Orphan Train History: August 2010

Sunday, August 8, 2010

MAYA'S AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY

http://www.youtube.com/user/AdopteesHaveAnswers#p/a/f/0/cWTTcNBfaRw

Wow, has it really been a month since I posted on my blog???? I really must do better, but I do have an explanation, I'm happy to say.

First off, please click on the link above to view Maya Berman's AWARD WINNING documentary on the ORPHAN TRAIN MOVEMENT. She did a fantastic job I'm sure you will agree. I am amazed that she is just eleven years old!

Secondly, I am feverishly at work putting together a museum exhibit for the NATIONAL ORPHAN TRAIN COMPLEX in Concordia, Kansas which will feature Oliver Nordmark's audio recordings in four segments: Life in the Children's Village Orphanage in NYC.... Riding the Orphan Train and being chosen from the Opera House stage in Bern, Kansas.... Oliver's decision at age 15 to hop a freight train as it pulled out of town to run away and start a life of his own.... and finally, Life in a Sodhouse on the Kansas prairie.

The museum would like to include this exhibit in time for the yearly National Orphan Train Reunion Celebration which will be held in Concordia the weekend of September 11th. The work is coming along..... I have the audio segments isolated and transferred to separate CDs ..... and I am now working on the documents and artifacts that will complement each segment within the museum display case.

I have also been working on upgrading my display materials for regional Book Festivals in order to attract interested readers to my booth when I attend these events. I have three lined up for the fall, most importantly the Baltimore Book Festival which will be the last weekend in September. I have a brand new, colorful banner that I hope will attract readers attention and am working on some high quality posters as well.

And finally, I have been preparing for my presentation this Thursday at the Shannondell Retirement Community in Valley Forge, PA as well as corresponding with a teacher from the Tidewater area of Virginia who is interested in finding sponsorship for a regional Author Visit to include schools and community organizations - much like my trip to Kansas this past April.

Add to all of that the joys of summer.... vacation getaways, kid's activities, never ending yardwark, home improvement projects ..... well, you get the picture! I promise to do better going forward with more timely posts :)

So......THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKIN' TO IT! As the song goes :)

ORPHAN TRAIN RIDER PROFILE

VERY SPECIAL TWINS

Nellie & Nettie Crook rode an orphan train from NY to central Kansas in 1911 at the age of six. Their mother, who was French Canadian and born in Vermont, married a farmer from New York at the age of 16. Nellie remembered the day in 1910 when she and Nettie, along with their little brother Leon, were taken away. "Mother had Nettie on one knee and me on the other. I said 'Moma, why are you crying?' She said, 'I'm not crying,' and she was trying to smile. But just then the man came with the dray wagon to take us to the orphanage."

In the orphanage, although the children had separate beds, every morning the craetakers would find Nellie in bed with Nettie. They lived there for nine months, never seeing their brother Leon since boys and girls were kept separated.

On September 11, 1911, the girls left Kingston Orphan's Home, leaving Leon behind. They traveled with name tags, a blanket and a brown sack with a sandwich. Their clothes, although too large, were clean. Arriving at the station in Kansas City, Nellie and Nettie were put on stage to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to draw a crowd. Thanks to the kindness of escort Anna Laura Hill, the twin sisters were not separated as most siblings were.

Nellie and Nettie were placed with the Chapin's in Canton Kansas. They had no children of their own and Mr. Chapin was very kind. Mrs. Chapin however was cruel to the girls. When word of their harsh treatment reached the Children's Aid Society, the girls were picked up from school and placed on another train - this time to McPherson - where they lived with an older couple in their 60's who cared for them properly.

Both Nellie and Nettie graduated from college, helping each other by taking turns working while the other completed her studies. They married, raised families and lived into their 90's.

My first profiled rider is my grandfather OLIVER NORDMARK who, along with his younger brother EDWARD, rode the orphan train from the Children's Village Orphanage on Long Island NY to Bern, Kansas in search of a home. The year was 1906 and Oliver was 8 years old - Edward 5. In Bern, they were fortunate to be placed together with Henry Blaur and his wife who lived on a farm a mile out of town. Unfortunately, it was an unsuccessful placement. Having no children of their own, the Blaurs were not prepared for the rigors of raising 2 young boys who always seemed to find ways to get into trouble - throwing eggs at the barn, chasing the hogs with barn slats, etc. After one year, the Children's Aid Society was called to remove the boys and they traveled further west on the train to Mankato, KS where they were lined up on the stage of the Mankatko Opera House and chosen by 2 separate farmers. They would not see one another again until Oliver was nearly 18 and Edward was 15. Find out more by reading my books, available at http://www.orphantrainbook.com/ !

Orphan Train History

Orphan Train Rider

Sunday, August 8, 2010

MAYA'S AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY

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