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    Greeks in Chicago
    Greeks in Chicago
    Greeks in Chicago
    Ebook215 pages1 hour

    Greeks in Chicago

    By Ph.D., Michael George Davros

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    About this ebook

    Greeks arrived in America with the expectation that freedom would permit their families to thrive and be successful. With hard work, belief in the Orthodox faith, and commitment to education, Greeks ascended in Chicago, and America, to positions of responsibility and success. Today Greek Americans are among the wealthiest and most successful of immigrant groups. Greeks recognized a historical imperative that they meet the challenges and aspirations of a classical Hellenic heritage. Greeks in Chicago celebrates the rich history of the Greek community through copious pictorial documentation.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateFeb 16, 2009
    ISBN9781439621356
    Greeks in Chicago
    Author

    Ph.D., Michael George Davros

    Michael George Davros, Ph.D., was born in Chicago, worked with his parents in their grocery stores, and received his doctorate in American literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been active in many Greek American organizations, including the church and scholarship foundations, particularly the American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association at the local and national levels. Davros teaches in the English department and in the honors program at Northeastern Illinois University and lectures nationally on African American, ethnic, and classical literature.

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      Greeks in Chicago - Ph.D., Michael George Davros

      resulted.

      INTRODUCTION

      In the early years of Greek immigration to the United States, many immigrants came to the United States with the belief that their stay was temporary. This ethos persisted for many Greeks into the middle of the 20th century. However, many Greeks came to stay and were directed by a daily work ethic that went beyond the 40-hour week. Greeks were capable of the backbreaking labor of the railroads and the long hours of the horse carts, grocery stores, and restaurants, but work served the purpose of achieving prosperity. While the monuments in the new world of American enterprise would not be in marble, Greeks would still achieve in business, industry, and the arts, but achievement began in the humble beginnings of relatively few immigrants.

      Grocers, confectioners, businesspeople, and a few professionals would be produced from the simple horse-cart drivers. Peddlers abounded in the early century and persisted as late as the 1950s. From a grocery store or ice-cream parlor acquisition, real estate fortunes developed, particularly as one generation provided wealth for the next. Greeks not only worked long hours, but they demonstrated faith in the future when children of immigrant parents entered professions. Doctors, attorneys, professors, and many professions associated with high status and income emerged as parents placed high valuation on education.

      The family provided a framework for success. Greek families centered children in cultural transmission of myth, literature, philosophy, even of sayings and jokes that teach children the pitfalls of pride. For many immigrants, though, family life was disrupted. Often children were sent to the United States unattended to meet brothers or family. Brothers often arrived in the country years before a relative. Often a sister in Greece would need to be married, so a brother, established in the United States, provided the means to ensure a successful marriage. Men would arrive in the United States and send as much of their income to the homeland either for pryka (dowry) or to support a family. In the United States, family life also involved education, and church-sponsored Greek day and afternoon schools arose to meet the needs to educate children in both languages. Education turned toward preservation of the Greek language. The fear that the Greek language would disperse was accompanied by the fear that the core of Hellenic culture and ideals would disappear. Greek schools and language instruction today act in defense and preservation of Greek culture.

      Of work, faith, and education, the driving force of accomplishments in the Greek community was work. The scene has been oft repeated: the pushcart driver, the hot dog vendor, and the street peddler put their daughters through college. While the Horatio Alger scenario unfolds for the Greek as well as the average American, Greek Americans have used the marketplace and the marketplace of ideas to vault to prominence and success. The valuation placed on work led Greek Americans to deposit wealth not only into business institutions but also the churches and then into political arenas.

      As Greeks established themselves in business, professions, and politics, philanthropic activities, always present, accelerated. Understanding that the United States provided a haven to Greeks who were or had been in desperate circumstances encouraged Greeks to give back to their adopted country. Military service and public service were also emphasized as Greek Americans rose in the political and labor spheres and pushed public officials to recognize the precarious political circumstances of the homeland. For many Greeks, the desire to return to the homeland for permanent residence had abated, especially during World War II, but Greek Americans realized responsibilities to the homeland. Thus, as Greeks recognized their ancient and magnificent past, they also understood the need to show American communities some of that glorious heritage. Celebrations, parades, and festivals were very public, and community service organizations confronted the specific needs of Greek Americans. Toward the end of the century, Greek Americans had become more concerned with the preservation of heritage and history, and institutions to preserve and memorialize the contributions of the Greeks began to proliferate.

      The Greek Orthodox faith provided another sanctuary, and the priest’s intonation to the congregation during liturgy, with fear, faith, and love draw near to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, suggests the devotion and humility with which Greeks brought their own gifts to the churches. As churches grew into magnificent and ornate structures, Greeks expended great wealth to establish thriving Greek Orthodox communities throughout Chicago. With suburban expansion, more Greeks committed funds to build new parish buildings and managed their governance through adept parish councils. Today, while approximately 70 percent or more Orthodox marriages unite one in the couple who is non-Orthodox, the church has remained a bulwark against social upheavals, taking pride in maintaining a direct line in the apostolic succession to the apostle Andrew.

      Supporting the Greek network of faith and work, social and fraternal organizations coalesced. The missions of these organizations shifted during the century so that by the end of the century more organizations were devoted to preservation of culture and language. Many organizations were political while others attempted to preserve a loyalty to a particular region of the homeland. Greater socioeconomic mobility fostered emergence of professional societies such as the Hellenic Bar Association, Greek University Women’s Club, Hellenic Dental Society, and the Hellenic Police Officers

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