ELLIS ISLAND, NY—Pausing to imagine the throngs of people who must have arrived with them that day back in 1994, 12-year-old Max Bertrand reportedly spent his visit to Ellis Island this afternoon walking around the same immigrant station his grandparents once toured. “These must be the exact entrance doors that Grandpa and Grandma came through, and the hallway their 10 a.m. group walked through,” said Bertrand, recalling his grandparents’ description of the crowds who shuffled along with maps in hand after they stopped by the information kiosk and visited the model replica of the island. “Wow, these are the same inspection rooms that they stopped in with the park ranger, and this must be the TV with the constantly looping documentary that Grandma mentioned. Right now we’re seeing exactly what she must’ve seen when she came through here 20 years ago.” Bertrand told reporters that while he found the experience moving, he would likely never be able to truly understand how his grandfather felt when he was informed that the gift shop was closed.

Advertisement