Residents Meet World Leader

Daniel Talbot shaking hands with President Zatlers.

Garden City residents Patrick and Daniel Talbot enjoyed a unique opportunity to meet a world leader this past Sunday. As the leaders were gathering in NY, the newly elected president of Latvia, Valters Zatlers, took time out from his schedule to visit the Latvian Lutheran Church in Yonkers.

Latvia is one of the former Soviet republics. Patrick and Daniel's grandparents emigrated from Latvia after WWII. They taught their daughter the language and customs and she has now passed that down to her sons. They are both bilingual and just visited Latvia for the third time this summer.

A brief service was followed by performances by the children from several Latvian Sunday schools. The children performed ethnic folk dances, sang Latvian songs, and played an ethnic instrument called a "kokle." President Zatlers shook hands, signed autographs and posed for photographs with anyone wishing to do so.