"Sprinklers, bikes, exciting for Irish visitor" from the July 26, 1979 Door County Advocate
Dressed in her dancing costume and pumps is Jacqueline Green, 11, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Jacqueline, a talented Irish dancer, is spending the summer in Sturgeon Bay. Her dress is intricately hand embroidered and adorned with hand woven Irish lace.
Sprinklers, bikes, exciting for Irish visitor
Running through sprinklers, bicycling, swimming, jigs and Gaelic all make for an interesting cultural exchange program taking place in Sturgeon Bay this summer.
A young Irish lass with beautiful eyes, a lovely smile and a great talent for dancing is making her home with the John Turk family for six weeks this summer.
Jacqueline Green, 11, daughter of John and Jean Green, Belfast, Northern Ireland, is one of 165 Irish children participating in a non profit program called American Holidays for Irish Children.
John and Nancy and daughters Beth, 12, and Kristen, 10, are delighted to have Jacqueline spending the summer with them. With two brothers, Conor, 7, and Declin, 5, at home, Jacqueline is happy to have two "sisters" at the Turk residence.
This fall Jacqueline will enter primary- grammar school where she will study geography, mathematics, English, Gaelic, history and physical education.
Mr. Green is a taxi driver in Belfast and Mrs. Green works part time in a cafe. Although she finds the weather considerably warmer than back home, Jacqueline says the Door county countryside is very similar to the Emerald Isle.
The idea for the program to send children to the United States was conceived in 1973 by Mrs. Sarah Hughes as a means of providing an opportunity for the children of Belfast to escape the fighting and spend their summer holiday with families in America.
The program is open to children from Northern Ireland, ages 8-11½. Host families may specify age and sex, but the Irish children from both Protestant and Catholic sectors of the country are assigned randomly to American families as far as religion is concerned.
The American host family pays the transportation and related costs of bringing the child over, as well as the cost of supporting the child while here.
Jacqueline's American host family for the summer are John and Nancy Turk and daughters Kristen (center) and Beth.
Most of the children who came over on the plane with Jacqueline are spending the summer in Minnesota. The Turks learned of the program from a newspaper in Eau Claire and from there contacted directors.
By the time Jacqueline arrived in the United States the two families had already established a friendship through several letter exchanges.
The Turks were given some of the historical and cultural background of Ireland and Jacqueline and her family were told what to expect while visiting the Turks.
Nancy was warned to be careful of preparing spicy foods for her young Irish visitor but when Jacqueline arrived she told Nancy she was used to such dishes because her father was a good cook and often liked to try out new recipes on friends.
Jacqueline was already well acquainted with the American standby— hamburgers and fries (called chips back home) but was first skeptical when Nancy served baked potatoes.
"They eat potatoes nearly every way in Ireland, except baked in the skins," Nancy explained. "I think Jacqueline thought I was too lazy to cut them up when we first served them to her and now she is just crazy about baked potato."
Swimming, biking and running through the sprinkler are among the American activities Kristen and Beth have introduced Jacqueline to. With the average summer temperature falling around 65 degree in Ireland Jacqueline had never had the opportunity to swim outside and had never heard of running through a sprinkler on a hot summer day.
"We've taken her swimming at the pool and at the beach and Jacqueline really enjoyed the July 4 fireworks," Beth says.
Kristin says she has enjoyed trying to learn one of the traditional Irish dances Jacqueline is so adapt at teaching.
Jacqueline has taken dance lessons every Saturday since she was five and now her brother Conor is also learning to dance.
"We learn several Irish dances including reels, jigs, horn pipes and set dances," Jacqueline explained. "I dance solo and with groups and we compete in different contests throughout Ireland."
A bit modest about her accomplishments, Jacqueline is reluctant to brag about the 72 awards she has received for her dancing.
While at the Turks, Jacqueline has had an opportunity to learn tennis and has already had a two night camp out. Before her return home this summer they are planning a trip to Great America in Gurnee, Ill.
While fashions in the U.S. can be compared with clothing worn in Ireland, the shopping cannot.
"Your shopping centers are so much bigger and have so many more shops than back home," Jacqueline says.
Nancy agrees that Jacqueline was a little wide-eyed the first time they went to a shopping mall.
Although she may not be familiar with American shopping, Jacqueline knows all about American television.
"My favorite programs back home are Mork and Mindy, Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie and Charlies Angels," she reports.
Beth says she was very surprised to learn that her visitor was already acquainted with these TV shows as she thought they would all be new to Jacqueline.
Even with an obvious Irish accent the Turks have little problem with a language barrier except when it comes to using expressions that have different meanings between here and Ireland. A flashlight is a torch in Ireland as a garden is a vegetable patch; tennis shoes, guddies; lake, lough; stove, cooker; supper, tea; lunch, dinner and refrigerator, fridge.
So far she has been so busy Jacqueline says she hasn't had time to get homesick.
Nancy says she has easily adjusted to the Turk household and she says she will be sorry when the time comes for her to return home.
John pointed out that Jacqueline's visit to Sturgeon Bay has been valuable to his family in several ways.
"We've- discovered that many of the things we take for granted in our country are adventurous for her. There are no playgrounds in Belfast like we have, theatres are closed and there is very little recreation. When we went fishing Jacqueline was the only one to catch a fish and was she ever excited."
Anyone interested in learning more about the program for bringing a child to the United States may direct their inquiries to the Turks.
[author not stated]
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
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