30 July 2022 - ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRANT HOSPITAL - NEW JERSEY

 

 ELLIS ISLAND 

IMMIGRANT HOSPITAL 

- NEW JERSEY -

G'day folks,

Now abandoned, the first public health hospital in the U.S. saw more than one million immigrants from around the world. 

The first public health hospital in the United States exists as a haunting shadow of its former self. Paint peels from the walls, and a floor trod upon by more than one million immigrants lies buried beneath grime and debris.

The Ellis Island Immigrant hospital is built on two human-made islands constructed from leftover land excavated for the Lexington Avenue subway line. The islands have since been connected, but were originally separated by a ferry basin because of a belief that germs couldn’t travel across a body of water.

 

One island held the general hospital, which consisted of four operating rooms, a womens’ ward, a pediatric ward, a maternity ward, and a psychiatric ward. The general hospital also held a state-of-the-art laundry room equipped to process thousands of pieces of clothes a day.

The other island held the contagious disease hospital, built in a pavilion style proposed by Red Cross inspiration Florence Nightingale, which meant patients with different diseases were kept in separate wards. Small standing rooms connected to many of the quarantined wards let nurses and doctors examine patients without actually entering their rooms.

The hospital was a bleak place for some of the immigrants who arrived there, as variety of diseases or perceived deficiencies meant deportation. If a child was found to have favus, a fungal disease of the scalp, they were either outright deported or required to spend at least a year in the hospital undergoing treatment most immigrant families couldn’t afford. Children were often abandoned, or families split up so they could be accompanied home by a parent. This could be the last time siblings or spouses saw each other, as family members were often sent back to home countries in turmoil.

On the other hand, many people found the fresh start they were looking for on Ellis Island. More than 10,000 patients from 75 different countries were treated over the course of a single year at the hospital. Red Cross volunteers visited with a focus on making the place more comfortable and enjoyable for the immigrant children. Pregnant, single women were taken care of at maternity wards until they had given birth, and many of the 350 children born at the hospital were named after the doctors and nurses who worked there.

The hospital shut down in 1930 after a slow decline due to tightening immigration restrictions. In 1954, the islands were officially abandoned by the Coast Guard and declared “excess federal property.” Today, limited tours are available through government partner Save Ellis Island.

In 2014, French artist JR took centuries-old photographs of immigrants at Ellis Island and pasted them to certain walls and windows of the hospital. The photos are a haunting reminder of the people that passed through the island years ago.

 

24 January 2017 - 'BOLD JOURNEY' - NEW RELEASE - CLANCY TUCKER

'BOLD JOURNEY'

- NEW RELEASE -

G'day folks,

Time to release my next book - BOLD JOURNEY. So, what's it about you may ask. It's a story based on my experience and knowledge of migrants who made the ultimate sacrifice. Yep, those who left their country to start a new life in Australia. Many have done exactly that, and so many have been successful in many different ways - business, politics, sport, medicine, farming etc.

ORIGINS OF THIS STORY

For many years I worked with migrants, and I was always impressed by their work ethic and love of family life. Working with them also inspired me to travel the world, to see exactly where they came from. Well, I certainly did that - many times over, and I'm still travelling. This story is about an Italian family, but it could well have been about a Greek family, or countless other nationalities that have made Australia their home.

HERE IS THE BLURB:

 When Severino Agnelli and his family migrate to Australia from Italy in 1954, his son, ‘Fozzie’, meets a beautiful girl, ‘Cat’ Ginelli, on the ship, and they become friends. The Agnelli and Ginelli families love Australia, work hard and forge friendships. Cat becomes a nurse and Fozzie a journalist, but tragedy strikes when Fozzie’s brother is killed in the Vietnam War, and Fozzie spirals into depression when his dad dies. Cat pleads with him to write the book he’s wanted to write – ‘Bold Journey’.

Fozzie flies to London, writes his book, and travels to Italy where he sees Cat interviewed on television, working as a nurse during a famine in Ethiopia. Inspired by Cat, Fozzie heads to Ethiopia to report on the famine, and his passionate reports are syndicated worldwide. Cat is unavailable, but Fozzie leaves a crucifix with her colleague; one Cat made for him in 1954. Returning to London to fight for the Ethiopians, he is hospitalised with meningitis, and Cat flies from Italy to keep a secret vigil by his bedside. Fozzie recovers, and Cat leaves London to get on with her life.

