The Journey to America
As soon as they were able, Beryl and Yoine sent funds for their voyage, and Chaika, two-year-old Betty, and Feige began their journey to America. Anxious to follow her husband, Chaika traveled under her maiden name so that she would not need to wait for the proper passport in her married name. This proved to be problematic while they were en route as she was seen as a whore with an illegitimate child, and they were forced to cross borders illegally and at night to reach their ship's port. Talk:Journey to America
Since they were able to travel with valid steamship tickets, their experience at sea -- while not luxurious -- was better than that of their husbands, who had been cramped in steerage.
Probably the most harrowing part of the journey, however, was at Ellis Island. As a nine-month old, Betty had been badly hurt when a samovar tipped over and scalded her right arm. With a horse and sleigh on a snowy night, Yoine fetched a doctor who, because the family was Jewish, wouldn't touch the child. Instead, he had instructed the aide who had accompanied him what to do and, thus, treated the child. Her arm healed, but she was left with a visible scar that covered her arm to the elbow.
The scar was problematic at Ellis Island, however, where officials determined which immigrants were healthy and therefore eligible to enter the country, and which were not and would return to their country of origin. Feige had made reversible capes for the trio to wear on their journey: navy blue or black on one side and red on the other. Feige, who was pregnant with a child who would die shortly after birth, saw her cape marked with a P (pregnant). Officials chalked the back of Betty's cape with an X, a sign that she was undesirable and would be sent back. The women reversed Betty's cape and left Ellis Island with the child.
Beryl and Yoine met the travelers in New York and guided them on the last leg of their voyage by train to Worcester, Massachusetts, and the home of Ralph and Manya.