Community Historical Studies

Total Community Historical Studies articles: 15

A Greektown Reunion
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
On October 7, 2001 I attended a reunion of old neighborhood friends. Some sixty people gathered at Costa’s Restaurant at 340 South Halsted Street for an afternoon of visiting and reminiscing. This was no ordinary social event. This slow moving crowd of seniors was composed of Greek-American friends

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“Gaslight” New York City and the Greek Peddlers
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
‘Gaslight New York’ is the phrase meant to invoke that transition period of the 1880’s into the 1890’s. The 1890’s, also known as the ‘Gay 90’s,’ were the era which marks the beginnings of New York City as it is today. It was in 1898 that the five separate boroughs – Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island – were consolidated into one common city.

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The Greek Peddlers of New York City
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
A feature story on Greek immigrants in the February 6, 1898 New York Times would be grounds for sustained legal action today. Chief Registry Clerk Lederhilger of the United States Immigration Bureau visited a Greek boarding house at 95, 97 and 99 Cherry Street.

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Cemeteries of St John Church In Pueblo, Col.
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Beginning in the 1880’s, just as Greektowns were being established all across North America, the new immigrants also immediately sought out graveyards. Upon reflection, the fact that Greeks collectively purchased entire blocks of cemetery sites, often long before churches were physically built, should come as no surprise.

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Early Anti-Greek Attacks In New York
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
When I was small boy my yiayia (grandmother) told me that, whenever one of the old Greek men entered the room, I was to stand up and give him my chair. On more than one occasion, when I didn’t move fast enough, my yiayia reminded me by pulling me out of the chair.

 

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Northern Avenue: Pueblo Colorado’s Greek Town
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Not long after 1900, “Greektowns” began to spring up all across the United States. Sometimes, these districts were no more than hard scrapple mining camps or strings of tenements in the mill town neighborhoods of New England. Wherever these areas existed, Greek men, and eventually women and children, gathered.

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Remembering New Greektown
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
In the turbulent period of the 1960’s through the 1970’s there were two Greektowns in Chicago. Both districts were known for their nightclubs, restaurants, gift shops, bakeries, grocery stores and coffee shops, but only one was really a neighborhood where Greek immigrants gathered and lived together.

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The Greeks of Michigan Were Not Just your Average Argonauts
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
William Poulos Sr., formerly Vasilios Anagnostopoulos, became a driving economic force in rural northeast Michigan in the early 1900's. This intrepid Hellene was destined to start and operate a series of businesses in Bay City, Saginaw, Flint, Mt. Pleasant and Midland, all in Michigan. Recounting something of his life will help us better understand the lives and experiences of Greeks in rural America.

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Greeks in Michigan: No Average Argonauts
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Vasilios Anagnostopoulos was born on January 11, 1888 in the small village of Steno, located near Tripoli in the Peloponnese. He was the eldest of six children, followed by Charalambos, Christiana, Andriana, Georgia and Nicoletta. Like many of his generation, he was destined to travel far. While he was still a teenager, he was to change the economic and even cultural circumstances of northeastern Michigan.

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October 26, 2005: A Great Day for Pueblo & Greek American Studies
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
On October 26, the largest collection of photographs documenting the lives and experiences of Greek Americans in the state of Colorado was deposited into the Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library (www.pueblolibrary.org).

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An Unqualified Success: The Pueblo Centennial Celebration
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
PUEBLO, Col. – The enormous success and vibrant goodwill experienced during the October 8-9 centennial celebration of the Hellenic Orthodox Community in Pueblo, Colorado bodes well for all of Greek America. The undeniable success of this one tiny community’s round of observances can serve as an example for other parishes across the nation.

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The Dimitry Family of Fabled New Orleans
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
The Dimitry Family of New Orleans is one of the oldest and most distinguished families not only of Louisiana, but also the Old South. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, world attention has been directed to this fabled city.

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Benachi House Survives Hurricane Katrina
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Long before the catastrophic devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Benachi House served as an elegant reminder of another era. Originally the home of Nicholas Marino Benachi (1812-86), a prosperous Greek cotton merchant, this architectural jewel survived the recent destruction, according to James G. Derbes, its current owner.

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Rocky Mountain Jewel Preparing To Celebrate Its 100th Anniversary
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
On October 8-9, St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church of Pueblo, Colorado will observe its 100th anniversary celebration. This highly anticipated commemoration of a historical Greek Orthodox landmark in America is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

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Hellenic Spirit Firmly Rooted in New Orleans
By Steve Frangos
The National Herald
Such is the unprecedented destruction of Hurricane Katrina that the full extent of damage to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New Orleans remains unknown. It is generally agreed that the Holy Trinity parish is the first Greek Orthodox community established in North America.

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