Deno Trakas searched his office for evidence of his Greek ancestry.
“I see worry beads on my desk and Greek history books, but I don’t have a lot of Greek stuff,” he said. “I’m a little distant.”
Trakas, Hoy Professor of American Literature and chair of the English department at Wofford College, is the author of “Because Memory Is Not Eternal: A History of Greeks in Upstate South Carolina.” , the latest title from Hub City Press. He will sign books at the grand opening of the Hub City bookstore on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
As a third-generation Greek-American, Trakas’ Greek heritage doesn’t play a big role in his daily life, especially, he says, since he doesn’t attend the Greek Orthodox Church.
“I’m sort of a suspicious Greek,” he said. “The Greek character can be defined in many ways. If you regularly attend a Greek church, you can say that you are Greek and no one will argue with you,” because a definition of Greek is linked to religion.
“By this definition, based on religion, I am part Greek because I was baptized in the Greek church, but I don’t attend the Greek church now,” he explains in the book. “However, by ethnic heritage I am purely Greek because all my grandparents were born in Greek villages.”
Trakas said his friends and family encouraged him to write the book and he began reading many Greek-American and Greek stories.
“I knew a little about Greek history, but no details until I started researching my book,” he said. “I wanted to share what I had learned about Greek-Americans, share their history and what interested me.”
Trakas hopes people will learn something about the upstate Greek community and realize that they probably pass Greeks and Greek-related landmarks every day, many of which are restaurants such as Sugar-n-Spice in Spartanburg and Charlie’s Steak House in Greenville.
In the text of his book, you’ll find family recipes for traditional Greek dishes such as rizogalo, Greek fig cake, and Trakas’ favorite, pastitsio, a baked pasta dish.
“It was a strange choice,” Trakas said of including recipes. “I’ve been back and forth, but Greeks like to get together and eat Greek food. This is part of my heritage, since my mother and grandmother prepared these foods. Recipes are part of the heritage.
His family’s Greek-American heritage began in 1895 when Trakas’ fraternal grandfather, Nicholas Trakas, landed at Ellis Island. Nicholas and his brother Panagiotis moved to South Carolina and opened a candy store in Anderson in 1899. The following year, Nicholas became the first Greek in Spartanburg when he moved to town to open a candy and produce store at 121 E. Main. St., which later became Elite, a full-service restaurant.
“Greeks didn’t work in restaurants in Greece,” Trakas said. “Most were farmers or goat herders, but they didn’t want to do the same thing in America. They had a strong desire to earn money and they came with high hopes of a better life than that of a farmer in a poor village.
Many Greek immigrants entered the candy business upon arriving in New York, as a Greek owned a candy factory in the city and hired immigrants to sell them on the street. Many young immigrants likely learned the trade and started their own candy store, like Nicholas, or got into the food business through other means.
“In a restaurant, they could start as dishwashers or busboys, because it didn’t require them to know much English. Then, after learning the business and saving a little money, they were able to open their own business,” Trakas said. “Small restaurants could be run by a family, where the father would cook, the mother would run the cash register and help customers, and the children could carry the tables.”
Trakas said his grandfather stayed in Spartanburg because he was successful and loved the area. In the book, Trakas explains that Nicholas had “heard good reports about Spartanburg, and the name sounded like home since Arahova (his village) was in the Sparta region” of Greece.
Growing up, Trakas said the Greek influence on his life was not as strong as in previous generations, but writing the book brought him closer to his family.
“To write the book, I had to talk to my family, ask for photos and stories. I had conversations with loved ones that I had never had before,” he said. He came to the conclusion that he was more Greek than he thought.
Although Trakas has visited Greece three times, his two children have never been there. In January, when he took a group of students there, he said, “People were asking, ‘Where’s your family?’ I rubbed my fingers and said they couldn’t come because of the money, but they didn’t understand. He laughed and said, “The Greeks in Greece think all Americans are rich. »
And, as you’ll learn in the book, the Greeks have much more to offer than you could have learned from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
In addition to his appearance at the grand opening of the Hub City Bookstore, Trakas will also read and sign books at the Wofford College Library from 4 to 5 p.m. on September 10 and at the Grain District Showroom at 7:30 p.m. 13.
What: Deno Trakas, above, signing at the grand opening of Hub City Bookstore When: Friday 5 to 7 p.m. Where: Hub City Bookstore, 186 Main St. Information: Call 577-9349 or send a email to betsy@hubcity.org
