Thanksgiving Message 2015

A few weeks ago, my wife and I treated ourselves to a quick two day trip to New York City. Immersing yourself in the city is always an exciting high energy jolt to the system–and we just love the experience. One of our most interesting adventures was taking a subway for a visit to the Tenement Museum on Delancey Street on the lower East Side of Manhattan.

The Museum offers a number of walking tours all of which examine the period of time from the 1880’s to the 1920’s when hordes of Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants came to the United States to escape persecution and seek a brighter future. This influx of immigrants to New York City, more specifically the Lower East Side, sparked unprecedented demand for supplies and amenities to keep the city’s workforce clothed, fed, and able to survive this strange new land.

We took the Sweat Shop Tour where you get to spend some time in an actual restored tenement house. Five floors with four 300 sq ft apartments per floor. No electricity – no running water – one window. It was the norm that each of these tiny apartments served as the home for a family of five to seven people. As you can see from the photo, the street in front of these tenements was unbelievably crowded and congested. The work week was six days – 10 to 12 hours per day!

It was such a wake up call to actually see these apartments and realize how difficult life was back then. These people were amazingly tough and resilient, and it is only because of their fortitude and strength that many of us are here today.

And so at this Thanksgiving, along with everything else that I am grateful for, I will also be thinking of my ancestors, and giving thanks for all the bounties I have because of the sacrifices they made.