July 13, 2009
By RACHEL MORGAN
Lina Cox of Leesburg knows what it's like to start all over in a new country.
In 1984, Cox, then Lina Gonzalez, moved from her native Panama to Highland County - a county with an estimated 296 residents of Hispanic origin. She moved to marry her now-husband, Joe Cox, whom she met while he was in the Army, serving in Panama.
But it wasn't all newlywed bliss. For one, Cox had to learn English.
"Perhaps it was a little scary at first," she said. "You're not sure what you are going to find - it's a different culture, different customs, different language, different everything."
Cox found her way to a sense of belonging through Saint Benignus Catholic Church in Greenfield. She also married into a Catholic family, which helped her feel more at home.
"The majority, not 100 percent, of Hispanics are Catholic," Cox said.
Cox soon found her niche at St. Benignus. She helped the late Father Frank Klamet start the Spanish mass in 2001, the first in the area.
"I think the reason (Father Klamet) wanted to offer Spanish mass was because he was a missionary in Honduras," Cox said. "He knew the cultural needs of the people."
She also worked as a translator for Sugar Creek Packing Co. in 2006.
"At the time there was a large number of Hispanics at Sugar Creek," she said. It was through working at Sugar Creek that Cox realized the area had a need for a local Spanish mass, as most of the Hispanic employees were traveling to Columbus to attend a Spanish mass.
But Cox didn't just stop at her work duties - she even took sick or injured employees to Fayette County Memorial Hospital to act as translator.
"We were trying to think of ways to help the Hispanic employees," she said.
Having a Spanish mass is invaluable to the Hispanic community, Cox said. She credits Klamet and his successor, Father Mike Paraniuk of St. Mary Catholic Church, for making the effort to deliver a religious service in the congregation's native language.
"We are Catholic and as Catholics, we will always go to Catholic Church," she said. "For a priest to give his (homily) in Spanish, this is something that is deeply appreciated. (As far as Father Mike,) he's learning Spanish just to get closer to the people. I believe this is very nice. Since the death of Father Klamet, Father Mike has been very amazing. The fact that we have another priest who's learning Spanish is amazing."
Cox acknowledges that the death of Father Klamet his the St. Benignus - and Hispanic - community hard.
"We lost a spiritual guide," she said. "A priest is someone very special, someone we respect, admire. We think the world of him."
She also credits the St. Benignus' community for making Hispanics feel a sense of belonging.
"They are very open and have never closed to church door to anyone," she said.
Cox said that probably the biggest challenge the local Hispanic population faces is the language barrier that exists between Spanish-speaking residents and their English-speaking counterparts.
She admits that learning English is not always something that comes as easily for other Hispanics as it did for her.
"This is not the case for every one of us," she said."Not everybody will want to talk in a (different) language. They are afraid to be made fun of or misunderstood."
Cox has been very involved in bridging the gap between the Hispanic community and the Anglo community - but she isn't done yet.
She hopes to set up some sort of class to teach Hispanics about American culture, the language, the customs. She currently teaches a weekly Spanish class for English-speakers at St. Benignus.
"When I came to this country, I did everything I could to learn the language," she said. "I knew that I wanted to be able to understand what people were saying and tell them what I thought, as well." Now, Cox owns her own reflexology and hypnosis spa, The Healing Choices.
Cox hopes her fellow Hispanics will take the same initiative to integrate into American society.
However, Cox hopes her American counterparts will take the same initiative and learn one big lesson.
"There are so many different Hispanic countries," she said. "And we may speak the same language, but we do have different cultures. A lot of people seem to think that if you're Hispanic, you're all the same. It's like England and the United States - you speak the same language but have different customs."
There are approximately 265,762 Hispanic Americans living in Ohio - Hispanics make up 1.8 percent of Fayette County's population - or 510 individuals.
Since 2000, Ohio's Hispanic population grew by 22.4 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Development.
