The nightfall before Erin was leaving for America was a somber one for her family, though they hid it well during the preparations for her wake. There was much to be done - days had been spent baking and cooking and there was still cleaning to do, despite the minute size of the cottage. Erin spent the day before visiting friends and inviting them to the farewell celebration. The time had now arrived and one by one the guests drifted in for a gathering that promised to last until the wee hours of the morning. Her mother served tea and biscuits with a special jam brought over from England, only to be used for occasions like this. Erin watched her father bring out his fiddle for a gay night of jigs and Irish step-dancing in the kitchen, the largest and warmest room in the cottage. Morning brought some sadder ballads and the women began to break down into wails of grief as Erin made preparations for her departure. .
This "American Wake" was common, even expected, among families of emigrants. It was a funeral for Erin, as chances were she would never return to Ireland again. Even if Erin had decided to emigrate to Australia she still would have had an "American Wake" - but it was to America she was headed and it was for the promise of a better future than Ireland could provide for her. As the breaking of dawn shone through the window her Mother broke down completely. A neighbor offered Erin a loaf of Frog Bread - a superstitious concoction made of roasted frog. The frog had been pulverized and the ashes mixed with oaten meal; it would supposedly protect her from fever during the voyage to New York. Her mother then carefully unwrapped her preserved "caul" which had been in storage for eighteen years. This membrane which had protected Erin in the womb would protect her against drowning, though Erin did know how to swim. .
A convoy assembled to accompany Erin to the railway station; her parents and closest friends accompanied her on the long walk.