The Last Orphan Trains

Aug 17, 1999 - © Meg Greene Malvasi

These children and their stories, some happy, some sad, all extraordinary, have been neglected until recently, much as they were in their early lives. Today, united with historians and writers, the survivors of the orphan trains work to preserve the memory of one of the most remarkable episodes in American history.

Want To Know More? Orphan train sites have flourished in cyberspace. Here is a list of just a few to visit: Orphan Trains of Nebraska, The Iowa Orphan Train Project,Orphan Trains of Kansas, and They Rode The Orphan Trains. For an unusual and interesting interactive experience try the The Orphan Trainorama.

Check Out At Your Library: Orphan Train by James Magnuson and Dorothea G. Petrie, (Grades 3+), Joan Lowery's Orphan Train Adventure Series, (Grade 5+), Trains West by Carole Turner Johnston, (Grade 9+), Searching For Home: Three Families From the Orphan Trains by Martha Nelson Vogt and Christina Vogt (Grade 7+). On video see The Orphan Trains, an excellent PBS "American Experience" documentary, or The Orphan Train (1979) starring Jill Eikenberry and Glenn Close.

Next Week: September marks Suite 101's event "The Beauty of Islam." Join me for an early start as we take a brief look at Arab-Americans and their lives in "Amrika."

Images courtesy of a private collection from Orphan Trains of Nebraska.

The copyright of the article The Last Orphan Trains in History For Children is owned by Meg Greene Malvasi. Permission to republish The Last Orphan Trains in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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