100 Years: from Greece to Chicago and Back

Book excerpt: Growing up in Chicago during the 1930s, `40s and `50s was a life rich in tradition, family and memories. Nick Thomopoulos in 100 Years chronicles the vibrant life of the neighborhood surrounding the St. George Greek Orthodox Church. He tells of the tragic death of his father and the difficulties and joys his immigrant mother faced in raising five young children in an emerging metropolis unlike Zakynthos, Greece. Because of the Great Depression, World War II, the Greek Civil War and the hardships in Greece, Marie received only an occasional letter from her siblings. In 1962, Marie, with Nick, returned to Greece 42 years after she left. Three of her five siblings did not know she was coming, and her husbands lone sister did not know the family was even alive. The story describes the excitement of reuniting with the family.