
The Museum found hundreds of animal bones both in the backyard of and inside its tenement, including: rat paws (pictured left), sheep, cows, pheasants, turkeys, chicken, rabbits, domestic cats and dogs and possibly frogs and turtles. A number of the remains we've identified are fish bones and scales, which may be a sign of resident’s financial prudence: fish was consistently one of the least expensive foods available per pound in the urban Northeastern United States. However, we’ve yet to identify pig remains, perhaps evidence that many residents kept kosher.*
This card advertises the 92 Orchard Street butcher shop of Charles Schubert, a New York-born son of Prussian immigrants. During the late 1880s, Schubert supplied his German-speaking neighbors with meat for their tables. Animals were slaughtered at yards along the nearby East River and delivered to butchers like Schubert, who dressed and prepared the meat for sale. Customer favorites likely were sausages or Wursts stuffed in his shop and available in a host of varieties, including Weisswurst, knockwurst, and the hard-cured Sommerwurst.
Why did you join the Tenement Museum?
I joined after I went on the
Getting By tour. It inspired me to find out more about the people who lived in such small apartments. I felt a special connection to the Gumpertz family: like Natalie Gumpertz, my mother had to sew to support her children.
What is your favorite tenement tour?
My favorite tour is Piecing It Together because it connects the experiences of past and contemporary immigrant garment workers.
What is your connection to the Lower East Side?
I am an immigrant. I was born in Honduras, but came to New York for school and decided to stay to raise a family. I have lived on the Lower East Side for 34 years. Currently, I work as a speech therapist at a public school in Spanish Harlem. Many of my students are immigrants and children of immigrants. As I witness their struggles and triumphs, I am reminded of both my immigrant experience and the stories told at the Tenement Museum.
Join The Tenement Museum and help preserve our immigrant heritage.
Send us your membership profile--you might see yourself in the News!