* PAVING THE WAY (Protoporoi)

Our Pioneers

In 1888 three Peristians: John Hatzinikolaou, Athanasios Tarkazikis and G. Andreopoulos made a big and historic decision to leave Perista and started searching the world looking for better luck.

On their travels to Massinia and Lakonia they learned about other people who went to America and they were prospering at the new promise land. This became a temptation for them so they boarded a tanker ship from Patra and soon they arrived in Naples, Italy. From there they boarded another ship that took them to France and finally from France they boarded on a Trans Atlantic ship that took them to New York, U.S.A.

The first days they stayed at a Greek hotel on Madison Street who's owner was from Kithera. Immediately they started working construction for the city of New York while in their spare time doing some other work for themselves on sales. Their first letter arrived back to Perista after six months. Quickly the whole county learned their news and there were a lot of young people that wanted to imitate them.

This was the beginning for many people to leave. This is how the bright romance with immigration was created; Greece was loosing its best blood.

One of the pioneer immigrants G.Andreopoulos soon decided to return to Perista. Together with some friends from Sparta he left New York in June 1889. The ship that carried them collided with a Spanish war ship in the Mediterranean and was cut in half. Most of the passengers died, including G.Andreopoulos, the Peristians mourned the first victim of immigration from their village.

The second victim was Nikolaos Raptis's son Thanasis. He went to New York but he got sick. He decided to return in 1901 but died at the age of 12 on the returning ship. Along the ship was also a very important Peristian Mihalis Xatzinikolaou who later lost all his money and got crazy. The villagers used to call him "Manousakia".

Hatzinikolaou convinced the Captain of the ship not to throw the dead body of Athanasios at sea and was able to bring the body to Patra where he buried the body with a religious burial. At Raftis' little home in Pana there was a handwritten note until recently by little Thanasis who it seems was forced to immigrate.

Xatzinikolaou who also had a second nick name because of his looks died in 1932. He was a pioneer who helped Perista by collecting funds for different constructions in the village but also helped establishing and maintaining the Perista Society of America . His picture is still on the wall in Perista Grammar School.

Two societies were created and both had a bright progress for the years to come. Both helped Perista and Nafpakitia a lot. In 1904 the pioneer Peristians gave the idea and with many other Nafpaktians had created the first Nafpaktian Brotherhood of New York. At the Historic first meeting on 25th of October 1904 at the church of Holy Trinity there were 22 Peristians, 10 Plataniotes and 11 more from surrounding Nafpaktia villages.