Helen Power (née Xenophontos)
Interviewer(s):
Theo Xenophontos
Project:
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Keswick, ON
LANGUAGE:
English
DATE:
May 17, 2022

Interview Summary:

Helen Power was born in Amiandos, Cyprus in 1960. In 1966, she migrated to Canada with her mother and younger brother after their father arrived earlier in the year for economic reasons. She and her family lived on the Danforth from the early to mid-1970s.

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Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
May 17, 2022
Keswick, ON
Interviewee(s)
Helen Power (née Xenophontos)
Interviewer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Languages
English
Reference ID
FAMREF005
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Education
Historical Events
Homeland Activism
Migration
Rites
Working Life
Tags
Australia
Cleaning Work
Cypriot Canadian Economic Relations
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cyprus 1974
Cyprus Coup
Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario
Dance
English Learning
EOKA
EOKA-B
Gender
Greek Community of Toronto Inc.
Greek School
Junta
Language
Marriage
Military Service
Ocean Liner
Post-1974 Migration
Postsecondary Education
Pre-1974 Migration
Religion
Sponsorship
WW2
Decades Referenced
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
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; North 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 a chartered accountant.
Parents Occupation(s)
In Cyprus, her mother worked on the family farm as a child, then was a switchboard operator and nurse as an adult. In Canada, she worked as an office cleaner. Her father worked for the telephone exchange in Amiandos and then was a electrican. In Canada, he also worked as an electrical foreman on the SkyDome, among other projects. In 1974, he was the Treasurer of the Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario (in this interview, she erroneously refers to him as the President of that fund). Her grandfather served in the Cyprus Regiment of the British Army during World War II.
Names Referenced
Anna Ellinas; Bob Barker; Georgios Grivas; Helen De Ponte (née Dionyssiou); Makarios III; Nitsa Benkovic (née Pingos); Theodoros Xenophontos

[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

This is some text inside of a div block.
Her mother working as a nurse in Cyprus, early 1960s
Family portrait taken in Cyprus, some time between 1964 - 1966
Her mother's passport
Her mother's passport, including the day they arrived in Canada
Helen with her brother in their first Canadian apartment, March 1967
Helen's mother at a Canadian government office, November 1967
Helen (wearing pink in the far right of the frame) in a Greek school play, early 1970s
Helen in a Greek school play, early 1970s
Helen with her family at the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, early 1970s
Helen with her family at their home on the Danforth, early 1970s
Family portrait taken on the Danforth, 1973
Helen and her family during their trip to Greece, 1973
Helen and her brother in front of the Parthenon, 1973
Helen celebrating her birthday in Cyprus, 1973
Helen outside of Kolossi Castle, 1978
Helen visiting her aunt, whose home was burnt down during the coup, 1978
Helen with her paternal pappou and yiayia, 1978
Helen with her mother and maternal yiayia outside of her home in Kambos, 1978
Helen's graduation from York University, 1983
Helen's wedding, 1983
Helen's maternal yiayia at her wedding, which was her only visit to Canada, 1983
Helen with her husband and parents at her brother's wedding, 1986
Helen's mother with Helen's first-born son on Christmas Day, 1987
Helen with her niece at the interviewer's fourth birthday party, December 3, 1995
Helen and her family celebrating her mother's birthday, 1997
No items found.
Her mother working as a nurse in Cyprus, early 1960s
Family portrait taken in Cyprus, some time between 1964 - 1966
Her mother's passport
Her mother's passport, including the day they arrived in Canada
Helen with her brother in their first Canadian apartment, March 1967
Helen's mother at a Canadian government office, November 1967
Helen (wearing pink in the far right of the frame) in a Greek school play, early 1970s
Helen in a Greek school play, early 1970s
Helen with her family at the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, early 1970s
Helen with her family at their home on the Danforth, early 1970s
Family portrait taken on the Danforth, 1973
Helen and her family during their trip to Greece, 1973
Helen and her brother in front of the Parthenon, 1973
Helen celebrating her birthday in Cyprus, 1973
Helen outside of Kolossi Castle, 1978
Helen visiting her aunt, whose home was burnt down during the coup, 1978
Helen with her paternal pappou and yiayia, 1978
Helen with her mother and maternal yiayia outside of her home in Kambos, 1978
Helen's graduation from York University, 1983
Helen's wedding, 1983
Helen's maternal yiayia at her wedding, which was her only visit to Canada, 1983
Helen with her husband and parents at her brother's wedding, 1986
Helen's mother with Helen's first-born son on Christmas Day, 1987
Helen with her niece at the interviewer's fourth birthday party, December 3, 1995
Helen and her family celebrating her mother's birthday, 1997
No items found.
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