My Greek Roots
I wrote this story about my Greek heritage for “Lives of the Tsintzinians” , a publication for a group of Greek Americans from a small village near Sparta. They have been holding annual reunions for over 130 years in Jamestown New York. Here is my connection:
My Grandmother traveling by donkey from the village of Goritsa, where the family lived in winter to the high mountain village of Tsintzina where they spent the summers.
I am the granddaughter of Mary Coumanter, aka Maria Coumanterakis (Μαρἰα Κουμαντἀκις) Her maiden name was Andreou. She was born in 1898 in the village of Goritsa and her family had a summer home in Tzinsina. Her father was James (Dimitrios) Andreou, and he was in America with her brother Peter when she arrived in New York in 1920 with her 15 year old sister Andrianna. She settled in Columbus Ohio, married Nickolas Koumantarakis who was from Tsouni, a village near Sparta. Her first daughter Amelia was born in 1921, and my mother Sophia, was born in 1924. They spoke Greek in the household, living a life of Greek customs and traditions. I always thought of my mother as being very Greek, and was a little shocked to realize later that her first trip to Greece was when she was 50 years old! My Papou Nickolas worked in the confectionary business, first as a partner in the peanut business, and then in his own candy shop called Mary Anne Chocolate Shop in downtown Columbus. He died of diabetes when my mother was 11, and my grandmother Maria could not keep the family business going, because no recipes were written down. Maria got a job at a soda fountain in a drug store, sold the larger house and moved to a smaller one with her daughters. This is the house that I remember- a tiny place with steep steps to the basement where she had a bathtub used to stomp on her grapes to make wine. She rented an upstairs apartment for extra money. She kept a canary and dug dandelions out of the yard to boil for horta. She tried to teach her grandchildren the Greek alphabet, and I have strong childhood memories of the sounds of the language. (I am now in adult Greek school!) She died in 1973, when I was 13. Though my family had moved from Ohio to Boulder Colorado several years earlier, I was forever imprinted by her Greek customs, superstitions, her accent and her lively spirit.
The family shack in Tsintzina, first photo in B&W is from 1955: my Grandmother, her mother Sophia and her little brother Strati. The second picture in color is from 1975: Strati, my mother Sophia in the middle and her Aunt Andrianna.
I have always been proud of my Greek heritage and enamored of the rich cultural heritage. When my mother passed away in 2014, three months shy of her 90th birthday, I became even more focused on learning more about my Greek family. Mom had a wonderful 60 year marriage with my father William Kearns, who was not Greek! My Yiayia liked him and had approved of the marriage, even though other relatives were skeptical. My family attended the Jamestown event a few times when I was very young. After we moved from Ohio to Colorado it became too far to travel, but I do remember the excitement and the food and dancing. I wish I could step into the time machine and ask my Yiayia questions about her life, her friends, her courage to get on a boat and leave her country.
My family was fortunate to travel to Goritsa and Tzintsina in the early summer of 2016 with my cousin and her husband Dena and Christos Poulias. We talked to a few of the locals, showing them some old photographs to see if they might have known anyone from the family. Fortunately a woman did know know of my Great Uncle Strati, and showed us which house used to be his. Of my Yiayia’s 5 siblings, only the three (Maria, Andrianna and Peter) who came to America had children. The three who remained in Greece did not have kids, though I wonder if I have any second or third or fourth cousins there I don’t know about. Just to be there was a profound thrill and a feeling of belonging.
As far as I know, my Yiayia went home to visit in 1955 and once more in the early 1970’s before she died. I am fortunate to have a photograph album of her 1955 trip with pictures of family and friends in both Goritsa and Tzintsina. After my mom passed in 2014 I spontaneously made two large vessels; the forms inspired by Greek Pithoi and made scans of some of the photos from my Grandmother’s album and fired them onto the vessels.
I was told that this rug was woven by my Great Grandmother Sophia. Here is her picture with my Grandmother from 1955. From a young age I felt the calling to work with my hands and make things. My mom was also an artist, and took delight in creating in clay, drawing and painting. I understand their joy and curiosity.
