First Chaldean-American elected to state legislature, Klint Kesto, rallies support in West Bloomfield.
Personally walking door-to-door introducing yourself might seem like tedious work for a candidate running for office, but for elected State Representative Klint Kesto (R-39th District) it marked a path to history. When Kesto announced victory Nov. 6 in the hotly-contested race for an open seat over Democrat Pam Jackson, at Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, he said it wasn't about him as much as the community which made him the first Chaldean-American elected to the position of House representative in Michigan. There are more than 120,000 Chaldeans in Michigan (a colloquial term referring to Iraqi Christians, of whose ancestry dates to Historical Babylon) and growing in a time when many are leaving the state, said Chaldean-…
Sunday marked the 100th birthday of Iraqi immigrant Zia Oram, who celebrated the new year with 12 children and 79 grandchildren.
Zia Oram rang in 2012 on Sunday in truly historic fashion. The five-year West Bloomfield resident and Iraqi immigrant celebrated his 100th birthday at Farmington Manor with family who came from all over the country to wish the Oram family patriarch a happy new year. "He's been counting every day through the whole year to see if he'd make it to this day," laughed Christine Oram, a West Bloomfield resident and Zia's 10th child. "His favorite saying is, 'That which you measure in life is measured back to you.' This whole party is a reflection to what he's given his family, his faith and his community." The occasion was also marked with recognition from Pope Benedict XVI, President Barack Obama, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and local politicians …
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Marina Cracchiolo
10:44 am on Tuesday, January 3, 2012
I love this story! Thanks for sharing, Tim. more ›