An inspector turned over my label as if he was delivering a package. "O'Connor, Majestic, huh? The bench for names beginning with O is full at the moment. Sit over there until we tell you to move forward."
I perched on the end of a bench with the children. As we sat there, watching people move past us, I had time to take in the very size of it. I'd never seen a church even half as big as that room--or as high, either. If you looked upward toward the vaulted ceiling, it was like being in a great cathedral. A huge American flag was draped from the balcony, which ran all the way around the hall. A babble of languages surrounded me and rose to echo back from that high ceiling.
Every so often a name was called and someone ahead of us got up, looking around anxiously before shuffling away down the aisle, but the hall never seemed to empty out. Then, by midafternoon, when the children were complaining about being hungry and I could feel the pangs of hunger myself, a buzz of excitement went around the great hall. Figures appeared on the balcony above--men in top hats and finely dressed ladies. They stood there, peering down at us. Was this the afternoon amusement for the New York upper classes--to take the boat to Ellis Island and see what riffraff had landed today? Looking around me, I had to admit that we did rather resemble a zoo. Mothers had babies at their breasts and little ones climbing over them. Men were to be seen scratching themselves. The Majestic crossing had not been pleasant, but at least we had come through with no vermin on us. We could give a prayer of thanks for that.
When quite a large crowd had gathered on the balcony, a voice addressed us through a megaphone. "To all of you newly arrived in our great country, welcome. Willkommen. Benvenuto. I am Edward McSweeney, administrator of Ellis Island, and today we are honored to host our neighbors from New York City. His Honor, the mayor of New York, and other dignitaries from the city, have come across the chilly harbor to perform the official ceremony of dedication of these new buildings. As you may know, the old Ellis Island burned down three years ago. We have now built it up again, bigger, better, and fireproof!"
He waited for applause, not seeming to realize that most of his audience didn't understand a word he was saying. There was polite clapping from the ladies and gentlemen on the balcony.
"I now call upon Mr. Robert Van
Wyck, his Honor, the mayor of New York City--now the second largest city in the world-- to say a few words."
The mayor took over the megaphone. "My dear new Americans," he said. "You have come to a land where all things are possible, all dreams can become reality for those who dare. To those of you who are Irish I say a special Irish welcome. You'll find that many of our most distinguished citizens are Irish like yourselves. Many of our aldermen here in New York City are
Irish to the core. They rose from humble
circumstances like your own through hard work and through the power of politics. The message I give to you--never underestimate the power of the Irish vote. If we stick together and work for the good of the whole, we can accomplish great things.
"To all you new immigrants I say this--work for the good of the whole. Get involved. Exercise your right to vote. This is a wonderful country. A free country. For the first time in your lives, you have the right to choose. You have the right to direct your own future. Make the most of it!"
Some of the foreigners seemed to get the gist of this. They nodded to each other, smiling, then they clapped, although they glanced around nervously in case the police might be watching.
"This is a special day," the mayor continued. "Today I unveil a plaque, officially dedicating this magnificent new building. A special cake has been baked by our wonderful New York Italian community and I understand that you'll all get a slice once I've cut it."
Even the foreigners understood this one. They smiled
I perched on the end of a bench with the children. As we sat there, watching people move past us, I had time to take in the very size of it. I'd never seen a church even half as big as that room--or as high, either. If you looked upward toward the vaulted ceiling, it was like being in a great cathedral. A huge American flag was draped from the balcony, which ran all the way around the hall. A babble of languages surrounded me and rose to echo back from that high ceiling.
Every so often a name was called and someone ahead of us got up, looking around anxiously before shuffling away down the aisle, but the hall never seemed to empty out. Then, by midafternoon, when the children were complaining about being hungry and I could feel the pangs of hunger myself, a buzz of excitement went around the great hall. Figures appeared on the balcony above--men in top hats and finely dressed ladies. They stood there, peering down at us. Was this the afternoon amusement for the New York upper classes--to take the boat to Ellis Island and see what riffraff had landed today? Looking around me, I had to admit that we did rather resemble a zoo. Mothers had babies at their breasts and little ones climbing over them. Men were to be seen scratching themselves. The Majestic crossing had not been pleasant, but at least we had come through with no vermin on us. We could give a prayer of thanks for that.
When quite a large crowd had gathered on the balcony, a voice addressed us through a megaphone. "To all of you newly arrived in our great country, welcome. Willkommen. Benvenuto. I am Edward McSweeney, administrator of Ellis Island, and today we are honored to host our neighbors from New York City. His Honor, the mayor of New York, and other dignitaries from the city, have come across the chilly harbor to perform the official ceremony of dedication of these new buildings. As you may know, the old Ellis Island burned down three years ago. We have now built it up again, bigger, better, and fireproof!"
He waited for applause, not seeming to realize that most of his audience didn't understand a word he was saying. There was polite clapping from the ladies and gentlemen on the balcony.
"I now call upon Mr. Robert Van
Wyck, his Honor, the mayor of New York City--now the second largest city in the world-- to say a few words."
The mayor took over the megaphone. "My dear new Americans," he said. "You have come to a land where all things are possible, all dreams can become reality for those who dare. To those of you who are Irish I say a special Irish welcome. You'll find that many of our most distinguished citizens are Irish like yourselves. Many of our aldermen here in New York City are
Irish to the core. They rose from humble
circumstances like your own through hard work and through the power of politics. The message I give to you--never underestimate the power of the Irish vote. If we stick together and work for the good of the whole, we can accomplish great things.
"To all you new immigrants I say this--work for the good of the whole. Get involved. Exercise your right to vote. This is a wonderful country. A free country. For the first time in your lives, you have the right to choose. You have the right to direct your own future. Make the most of it!"
Some of the foreigners seemed to get the gist of this. They nodded to each other, smiling, then they clapped, although they glanced around nervously in case the police might be watching.
"This is a special day," the mayor continued. "Today I unveil a plaque, officially dedicating this magnificent new building. A special cake has been baked by our wonderful New York Italian community and I understand that you'll all get a slice once I've cut it."
Even the foreigners understood this one. They smiled
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