Growing Up Greek in St. Louis

Spiegel.

Introduction

Although some Greeks claim that Christopher Columbus was Greek, the first bona fide Greeks came to the U.S. in the early 1800s (Moskos, 1990). Among them were George Meletio, who came to St. Louis around 1868 and began a fish business and Demetrius Jannopoulo, who came in 1871 and established the Missouri Tent and Awning Company. His daughter, Aphrodite, was one of the first women admitted to Washington University’s School of Medicine.

By the 1890s there were roughly 16,000 Greeks in the U.S.; by 1920, the number had increased over a hundred fold to about 184,000. Between 1900 and 1920, almost onefourth of Greek men between the ages of 15 and 45 came to America. One group went to New England, where they worked in textile and shoe factories; a second group went to large northern cities like Chicago and New York, where they worked in factories and restaurants or as peddlers and shoeshine boys. And a third group headed West, among them were those who came to St. Louis, primarily to work on the railroads that were heading West (Moskos, 1990).

In the early 1900s, St. Louis had a Greek town located in the area where Busch Stadium stands today. Greek town consisted of boarding houses, kafenia (cafes), and Greek grocery stores and was inhabited mainly by bachelors. Most lived frugally. Sometimes six to eight men slept in a room, sometimes in shifts. Their goal was to help support their families overseas and to raise the dowry money for their sisters. Only after their family obligations were met did these men return to Greece for brides of their own. Hence it was only after 1915 that Greek women and families began to appear in St. Louis.

St. Louis was also home to Greeks from Turkey who left due to a 1910 law requiring Greeks to serve in the Turkish army or due to armed conflicts in the area. Some St. Louis bachelors who went to Greece to marry brought home refugee women from Asia Minor.

In 1904 church services were held at Holy Trinity. Disagreements followed, but in 1917 the community reunited and built St. Nicholas Church on Garrison Street and St. Louis Avenue. The many sacrifices involved in building St. Nicholas were literally blown to the wind by a tornado in 1927. The community rallied and built a new exquisitely decorated St. Nicholas Church which still stands on Forest Park Boulevard.

In East St. Louis, Saint Constantine and Helen’s church was erected. In the 1940s, the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church was on North Euclid Avenue, within walking distance of most of the parishioners. The parishioners erected the first building with their bare hands. As the parish grew, the Assumption moved to an expanded facility on Academy Avenue and then to Delmar Boulevard in University City. After a fire destroyed this church, money was raised to construct a new one, presently located on Des Peres Road in Town and Country. The church boasts wood carvings, iconography, and other art made by famed Greek artists.

In 1915, Tsichlis and Rallis Grocery Store located at 6th and Elm, the current location of Busch Stadium, was part of St. Louis’s early Greek Store When Peter Tsichlis came to St. Louis in 1904, he worked as a gandy dancer (one who laid railroad tracts) until he saved enough money to open the store with Andrew Rallis in 1907. They sold Greek imports, meat, and other items. A butchery was located in the back. In 1915, Rallis and his family returned to Greece to live.

By the 1930s and 1940s, a large number of Greeks who had started out as laborers were now professionals or owned their own restaurants, barber shops, confectionaries, dry cleaners and movie houses. The Scouras brothers, for example, owned many of the finest theaters in St. Louis and later over 400 theaters in the U.S.

During World War II, Greek Americans enlisted by the droves and the community participated wholeheartedly in war bond drives and the Red Cross. As the Greek community continued to prosper, many parents made sure their children went to college. Even among the less affluent, education was stressed, especially for boys. By the late 1960s, however, increasing numbers of Greek-American women were attending college as well. The 60s and 70s also saw an explosion of Greek professionals in medicine, education, and academia in St. Louis; a trend which has persisted until today.

PeterTsichlis (in the apron) and Andrew Rallis (behind the counter) cooked in the back of their store. In the spirit of philotimo (hospitality), they served free meals to many Greek bachelors in St. Louis’s early Greek town. According to relatives, Tsichlis extended so much credit to fellow Greeks during the 1929 Depression that in 1932, the store folded. All seven Tsichlis children then went to work to support the family, three forsaking high school to do so.

I was born in St. Louis in 1947. At that time, most Greeks lived in the city By the 1960s, however, many Greek-American families had the means to move to the suburbs. As the Greek population dispersed throughout the various suburbs of the St. Louis Metropolitan area, Greek life became increasingly centered around the church. Amidst this prosperity was the arrival of at least a hundred refugees from the Greek civil war.

From 1919 on, when 18 bachelors organized the HAPL (Hellenic American Progressive League), the Greeks of St. Louis not only erected churches, but established Greek and Sunday schools and a variety of fraternal and charitable organizations. The first Greek school, held in the 1930s, met in a store near Taylor and Finney Greeks with roots in Rhodes, Epiros, Kythera, and other areas of Greece organized to help their own, both in the U.S. and overseas.

