IOWA’S HOT TOPICS

IOWA TIMES Iowa Today and Tomorrow - Since 1802

Orphans were often seen in cities like New York and Boston. Most of the orphans were very disappointed and very upset. Some of them had parents who could not afford to take care of them, but most of them had no parents at all. Reverend Brace started the orphan trains because he felt bad for the orphans he saw on the street. This gave these children an opportunity to have a home. The Orphan Trains were trains that helped homeless kids. Orphans were mostly adopted by farmers in the west.

By: Erik

IOWA’S HOT TOPICS CHRIS’ WORD

IOWA TIMES

Iowa Today and Tomorrow - Since 1802

The orphan trains were a good idea because they helped children who were homeless and living on the street who couldn’t provide food for themselves by moving them to families in the West. These new families were willing to adopt them and treated them like they were their own children. The families would also provide food and a place to sleep. The trains were created because there were so many children living on the streets that it became a problem. Also this program had Placing Agents who took care of the children while on the trains. One more reason why the Orphan Trains were a good idea was the fact that the Placing Agents also checked on the kids yearly to see if they were being treated right. If they weren’t being treated fairly, the agent would find a new family for the child to go live with. This is Chris’s Word.

DEAR Brittany

IOWA TIMES Iowa Today and Tomorrow - Since 1802

Dear Anne: Sorry to hear about your problem with your new family. I am so glad that you went to the Iowa newspaper to discuss your problem. This was a smart decision. As you know readers, the Orphan Trains have been working on placing homeless children, orphans, or very poor children into better communities in the West and better families. Hopefully, the families will love and take care of the child just like their mother or father would. In a few cases there have been families that were not the perfect fit for that individual child. This, reader, is the case with Anne. Anne’s family was not the best fit for her, but that does not mean that the Orphan Train was a bad idea. Personally, I think that the orphan train was a great idea to help the cause of homeless kids or orphans. In fact, there have been a governor, a sheriff, an attorney, and many more successful people who rode the Orphan Trains. Ok, back to Anne’s story. Anne’s letter that she sent to me contains information that proved that Anne was misplaced. Anne’s adopted parents treated her like a hired worker, not as a child. Anne has suffered this cruel behavior long enough. It was time for me, Brittany, to take action. I went over to Anne’s house and I found that this was true. The family was treating Anne like a servant not as a child. I took Anne and we went back to the orphan train and I put Anne up for adoption again. What do you know, a day later Anne found a new home with the Robinsons. A nice, fun loving family that cares about Anne’s feelings and values her opinion. A week later, I paid a little visit to the Robinsons and Anne was having the time of her life. All that came out of her mouth were compliments about her new family. I am happy to report that Anne, like many other riders, has had a great experience with the Orphan Train. Although Anne didn’t get a perfect fit at first, time paid off. Waiting was the key to Anne’s perfect family. Best regards, Brittany

Dear Brittany, Sorry to bother you. My name is Anne. I was a rider on the Orphan Train. I heard that you, Brittany, specialize in helping to solve the orphan train problems. It was very scary for me riding to my new family’s house. They were very harsh. They are treating me like a slave or a hired servant instead of a child. I would rather be living on the streets then living with my new family, the Commoners. Also, their son Harry was the worst to me. Please help me, Brittany. Rescue me from this inconsiderate family. I am not happy. I also wanted to take this time to thank you for putting your future efforts into stopping this criminal behavior.

Sincerely, Anne

IOWA TIMES

- Since 1802

In this part of the paper we will be interviewing an orphan and finding out what hereexperience was like on the Orphan Train and how she felt when she separated from her family

1. How did you feel leaving your parents? At first I had no idea what was going on, but when I realized I was leaving I screamed.2. How was your experience on the Orphan Train? My experience on the Orphan Train showed me that there were tons of orphans in New York.3. Were you separated from any brothers or sisters? Yes, I was separated from my sister. It was a very sad moment.4. Did you miss your parents? Yes, I missed my parents. I did not understand why they put me on the Orphan Train. 5. How did you feel when you were looking at the children on the platform? I felt really nervous seeing all those kids on the platform.6. Were your new parents nice to you? Yes, they were very nice. They provided me with good food, clothes, and a bath. Also, enough sleep.7. Were there any other kids in the house? There were 5 kids in the house. They are like my family. They are really nice.8. Did you get along with your new family? I did get along with my new family, but I still do not understand why my parents would put my sister and me on the Orphan Trains.9. Which life do you like better? The life when you had your family together or now when you are with the people who adopted you, and

you joined their family? I miss the life before, but now I have a new life. This is a better life.10. Was this the life you wanted? Yes, this is the life I wanted, with plenty of food, clothes, enough sleep, and baths.

Face to Face with Maryann and Sally

RESOURCES PAGE

1. http://www.kancoll.org/articles/orphans/or_hist.htm

2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/orphan/

3. http://www.orphantraindepot.com/

4. http://www.iagenweb.org/iaorphans/

5. http://www.kids-learn.org/orphantrain/history.htm

6. http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2007-11/Orphan_Train.html

7. http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/about/history/orphantrain

8. http://www.42explore2.com/orphan.htm

9. http://www.the-inn.org/home.html

10. http://www.nyfoundling.org/