The remainder of their journey was in some ways more
comfortable as the stowaways began to get acclimated
to the ship. Stephan continued his nightly excursions,
refilling the water flask and scrounging for food. He began
to bring Mary with him and they found their way into the
passengers’ section, discovering the common lavatory.
They were able to attend to their bodily functions as well
as bathe themselves a bit.
As they sailed the final miles, the food supply for the
passengers became so lean that sometimes, the
pickings for Stephan and Mary dwindled to nothing
but discarded crusts of bread they would happen
to find. In the last two days, they had found one egg
which Stephan carefully pierced with the tip of his knife.
He and Mary took turns sucking the raw egg until the
shell was empty.
The Statue of Liberty was the first thing the stowaways
saw as the ship arrived at Ellis Island on the morning of
their thirteenth day on board. Stephan and Mary forgot
their hunger as they stood on the deck, disappearing into
the throng of paying passengers, everyone caught up in
the same excitement as they with tears of joy and hope
viewed the majestic landmark. The two tired and poor
stowaways stood overjoyed amidst the huddled masses,
the wretched refuse of the teeming shores of Austria who
now breathed free as they landed in America on this warm
day in early June of 1909.
Stephan and Mary were free now, but penniless,
on the verge of starvation, and unable to speak or
understand the language. They set out on foot,
heading in the direction of the New Jersey city of
Bayonne, where Stephan’s uncle and aunt, his
father’s siblings, had settled two years earlier.
Stephan hoped that his relatives would help him
if he went to them.
Their priority at the moment was to find
something to eat, for their hunger was ferocious.
Stephan and Mary hoped that they might find
someone who would hire them to do an odd job
in exchange for some food. They walked several
hours before they came upon a small farm with a
vegetable garden that was badly in need of weeding.
The youngsters’ mouths were watering at the very
sight of the rows of early peas, tender young spinach,
asparagus, and the sizeable strawberry patch.
Timidly, they knocked at the door. To their relief,
a plump, elderly woman, her hair in a bun, an apron
covering her dress, opened the door. Stephan and
Mary could smell the aroma of chicken fricassee
wafting out the door. The hungry couple felt faint.
Stephan spoke in Russian, gesturing to explain himself.
He pointed in the direction of the garden, and made
weed pulling motions, then rubbed his belly and
pulled at the loose waistband of his now baggy trousers.
He need say no more. The kindly woman understood
their plight, having had firsthand experience with going
hungry, when as a child she and her family came from
Germany.
She pointed to herself and told them her name was Anna.
Mary introduced herself and Stephan. Anna made them
understand that if they weeded her garden they could
share the meal she was preparing. With renewed vigor,
the youngsters scampered to the garden and pulled
every weed, manually aerating the soil as well.
Anna watched them with tears in her eyes. She would
have fed them even if they hadn’t weeded, though
the property was certainly showing signs of neglect
since her husband had passed suddenly, two months before.
She and her husband, Raymond, had never had children.
Now that he was gone, Anna was alone in the world. She
sensed that it was not by accident that the youngsters
came to her house that day. There was a reason for it.
God had a plan for all things, she was sure of it. She
admired their honesty of working in exchange for food,
their bravery in coming to America for a better life, and
their obvious love for each other. Anna decided that these
youngsters needed a chance, and she would give them that.
In her heart of hearts, Anna knew that she needed them too.
