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View Newsletter With Images    |    View Large Print Newsletter       Twilight Thursdays Join us for evening tours and special discounts at some of the Lower East Side's best bars & restaurants! Sponsored by Russ & Daughters more Tenement Talks May 22 Phillip Lopate presents Writing New York more June 5 Preserving New York more “My family came off the boat, flopped onto Rivington Street, looked around and said, ‘We’ve got to get the hell out of here.’ Which propelled about 50 years of American success stories.” -- Richard Price at Tenement Talks, 4-15-08 Listen to more Richard Price The Museum Shop Republican Glass (7 oz) Is McCain the new Ike? Start the debate with this glass! Buy Democrat Glass (7oz) Or maybe you think Hillary is the next Eleanor... Buy Global Warming Mug ...and which party can save our coastlines? Buy The Museum 20 Years Ago... "We worked rent free in the dusty basement of an old synagogue...(it) was about to undergo a restoration and we needed to find new offices. I set out on the streets of the Lower East Side. In the window of 97 Orchard Street was a “For Rent” sign. I called the number and spoke to the owner. It was too expensive. But she insisted that I see it... I met her and her dog and she showed me in to the storefront…I asked where the bathroom was and she led me in to the hallway. I gazed up at the old staircase that led in to the old tenement apartments and realized that we had come home. 97 Orchard was going to be the Museum." --Anita Jacobsen, Museum co-founder Restoring Moore Plastering is done...phew! But, we are a month away from opening the 1869 Moore Family home. Track our progress on Flickr. The restored Moore Family apartment opens June 17! How Clean Is Your Hanky? During the early 20th century, NYC public schools conducted daily hygiene inspections of students. At P.S. 42, located at Hester and Orchard, 5th grade teacher Ms. Steiner began the day by scrutinizing all students for signs of illness. She examined arms, hands, fingernails, hair, ears, neck, eyes, and teeth, looking for cleanliness and “defects.” Ms. Steiner recorded the results in a separate “Daily Morning Hygiene Inspection Chart” for each child. Circulating around the classroom, Ms. Steiner asked her students “How many have used a toothbrush this morning?” Teachers were to encourage students to pay regular visits to the dentist. Teachers were also expected to instruct “clearing the nostrils properly.” So, teachers' daily inspection included scrutinizing children’s handkerchiefs. The idea that you could teach immigrants and their children proper hygiene and healthy habits signaled a profound change in the way society viewed race and disease. In the mid-19th century, ethnicity and culture were believed to predispose immigrants to unhealthy conditions.   Comments? Questions? Write us at lestm(at)tenement.org