Recently a class of third grade students from PS 134 in New York City visited Ellis Island. They came to attend a reading of “An Ellis Island Christmas” by author Dr. Maxinne Rhea Leighton.
On August 9th and 10th, 2023, Save Ellis Island welcomed students from the Stephen T. Mather Building Arts & Craftsmanship High School for a preservation project on the south side of Ellis Island – the Ellis Island Hospital Complex.
“My grandfather’s American Dream was shattered…I cannot imagine how he felt.” – Margaret (Maggi) Sellers
Author Tom Bernardin was a former National Park Service ranger at pre-restoration Ellis Island. During his three seasons there, he had the privilege of giving countless tours of the crumbling immigration facility.
Save Ellis Island would like to thank the staff at BrightView Landscapes for generously donating their time to clean up the lawns on the south side of Ellis Island.
As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, we are reminded that the Irish American story spans hundreds of years of immigration. The first cause of Irish influx to America was the Industrial Revolution. From the 1760s farmers and laborers lost their livelihoods and Europe became more industrialized. The period of the Great Hunger in Ireland from 1845 to 1850 is the most well-known period of mass immigration from Ireland when more than a million fled to the United States. Immigration continued through the 1900s with the Irish in search of a better life during periods of hardship. It’s of little surprise that today 39.6 million Americans claim Irish ancestry.