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The Journey of Andrew Burke
The orphan trains transported
over 200,000 childrenbetween 1854 and 1929. One of those was
Andrew Burkewho rode from New York to Indiana in 1859 and later
became a drummer boy in the Union Army at the age of 12.He went on to become the second Governor of North Dakota.I chose to tell his story in the form of a narrative poem, using an imaginary voice. Excerpt from the poem: "There we stood in a strange place,our
hands and faces scrubbed,dressed in our best clothesand ready to be reviewed.The farmers crowded
aroundand scrutinized each of us,a few of them even reaching out
to
squeeze a shoulder or arm
in order to see which boys were
sturdy and muscular. I prayed we all
would be amongthe chosen and so it came to pass--no one was left behind that day,none
suffered the ignoble fateof being sent to the next townand perhaps the town after that.Mr.
Butler, who gentle lookallayed my innermost fears,selected me for his family."
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