“The Orphan Train will be on stage at the Pulse Opera House in Warren on the weekends of April 21-23,29-30 and May 5-7 with Friday and Saturday shows to begin at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s at 4 p.m.
The lobby opens one hour before showtimes and features a local artist pop-up shops. Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. Reservations are available online at pulseoperahouse.org or by calling 260-375-7017.
In the mid 1810s, New York was overrun with homeless children. Some were orphaned, some were lost, and all were living on the streets. In an attempt to find homes for these children, they were rounded up and put on trains heading for the Midwest. Orphan trains ran through 1929 and placed approximately 250,000 homeless children.
Warren and the surrounding area was a stop for the orphan trains. At the depot, children were lined up and townspeople came to pick which ones they wanted to take home. Some were adopted and many were taken on to help around the farm or the house.
The Huntington Evening Herald printed a story in 1909 about one such stop. “For Huntington there were seven in the consignment today. They were called by number and seven little fellows, in age from two to ten or eleven, were handed out. One little fellow came from the car carrying, possibly sad to leave his nurse and the kind care those with whom he had become acquainted. Or possibly he was being separated from a brother or sister or close companion.”
“The Orphan Train,” by Aurand Harris, tells the story of nine orphans on an orphan train that left New York City May 28, 1914, and traveled to Midwestern towns in search of homes for the children. A cast of local and area children and adults will tell their stories at the Pulse.
The Warren Public Library has partnered with the pulse to provide free tickets to children who read books about orphan trains. Those who read one book can earn a ticket for any performance. If they read two or more books, they can treat their mom or dad to the show, too.
There is seating available for the morning school show performance on May 4. Homeschoolers are welcome. Tickets are $5 per student or adult. Reservations are available online only at pulseoperahouse.org
