REPLY RECEIVED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 82, 5 June 1946, Page 6

REPLY RECEIVED

LETTER FROM GREECE SOME INTERESTING SIDELIGHTS Readers may remember an article printed in the Beacon some months ago concerning a letter of thanks received by Miss Nola Kenyon of King Street, Whakatane, from the grateful recipient of a knitted article despatched amongst others through the Red Cross to Greece. The letter was answered, and several days ago, a reply was received, the writers being Gianoula and Sofocles Stephanopoulos, St. Athanasios, Salonica, Greece. Interesting extracts from the letter, which was -written on May 5, read as follows: “Received your most welcome letter and was happy to hear about yourself and your family. It was most kind of you to answer my letter. I will tel! you something about myself and my husband. I am 53 years old, and I was born in Turkey during the 1914-18 War. The Turks chased us out of Turkey because we were friendly to the Allies and we were forced to leave our homes and families without even having time to take extra clothing.

“You ask if there are many people speak your language. There are many, but they are in the cities. Our village is only 20 miles from Salonika and I go each time to my cousin, to read and answer your letter. My cousin was in Toronto, Canada, as a grocery and provision merchant.

“My husband’s name is Sofocles, the name of one of the ancient philosophers of Greece. He is a farmer and we grow wheat, cotton, tobacco, grapes (wine), raisins and a number of other diffirent kinds of fruit.

“Most of the entertainment in the village comes in harvest time when we go out threshing our wheat crops, or else when there is a wedding. On an' occasion such as this, we make a large circle in the open, and dance.

“Our country has suffered more than any other. We have not one train, bridge, or tunnel left. It will take five years before we can travel by rail again and at present we have to travel by U.N.R.R.A. automobiles and food supply trucks.”