News Release
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Author Donna Nordmark Avilas Talks about the Orphan Train Movement November 3 at Wilmington University
Grandfather's and uncle's recorded their childhood experiences of being relocated by train to find foster homes in the Mid-West.
Wilmington University will host local author Donna Nordmark Avilas on Tuesday, November 3, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Doberstein Admission Center Auditorium, as she presents the very personal story of her own grandfather and uncles who, as young, orphaned children, were relocated by train to live and work on mid-western farms in the late 1800's - early 1900's.
This event is free and the public is welcome to attend. Students and alumni are also welcome. No pre-registration is required and the University provides plenty of free parking.
Known as "orphan trains," Dr. Charles Loring Brace, founder of The Children’s Aid Society, saw them as a very real way to help homeless and neglected children in New York City find homes and purpose with accepting families in the American West. Dr. Brace organized the trains as a way to save an estimated 30,000 homeless and neglected children in New York City by sending them to families who agreed to take them in as extra hands to work on their farms.
Avilas' presentation reflects upon the tapes her father recorded of her grandfather’s voice, sharing the experiences he and his brothers shared as children who survived the city and relocation on an orphan train. The Orphan Train Movement lasted from 1853 into the early 1900’s. The children who rode the trains ranged in age from about 6 to 18 and shared a common grim existence. More than 12,000 children were placed in homes and on farms where some fared better than others. What was then considered an ambitious, unusual and controversial social experiment is recognized today as the beginning of the foster care concept in the United States.
For more information about this event, contact Lori Sitler via email at lorraine.r.sitler@wilmu.com or call (302) 356-6765. For more information about the Orphan Train Movement, go to http://orphantraindepot.org or the Children's Aid Society.org
About Wilmington University
Wilmington University is a private, nonprofit institution committed to providing flexible, career-oriented, traditional and online associate, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs. Ranked as the third fastest growing doctoral institution in America 2003 – 2013 by The Almanac of The Chronicle of Higher Education, affordable tuition, academic excellence and individualized attention are hallmarks of the University that enable greater student success in their chosen careers. For more information, contact Wilmington University at 302-356-INFO (4636), via email at infocenter@wilmu.edu, or visit our website: www.wilmu.edu.
