Tribute to my Grandparents
Paternal side
My Grandfather, Nick Kanakaredes was the first of our family to come through Ellis Island. His journey to America was a long awaited dream and he prepared for that dream at an early age.
My papou Kanakaredes was orphaned by his father at 7 years old and determined to help his mother and younger brother. He dreamed of a better life for all of them. Although he was a young boy, he realized that helping his family meant working hard. So at the young age of 10 he landed his first job: a factory worker in Constantinople. Soon after he started, Nick became an apprentice to the owner of the factory. It was his destiny that this man would later be instrumental in helping Nick immigrate to the United States. Nicholas Kanakaredes came through Ellis Island in 1914 around the age of 20.
When he first arrived, he spoke only Greek and some Turkish and faced several difficulties getting a job. One of his first attempts to get a job was unsuccessful because he did not have enough money to pay for the appropriate attire. Nick had applied to be a waiter at a private men’s club, and shortly after his interview, he was given the coveted job. He had only one of the requirement--a tuxedo jacket. Of course he couldn’t afford to purchase the formal attire, so he showed up with a makeshift jacket. Unfortunately, the club did not appreciate his creativity and Nick’s position was soon filled by someone else.
Nonetheless, initial failure did not stop him and although he did not know anyone in New York, the Greek community was readily available to help him.
After a brief stay in NYC and later Boston he ended up traveling to Akron, Ohio. He had heard of opportunities for work in the tire and rubber industry… specifically the Goodyear tire and rubber plant. It seemed that he was not alone in this effort. Literally hundreds of immigrant workers would line up outside the factory every morning for the chance to work. He tried relentlessly to get a job at a Goodyear and even after all the workers were chosen for the day he wouldn’t move from his spot, and told the foreman that he wouldn’t leave until he got his chance to work.
Nick’s stubborn and aggressive attitude eventually paid off. He started working and as diligently as he pursued employment, he was even more intense about saving his money. Once he had saved enough, he found the opportunity to go into business for himself. He purchased a used jitney, (shuttle bus) with every last dollar he had to his name. It was a risk that paid off… soon he was providing transportation to all the Goodyear employees for five cents a ride. His work ethic and ingenuity was what separated him from the crowd and eventually gave him the opportunities to own property and several businesses.
In 1927, Nick took a trip back to Greece where he met and married my grandmother, Cornelia Drakos from Thessaloniki. Cornelia had a brother who lived in Chicago, and the Drakos siblings were the only two of their family to have immigrated to America.
Cornelia loved everything about the United States and was happy to live in Akron, Ohio with her successful and giving American husband.
My Papou and Yiayia realized quickly that the hardships they had faced, becoming American citizens and settling in a new home, were only overcome by the kindness of other patrioti that helped them along the way. It was therefore only fitting that they in turn did the same. My Papou Niko was a very generous person and had a “pay it forward” attitude way before the term became popular. In the 1940’s for example, he gave a young student from his ancestral home a $10,000 loan and sponsorship to come to the USA for an education. That was the first of many sponsorships he would provide for his patrioti. Cornelia shared her husband’s generosity and philanthropy. She would also do her part to help the patrioti who stayed in Greece. She was constantly sending care packages to her friends and family back home.
Having no formal education himself, Nick made sure that his children attended school and insisted both his son and daughter graduate from college.
It is the combination of his work ethic, philanthropy and intense belief in education, which guide his ever-grateful patrioti, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren today.
Maternal Side
My grandfather Christos Temo, was born in Kochista, Albania on the border of northern Greece and raised in Naoussa, Greece. My papou Christos came from a long line of zaxaroplasti (confectioners) and had mastered the craft of making chocolates and sweets to perfection. At 19 years of age, through the encouragement of an Uncle who already lived in Youngstown, Ohio, my papou left Greece and came to Ellis Island in 1919.
Like many immigrants of that time, he did not speak English, and knew no one else on the voyage to America. When he arrived on Ellis Island he was alone, tired and extremely ill. In fact his first two months in the USA were spent in the Ellis Island Infirmary where he was quarantined for pleurisy, an infection that attacks the lining of the lungs.
Through a network of Greek Immigrants in NYC, my papou was united with his uncle in Youngstown. Although his uncle was making ends meet, he was unable to give my grandfather more than a small loan to get started and a good rental rate of a single room. My grandfather was appreciative and immediately used the money to buy a double boiler to make chocolates to sell. He started selling his candy in a door-to-door manner, and before long he was successful enough to rent a small commercial space. By 1925 he was an established candy maker in Youngstown.
Christos traveled back to Greece in 1927 in search of a wife. Within days of his return to Naoussa he met my Yiayia, Areti Moungris, She was a force to be reckoned with and stole my grandfather’s heart immediately. Months before she met my grandfather, she was the first in her town to say NO to an arranged marriage and was determined to meet and fall in love with her husband of choice. She did exactly that, she met my grandfather and realized that he was that man. Their courtship lasted an entire two weeks and they were married.
Christos and Areti went back to Ohio, where they successfully ran the Temo’s Candy Co.
They worked together and made a life for themselves, brought my two uncles and mother into the world and assimilated into American life with a strong commitment to maintaining the Greek culture and spirit. In 1934, my grandparents decided to take their children back to Greece to meet their grandparents and family. Unfortunately, their visit to Greece came at a terrible time as the preparations for WWII were just beginning to take shape in Adolf Hitler’s Germany. What was supposed to be a short vacation turned into an eight and a half year stay.
Unable to escape, the Temo family faced many challenges during the war, especially when they were forced to live in a German occupied Greece. Because my Papou owned a truck and had the ability to speak English, Greek, Albanian, a little German, (he was a salesman and knew a little of every language) he was given the coveted job of bringing in Sugar, flour and wheat rations for the town of Naoussa. He had permission to be out after curfew and would use this power to do a lot more than the Germans realized. On one dark evening during his run, his headlight beamed onto a small foot peeking out from the bushes. It belonged to the youngest of three children from a family of Greek- Jews hiding in the woods. Seeing his own family in them, he quickly hid each one in potato sack bags and housed them in the basement of their home until it was safe to help them escape through the borders of Yugoslavia. Just one month after helping the family, a high-ranking German soldier was stationed to live in my grandparent’s home. Timing is everything, a few weeks earlier and this story would never have been told.
Fortunate to have survived the war and heroic in the process, my grandparents returned back to their beloved country of America. A strong believer that as long as he had his health he could do anything -he started his business again, but this time in Akron, Ohio.
Christos and Areti were very proud to be a Greek-American. My papou believed with all his heart that what makes America great is its ability to celebrate all religions, cultures and backgrounds to form an even stronger nation of people. When I was 9 years old and rightfully confused because of speaking both Greek and English, being a Girl Scout but also a member of GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association), I asked my papou Chirstos if I was Greek or American? He quickly answered me…” first you are American, and second you are Greek, which makes you a better American!” This being said, my papou paved the way, he truly lived the American dream and allowed all of us to continue in his footsteps. If you are ever in the mood for a good hand dipped chocolate, stop at Temo’s Chocolates in Akron, Ohio. Where after 91 years my uncles will greet you with the same Greek–American tradition.
