America. I don’t want to see my mother. I want to
stay here. I want to stay here!’”
“I was put on a boat, with this tag around my
neck, with my name on it. I remember this lady
with a first class ticket who was supposed to take
care of me. I quickly learned she had taken MY
first class ticket. I suddenly found myself all
alone. I was eight years old and had to fend for
myself. There were supposed to be designated
people to care for unattended children on these
trips. But, I never saw that lady again, and had
no one officially looking out for me. However, I
do remember the Captain being nice to me. “He
used to take me in his room and give me raisins
and hard-boiled eggs, which I loved.”
(Story note - the lady taking Luba’s 1st class ticket
may have changed how Luba would enter America. On the bigger cruise lines; passengers in 1st or
2nd class were exposed to a “cursory” inspection
on the ship. Officials believed that if the passenger
could afford 1st or 2nd class, they were probably
healthy enough and would not become a “public
charge” in America. However, if they were found
with illness or legal problems, they were sent off
the ship to Ellis Island.)
“So, anyway, I was put on this ship and I really
don’t remember where I slept, it was the funniest
thing. But I remember playing with these kids
up and down the stairwells. Once, I nearly flew off
the ship because I fell and rolled to the edge of the
deck. I was saved because I hit one of the rails.
At eight years of age, it all seemed like a lot of fun.
In retrospect, it was exceedingly dangerous. I was
lucky I ever arrived in America!”
“To make things worse, I got chicken pox on the
voyage! So, they had to let me off in London and
put me in a hospital for a week. I remember being
in a room with two English kids and every time
the nurse left the room, the three of us jumped
out of our beds and ran around the room. We
communicated in our own ‘private language,’ with
me speaking only Polish.”
“When I was well, they put me on another ship
and finally, we pulled into New York harbor, and
Ellis Island. Ellis Island was run by the Federal
Government and everyone that came into New
York from anywhere
in the world, was
examined by a doctor
and had their papers
thoroughly reviewed.
I don’t think it
took days, maybe
just hours, because
the Captain actually took me to my
mother at the dock.
I remember I wasn’t
frightened during the
process but noticed
that some people
obviously were. Some
were very old or very
sick, and that meant
families were going
to being separated. It
was very traumatic
sometimes. If anybody were ill or had conjunctivitis they would hold
them at Ellis Island until they got well. Or, if they
were severely ill with something really serious, the
families would be separated and the sick would
be sent back. Only the healthy would be allowed
entry.”
(Story note: Having been put off in England could
have been a blessing for Luba. If she had arrived
in America while sick, her entry process could
have been different. Could she have been detained
on the Island? Many ill immigrants actually died
there. Many were separated from their families
because of their illness or were either sent back.)
“After being processed on the Island, I remember
the Captain taking me by the hand and taking me
on the dock and handing me over to these people
who had come to New York…my mother, a man
she married – probably my stepfather, and my
two older sisters were there. When the Captain
stood there, holding my hand, introducing me to
the family, he said, ‘How do you know it is your
mother?’ I looked at her and said, ‘Because she
has the same opening between her two front teeth
as I do.’”
(Story note: The process usually took only 3-5
hours. Doctors gave the immigrants a cursory
exam looking for about 6 different things in particular. The ship’s manifests were actually used as
the “entry paperwork.”)
“The next thing I remember is living in this
strange house. I don’t remember the trip from
New York City. We might have driven or taken a
train, I am not sure. My mother had married this
man she met in the factory where she worked.
That was common practice for people who entered
America legally. Since they didn’t know the language, they got jobs in factories like my mother.
She met this man who was working in the factory.
He was a tool and die maker. I think she married him mainly to make a home for her two older
daughters. And, she wanted to make sure she had
a home to bring her third daughter to. I don’t
think she was completely happy until I came to
America. She told me much later that she never
smiled until I arrived. And, I have pictures where
she looks very somber in Detroit.”
“As a legal immigrant, we were expected and
required to go to school. Even my mother, who
came at 30, went to school at night to learn English. She always spoke with a little acce