Orphan Train

I wrote the press release below for the Ann Zemke event at Old Main Village. The whole story about the Orphan Trains was so neat, it was really a slam-dunk getting some press for it. KEYC in Mankato ran this segment on her talk. Following is the original press release. Enjoy the show!


The Goodman Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact
Julie Storm-Old Main Village
301 S 5th St.
Mankato, MN, 56001
507-388-4200


Last Stop for the Orphan Train


In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s trains were the best means for cross-country travel and steel tracks spanned the country as America pursued its Manifest Destiny. Most of the riders were off to seek fortune, adventure or to see the country during their trips, but there was a special group of riders who were off to find new homes, new lives and new families.
On April 12, Old Main Village will be hosting Ann Zemke, granddaughter of Marjorie Peterson, who arrived in Mankato via an Orphan Train. She kept a diary for 40 years before writing her autobiography titled, “They Named Me Marjorie.” Ann will tell her grandmother’s story using a quilt she has made in Marjorie’s memory. The event will take place in Old Main Village’s Club Room from 2-4 PM.
Starting around 1850 and ending in 1929 “Orphan Trains” carried children from the overcrowded orphanages, families and streets in the East to welcoming families across the Midwest and Upper Midwest. The Mankato area turned out to be a popular destination for these trains due to a large population of devout Christian farming families.
The trains were the brainchild of Charles Loring Brace, a minister and philanthropist in New York City, who was concerned with the conditions that many children in the city lived in. In 1853, he established the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) to help these youngsters and improve their lot in life.
At the time New York City was inundated with homeless children born to parents too poor or unfit to properly care for them. In 1854, an estimated 34,000 homeless children roamed the streets of the city, often engaging in criminal activity to support themselves.
While orphanages did exist, Mr. Brace felt they were insufficient in providing the children the tools they would need to escape poverty, and only deepened their dependence on handouts and charity. He believed the only way these children would succeed in life was by providing training and education so they could care for themselves.
Finally he began running the Orphan Trains in order to place children into farm families. The children would be placed on a regular passenger train car in NYC in groups of 3-35 and posters and newspaper advertisements would notify locals at stops where and when the children would arrive and be displayed. Often they stood atop crates and boxes for improved viewing, hence the term “up for adoption.”
By 1929, when the last train rode west, approximately 150,000 children had been resettled. The results were largely positive, with the CAS estimating that 87% of children did well in their new homes and most agreed that no matter what they were better off in foster care with food, clothes, shelter and healthcare, then running amok in the streets.
Ann Zemke will be available for interviews following her presentation. The public is invited, but space is limited. Please RSVP to 507-388-4200.