by grancestry | Sep 22, 2022 | Yiayia & Me
By George Zimmar When we think of a pilgrimage, like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, a spiritual journey comes to mind. My grandfather Georgios Zymaras (or Zoumaras), made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1900, where he prayed before the tomb of Christ, and earned Hadji...
by grancestry | Sep 1, 2022 | Yiayia & Me
By George P. Zimmar When they asked Socrates where he came from, he did not say ‘From Athens’, but ‘From the World’. Michel de Montaigne Early June mid-1960s: Colleges and universities disgorged their students, with some rushing to airports to catch charter flights...
by grancestry | Aug 16, 2022 | Projects
Interview: Carol Kostakos Petranek with Fotini Kaklamanou Greek Ancestry is pleased to introduce Fotini Kaklamanou’s project, Thracian Genealogy in Kozani, as the latest beneficiary of the Village History Project Initiative. Fotini is passionate about researching the...
by grancestry | Aug 1, 2022 | Yiayia & Me
By George Zimmar So here we were, Greeks on the South Side of Chicago, among the Blacks at a time when African American consciousness was emerging to political action. Our connection to Greekness was through the St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church at 74rth...
by grancestry | Jul 12, 2022 | Yiayia & Me
By George Zimmar In 1953, my parents purchased a luncheonette on the corner of 75th and South Park Avenue (later named Martin Luther King Drive) in Chicago for about $7000. Actually, for the residents in the neighborhood it was a more than just a place to eat: It was...
