Denise Smithson and friends celebrate the joys of citizenship

Denise Smithson came to the United States on July 26, 1957, BC — "BC" meaning, she said, "before Castro."

On Aug. 17 Joan Wortman, Marilyn Schultz, Joyce Van Ness, Gail Darcy, Bobby Stagg, and Nancy Heim joined Smithson in her Milford home, in the Raspberry Ridge community, to celebrate her citizenship. Smithson throws this patriotic party for her friends every year, and every year gives a speech about how lucky she is to be an American and to live in a country whose citizens live free.

In Cuba, her family was very poor. Her father had worked as a shoemaker, and her mother was a seamstress and house cleaner. They depended on their garden for food. They were lucky, Smithson said, if they had chicken for one meal in a week.

Before she left Cuba for the United States, her mother had to get vaccinations, a letter from a sponsor, and proof that she had both a residence and a job waiting for her upon her arrival. Her sponsor was responsible for her actions and behavior.

"It was very hard to get here," Smithson said.

Her mother came to the United States in 1955, alone. Her father joined her the next year.

Smithson's parents were her first sponsors. Her mother wanted her daughter to fulfill all of the promises that a future in the United States had to offer, education chief among them.

'No spics allowed'

Upon her arrival, Smithson encountered a great deal of discrimination because she couldn't speak English. She was called a "spic" and into the early 1960s saw signs on houses saying, "No spics allowed."

When one of her landlords found out she was from Cuba, she and her Italian-American husband were forced immediately to find other housing.

But not every American rejected her and her family.

"Some tried to help us," she said.

A 60-year friendship

At 17, Smithson was working in a factory and teaching herself English by using a dictionary and reading the paper. Norma Andriani, Smithson's sponsor, also taught her.

Unable to join the recent meetup, Andriani emailed The Courier the story of their friendship.

Norma and Denise met in the late 1950s, introduced at a picnic by Nick Caputo, a childhood friend of the man who would become Norma's husband, and Denise's future husband. The picnic turned into a weekend outing.

"Denise spoke very limited English at the time," Andriani recalled. "For one reason or another, we were drawn together."

The two couples married and remained close friends.

"Denise and I both moved to West New York, N.J.," Andriani recalled. "It was here that the bond became stronger. We walked along Bergenline Avenue, each one of us pushing a baby carriage with our first-borns. This is where I began to teach Denise English. While Denise was studying for her citizenship, she asked me to sponsor her, and I proudly accepted. Our English lessons never stopped."

Andriani and her husband bought a house in Secaucus, and Smithson and her family moved into a two-family house there. That was 53 years ago.

"Denise was pregnant with her second child and looking for a house to rent," Andriani said. "In the meantime, my husband and I invited them to stay with us. Denise and I have been close friends for 60 years, and this bond will continue."

'I got a flag!'

Smithson said both her sons got college educations "without handouts." Her favorite saying, which she enthusiastically repeats, is, "God bless America!"

"The only way to come is to do it legally and respect the rules and the government," she said.

When Smithson's second husband, Charles Smithson, died, he received a military funeral for his service in the Navy. She was presented with the American flag that covered his grave, which she cherishes to this day. After the ceremony, she thought of how lucky she was to have an American flag of her very own.

"I got a flag!" she said, still overjoyed at the thought of it. What an honor! It's a privilege to be in this country. The flag is freedom."

At 79, Smithson continues to praise the United States for her quality life, which she enjoys with close friends, and for the limitless joys of liberty.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct Smithson's age.