POLISH FAMILY FINDS FRIENDS IN SCOTT CITY; STOPOVER ON HIGHWAY LEADS TO NEW HOME, U.S. EDUCATION

SCOTT CITY -- Stanley Stepek can look out his front door and see corn fields, a reminder of the life he left behind in Poland a month ago.

But now, as he gets accustomed to his new home in Scott City, he's confident he made the right decision.

"As soon as we got into this house, things started to really turn around," Stepek said. "And as for the corn field? It looks like our farm in Poland."

It was mid-June when Stepek and his wife and four children sold all their belongings, left Poland and set out for Chicago. He knew he eventually would live somewhere rural, but he didn't know it would be Scott City until the day he stopped here to buy gas and cigarettes and stayed.

"I went into this store and the lady there just started talking to me," said Stepek. "She was very friendly. I told her I was looking for a place to live. She said the schools here were very good and the cost of living was not expensive.

"Then I went to Burger King to get a sandwich and another man who was reading the paper started talking to me. I couldn't believe how friendly everyone was to me. They didn't even know me."

In just a few days, Stepek bought a house in the small town he fell in love with and he and his family settled in.

In Poland, home was the family farm, and Stepek said he and his wife had little affection for Chicago or New York City.

"You have to push your way through the people," he said of his brief stay in Chicago. "My wife, she hated it."

Stepek said neither his wife, Maria, nor his four children speak English. But he spent 20 years here working for Chrysler Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio before he returned to Poland 15 years ago.

So why did he return?

"I want all my children to go to school here. I tell them if they want to go back to Poland, they can after they finish school," he said.

Within a week of their arrival in Scott City, the Stepeks moved into a new house on Amber Street. The mailbox already displays their name.

"We just went for a ride and we found this house," he said. "My kids really liked it, so we bought it."

Stepek, who is retired, said the family visited Scott City schools last week and talked to Superintendent Bob Brison.

"He's a real nice guy," Stepek said, describing how Brison showed his children around the school and asked them if they liked to play sports.

"He asked them if they liked football or basketball. They just looked at him because they didn't understand him, until he showed them a ball and described the game. Then they understood what he was saying, and they said they liked it."

Stepek said his children tend to be shy, but he thinks that will change. "They are only shy because they can't speak English," he added.

Alina is 16, Maugovzata, who will be called Margaret, is 14, Eva is 14 and Adam is 10. The two middle girls are 11 months apart, Stepek said.

Stepek credits his neighbors for making his first weeks in Scott City so enjoyable.

Stepek and his wife proudly display the gifts their neighbors gave them as a welcome to the town. Flowers, a plant, a cake and a card are just some of the things they're quick to show visitors.

Stepek said his neighbors also have helped him shop for furniture and food and are helping his children learn to speak English.

Norman Brooks, who teaches at Schultz School in Cape Girardeau and lives next door to the Stepeks, comes by each day to help the children with the language, Stepek said.

"I don't know how I'll ever repay him for that," he said, "And he doesn't want anything. People were never this friendly before, even in Cleveland."

Stepek said his children already have learned to "adapt" to American food.

"They like French fries and potato chips, and they like to drink Coke. They don't drink water or coffee like they did in Poland. Now all they want is Coke."

He said his children think Americans "talk fast."

He said the first couple of days in America were hard, mostly because they had to go through customs and didn't know where they would end up living.

Stepek said it also was difficult to leave family and friends behind in Poland. But the longing for a better life for his children was a powerful one.

"I think we're going to be really happy," he said.