-
Period: to
Immigrant Life
-
Coming on the Ships
This is what most expirenced when traveling to Ellis IslandBecause my family could barely afford a ticket for me, there was no chance to get into first class or even second. I was stuck on steerage. Before even getting on the ship I was searched and examined medically. Getting on the ship and walking down to steerage, i had expected nothing more than what it was, a crowded, stinky, filthy room, full of people just like me. I had heard that this trip could take more than a month. I prepared for the worst. Luckily, it was a two week trip. I was free. -
Finding a Job
Finding a job wasn’t very hard, after I found out what kind of people they were looking for. Women were not the ideal worker for the better paying jobs, so what did I do? I cut my hair, spoke with a deeper voice, wore loose clothes, and immediately found a job as a rough neck. Helping build skyscrapers wasn't the first job that came to mind when I thought of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life but I'd settle. No one could tell the difference from me and the other rough necks. -
Caught!
I had been workinrg on the skyscrapers for more than a year and no one had found out. Until now. One of the men that worked with me somehow found out about my secret. I'd been caught. He started to act weird around me and I later found out that he knew. it was over. To my surprise, the boss still accepted me as a woman worker. I no longer had to hide. Because I was not hiding and people could see me as a woman, I found a man, the man that i would later marry. -
Gone.
More about roughnecksWe had been working as rough necks for a long period of time until something tragic happened. One day, there was a strong wind while we were working. It was not safe, and throughout the day about 5 people fell to their death. Close to the end of the day, my husband was walking across a beam and the wind picked up. He lost his balance and I was sure he was going to fall. Luckily he caught himself on his knees. He looked to me and just as he did, his knee slipped. He was gone. -
Death
My life coud not go on this way, me grieving for the loss of my husband. I had to let go some time. BUt it was only a month since the incident and I could not forget. Every detail was still so graphic in my mind. Everything was engraved into it and it didnt look like that was going to go away any time soon. My life was so empty, I had nothing to live for. What else could i do? Still working as a rough neck, I was on deathly heights daily. One day, I jumped. My life flashed before my eyes. Gone.
