Helen Power (née Xenophontos)

FAMREF005

Participants
Helen Power (née Xenophontos)
Intervieweer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Date and Location
May 17, 2022
Keswick, ON
Languages
English
Permalink
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
Reference ID
FAMREF005
Use and Reproduction: Digital content found on the HHF GCA digital portal is meant for research and private study used in compliance with copyright legislation. Access to digital content, and the technical capacity to download or copy it, does not imply permission to re-use. Prior written permission to publish or otherwise use content must be obtained from the copyright holder. Please contact the HHF GCA at hhfgca@yorku.ca for further information.
Categories
Tags
Decades Referenced
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Troodos Mountains; Kyperounda (Limassol District); Kambos (Nicosia District); Paphos; Canada; Toronto; Union Station; St. Michael's Hospital; Danforth; Titania Theatre; Arundel Avenue; Norh York; Pindar Crescent; York Mills & Leslie; Jane & Islington; York University; University of Toronto; SkyDome; Niagra Falls; Butterfly Conservatory (Niagara Falls); Markham; Keswick; Thunder Bay; Sudbury; Kitchener; Montreal; Italy; Egypt; London, UK; Australia; Turkey; Athens; Greece
Occupation(s)
She works as an accountant.
Parents Occupation(s)
In Cyprus, her mother worked on the famlily farm as a child and then was a switchboard operator. In Canada, she worked as an office cleaner. Her father worked for the telephone exchange in Amiandos and then was an electrician. In Canada, he also worked as a electrical foreman on the SkyDome, among other projects. In 1974, he was the Treasurer of the Cyprus Relief Fund (in this interview she erroneously refers to him as the President of that fund).

[00:00:16] Embodied memories of Cyprus

[00:01:32] Family history and migration patterns

[00:08:30] Trips to Cyprus after migrating to Canada

[00:15:36] Memories of her mother and arriving in Canada

[00:19:25] Life on the Danforth in the 1970s

[00:22:41] Experience with Greek dance, theatre, & language

[00:24:01] How her father differed from most Cypriot parents

[00:27:52] How her father helped newly arrived Cypriots

[00:28:53] Details about other family members in Canada

[00:36:46] Details about her last time in Cyprus

[00:39:00] The dynamic with her brother & Danforth memories

[00:43:56] Details about her mother’s life

[00:49:05] Memories of her grandfather and great-grandfather

[00:53:49] Communication with family in Cyprus

[00:56:03] How her mother learned English from TV game shows

[01:00:04] Lack of interest in audiovisual preservation

[01:02:22] Maintaining proficiency with the Greek language

[01:04:45] The importance of social media for the elderly

[01:07:52] Her father's work on the SkyDome

[01:13:43] The divide between Makarios & Grivas supporters

[01:17:50] Lack of connection to Cyprus beyond her father

[01:19:18] Her mother preferring Canada to Cyprus

[01:21:55] Hopes for the future of Cyprus, re: the economy

[01:23:46] Being the first in her family to attend university

[01:25:25] Photos from Niagara Falls

[01:27:41] Photos from the Danforth and Greek school plays

[01:30:12] Being born on Cypriot Independence Day  

[01:32:55] Photos from Cyprus in 1978

[01:33:59] Her father’s work on the Cyprus Relief Fund (1974)

[01:36:46] The destruction of her aunt’s house in 1974

[01:39:59] Photos of Easter on the Danforth

[01:41:22] Discussing assorted family photos

Photographs incorporated into the interview.