On Sunday, July 19, 1992, a very special gathering took place. People from many states and the greater New York area drove onto the grounds of the Crystal Run School in Pomona, New York for an alumni gathering that was the culmination of a labor of love. Haya Khoury, a New York City corporate lawyer and a Happy Valley School alumni had arranged the affair with the help of countless others so that a fitting goodbye could be said to a special place in time, the Happy Valley of our youth. In three months workers would be shaping the grounds into a new golf course.
As each car rode onto the ground, cries of recognition would go up and embraces and jokes revived long ago memories of the way we were. The transformation from homeless and neglected children had been complete. Now bankers, carpenters, designers, teachers, laborers, photographers, builders, postal workers and a lawyer talked animatedly about the days they shared as children. They gazed into each other's eyes searchingly for the child they remembered. Some had held up well to the years while others showed on their faces the struggle it took to be where they were today. All accepted each other with spontaneity and generosity. The Ashcrofts, Carneys, Khourys, Greys, Grippers, Rileys, Reineckes, Wenzes, Towles and Fiorelli and many others found warmth, nostalgia and joy in the company of each other.
We can never know how difficult it was to be an abandoned and neglected child in the the late 19th or early 20th Century. A close-knit family suddenly splintered by the death of a breadwinner, a loss of a job, addiction to alcohol, medical problems, imprisonment of a spouse or eviction from a tenement caused severe dislocation and nowhere to turn, as social safety nets were non-existent.
Today in fifteen states across America, Orphan Train Riders and their families meet and hold three day gatherings recalling those days of their youth. They held fast to the promise of America: that anyone can rise above his harsh and humble beginnings to become all he can, if he is willing to work hard enough to reach his dreams. The search for roots is universal. I hope my two books will aid others in putting branches on the family tree.