My object is a Gorham sterling silver trophy that was awarded to my great-great-grandfather, Morris Perlman, for winning the 1933 Ideal Racing Pigeon Club’s 600 Mile Old Bird Race. Although no member of my family races pigeons today, the trophy was preserved because it serves as a testament to my great-great-grandfather’s success in integrating into American society and highlights his life-long love for pigeon racing.         My great-great-grandfather, Morris Perlman, was born in Pinsk, Russia on January 3, 1893. He grew up in a religious Jewish family and although little else is known about his life in Pinsk, stories of his fascination with pigeon racing at a young age survived. As a child, he would often be found on the roof of his home in Pinsk playing with pigeons. Since Morris saw his family’s immigration to America as an opportunity to assimilate into a new culture and create a new identity for himself, he halted his religious observance, yet he retained his passion for pigeon racing. Although he slowly saw himself attaining his goal of becoming American by establishing his own family and starting his own commercial painting company, his membership at the Ideal Racing Pigeon Club in Jersey City was instrumental for him in his quest to assimilate. His membership in the club and his subsequent victory in the 600 Old Bird Race served as a means for him to overlook the struggles that he faced as an immigrant and allowed him to see himself as finally succeeding in the United States.

– Samuel Freilich

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more