Arriving at Ellis Island
A New Life in America
"These humongous skyscrapers -- it was just like something out of a movie."
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"When we got off the ship at Ellis Island, [it was] just a big open area. We had to wait, and we were processed through and given coffee or milk. There were red-cross people hovering around trying to make people comfortable.
I remember the first time I’d ever had a donut. I remember the donuts. We were given a kind of a little rectangular box with a big red-cross insignia on it, and inside was some stuff that the school kids in the United States prepared for--immigrants coming in. Mine had a white wash cloth, a small tube of Colgate toothpaste, a toothbrush. [It was] the first time I’d ever seen a toothbrush, and a roll of five flavored life savers. That was inside my red-cross box."
