Leonidas Kourtis

GICREF089

Participants
Leonidas Kourtis
Intervieweer(s)
Alexandros Balasis
Date and Location
April 19, 2024
Toronto, ON
Languages
Greek
Permalink
Project
Greeks in Canada: A Digital Public History
Reference ID
GICREF089
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
Petrina (Laconia), Newark (United States), Dafni (Laconia), Athens, Toronto
Occupation(s)
Parents Occupation(s)

[00:00:24] His family in Petrina

[00:02:40] His father's war experience (1921, WWII, & the Civil War)

[00:05:21] Cultivating the land and his uncle’s emigration

[00:07:51] Working with an agronomist and the farmers’ co-op

[00:12:40] President of the co-op and fertilizing olive trees

[00:14:40] His uncle’s death and the Civil War in Laconia

[00:20:47] Receiving remittances and his desire to emigrate

[00:23:18] Girls leaving as domestics and seeking to migrate

[00:25:50] First visit of Charles Brown and the bell tower

[00:33:28] Brown’s second visit and building an arch

[00:43:00] Approaching Brown for help with migration

[00:50:29] Journey, arrival, and working at Bassel’s

[01:01:00] Learning English and becoming a bartender

[01:06:46] Sponsoring the migration of his family

[01:16:09] Those working at the Ontario Mushroom Co

[01:22:42] The Petrina Association

[01:25:41] Brown’s later visits to Greece and the farm's end

[01:29:39] Becoming manager and Brown’s villa in Petrina

[01:36:20] His involvement with the GCT, the elections

[01:42:50] President of St. Demetrios Church in 1988

[01:49:00] President of St. John's Church in the 1990s