For a visitor to the small island at the southern tip of Manhattan in New York Bay, the vast hall on Ellis Island that had been the immigrant processing center takes a bit to digest. To fill in the image of hundreds of people teeming around the place--who had been there for hours or days waiting to get past its walls to start a life in the New World--requires a historical imagination. The manicured front yard and polished interior almost strips away a sense of the lively day-to-day messiness of its history. As you dock at the landing, one is struck by complacency, the pacifist atmosphere of the island today.
From 1892 to 1943 this was the main American immigration center. More than 16 million people arriving here from Europe and elsewhere passed through its warehouse-like buildings. Most were poor; all of them wanted a better life for themselves and their children.
But first they had to be officially admitted to America. On the island these people were examined by doctors to be sure they were healthy. They were asked questions about their possessions and about the sponsors about to meet them. A few were sent back, usually because they were ill or had criminal pasts. But for most, the dream came true to begin a new American life.
Today, four out of ten Americans have an ancestor who arrived at Ellis Island. The government stopped using it as its major immigration center in '43. The island had been shut down and left to decay for years until a committee was formed and joined forces to clean it up in order to restore grandeur to this history that shared by millions who went from being the destitute to the endowed. In 1990, Ellis Island opened as a museum of immigration, once again visited by millions. Yet it's hard to get the full impact of the story just by seeing the sterile displays of these shards of history. For one who has had family pass through there, the resonance of shared history inevitably adds to the impact.
A restored Beaux Arts canopy greets visitors in splendor and welcomed the recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor when they arrived for the annual May celebration. These medals are pre sented to a vast array of successful individuals from around the country whose families came here from all over seeking a different life than they had before. These people represent the mosaic that makes up the United States of America.
The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Inc.--with more than five million family members--is the largest organization of its kind in the United States. NECO serves as an umbrella group for over 250 organizations that span the spectrum of ethnic heritage, culture and religion.
NECO annually presents the Ellis Island Medals of Honor to Ethnic Americans from all backgrounds to recognize outstanding professional and patriotic contributions. These portraits document this year's honorees of Irish descent. The medals were conceived to pay tribute to the immigrant experience, remarkable individual achievement, and, above all, the spirit that makes America unique among nations. Sanctioned by the United States Congress, recipi ents are listed in the Congressional Record.
Honorees have included Ronald Reagan, George Bush. Richard Nixon, Waiter Cronkite, Frank Sinatra and Governor George Pataki.
As is written in the commemorative booklet: "The Ellis Island Medals of Honor have been aptly named, for the Island is a symbol of the diversity of our nation's people--a people whose genius, culture, artistry and thought have joined to form a single mosaic of many cultures and ancestral backgrounds. It is from this diversity that the United States is still a beacon of hope for so many, and the greatest democracy the world has ever known. So this day is a celebration of not only the outstanding accomplishments of the medalists, but also an acknowledgement of the spirit, hard work, and values of our ancestors."
Certainly I had a feeling for this experience when I think of my family coming here in 1917. Now as the Island garners populations of tourists visiting throughout the year, this annual celebration heralds the many communities that have established themselves on our shores and made the United States unique. --Brad Balfour
T. Timothy Ryan, Jr.
Managing Editor
J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc.
Stephen J. Dannhauser, Esq
Executive Partnet
Weil, Gotshel & Manges
Robert W. Mahoney
CEO, Diebold, Inc.
Paul F. Cole
Secretary/Treasurer
New York State AFL-CIO
Walter E. Dunn, Jr.
Second Vice President
NYS United Teachers
John D. Feerick
Dean
Fordham Law School
James J. Houlihan
John E. Gallager, Sr.
Chairman & CEO
Arrow International Inc.
Gerald F. Mahoney
Chairman & CEO
Mail-Well, Inc.
