Naturalization Ceremony Hosted by Hoover Site

U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade presided over the citizenship ceremonies.

Adam Prato

News Release Date: September 20, 2006

Contact: Adam Prato, [phone]

Seventy-nine men, women, and children became U.S. citizens on Constitution Day, September 18, 2006 during a citizenship ceremony outside the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum on the grounds of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade presided over the outdoor ceremony under fair skies and administered the oath to 79 new citizens from 26 countries. They were joined by an audience of about 250, including family and friends, fourth graders from nearby Herbert Hoover Elementary School, and members of the visiting public.

Four federal government agencies—the U.S. District Court, the Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security, the National Park Service, and the National Archives and Records Administration—collaborated in conducting the first naturalization ceremony ever to be held outside a courthouse in the northern district of Iowa. The event was jointly managed by the staffs of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Rangers from Herbert Hoover NHS were assisted by one ranger from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Porter, Indiana, and one officer from the West Branch Police Department.

The ceremony began with a presentation of the colors by American Legion Post 514 and a solo rendition of the national anthem by vocalist Jill Barnhart Henson. Following a motion to grant citizenship from the Citizenship and Immigration Service, the Clerk of the Court led the applicants in the Oath of Allegiance. Judge Reade led the new citizens and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and delivered remarks. Also delivering remarks were representatives from the offices of Congressman Jim Leach and Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Hoover Presidential Library-Museum are off of I-80 at exit 254 in West Branch, Iowa. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time.