Ellis Island

Andy is officially finished with school, so as he likes to say "every day is Saturday!". Since we are on a compressed timeline to finish out our time here in the City before the big move to Denver, we immediately wanted to start crossing things of our things-to-do-before-leaving-NY list. First up this morning was Ellis Island. Andy and I have never really done any of the tourist-y things since living in the City. We moved here with the intention of living here as New Yorkers, so from the get-go we fell into step of every day life without consideration of going to places like the empire state building, or statue of liberty, etc, etc.

But we felt differently about Ellis Island. There is so much history rooted in this one place where immigrants from all over the world made their way to freedom and a new life. As well, Judah's middle name was Andy's grandmother's maiden name and her parents immigrated from Poland in 1892 and passed through Ellis Island. We also knew that Gabriel would enjoy the ferry ride over the Ellis Island: bonus.

I have to say that reading through all of the historical data and walking through this place where so many lives were changed (for better and for worse) was sobering. I had no idea what people went through to come to this country for just a glimmer of an opportunity. My own ignorance on this subject was enough to turn my stomach, not to mention the detailed accounts and descriptions of the process that was immigrating to America. 

As we walked through the registry hall and I watched Gabriel run freely with such childlike abandon all I could think was that he wouldn't be here had his great-great grandparents not made it through Ellis Island, for any number of reasons. So many did not survive the voyage, many were turned away for both legitimate but also often bureaucratic reasons, and still others died while being held there. There is an odd presence in the building, so much so that you can almost reach out and touch the heartbreak. There are too many things to list. Preserved graffiti walls where immigration hopefuls wanted to have some account that they were there, in a multitude of languages, pictures of crowded and claustrophobic dormitories and dining halls, the contagious diseases hospital, etc, etc.

There were also triumphant accounts of joy and the reuniting of families that was touching as well, but my overarching assessment of the process is that it was so often fraught with peril. The good news is that, although it was difficult, the majority of families made it through the immigration process and contributed to the make-up of America today. 

On a lighter note, Gabriel did indeed enjoy the ferry ride and running through the halls and rooms of the main building. We had a particularly interesting lunch experience at the on site cafe. Andy and I ordered a kids meals for Gabriel, and then he and I were to split a fish and chips plate. It was a nice day outside and they had tables, so we headed out to enjoy the weather. No sooner had we selected a table, a seagull swooped down and hit me in the head with his wings (I was carrying the food). Alarmed I froze and looked to Andy like a guy on second who has no idea what to do, but he was wearing Judah in the baby bjorn and could not be of much assistance. Gabriel began to freak out and insist that we go back inside. About that time (total elapsed time 5 seconds) the seagull came back at me and I ducked, he made off with an entire piece of fish. Scoundrel!! We promptly gathered our food and headed back inside while the seagull was busy devouring our lunch. Thankfully the kind people working at the cafe gave us another piece of fish and we enjoyed our lunch indoors away from Alfred Hitchcock's buddy.


On the ferry ride over:

Ellis Island:

Registry Hall:

Sleeping arrangements for detainees and money collected from all over the world: