For the Maronite Christian Syrian Lebanese living within Syria as part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s meant and going through cycles of turmoil and peace. This became a background cause for the first wave of Syrian Lebanese immigrants to the United States in the 1880s. These people returned home with stories of new opportunities and occasional wealth that made others interested in coming to the U.S. While some went to the US and returned home, others stayed permanently in the US. Then with the start of World War I in 1914 came the fear of being drafted into the Ottoman Empire’s army and with this came the second wave of Syrian Lebanese immigrants to the United States. These immigrants spread across the United States. Some stayed in urban areas while others ventured into rural areas. Central Aroostook County was fortunate enough that some Syrian Lebanese immigrants arrived in the area during both waves of immigration. With them they brought their food, their traditions, their beliefs, their family values, their hard work and their desire for a better life. They became part of the community through their stores and through becoming part of the local Catholic parishes and their churches. They made sure their children were christened, received communion, and were versed in the sacraments. The Catholic Churches in this area were their only option because the closest Maronite Christian Church is in Waterville. They sent their children to Catholic Schools in the area. Some made the ultimate sacrifice by having their sons fight in World War II. While the first and second generations tended to stay together as an ethnic island, the third generation and their offspring began to marry into families that had other ethnic backgrounds. Marriage is one of the biggest ways for members of an ethnic group to acculturate or become more like the larger culture around them and in the midst, losing some if not all of their ethnic identity. Even though descendants of those original settlers have acculturated, they know the history of those first immigrants, and they have stories to tell of the families and food that gave them an ethnic identity. These things will be discussed in other StoryMaps on the Lebanese Communities in Central Aroostook County.