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A girl sails to a hard new life in 1910By ELEANOR RYAN
© St. Petersburg Times, Between 1892 and 1954, 12-million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island. Imagine my elation when I received a certificate from Ellis Island that read, "The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Inc. proudly presents this Official Certificate of Registration in the American Immigrant Wall of Honor to officially certify that Eleanor Alston came to the United States of America from England, joining those courageous men and women who came to this country in search of personal freedom, economic opportunity and a future hope for their families." Eleanor Alston was my mother. I didn't have a mother who read to me. I had a mother who told wonderful stories of kings and queens, bicycle rides on the handlebars of her father's bike, picnics in the country, holidays in Blackpool, England, men called "knockeruppers" with long sticks who rapped on the upstairs bedroom windows every morning in lieu of alarm clocks, the changing of the guard, ringing a bell for the Salvation Army at Christmas, and wearing wooden clogs. I didn't realize for many years that these were not just fairy tales; they were true stories. When she was 10, she left school to work in a cotton mill as a weaver. Every extra penny was saved for the day the family could go to America, where it was said "the streets were paved in gold, where everyone could own their own home, where everyone could get an education whether or not you were "smart.' " In 1910, when she was 14 years old, she and her "Pa" boarded the Ivernia for America, leaving her mother and four siblings in England for another year. "Oh, I was so frightened," she said. "As soon as we boarded the ship, a man tried to grab my arm and pull me away from my pa, but I clung to him and screamed. " "Women and children to the right, gentlemen to the left,' he shouted. "We went down, down, down into the bowels of the ship, where there were hundreds of crying and screaming women and children. It took two weeks to cross the ocean and I knew I would never see my pa again. Nearly everyone was sick and the stench was horrendous. "Finally we arrived and I ran to Pa, but once again we were separated because we had to have shots and examinations to make sure we had no contagious diseases. All I could do was pray to go back to my homeland. "Aunt Agnes, Pa's sister, met us at last, and then we boarded a train for Fall River, Mass., which was an overnight ride. The next morning, Aunt Agnes took me to a mill and they hired me because they knew that the people from Preston, England, were experienced weavers. Pa got a job as a laborer for the gas company. "We were in America, but the work was no easier. We worked 56 hours a week in the mill. It took me a while to realize that the wages and working conditions were much better than back home. It was no less heartbreaking, however, to be away from my mother and brothers and sisters. "Pa and I found a tenement and set up housekeeping. Within a year, the rest of our family arrived. They went to work in the mills, we saved our money and eventually bought our own home." The day after they moved into their home, my grandfather erected a flag pole and ran up two flags: the American flag and the English Union Jack. Without realizing it, he flew the English flag first and the American flag underneath it. Within minutes, the neighbors knocked on the door and chided him. "I meant no harm," he said. "This is my country now." Those flags became his ritual until he died. It had been a hard, emotional struggle, but they never looked back. They never found the golden paved streets, but they found the opportunities they had always heard about. People from all countries brought their talents and customs here, and we blended. Each contributed toward making this the country it is today. God bless America! - Eleanor D. Ryan is a St. Petersburg writer.
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