Palestinian Immigrant Gertrude Liebman

"Gertrude would save the apricot pits because she had heard if she rubbed them she could make chewing gum.  Disappointed that her experiment failed, she buried the pits in the backyard.  It was long before an apricot tree grew there." (Gertrude Liebman)

Apricot tree branch courtesy https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-dried-apricot.html.

Gertrude Liebman was born in Montefiore outside of the old city of Jerusalem.  Her father, not wanting to be drafted into the army during the First World War, hid in an attic for two months, then immigrated to America.  Gertrude's strongest memory of her father was at a seder, after which they read the Hagadah and sang all of the Passover songs.  Her father showered the young five year old with compliments.

Gertrude's mother had to eke out a living for her four children during the next three years.  She was very resourceful.  Gertrude's mother baked bread which she sold in the neighbouring Arab village.  Soldiers who deserted the army would stop at their house for a short stay.  They would leave their army blankets which Gertrude's mother would make into coats and sell them.  Gertrude's mother woul dpick apricots from neighbourhood trees and make jam.  Gertrude would save the apricot pits because she had heard if she rubbed them she could make chewing gum.  Disappointed that her experiment failed, she buried the pits in the backyard.  It was long before an apricot tree grew there.

The family wanted to join their father in America and planned their trip.  The first thing they packed was their periner (featherbed) which came in handy later on when there were no berths available on the ship that took them across the Mediterranean.  They sailed to America aboard the Ryndam which departed from Cherbourg, France.  They were detained at Ellis Island; authorities suspected that Gertrude's older brother had trachoma.  

They settled in an apartment in Manhattan where Gertrude had to get to know her father all over again.  In the three years he had been in the United States, he had become Americanized.  He taught himself how to read and write English.  He found a job as a chicken slaughterer.  Gertrude found a new school on Lexington Avenue.  Their new life had begun.

Manhattan circa 1920's courtesy http://www.archdaily.com/783927/how-the-metlife-building-redefined-midtown-manhattan.

Scottish Immigrant Marge Glasgow

"The nurse was still taking care of me.  She took me outside to sit and see all the boats go by.  I sat there and I wondered, 'Will they let me into the United States, or will they send me back?'  I so much wanted to live here in the United States." (Marge Glasgow)

Motherwell, Scotland circa early 1900's courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/dcarbray/motherwell/.

Marge Glasgow was born and raised in Motherwell, Scotland to a Catholic family.  In her hometown, the Catholics and Protestants were always fighting.  Her father worked as a puddler at the local steel furnace.  On Friday nights, he would head from work straight to the pub.  Several hours later, he would sing as he stumbled down the street to home.  "Of course, my mother was ready to beat him over the head with something," explained Marge.

Marge excelled at Highland dancing for which she received many medals.  By 15, she was already working, but she felt like there were many more opportunities in America.  Marge's neighbour's girls were working at a factory in New Jersey and sending money home to their parents.  Marge thought she could do the same.

In 1922, after much convincing, Marge convince her parents to let her make the trip to America.  The voyage took ten days during which Marge helped a sick mother care for her baby.  Marge was apprehensive when she reached Ellis Island remembering her mother's warnings about how they checked your hair for bugs.  "I remember the Great Hall, and at the desks there with men.  I don't know if they were doctors, judges or what, questioning the people..."

A list of codes and their corresponding medical diseases/issues used at Ellis Island courtesy http://www.federalobserver.com/2011/10/22/immigrants-were-quarantined-at-ellis-island-until-screened-for-good-health-and-morals.

All alone, Marge started to cry hysterically.  An official explained to her that they were simply checking her eyes to determine if she had the disease trachoma.  Marge stayed in the Ellis Island hospital for ten days.  "The nurse was still taking care of me.  She took me outside to sit and see all the boats go by.  I sat there and I wondered, 'Will they let me into the United States, or will they send me back?'  I so much wanted to live here in the United States."

When Marge reached the mainland, she discovered that at 15, she was too young to work in a factory.  She was hired as a domestic for a family in Newark, New Jersey.  Sticking to her promise, she saved up enough money to bring her father and mother over.  Marge married a German electrician.  She owned two successful dress boutiques which put her six children through college.  In 1997, she was 101 years old and living in rural New Jersey.

Dresses circa 1940 courtesy http://vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940s-hats/.