The AHEPAN - Winter 2009 - (Page 11)

Book revIew explores the arrival of Greek imm igrants outhern urban areas, in the early 1900s, and their bly rapid adjustment and accultura tion to life in South. Although there was no “melting pot,” wcomers swiftly adapted to the evol ving and sinAmerican social, economic, and political tenets, hey retained and adjusted some of their own culreligious traditions. The majority of these immicame small entrepreneurs and achi eved some ecorosperity, which was at the root of their successful n and settlement in the southern cities. “Demetrios Is WORK Now Jimmy:” Greek Immigrants in the Southern United States, 1895 – 1965 By Lazar “Larry” Odzak US $29.95 Odzak “DEMETRIOS IS NOW JIMMY” GREEK IMMIGRANTS IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, 1895 -1965 “DEMETRIOS IS NOW JIMMY” By LAZAR “LARRY” ODZAK Durham, NC.: Monograph Publishers, k also 2006. Pp. 260, end by exam covers new ground notes, index, ining specific re the bibliography. $24.95 just larg immigrant group was e enough to own viable 0-9778024-1-8lack ISBN community, but ed the “critical large immigrant communities whe re Old World urvived longer and slowed down the process of In the context of mass migration from ion and adjustment to American way around the eastern and southern Europe s. Now on 19th and th ncentratingJimmy” specifically examines the arrival 20 Century US History. e movof Greek his wife Hoptoto Dur ed with immigrants e the southern cities ham, North Currently, he is an States and the newcomers’ of the United Archivist-Historian at the ives, remarkably rapid adjustment to life in the Department of Cultural Resource s, in C; he is also a VisitingSouth.lar at developing New Scho the University arolina—Chapel Hill. By and large, Greeks in the South tended to earn their living by operating small service ISBN shops, shoebusinesses, such as sandwich 0-9778024-0-X h Publishers,stands, fruit stalls and other ventures shine C, USA requiring minimal start up money. The author successfully tests the thesis put forth by late historian Charles Moskos, that in the South, entrepreneurial contact with Americans accelerated the adaptation of Greek immigrants to American ways; they realized much earlier than their compatriots in other areas that America would become their permanent home. Odzak aptly describes their rise to middle class status, along with the constant conflict faced by every immigrant family: a desire to be accepted into the social and economic fabric of the new home, while at the same time trying to preserve and maintain the inherited culture and traditions, and especially their Orthodox religion.. The author’s chapter on the formation of AHEPA, during the rise of the second Ku Klux Klan, is most engaging, as he describes for us turn the “LARRY”ofODtwentieth century,his studies inIs ZAK completed “Demetrios the ingenious way founders of our fraternal organization managed to deflect the nativist hate for all that is foreign. Other chapters cover a variety of Greek immigrant experiences in diverse places, including Atlanta, Birmingham, and New Orleans, where one finds the earliest Greek Orthodox parishes in the South and Tarpon Springs, where Greek sponge divers populate the only “Greektown” in the southern states. “Demetrios Is Now Jimmy” is a well written, informative, and stimulating book, that will appeal to all readers interested in Greek American chronicles. This work fits nicely into the gap between Theodore Saloutos’s wide ranging “The Greeks in the United States” and Charles Moskos’s “Greek Americans: Struggle and Success” on one hand and a few local histories that describe immigrant circumstances in particular cities in the South. The book is available from Monograph Publishers, 204 Pineview Road, Durham, NC, 27707. Web site: DemetriosIsNowJimmy.com Review by Andrew A. Christakos, Historian, Past President of AHEPA Chapter #277, Durham NC www.ahepa.org Winter 2009 the ahepan 11 http://www.DemetriosIsNowJimmy.com http://www.ahepa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN - Winter 2009

The AHEPAN - Winter 2009
Contents
Presidents’ Messages
AHEPA Family News
Book Review
Special Report: Greek Independence Day
The 87th Supreme Convention in Magestic San Francisco
Ahepan on the Rise in South Carolina’s Executive Branch
Liberty Ship Arrives In Athens; Will Serve as a Floating Museum
Civic Responsibility
Education
Housing
Athletics
AHEPA Athletic 2009 Calendar
AHEPA Family Chapter News
In Memoriam

The AHEPAN - Winter 2009