John Lennon. John James Audubon. John Muir.

A Beatle. A birder. A naturalist.

Despite sharing the same first name, it would seem that these three Johns led distinctly different lives. But besides their forenames, they share something else in common, something that is uniquely American — they all immigrated to the United States from somewhere else, and they followed similar paths toward becoming naturalized citizens.

On Sept. 21, 11 other distinctly different men and women from diverse corners of the globe followed that same path toward naturalization in an unlikely but appropriate setting. Gathered along the shores of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, the idea for which John Muir is credited with forging in America’s consciousness, they denounced “all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty,” and swore to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

“Isn’t it fitting that we are here today in Glacier National Park thinking about an individual who inspired Teddy Roosevelt to the concept of setting aside land for the benefit of the common good?” U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen told the crowd assembled for the naturalization ceremony, the first of its kind to occur within the boundaries of Glacier Park.

Representing seven different countries, the new citizens were sworn in at one of 105 naturalization ceremonies that have taken place on National Park Service land so far in 2016 to mark the federal agency’s centennial anniversary.

“We live in sort of an interesting time,” Christensen said. “You’d have to be living, I think, up on one of these peaks not to know that we are having a robust debate in this country about what it means to be an immigrant and what it means to be a naturalized citizen.”

Robert Looney, regional director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said his agency agreed to try to hold 100 naturalization ceremonies in parks and other NPS sites during the centennial year.

“And we’ve already crossed the threshold,” Looney said. “We’re now at 105, in some of the most beautiful settings anyone can imagine.”

Their new citizenship comes with both benefits and responsibilities, said Eric Smith, deputy superintendent of Glacier Park.

“You are all now part owners of this national park,” Smith said.

Christensen, the chief federal judge for the district of Montana, explained that his great grandfather, Christian Henning Christensen, immigrated to the United States from Denmark, purchasing train fare for “as far west as it would take him.”

When he reached Missoula, he spotted friends from Denmark and decided to stay, even though he was unemployed and had no family there. He found work in the sawmills, as a fireman, an electrician, and, eventually, the division manager of the Montana Power Company.

Christensen’s own wife, Stephanie, became a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony two years ago; Canadian born, she, too, immigrated here.

“I mention this not because I think my family’s history is unique, but I mention it for the exact opposite reason, which is that other than our proud Native American citizens, we all came to the United States from somewhere else,” Christensen said. “Even though we are citizens of the United States, we are also citizens of the world. And it is your diverse life experiences that you bring to us that makes this country, the United States, a better and a stronger one.”

Neil Young. Henry Kissinger. Albert Einstein.

They are among the scores of immigrants who have come to the United States in order to live in freedom, pursue their dreams and take advantage of the opportunities America has to offer while making an impression on the world at large and in their own neighborhoods.

“We are a nation of immigrants,” Christensen said.

In fact, some 30 million immigrants entered the United States between 1870 and 1930, while between the years 1820 and 1930 the United States absorbed about 60 percent of the world’s immigrants.

Fast forward to 2014, when a total of 653,416 persons became naturalized citizens in this country, with the leading countries of birth listed as Mexico, India, the Philippines, and the People’s Republic of China.

“There are 11 of you here that will mark whatever the record will be in the year 2016,” Christensen said. “You can make an Einstein-like contribution to your community and your state. You all have so much to offer and I hope that you will give us what you have in terms of your life experiences and your wisdom and your knowledge. You are now part of the great and diverse American family.”

And with that, 11 new Americans exchanged hugs, smiles and tears among family members and friends before embarking on a Red Bus tour of the park, clutching their certificates of naturalization, as well as another American privelege — among the items presented to the new citizens were voter registration cards.

“Isn’t it exciting,” Christensen said, “that your becoming a citizen coincides with the great American pastime of voting in a presidential election every four years?”

One Park, One Family

Sandrine Tochem and her fiancé, Samuel Redfern, both gained their citizenship to the United States within the peak-studded boundary of Glacier National Park, albeit under disparate circumstances, and on days that fell nearly 40 years apart. READ MORE

A Citizen For Life, Finally 

Daye-Llyn Dalles Randle spent nearly 70 proud years believing he was a citizen of the United States. Until the day he learned he wasn’t. READ MORE

From Belarus to the Big Sky

Olga Mikhailovna Bobko grew up in Missoula. She attended public school there, completed a semester at the University of Montana and has spent the last three years working as an assistant at a law office. READ MORE

An American in Her Heart

Maria Cristina Tomlin realized she wanted to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in an airport security line. As her fellow passengers handed over their passports to the security guard, she looked down at hers and noticed something different: it was green. READ MORE