Source: The Record Herald
By RACHEL MORGAN
Lina Cox of Leesburg knows what it's like to start all over in a new country.
In 1984, Cox, then Lina Gonzalez, moved from her native Panama to Highland County - a county with an estimated 296 residents of Hispanic origin. She moved to marry her now-husband, Joe Cox, whom she met while he was in the Army, serving in Panama.
But it wasn't all newlywed bliss. For one, Cox had to learn English.
"Perhaps it was a little scary at first," she said. "You're not sure what you are going to find - it's a different culture, different customs, different language, different everything."
Cox found her way to a sense of belonging through Saint Benignus Catholic Church in Greenfield. She also married into a Catholic family, which helped her feel more at home.
"The majority, not 100 percent, of Hispanics are Catholic," Cox said.
Cox soon found her niche at St. Benignus. She helped the late Father Frank Klamet start the Spanish mass in 2001, the first in the area.
"I think the reason (Father Klamet) wanted to offer Spanish mass was because he was a missionary in Honduras," Cox said. "He knew the cultural needs of the people."
She also worked as a translator for Sugar Creek Packing Co. in 2006.
"At the time there was a large number of Hispanics at Sugar Creek," she said. It was through working at Sugar Creek that Cox realized the area had a need for a local Spanish mass, as most of the Hispanic employees were traveling to Columbus to attend a Spanish mass.
But Cox didn't just stop at her work duties - she even took sick or injured employees to Fayette County Memorial Hospital to act as translator.
"We were trying to think of ways to help the Hispanic employees," she said.
Having a Spanish mass is invaluable to the Hispanic community, Cox said. She credits Klamet and his successor, Father Mike Paraniuk of St. Mary Catholic Church, for making the effort to deliver a religious service in the congregation's native language.
"We are Catholic and as Catholics, we will always go to Catholic Church," she said. "For a priest to give his (homily) in Spanish, this is something that is deeply appreciated. (As far as Father Mike,) he's learning Spanish just to get closer to the people. I believe this is very nice. Since the death of Father Klamet, Father Mike has been very amazing. The fact that we have another priest who's learning Spanish is amazing."
Cox acknowledges that the death of Father Klamet his the St. Benignus - and Hispanic - community hard.
"We lost a spiritual guide," she said. "A priest is someone very special, someone we respect, admire. We think the world of him."
She also credits the St. Benignus' community for making Hispanics feel a sense of belonging.
"They are very open and have never closed to church door to anyone," she said.
Cox said that probably the biggest challenge the local Hispanic population faces is the language barrier that exists between Spanish-speaking residents and their English-speaking counterparts.
She admits that learning English is not always something that comes as easily for other Hispanics as it did for her.
"This is not the case for every one of us," she said."Not everybody will want to talk in a (different) language. They are afraid to be made fun of or misunderstood."
Cox has been very involved in bridging the gap between the Hispanic community and the Anglo community - but she isn't done yet.
She hopes to set up some sort of class to teach Hispanics about American culture, the language, the customs. She currently teaches a weekly Spanish class for English-speakers at St. Benignus.
"When I came to this country, I did everything I could to learn the language," she said. "I knew that I wanted to be able to understand what people were saying and tell them what I thought, as well." Now, Cox owns her own reflexology and hypnosis spa, The Healing Choices.
Cox hopes her fellow Hispanics will take the same initiative to integrate into American society.
However, Cox hopes her American counterparts will take the same initiative and learn one big lesson.
"There are so many different Hispanic countries," she said. "And we may speak the same language, but we do have different cultures. A lot of people seem to think that if you're Hispanic, you're all the same. It's like England and the United States - you speak the same language but have different customs."
There are approximately 265,762 Hispanic Americans living in Ohio - Hispanics make up 1.8 percent of Fayette County's population - or 510 individuals.
Since 2000, Ohio's Hispanic population grew by 22.4 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Development.
Source: The Record Herald
