For immigrants to the United States to realize their dream of becoming citizens, they must both show proficiency in the English language and correctly answer multiple questions about the U.S. government. Since at least 1890, Williamsport has had classes for men and women to prepare them for the test. Today, this important work is carried out locally by Thrive International Programs, which “equips people from diverse cultures with increased language proficiency and cultural competence” (https://thriveip.org/).

For 38 years, from 1936 until 1974, a Williamsport woman, Marion Harkness Bower, taught citizenship and English classes to people of many nationalities who had immigrated to Lycoming County and wanted to become citizens. She was not only their teacher, but many became her friends.

Marion Harkness Bower was born on May 14, 1905, in Wellsboro; she was the adopted daughter of Daisy and Karl Harkness, farmers in nearby Charleston. She graduated from Wellsboro High School in 1922, but, because she had skipped second grade, she did one year of post-graduate work.

Then she taught for two years at Marshlands, a one-room schoolhouse in Tioga County. Shortly after completing her studies at Bucknell in 1924, Marion married Bertram Bower (1901-1971), a weaver at the Williamsport silk mill. Marion and Bertram had five children: Rodney, (1927-2004), Mary Louise (1930-2015), Doris (1930-2016), Virginia (1936-) and Roberta (1945-2005).

Teaching for the WPA

In 1936, in the depths of the Great Depression, Marion was recruited by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) to teach in the local Americanization project–specifically, to teach Italian women. She was uniquely qualified for the task: She had taught in a one-room school for two years; she had studied at Bucknell University; plus, she lived with her husband and children on Mulberry Street, in Little Italy.

Little Italy and Temple Beth Ha Sholom

The Italian immigrants who had begun coming to Lycoming County in the 1890s provided skilled and unskilled labor for factories and industries–the railroad, the silk mills and the textile mills.

They mostly settled the area that was called Little Italy, a rectangular area bordered by Academy Street on the east, Hepburn Street on the west, East Third Street to the north, and Front Street to the south.

There was also a Jewish population in the area, including immigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe. In 1871, they gathered together to build Temple Beth Ha Sholom at the corner of Mulberry and Front Streets, in a residential area. It was two stories high, with meeting rooms and classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium used for services on the second floor. After the building was destroyed by flooding in 1901, the congregation rebuilt on Center Street.

Americanization Program

The Americanization Project was designed to encourage immigrants to see themselves as Americans first, to communicate in English rather than in their native language and to celebrate American customs and holidays.

Americanization programs often targeted women for several reasons. Firstly, women were seen as key influencers within families and communities, responsible for transmitting cultural values and practices to the next generation (Brainly.com). By shaping the cultural practices and values within the household, Americanization programs aimed to assimilate immigrant families more effectively.

Secondly, women were viewed as more receptive to change and more likely to embrace new customs. When Marion began teaching in the program, she went into the women’s homes to give lessons. Marion often brought coloring books and crayons for the children in the family. She continued her home visits for several years until the WPA project was discontinued.

Williamsport School District

In 1939, when the WPA project was discontinued, the program was transferred to the Williamsport School District, and Marion started teaching regular classes at the James V. Brown Library. The goal of these classes was slightly different: to prepare immigrants with the skills and information needed to pass the naturalization test. Marion taught English and civics.

Classes were held three nights a week in the children’s room of the Brown Library; they were free of charge. Marion said of her students, in an interview with the Grit (Nov. 27, 1960), “I am very proud of them. They want to begin as fast as they can, because they are here to stay.”

War Brides and

Displaced Persons

Following World War Two, the classes were expanded to include war brides (and a few war grooms) and displaced persons from European countries. The war brides were women who had met and married American servicemen stationed in Europe. Many of the displaced persons were Polish immigrants looking for work in the area; others were German Jews who had fled Germany or who had been in concentration camps. Local churches and synagogues sponsored many of these immigrants.

The 1950s and 1960s

In the early 1950s, Marion’s classes came to include international students taking courses at the former Williamsport Technical Institute. WTI was officially approved for training foreign students in 1953. “Williamsport Schools Through the Years,” a document chronicling the school’s activities, reported, “The fame of the Williamsport Technical Institute as an outstanding vocational center has spread beyond the borders of the United States. . . . Educators from many foreign countries have enrolled at WTI to study our methods of vocational education in an effort to set up similar centers in their own countries.”

Many of the young men who studied at WTI were in the country for just two years but enjoyed improving their English and meeting people from other countries. Marion and her husband arranged field trips, picnics, and other activities outside the classroom for the young men.

Starting in 1961, the classes were held at the former Washington School, on West Third Street in downtown Williamsport, where Kohl’s is located now. Over the years, the classes expanded to include students of all ages from many countries. Although Marion did not speak any other language fluently, she had a knack for making herself understood to her students as she taught them basic English and then citizenship.

Special Events

Proof of the scope of Marion’s teaching successes comes from the annual Christmas party she gave each year for current and former students. The Sun-Gazette (Feb. 4, 1957) reported on the 1957 party, held at her own church, the Calvary Baptist Church. Among the former students the party brought back were 21 from Italy, one from Latvia, two from Lithuania, two from Japan, three from Yugoslavia, one from England, two from Trinidad, seven from China, two from Austria, one from Norway, 15 from Poland, 21 from Germany, and six from Greece.

In addition to the Christmas party, Marion spearheaded another annual event: Americanization Day, as it was called, was often sponsored by the Civic Club. One year, she had her students display dolls they had dressed in a costume from the country of their birth. Another year, she had her students reenact one of their own classes. She faithfully attended the examination hearings and swearing in ceremonies for each of her hundreds of students. Marion received multiple letters of commendation from official sources.

Retirement and Death

Marion retired in 1974 when she was 70. She died on July 2, 1986. Her husband had died on April 30, 1971. Both are buried in Wildwood Cemetery. As noted by the Sun-Gazette (July 2, 1986), her death came at a time when the nation was preparing to celebrate the centennial of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, the symbol welcoming immigrants to our country.

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Many thanks to Virginia Bower Thompson, who generously shared her mother’s remarkable story with me. Many years later, a former student told Virginia, “Your mother taught us that to be a citizen of this country was not only a privilege but a responsibility.”

Mary Sieminski is a retired librarian. She was the director of the library at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. She is the manager of the Lycoming County Women’s History Project and has worked on this column, which celebrates the lives and accomplishments of local women, for more than ten years.