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vol. 006 - Argoudelis Farms
The Argoudelis journey to America and All Saints Greek Orthodox Church is an
interesting one, filled with many anecdotal facts. Grandfather Dimitrios Z. Argoudelis
served in the Greek navy during the Balkan Wars and by 1914 was working on a Greek
merchant ship. He allegedly went on leave in Bridgeport, Connecticut and thereafter,
made his way to Joliet to join his fellow Mykonians. He is present in early photos of All
Saints events. Work varied in his early years, selling fish for a time and then owning a
bakery with his cousins Nick and Dimitrios Argoudelis (appropriately called the French
Bakery located where the present day City Hall is). Eventually, Pappou found a Greek
woman, Alexandria Diakakis from Chicago, started farming in the 1920s and together
two boys were born: John Zane and my father Frank J. Argoudelis.
Yiayia Alexandria had quite a story of her own, being of Karpathian heritage but having
been born and raised in the great Greek city of Smyrni, Asia Minor. Having grown up in
relative wealth, the Greco-Turkish war turned her into a refugee and she made her way
to America with her family in 1923. She experienced a ‘soft landing’ as her uncle
George Yamas owned a ballroom in Chicago and she was gifted a baby grand piano at
the age of 16 by her beloved Uncle George. Large social events and dances were held
for Greek immigrants in those days in Chicago and it was at one of these events that
Pappou and Yiayia met. Family legend maintains he impressed her with a rented suit
and car. Her feelings when she found out he was a farmer in Joliet were not recorded.
Hard working and ever resourceful, according to Yiayia Argoudelis, it was her idea to
grow tomatoes commercially for sale to Campbell Soup, thus putting the family on the
road to prosperity. She once surprised Pappou one March by buying 500 baby chicks
and explaining how egg and eventually meat sales would also turn a profit. Pappou
reminded her that baby chicks could not survive the March cold in the barn and for the
next two months the chicks enjoyed the warmth of the second floor of the farmhouse.
My father never ate chicken thereafter.
Like all of the early Greek families, their social life revolved around the Church –
holidays, Philoptochos, Ahepa and for the men – the Greek Kafeneion in Joliet.
My mom, Anna (Georgiadis) immigrated from Karpathos in 1955 with her family and
lived for a time in East Chicago, Indiana. Coincidently her family was neighbors with
Yiayia Alexandria’s sister Maria and a meeting was arranged between Frank and Anna
leading to their marriage and life together raising we three kids on the Farm in Plainfield.
Anna was innocent and naïve to farming one time commenting to dad that she thought
we were going to have a large soybean crop due to the numerous flowers she saw in
the field. Dad chuckled and informed her that those were weeds! She learned and
adapted, gardening, canning and raising us to be proper well-mannered Greek
Americans. Life was simple for we Greek Americans and we were close to one another
attending Church, dances, Greek and Sunday school, GOYA and more. Adults knew whose child you were, knew your name and felt quite at ease reprimanding you if you
were out of line. 110 years of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church and I can say the
Argoudelis family has spanned 4 generations during that time – my father, siblings and
my own children having been baptized here.
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