Attending an International Awards ceremony, Fozzie is stunned to win an award for Humanitarian Journalism. Minutes later, Cat is awarded an honour for Exceptional Courage. Will Cat accept her award? Will she and Fozzie finally meet up? Who nominated them for their awards?

ISSUES INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:

Families,  migration, Italy, Australia, Ethiopia, the Vietnam War,  bullying, settlement, shipboard life, death, friendships, mateship, loyalty  ... And a touch of romance along the way.
 

A FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK:
 

"My parents stood proudly on the dais as Mr Thompson took control of a situation that I thought had been destroyed by three bullies. One last gift remained. I could see it, and wondered what it was. When the teacher called Cat to the front, I anxiously handed my final gift to her and waited nervously as she unwrapped it. With a broad smile, she slowly unravelled the package to reveal the same papier mache’ kitten I’d spent hours creating. It looked as good as the day I’d wrapped it, and I gawked at Mr Thompson. He winked at me and pointed to Cat. Overwhelmed with her gift, she spontaneously kissed me on the cheek. Then, when she took me by the hand and stood proudly beside me, the dining room cheered. The clapping and cheering finally abated and our wonderful teacher stepped up to the microphone with one final wish for everybody." 

"It was six in the morning, and Rex Monaghan had taken his first telephone call for the day. The senior manager of Tip Top Bakeries had received a call from one of his best workers. With a broad smile on his face, he walked into the large, unusually sombre canteen, grabbed the microphone and made an announcement.

‘Good morning. Today is a great day at Tip Top. Fausto is alive and well. Thank you.’ The employees screamed with joy at his announcement. Rex Monaghan switched the microphone off, waved to his workers and returned to his office to ring his wife with the good news. Although weary from searching all night, he was happy to know that Fausto had been found safe and well. He was also proud that more than fifty of his employees had spent the night searching for Sev’s kid."

"Sergio’s death encouraged me to take more interest in the war in Vietnam, needing to find a logical reason for my brother’s death. I read the newspaper every day, talked to my teachers about the conflict, and spent many hours in our school library, learning all I could about a country called Vietnam. However, the more I read and learnt about the war, the less I found a justifiable reason for my brother being there in the first place, let alone dying there.

That made me angry, and I attended five anti-war marches in Melbourne; known as Moratoriums. My parents had no idea that I had attended the marches. I wagged school, caught a train to Melbourne, and changed my clothes in a toilet at Flinders Street Station. After each march, I changed back into my school uniform and arrived home at the normal time so no one was suspicious.

However, after the second Moratorium, I was called into the principal’s office to explain my absence from school. Ordinarily, you needed a note from your parents for any day of non-attendance. Rather than make up a story and lie, I decided to be brutally honest with the principal, Brother Callan. It worked. Brother Callan was dead against the war, and totally understood why I had attended the biggest anti-war marches in the world, and I clearly recall what he said and did when our meeting had concluded.

The tall Christian Brother shook my hand and hugged me. ‘Take care, Fausto. I’m with you in spirit … And I’m so sorry about Sergio’s death. Just keep me informed,’ he said, and winked at me. I could tell by his eyes that he was passionate about the futility of the Vietnam War; any war."

"Every moment I had, I prayed for Fozzie’s recovery, hoping his wonderful journalism for Ethiopia would be repaid by a forgiving God. Hour after hour I spent by his bed, often falling asleep, but waking at some weird hour to return to the nurse’s home to catch up on sleep. Regular calls to Uncle Angelo in Santorini had provided hope and inspiration. Angelo had always been bright, cheerful and positive, and I recalled my first telephone conversation with him after I’d left Santorini for London. It was a powerful call; Angelo expressing his gratitude for the gold cross and chain I’d left on his pillow. In a short space of time, I came to admire the man and realise why Fozzie had so much respect for him. I also learnt why he loved Fozzie. 

When Fozzie finally regained consciousness, I wanted to walk in and hug him, grateful that he’d survived a dreaded disease. Instead, I resigned my position and became a tourist, visiting all the major tourist spots in London. I needed to get on with my life. So did Fozzie."

Clancy's comment: My last book was about abduction. This book is very different, and many folks will relate to this story. However, it really is a disguised romance. So, if you are keen to be involved with an Italian family who made the ultimate sacrifice, head up to the right-hand side of this page and grab a copy. Bold Journey, like all of my books, comes as a paperback with a matching bookmark, and also as an e-Book.

Grazie tanto ... Auguri

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