In 1962, an historical account was put
together in a hard-bound edition which
chronicles the first 50 years of our community.
This book is still available, and we recommend it to your reading.)
Probably the strongest force in the
minds of the pioneers was in getting established
in the business community. George Petropoulos' father had the American Restaurant across
from Union Station. In 1909 over 200 passenger
trains were going in and out of Columbus
daily, and George's father served thousands of
sandwiches to those travelers.
Education ran a close second to business. Greeks booked on poverty and illiteracy
as curses and worked hard to overcome them.
Far from being a closed, isolated ethnic
group, the Greeks were a part of the world at
large. The customers they served, their coworkers, and neighbors were an amalgam of
melting pot Americans. In order to assimilate
into society, the Greeks pretty much followed
the flow of progress around them. The every
day events in America affected all of us. To
give the reader an idea of what is happening in
our world at the time of this publication, we can
list the following:
In 1987 we watched on TV as a young
Col. Oilie North testified at the Iran-Contra
hearings. Many investors watched the stock
market results with great apprehension on October 19, 1987, when the United States suffered
the greatest crash since 1929.
Two of the best sellers this year are on
the family: Bill Cosby's book called Time Flies
and Erma Bombeck's latest, Family - The Ties
That Bind and Gag! Author Allan Bloom wrote
a blockbuster called The Closing of the American Mind in which he agonizes over the decline
of quality education in this country. Through
the ups and downs of society, the Greek family
still struggles to remain intact and to pursue a
strong education.
A world event that coincided with our
founding was the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
Today, 75 years later, the treasures of the Titanic are being brought up to the surface for a
world tour.
