange students from South America, these boys had no
possessions other than a suitcase full of clothing provided
by the Red Cross. “They never had any experience with a
lot of our foods and customs so they had to learn a lot from
our children’s examples,” explained Ruth Ann. “We tried
not to set rules without good reasons they could un
derstand,” said Jesse. “We did not feel we could force our
customs on them without their being aware of why they
are as they are.” “Our kids were great; they could
teasingly teach them table manners and correct them
without causing problems,” Ruth Ann explained.
Although there were inconveniences such as driving
Dat to and from work and classes and finding ways to
communicate, there have been none they haven’t been
able to handle in stride, according to Ruth Ann and Jesse.
“Our children really appreciate what we have and are
glad to share with others since they have seen these
Vietnamese boys marvel at what we take for granted.”
Thanh remarks often, as when the refrigerator was
stocked full after a trip to the grocery store - “very much
money, no have at home.” He especially prizes oranges,
fresh fruit and ham. Dat is so overwhelmed with our
variety of foods that at work he says he always orders a
“club sandwich or ham loaf, - all else I not know - very
many!”
When asked if the boys want to go back to Vietnam, they
replied that they longed to be reunited with their mother
and brothers and sisters but would not like to leave our
cultural and economic advantages. Eleven year old
Thanh’s goal is to study hard, make a lot of money, then
be able to bring his mother to America.
The Jesse Wood family, like many in the United States,
has opened their home to strangers and in doing so have
learned a valuable lesson about the advantages of living in
a country such as the United States.
ns
Country Comer
‘Gardening Woes
By MELISSA PIPER
The following poem is dedicated to the gardener
and what their future may be.
The farmer raised his palm and
wiped the sweat from his head.
It’s going to be a good year
if the weather holds out he said
I hope this spring is not too wet
and the summer months aren’t dry,
If the sun is too hot for tomatoes
those delicate plants will fry.
The farmer’s wife simply nodded
and brushed the dirt from her dress,
She picked up another packet of seeds
Remembering last year’s weeding mess,
I hope these peas do well she spoke
drawing the hoe through the soil,
We've waited so long for gardening again
but it seems like an awful toil.
Her husband laughed as he planted the bee'
and laid the corn to rest,
We’ll do okay he cried out loud .
without insects, rabbits and pests.
The planting was long and hard,
but when the task was done
The couple gathered their seeds and tools
the horizon .ed blazen with sun.
Spring has come and we’ve done our best
the farmer told his wife,
the rest is up to the ram, sun and soil
to offer the seeds a life.
Then trudging back to the farm house
the wife dropped her hoe and pan,
But what if our yield is great she cried
And I don’t have those lids to can!