One of those 44 was 71-year-old Ingrid Fessenden, who had waited more than five years for the moment, ever since she married her American husband.
Wearing a black dress with brown flowers and a red, white and blue corsage, Fessenden smiled and laughed with the other soon-to-be citizens sitting next to her.
After collecting her citizenship materials and her flag from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Fessenden walked proudly back to her seat and blew a kiss to her husband, Ralph.
What Ingrid and her husband didn't know was that the ceremony was just the start of the festivities. In fact, friend Werner Probst had a day of surprises planned.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Ingrid Fessenden said as she realized the white limousine with the American flag on it waiting outside the courthouse was for her.
First, Probst took the Fessendens to the grizzly bear statue at the University of Montana. Ralph was a professor at the university for 30 years and Probst wanted to honor that.
By the time they arrived at their next stop, the Memorial Rose Garden, both Ralph and Ingrid were overwhelmed. Ingrid grew up in Germany during World War II, and remembers when the American troops came.
“That's when we knew the war was over; that was a huge awakening,” she said.
Ingrid was 7 when the big trucks full of soldiers started rolling into the village where she lived with her aunt and grandparents. She remembers being scared to go up to them, but then they gave her and the other children bubble gum and their first full meal in a long time.
“This is a time where we are hungry, we didn't have food,” Ingrid said. “You did go to bed without food; there was nothing, absolutely nothing.”
That's when her grandmother told her, “If you ever want to live in freedom and you get the chance, go to America.”
So when she arrived at the Memorial Rose Garden, Probst gave her two pink roses, which she placed on the ground beside the memorials honoring the soldiers who gave Ingrid her first taste of America.
The second-to-last stop was the Iron Horse Brew Pub for lunch, where Probst had earlier decorated their table with American flags.
At last, Probst took the Fessendens home - one of Ingrid's favorite places.
Ingrid said she loves living in western Montana because of the natural amenities and the space between people, something she didn't have in Cologne, Germany.
“We have so much property I do not know the neighbors,” she said.
She also likes how Americans treat each other.
“I like Americans. The Germans are always grumpy. ... I am serious,” Ingrid Fessenden said. “How relaxed and friendly Americans are ... and the patriotism. I like this.”
On Friday, Ingrid Fessenden will get her passport and register to vote.
At the mention of voting, her eyes get huge and an excited smile spreads across her face.
“I don't know if my one vote will help, but I will try,” she said.
“I told her, once she has her citizenship, she can complain about politics,” Ralph said laughing.
“I come from the generation where America was ‘wow,' ” Ingrid said. “And when you think about it, America helps all over, all over the world, and I think I'm in the right place.”
Brienna Boydstun is a newsroom intern at the Missoulian. She is a journalism student at the University of Montana.
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