In later life, Mr. Tillage moved to Baltimore, Maryland and found a long term job as custodian at The Park School of Baltimore. Every year, he was asked to tell his story to the seventh-grade class. One student who heard his story, was so moved by it that she went home and talked about his story with her mother - for two whole hours!
The student's mother is Susan L. Roth, a children's book illustrator. Upon hearing Leon's Story second hand, she determined to meet the man himself. She convinced him to give his story a wider audience by writing a book. This is the book and Ms. Roth provided the collage art.
While I don't read non-fiction, I did sit and read the first couple of chapters of this book. They are short and very personable. You can hear Leon talking. This would be a quick read to give greater insight into the South from an African American perspective. For instance, Leon had to walk 4 miles home after school. While he and his friends and family walked, a school bus full of white children would pass them by leaving them in the dust. Mr. Tillage joined Martin Luther King Jr. in peaceful protest and this is included as well.
This book actually contains two stories. In alternating chapters we get to hear the story of a boy, Lee Naillings, who road the orphan trains. The other chapters give us the background on how the orphan trains came to be and why there were so many orphans in the first place.
Lee's story is my favorite part. He was one of seven children when his mother died in childbirth at 35. His father attempted to care for the children, but either he wasn't capable or he simply couldn't make enough money to sustain them all. The older children were forced to leave and find lives for themselves. The baby was given to relatives to raise. Someone else took the 1-year-old Gerald. Lee and is younger brother Leo were dropped off at an orphanage. Before the orphans were taken to the train station, Lee's father brought Gerald to join them. The three brothers set off for Texas where they were eventually separated.
This book has drawn me in each time I have held it. It is well-written and interesting. It tells of a very sad phenomenon in our history. Too many children and not enough parents. Truth is, the children were not always true orphans. Sometimes they had one or both parents still living. There just wasn't enough food, shelter or time to care for the children. Families relied on the orphanages to care for their children instead. Some of the children weren't even that lucky. They lived on the streets. Starts to sound a little like how we live today ... everyone has to work to put food on the table and to provide shelter. And the kids end up raised by someone else other than their parents.
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