Introduction
By Chris Steve Manitsas
December 1996
Original Text by Gregory Augerinou Sgouridi
December, 1968
Translated loosely from Greek by Chris Steve Manitsas,
with commentary on the history of the Manitsas and Kalpakis families
Editing and Web Design by Steve Chris Manitsas
(Comments are highlighted in green)
This page is maintained by Steve Chris Manitsas. Send comments to Manitsas@aol.com
It was last updated February 21, 1998, and is continuing to undergo revision.
Knowledge of one's family history is of interest and also of
importance in understanding one's self better. This information is
not to be used to boast of one's heredity, if that in fact is even
justified, but to learn of the achievements of one's ancestors, to
understand one's potential and to strive to be worthy of those that
came before us.
Both of my parents came from the town of Peramos. I regret that
as a youth I did not record all the tales told to me of life and
activities in that part of the world. Especially I regret not
making note of my father's experiences after leaving Peramos as a
young boy to the time he came to the United States and then across
the continent to gain his fortune in California. As I get older I
look back on my father's life with great admiration and respect.
I knew him as a hard working, unassuming man devoted to his family.
He was a person who never did harm to anyone for his own gain. In
fact, the reverse was true. When in any business dealing he felt
others were seeking to take advantage of him, he would provide an
excuse to withdraw rather than come into conflict. He had
sufficient self confidence that he could succeed on his own. We
took him for granted. It was only in later years I began to
realize the tremendous courage, sacrifice and determination he
showed in pursuing his goals.
I undertook to attempt a translation of this volume, written in
Greek by one of those who grew up in Peramos, partly for my benefit
but mainly for the benefit of my children and their children who at
some time may wish to know of their heritage. They are fortunate
in deriving ancestry from other places and cultures of equal or
higher attainment as well but I leave that for others to relate.
History books are rich in information about Argos, the Peloponese,
and most other places on earth. Very little is available regarding
Kyzikos or Peramos. That peninsula has been under Turkish rule for
centuries and for many reasons, including earthquakes and fires,
little is left of that great ancient center.
Having finished most of my attempt to translate this book I
realize that an important incentive was to make known to future
generations the debt of gratitude we owe to these people of Peramos
and especially to my father whose courage in seeking a better life
for himself and subsequently his family made possible the
opportunities we enjoy today.
Steve Chris Manitsas
1890 - 1972 |
Chris Steve Manitsas, M.D.
1930 - |
Steve Chris Manitsas,M.D.
1966 - |
My father, Stavros (Steve) Manitsas, was born about 1890 or 1892
in Peramos (records of births were written on the back of icons and
most were burned during a fire). I recall little of what he told
me of his mother. They were of modest means. My grandfather,
Chrisogonos (Chris), was a stone mason. He was a man of good
nature, congenial, and in this capacity sometimes over indulged in
the local raki this having the effect of making him even more easy
going and jovial. My grandparents had three children. The oldest
was Anastasios who worked across the bay in Panormos (Bandirma) as
a manager and/or bookkeeper for Aristides, an exporter. He had a
reputation of being a totally honest man. My father always
exhibited the highest respect for him. The youngest (I think) was
a sister, Evangeline, of whom I know little except my father loved
her very much. I think she died at an early age.
My father attended school to about the third, possibly the
fourth, grade and then left to work with his brother in Bandirma.
That level of education provided him with the ability to read a
newspaper, write with only minimal grammatical errors, and add,
subtract, multiply, and divide to be able to keep business records in
his future endeavors. There are high school graduates today
without those skills. While he was still in Peramos his father
bought him a beautiful, spirited white horse. It was bought at
auction from the estate of a Turkish Pasha who had declared
bankruptcy. During the festival time of Panagia in August he would
use the horse to taxi some of the many worshipers who disembarked
in Peramos to go to the Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni which was
a fair distance in the interior hills of the peninsula. He would
run ahead of the horse which was carrying his passenger. He was
thus able to spend considerable time at the Monastery. There were
many more worshipers than here was room for at the Monastery (which
had 100 Guest rooms) and many slept on the ground. He witnessed
the processions and services and the individual prayer services for
the relief of various afflictions. He saw the Icon of Panagia
striking the supplicants to the point of drawing blood. He
described to me the Icon flying through the air to strike people
although I did not find a description of this in this book. As an
adult my father was to a degree a skeptic, not totally believing
all that his religion taught nor all that was taught by the clergy
although he firmly believed in the existence of a God. He no doubt
was of similar outlook as a youth so that one cannot totally
dismiss the at least partial validity of these observations.
