Most citizens of the United States don’t talk like Wheeling resident Logen Kanngiesser.
He says things like, “America is the land of opportunity,” and “This is the greatest country of the world,” and “America is about having real freedom as a person.”
Freedom? Hmm.
“I know a lot of people take it for granted,” the Canadian-born, 38-year-old said yesterday, just a few hours after he was sworn in as a new citizen of the United States. “Canada is OK, but living in America is a better life for sure for a lot of reasons.”
That’s why he, his wife, Crissy Clutter Kanngiesser, and their daughter, Sophia, traveled to Pittsburgh yesterday, and his bride stated on Facebook, “Watching him take the oath was such an incredible moment.”
“It was a big day for me and my family,” Kanngiesser gushed. “I’m really excited about it. I’m really excited to be an American.
“The process in itself wasn’t difficult, but it takes time because they want to make sure you’re going to be a benefit to America. They want to make sure you’re going to make America a better place,” he explained. “So, when I first came to the country, it was in 2011, and I came down to the U.S. on a work visa as a specialist in the oil and gas industries. Gas and oil was booming in America at that time so I started in North Dakota, but then I got transferred over to Ohio. I was in this area for about two-and-a-half years before I met my wife, Crissy, and then we dated from 2014 until 2017 when we got married.”
When Kanngiesser first crossed the border, he did so legally via a work visa that needed to be renewed every two years.
“That part of the process took about a few years before I got my Green Card, and the Green Card allowed me to live and work in America for as long as I wanted, but I continued the (naturalization) process because it was important to me to become an American citizen,” he explained. “We had to wait for five years before I could move forward, but we waited six because life got busy with my daughter, Sophia.
“But then I applied to become an American citizen and did everything I needed to so I could get to (Tuesday),” Kanngiesser said. “It’s been very important to me, so I didn’t feel any part of the process was too much. It was all worth it.”
Testing 1-2-3 …
Crissy Clutter Kanngiesser is as American as a person can be, having worked in the media industry for two decades before becoming a wife, a mother, and a member of several boards for charitable organizations in the Wheeling area.
Crissy has reported in the Pittsburgh and Charleston, W.Va. areas, but it’s her work for both Wheeling-market TV stations that has provided the celebrity she lives with – and mostly enjoys – every day.
But the U.S. Government still had to make sure her wedlock was a real-deal husband-wife union and not a sham-scam for Logen’s citizenry.
“Oh, they interviewed us, and they did that part separately,” Kanngiesser said. “During the Green Card, they asked things like ‘How many TVs do you have in your house?’ And ‘What’s in this room in your house?’ They really had to make sure our marriage wasn’t fake because, I guess, people have been paid to get married so someone gets their Green Card. And hey, I get why they’ve cracked down. I was fine with it.
“Once you get your citizenship, you can sponsor your family to come to America, so it’s a pretty big deal to do this all the right way. People have abused that in the past, so they are making sure everyone is legitimate,” he said. “I’m glad I experienced the process because it helped me learn a lot more about the country because there was a test, too.”
There was a written test, too, and the questions went far beyond the ABCs and 1-2-3s of North America.
“There are 100 questions you have to know, and they’ll pick 10 of the questions for you to answer, and some of the questions are tough and some are easier,” Kanngiesser explained. “One of the questions was about the authors of The Federalist Papers and there were questions about the President. I also talked to my friends and asked them questions about America, and there were some of them they didn’t even know.
“I think I may have been asked some of the harder questions, and that’s OK with me because I put the work in. I studied pretty hard, and I took pride in it,” he said. “And it was interesting, too. There are lot of stories about what the (founding fathers) went through to make this country free.”
The American Dream
For Logen Kanngieser, it’s this simple.
“Becoming an American is one of the three biggest moments of my life. It’s after marrying my wife and when my daughter was born. My citizenship is a really big deal for me and my family.”
And he means it, he really does, and when Kanngiesser explains it, he reveals his genuine sincerity.
“That’s because it’s a dream come true. It really is.”
Not only is he an employee of EOG Resources, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company based in Houston, Texas, but the Kanngiessers also own and operate a service company called Rough Diamond Energy.
“Our own company employs eight people in the Upper Ohio Valley, and we maintain oil and gas wells for multiple operators from EOG to Range (Resources) to CNX,” he explained. “Some of the wells are older, so we keep them operating until they need to be replaced, and that’s really a very important service for these companies.
“This country has given me the opportunity to start that company with my best friend and godfather to my daughter, and our employees can provide for their families, too,” Kanngiesser said. “America gave me that opportunity because it’s much more conducive here to start and own a business than Canada is. So, now I am working both jobs so hopefully, I can spend more time with my family in the future.”
But wait. What about his folks? His mother? His father? His siblings? They’re all, well, Canucks, and they still reside in The Great White North. Are they upset? Is he now known as a traitor?
“My entire family is ecstatic for me, Crissy, and Sophia,” Kanngiesser revealed. “My parents and my brothers called me (Tuesday) and congratulated me because they know how long I had been working on my citizenship. And I have a lot of friends who want to leave Canada. Without getting too political, I will say that the economy and politics … it’s way worse there than it is here.
“It’s really free here in America, and it really is the land of opportunity. I know I surprise my friends here when I say those things because it sounds corny to them, but it’s so true,” he added. “It was exciting for me to take the oath, and I’m now a very proud American.”