There were parallel organizations for women, as well as the AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association), whose scope included the entire family. The ELPIS, later called the Philotopchos, founded in 1920, was one of many Greek women’s charitable associations. The Professional Club sponsored lectures and the Justice for Cyprus Committee, begun in 1954, concerned itself with that island’s strife. Greek-Americans were also active in non-Greek fraternal organizations and civic endeavors.

Space does not permit mention of the many notable Greeks who began as dishwashers or laborers and eventually became successful in business, the professions or the arts, or laid the groundwork for their children to do so. Also notable are those of lesser means and lesser education who were generous with their hearts and time. Without their tireless efforts, the churches and organizations which constituted and still constitute the Greek-American community would never have survived. From its very beginnings, the Greek-American community of St. Louis has demonstrated self-reliance, initiative, hard work, strong family values, and civic involvement, qualities which it manifests even today.

Pictured is St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in 1931 at Forest Park and Kingshighway Boulevards. It was built after the 1927 tornado destroyed the 1917 church on Garrison Street and St. Louis Avenue. After WWII, Father Angelides redecorated the church with additional icons and other art. In 1962, when a community center was added, the dedication services were attended by former Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri.

Pictured is the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church at its second location on 1212 Academy Avenue (1948—1958). The expanded facilities in this church were necessary to accommodate the Assumption’s growíng membership. A Sunday school was officially organized in 1952. The church then moved to 6900 Delmar Boulevard in University City until it was destroyed by a fire.

Pictured here are Afendula and Charilaos Argeropoulos (Auger). Afendula arrived in St. Louis in 1920 and Charilaos, in 1906. They were married at St. Nicholas Church, March 10, 1921.

When I shared this manuscript with relatives, some of them commented, That never happened! or It happened, but not like you say! Not only did they disagree with me, but with each other. Alas, truth is elusive. Even people growing up in the same family can have vastly different experiences.

Undoubtedly some of my memories have been tainted by time and subsequent events and photos. With the exception of my relatives, I have changed names and other identifying details about persons, sometimes combining individuals into a composite, for purposes of confidentiality Except for my family, any resemblance to individuals, dead or alive, is purely coincidental.

Yet there are no fabricated stories here. Although certain non-essential specifics may have been different, the emotional essence has remained true. To the best of my knowledge, I’m recording what I saw, heard, and experienced inside.

I write as a Greek American who now, more than ever, values her heritage and hopes to see it sustain the younger generations as much as it did me. But I also write as a woman. If one of my brothers had written this book, it would probably be different in both perspective and tone.

Parishioners gather for a group photo at the dedication of St. Nicholas Church on September 20, 1931. The priests who served from 1906 to date are: Rev. Panageotis Phiambolis, Rev. Constantine Liakopoulos, Rev. Theodore Prousianos, Rev. Mark Petrakis, Rev. Panagiotis Ermogenis, Rev. Theophilos Spyropoulos, Rev. Demetrios Vainikos, Rev. Iakovos Coucouzes, Rev. Erineos Angelides, Rev. Nicon Patrinacos,

Rev. George Mastrantonis, Rev. Constantine Andrews, Rev. John Geranios, Rev. George Nicozisin, and Fr. Doug Papulis.

Members of the Benevolent Society Rhodos, who trace their lineage to the island of Rhodes, gather for their annual 4th of July pícníc in 1946 in Blackjack, Missouri, a resort area where people could play ball, dance, barbecue and socialize in a beautiful setting. As a reflection of their American patriotism, many Greek Americans in St. Louis honored the 4th of July as well as Greek Independence Day (March 25th, 1821).

In 1978, the Parish Council purchased five and a half acres of land at 1755 DesPeres Road in Town and Country, the site of the present Assumption Church. The first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Christmas Eve morning in 1989 with His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Chicago assisted by Rev. Gerasimos, Rev. G.P. Annas, and the Reverend Deacon Dimitrios Kantzavelos.

I.

From Karpathos to St. Louis

According to ancient legend, one day the gods decided to form the different nations of the world. They gathered together rivers, lakes, trees, and flowers. To some countries, they gave lush valleys and flowing rivers; to others, forests and fertile plains. But by the time they got around to making Greece, it was the end of the day. All the gods wanted to do was take a nap so they could be fresh for a big feast that was going to be held on Mount Olympus that night. Besides, they had used up most of the rivers and good land. All that was left was a bunch of rocks, lots and lots of rocks, and some scrawny bushes.

Without any kind of plan or design, the gods simply threw the rocks towards a corner and called it Greece. The rocks that made it to the corner became Greece; the rocks that didn’t, the Greek islands.

Some of the islands were lucky A few of the remaining forests and bountiful fields came their way. But not the island of Karpathos. Karpathos looks beautiful on postcards, but is so dry and rocky that wrestling a living from the land is very difficult. Some parts of Karpathos are so mountainous and barren they are almost uninhabitable.

Karpathos is one of 12 islands known as the Dodecanese, located in the far right portion of the Mediterranean Sea between the islands of Crete and Rhodes. All of my grandparents came from Karpathos. But some of their ancestors arrived from other islands.

The very first Matsakis on Karpathos was a revolutionary from the island of Syros sent there by the