The Icon of Panagia Faneromeni
While he was in Panormos (Bandirma) one of his duties was to
accompany shipments to Constantinople. During the times he was
there he was treated very well by the hanoumises (the Turkish
ladies of the house). Since he was a young boy they did not need
to remain veiled. He was treated to Turkish confections and even
given tours of palatial houses under construction. There seems to
have been a large number of people from Peramos working and living
in Constantinople and with these contacts my father left his employ
in Bandirma and went to Constantinople to become an apprentice
carpenter. He started out sawing logs into planks using large two
man saws, one above and the other below. He gradually accumulated
a collection of carpenters tools and since he was being paid well
(more than he would be getting when he left for New York) his plan
was to remain in Constantinople. In 1908 when mandatory service in
the Turkish Army was instituted he left for New York so as to avoid
the Army. Prior to this the Greeks could pay to not have to serve.
He was not allowed to leave the country while subject to the draft
but he got on a ship anyway and told the authorities that he was
getting off at the Princess Islands, a short distance from
Constantinople. He carried one suitcase only so as to not arouse
suspicion and did not get off until he got to New York. Imagine
being a teenager living in a foreign city and having only a
rudimentary knowledge of the language and then leaving for a
distant land not knowing that language nor what to expect. How
many of us would have that courage and self confidence. I leave
the recounting of the rest of his story to possibly another day.
Topograhic Map of Peramos (drawn by Achillea Chrisoheri [Goldenhand] )
The Kouxou Fountain, next to the
site of the Church of St. George. |
Peramos of 1997, from Ailia Hill. A minaret marks
the former location of the church of Taxiarhis.
(Click photo for a panorama) |
My mother, Evanthia Kalpakis, was also born in Peramos but in a
different district of the town. Comedy was often made of which
side of the river each came from -- supposedly my mother's district
had some of the richer folks and the larger church, St. George. My
father's parents belonged to St. Demetrios. She was born in 1905
the youngest in the family and had two sisters, Maria and Smaro.
The oldest of two brothers, John (Ioannis) worked in Constantinople
and I have no information of him. The other brother, Fotis,
eventually came to the United States to Minden, Louisiana where he
had a restaurant. He had two daughters and two sons; Stella,
Maria, Arthur (even though a petroleum engineer, he preferred to
have a restaurant in Baton Rouge), and Billy, who became a dentist
and was in Port Arthur. Her mother, Anastasia, was widowed (I do
not know the particulars). I do not remember my mother talk of her
father, Anastasios, so he may have died when she was young. They
probably lived on the west side of town, possibly close to a more
rural part of town since they had farm hands for whom they would
cook. Also in this part of town, as is shown on the map, were the
animal pens of Ioannis Kalpakis. Evanthia's brother was Ioannis
and he was considerably older than she was so the pens may have
been his and worked by the family even though he was in
Constantinople. Evanthia did state to us that her brother,
Ioannis, was like a father to her. He died in Constantinople.
There is a photograph of the three sisters dressed in black taken
in Constantinople when they were there for his funeral. One of the
duties of Evanthia and her sisters was serve the workers and this
was to be done before anyone else sat to eat. As part of the
family business they had an oven, a still for distilling spirits
and during the season for silk worms produced cocoons for export
and most likely whatever was involved in caring for animals as
well. She was a good student and since at this time more emphasis
was being given to the desirability of girls getting a good
education she was slated to go to school in Bandirma and if things
worked out well even to more advanced schools in Constantinople.
World War I (1914-1918) destroyed all those plans. Turkey was on
the side of Germany and the Greeks were on the side of the Allies.
Turkey used the pretext of concern that the Greeks were supplying
the Allied submarines to force all or part of the population of
Peramos (and other towns) to go to the interior of Turkey as
refugees. This, I think, was done on two occasions. She still
managed a modest education and some proficiency in the usual skills
of young ladies of that era, the embroidering of linens for their
trousseau, etc. One outstanding example of several handiworks that
she brought to this country is a tablecloth of silk she wove and
embroidered starting from raw silk. She also had other embroidery
that she exhibited at the Monterey County Fair in Northern
California and got first prize. In 1923, all the Greeks in Turkey
(except some long term residents of Constantinople) were forced to
leave everything behind and emigrate to Greece. This was after the
end of World War I when all the coast of Turkey had been liberated
and again under the Greek flag and then partly because of
miscalculations of the Greeks and lack of support by the Allies,
the Turkish general, Kemal, reconquered those Greek lands. As part
of the settlement Turks in Greece were sent to Turkey and Greeks in
Turkey were sent to Greece. The Turks were mostly poor farmers and
thus lost little in the exchange. They were treated well. The
Greeks were land owners and had businesses and had to leave the
gains of centuries behind. In addition, the Turks slaughtered many
before they had a chance to leave. Evanthia's family had fishing
boats and thus she and her family eventually with perils and
hardships got to Kavala where
she met my father in 1928 when he
returned to Greece for a trip and possibly to stay.
Steps to the School at the Kastro |
The Papadopoulos School, 1997.
Opened in 1913 and attended by Evanthia Kalpakis |
Life in Peramos during the good days was untroubled. Even
though they lived under the Turkish flag since the 14th century
when the Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire the entire peninsula
was Greek in all aspects. There was considerable self rule and no
one needed to learn to speak Turkish. There was freedom of
religion and of schools. The few Turks that would come to town
spoke Greek. During the March 25th celebrations of Greek
independence from Turkey even the few Turkish officials would have
to stand by and listen to pro Greek anti Turkish songs and poems.
Once, as was related to me by my mother, the tax man became aware
that the still was operating without the proper taxes having been
paid. He accepted my grandmothers weak excuse and told her she
should be more careful.
Up until recently, I assumed Peramos was a small town far
removed from any sophistication or significant contact with any
centers of contemporary civilization. I thought that the
population of the entire peninsula was isolated being out of the
paths of wars or population migrations, something like natives
there for over 2,000 years but this was far from true.
I was surprised to find that this peninsula was one of the great
centers of the ancient world. The city of Kyzikos rivaled Athens,
Sparta, or Pergamon. It was the major city inside the Dardanelles
and served those continuing up to the Black Sea. Beginning during
the Byzantine era and in subsequent centuries there were close ties
both commercial and intellectual with Constantinople. Many in
Peramos had relatives or family living in Constantinople so there
was active travel between the two and many kept a summer home in
Peramos. Through this contact the women of Peramos had access to
the latest styles in vogue in Europe. Peramos being a seaport had
continuous influx of people from other parts of Greece such as
Cyprus, Crete, and mainland Greece.
With this bit of background of our family and of the town in
general we can proceed with my attempt to translate this history
having a context on which to better understand the events. In the
beginning I attempted a literal translation even though it led to
a contorted sentence structure in English. This was for the
purpose of assisting my children to follow my translation easier
should they wish to refer to the original. Further along I got
away from this approach to eliminate entire sections I felt would
be of little interest to them.
My main desire is to give them an idea of who their ancestors
were, where and how they lived, and a glimpse into one source of
their cultural values.
Chris Steve Manitsas
December, 1996
This page is maintained by Steve Chris Manitsas. Send comments to Manitsas@aol.com
It was last updated February 21, 1998, and is continuing to undergo revision.
