| NICHOLAS
KEFFAS . 1958-1
(Nicolaos I. Kefaliakos)
12th president |
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A few facts about his life
Like
many young men of Perista about a century ago.
Nicholas Keffas decided to emigrate to the United
States. He was 18 years old.
Southeastern Europe had already seen the turmoil
of the Balkan Wars.
Most European nations were posturing for
the onset of the First World War when he left
his village, crossed to the south side of the
Gulf of Corinth, and travelled the relatively
short distance to the city of Patras where he
boarded the steamship Kaiser Franz Josef I. |
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He
arrived in the harbor of New York City on March
4th 1914 and was processed through Ellis Island
as Nicolaos Kefaliacos.
After being
examined for acceptable conditions of physical
and mental health and providing additional personal
information, he was released by the immigration
authorities apparently to join his cousin, Alex
Kefaliacos at his Sixth Avenue address in New York City.
His travel
to the New World was typical of all newcomers
to this country at the time. Also typical is his
story of a youth who arrived in the United States
with little money and no knowledge of the language
that he would need to help him succeed here.
He worked at various jobs, gradually learned
to become proficient in English and earned enough
money especially as a florist so that he was able
to open his own flower shop in Jackson Heights, Queens.
He eventually
brought his older brother into the business. The
Keffas Brothers Florist located on 82 Street in
Jackson Heights went on to become a prominent
business in the community
He was
fond of automobile travel and visited New England, Florida and California by car.
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Mr
Keffas was active in the local Masonic Order, and
was well-known in the area.
After his
first marriage ended in divorce, he married Mrs.
Georgia Manos, widow of Andrew Manos.
While continuing
his work in Jackson Heights, he also purchased the 66 room
Crystalbrook Hotel, a summer resort hotel near the
Catskill Mountain village of Fleischmanns, New York.
With the
help of his stepson Constantine (Deno), the family
operated the hotel as a vacation attraction primarily
for the Greek-American clientele, friends and relatives,
to the end of the 1955 season. It was then sold
to the Pavlos family of nearby Halcott Center.
He continued
work at his flower shop in Jackson Heights for a few additional years before
retiring in the 1960's.
Throughout
this time he and his wife Georgia happily associated
with their contemporary Greek- Americans, many of
whom had also spent their earliest years in Perista.
They maintained
their interest in and especially attended the Agios
Athanasios Association functions. Nick served as
its President in 1958 in cooperation with Athanasios
(Tom) Raptis who served as Vice President.
In retirement,
he continued his work as a florist on a part-time
basis, helping owners of a shop in Jackson Heights and another near Moshulu Parkway in the Bronx.
Mr. Keffas
remained a venerable resident of the Jackson Heights,
Queens neighborhood until his death in July, 1978.
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