Ellis Island is where over 12 million immigrants arrived between the 1880s and the 1950s. Here they were interviewed & inspected for contagious diseases before a decision was made about whether they could stay in the country. The immigration centre was turned into a museum in the 1980s & it's absolutely fascinating. We could've spent days here. You can listen to the voices of immigrants relating their experiences, look at photographs of what went on here & see artifacts that people brought with them on the long journey from home.
This article shows how a Czech woman & her daughter, arriving to meet her husband who had come before her, was given the 'makeover treatment' by a volunteer & taught how to look like 'an American woman'. I couldn't help wondering about the Swiss children who suddenly got a new muff & a tasty tea after the disappearance of Fluffy & his friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment