Written by Hannah Palsa
Chapman Center Scholar
Student Curatorial Assistant – Beach Museum of Art
On November 10, 2023, Chapman Center for Rural Studies Director Dr. Mary Kohn, office manager Kim Wescott, and graduate student assistants Hannah Palsa and Holly Hill traveled to Concordia, Kansas to visit the National Orphan Train Complex. The Chapman Center agreed to assist the National Orphan Train Complex’s volunteers and staff with digitizing records of orphan train riders. We visited to learn about the museum and to pick up our first round of boxes.
While at the museum, we learned about a very special toy hidden in the museum’s archives. The toy in question is a tin elephant named Elky. The brilliant finish on Elky has faded over the years from love, playtime, and gentle handling. The red blanket that sat on her backside is faded with only chips of red paint remaining. Scuffs and scrapes can be seen on the bottom of her legs and feet. Though worn by age, Elky exists to teach visitors about orphan train rider, Mabel Gumersell Erickson and millions of other children who sought comfort through playthings on their arduous journeys.
At the age of 5, Mabel Gumersell (Erickson) rode the orphan train from New York to Missouri. The year was 1901, and Mabel hoped to be adopted into a new family. In her delicately packed suitcase, a tin elephant named Elky accompanied her on the journey. When the orphan trains began in the late 1850s, children typically did not carry personal belongings with them. It was not till the end of the nineteenth century that children began packing suitcases with clothing, toys, books, and other personal affects to take to their new homes. Upon arriving in Missouri, Mabel and Elky were adopted into a loving family. Mabel grew up, got married, and had children of her own. Eventually, Elky found her way back to the National Orphan Train Complex’s archives where she goes on display periodically to tell Mabel’s story, and the stories of other children who carried comfort objects as they rode orphan trains throughout the United States.
In 2019, author Susanna Pitzer collaborated with the National Orphan Train Complex to write a children’s story about Mabel and Elky’s journey on the orphan train. The book was published by the National Orphan Train Complex, and copies can be purchased in their giftshop. Pitzer read the story at the National Orphan Train Complex’s celebration in 2021 to an enthusiastic audience. In addition, stuffed versions of Elky can be purchased in the gift shop. Some of the Chapman Center staff members may now have their own Elky the elephant sitting on their bookcases at home.
The Rural Telegraph 