The one day a week I spend there is a wonderful break from my research work. And the people I get to meet! There was the man who had last been on Ellis in 1949, just before he left for Israel. And there was the woman from South America who was looking for her Armenian ancestors. I was so pleased to be able to help her find records of those relatives and to start her on her way to connect all of those family stories that had been past down over the years. And that was just one afternoon!
There are changes coming to Ellis Island. If everything works out, starting October 1, we will begin offering tours of the South Side. The South Side of the island is where the hospital and contagious disease wards are; these areas will now be open to tourists for the first time in 60 years! This will be a restricted, hard-hat tour and I can't wait for them to start!
I'm also interested to see how much has been cleaned up since I took these pictures last June.
Tour details are still in flux, but I think the following is still true: The key to visiting is that a) your purchase of tickets for the South Side tour is separate from your ticket purchase for the ferry ride that gets you to the island, and b) you need to purchase your ticket for the South Side tour BEFORE you get to the Island. Remember the tour guides are all volunteers; the money raised from ticket sales will go toward refurbishing more buildings on the island.
I still not sure which day of the week I will be giving tours, but I will post it as we get closer. For more details on the tours, keep an eye on the website saveellisisland.org
No comments:
Post a Comment