The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-18

the strife in their homeland put their
small savings into little restaurants
and took with them as cooks the other
Greeks who had no money al all. Some
of the invaders even found funds with
which to buy or rent hotels. They fur
nished them and boarders came for al
ways with the hotel the Greeks kept
restaurant alongside, a restaurant
where good food was served reason
where rooms were to be had reason
aby--clean rooms and decenty fur
nished
Naturally the business in the boom
town of the south Increased. 1t in
creased so rapidly and so substantially
that many of the owners of the first
little shops were able to turn them into
restaurants that occupy the entire
ground floor and second floor of some
of the citys more pretentious buildings,
while the Greek hotel keepers came to
occupy whole buildings as hostelries
The success of the Greek invasion of
Birmingham has been an accepted and
largely developing fact for several
one of the cleanest cooks in the world
and his dishes are served most palat-
ably. At the same time the Greek res
taurant has put many new dishes be-
fore the southerner, many of which
have become SO popular that they have
now been incorporated into the menus
of the most exclusive hotels and hostel
ries And out OF the success of the
Greek in Birmingham has grown a
large immigration to this city of the
silent. sober men whose ancestors made
the Grecian nation the most famous
of ancient regimes. They do their bust
ness quietly and methodically They
have been able to make much money
III the city because they sell clean
products at a reasonable price and
work themselves in the making of it.
1t came about that during the war
just closed in the Balkans there was
a great patriotic uprising of the
Greeks in America to offer themselves
as fighters in their country's cause.
How welded to his country the Greek
is may be judged from the fact that
more than half the Greeks in Birming-
ham volunteered and. actually went
back to Europe to fight the battles of
the Balkans. In some cases that meant
the desertion of growing and prosper
Gus businesses. But it made no differ
ence to the patriotic Greeks. No call
from their King or parliament had come
for them, but they knew that in their
native land there were a scarcity of
fighting men and they knew that pa
triotic Greeks by the hundred would
volunteer all over the United States
and Europe the moment the need was
realized.
So the Greeks of Birmingham did
what their ancestors had done before
in ancient times of stress. They held
meeting and it was agreed that at
least a half of all the Greeks of the
city would go back to Greece to hght
her wars leaving only enough here to
care for the women and children and to
carry on the businesses, the bulk of
which had become very great. Some
OF those Greeks from Birmingham and
vicinity are still with their country's
army. Some others that volunteered
will never come back with their COM
rades. because they We're killed IN pat
ties with the Turks But It Is ex-
pected that shortly. when the SURVIVORS
arrive. there Will he held Ia the city
great reception for the doughty men
who left their new home and families
to fight in their countrys wars.