From The Peopling of New York City
Contents |
Introduction
Both Gregory Lella and Ellen Stark are two of the tightly knit Greek community on Staten Island. Despite their differences in generation, age, and the way they stay connected to their Greek heritage, both Ellen and Gregory both are prime examples of those who still hold their Greek pride.
Ellen Stark
Gregory Lella
Gregory Lella’s family emigrated from Greece on a ship called the “Chicago” in the early 1900’s because of the Great War. Due to the language barrier, troubles arose when they first arrived in the United States. His great grandmother was almost denied entry into the country because she could not speak English. Although she had received a PhD in Greece, this was considered meaningless and was marked illiterate.
Much of his heritage and traditions centers on the Greek Orthodox religion and church, with the holidays being a major focus. Easter is celebrated at a different time than the Catholic church and, in Greg’s family, a special Greek song is sung every year. He also gets to meet with family members he normally doesn’t see. As a child, he attended the annual Greek food with his family, where he ate food and met with other Greek children. Although the Greek lifestyle was not ingrained into his everyday life during his teen years, Greg tried to learn as much as possible about his heritage through books dealing with its history and customs. He also tries to stay up to date on current affairs in Greece, including their current debt crisis.
Greg feels that his Greek heritage has affected him through religion. However, it has affected him through other means as well. Despite the fact that he can not speak Greek, he feels great pride of his descent. He likes being able to carry on conversations with certain Greeks that speak English and have enough knowledge on Greece’s history and way of life in order to keep up. “I’m in awe every time I think of all of the accomplishments of Greece. It’s an identity. That’s how it has shaped my life; it has shaped how I think of myself.”