Mark MacNish on his family and the Orphan Train Movement

Mark MacNish, historian, fifth-generation North Fork resident and Executive Director of the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, talks about his family’s direct connection to the Orphan Train Movement and the Children’s Aid Society that moved children from America’s cities to rural areas for adoption and foster care between 1854 and 1929. (WPKN, February 5, 2025)

2 Responses

  1. I wonder whether, your TIDINGS could, would be included in and kept in the records of the National Library of Congress?

    The Orphan Trains, I, for one, knew nothing about but their origins and history so moving, and significant, and his telling of them, and your recording…another sobering piece of the American story. Thank you, Hazel.

  2. There is actually quite a lot written and also documentaries and movies about Orphan Trains but, as Mark mentioned, not so much in the eastern states because the children were transferred to the midwest. Thank you for commenting, Jude.

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About Hazel

Born to German Jewish refugee physicians in Lahore (now Pakistan, then British India) Hazel has lived, studied and worked in many places–India, England, Australia, Israel and the United States. She makes her home in the woods of the eastern end of Long Island, New York where she produces the art of leafages, the radio sounds of Tidings and writes about growing up Jewish in Lahore. Read more about Hazel…

About Leafages

"Credo" statement

Leafages by Hazel Kahan are made from real leaves, vines and tendrils interwoven with calligraphy, decorative pen and ink flourishes and imaginary Latin botanical names. Leafages contain a philosophical or inspirational thought, quotation or verse from sages, poets or religious texts. Some leafages are specially created for an individual, a couple or a family with words or leaves reflecting their personal narrative. They are available on the Leafages shop on Etsy although the supply is low right now, all my energies having been absorbed by the book I’ve been writing. Do come back soon when the shop will be full of new leafage abundance or contact me.