VI. Contributions to the Maritimes and to Canada: Profiles

The following profiles present some quick snapshots of a few Greek Canadians in the Maritime Provinces. That is not to say that the individuals in the profiles are somehow more important than other Maritime Greeks, or to suggest that their contributions to life here are more significant. However, these people were gracious enough to agree to interviews, and I hope that they seem to be a representative sample of various occupations and interests among local Greek Canadians. Logistical constraints, especially involving distances and the difficulties associated with arranging interviews, placed limits on the numbers and types of profiles. The author’s original intent here was to focus on the categories of culture, church, business, and professions, and then to interview individuals who fit those different divisions. She soon found that people’s lives were too complex, too multi faceted to pigeonhole them in one particular category. Many thanks to all those who agreed to be interviewed.

John Angelopoulos

Mr. John Angelopoulos had his first term as Council president of St. George’s Church in Halifax from 1986 – 88, and his second term as president from 1995-99. Disliking the military dictatorship in Greece, he came to Nova Scotia from Nafpactos in 1968 to join other family members here. Having lived first in Cape Breton and then in Montreal for several years, in 1972 he joined his brother Louis in business. In 1974 the two brothers decided to buy the Halifax branch of the Koolex Kleaners operation from the Farmakoulas/ Xidos families of Cape Breton.

John has three strong passionate interests in his life – his family, the Greek church, and his flourishing dry cleaning business. He speaks with great pride about his wife Maria, who has just completed her Ph.D. in Psychology, and about his three children. He says that his children, unlike him, who is a Greek Canadian, are Canadian Greeks. For him the slight differences in wording are clearly significant.

When John Angelopoulos was asked to name a highlight in his years as Council president, he answered immediately, “The first Greek Festival in 1986. Father Elles (the priest at the time) and I were so worried. We had spent $10,000 of the people’s money in preparation for the Festival. Would we lose their money? The weekend started on Friday with rain, and our big tent was leaking. What would Halifax’s people think of us? By Saturday evening those worries were receding, but we had a new one. In spite of all the food which the people had prepared, we had virtually none left. Those wonderful Greek women and our Greek restaurant owners went home to cook and bake all night, and on Sunday we fed thousands more people. Like most groups we sometimes have our differences of opinions among ourselves. Once the Festival was on and we all worked beside each other – I remember that I was next to someone who had disagreed with me about something – the tension went away. The Festival had brought our people together. My favorite memory is of a young boy who attended our first Festival with his mother. As he watched the dancers, heard the music, and ate our Greek food, I overheard him turn to his mother and say, ‘Mom, how come we are not Greek?’”

John went on, “There are so many good memories. In 1987 the various Foreign Affairs Ministers for NATO were meeting in Halifax and we hosted a reception for them in our community centre. In 1984 and again in 1998, we entertained the captain, crew, and 300 cadets from the Greek training ship ‘Ares’. It was a wonderful opportunity for our young people to meet all those fine, educated, young Greeks from home.”

Speaking about his business life, Mr. Angelopoulos told us that he and his brother now own thirteen dry cleaning stores with about forty full-time employees as well as contract workers. These stores operate in the Halifax Regional Municipality under the names Koolex Kleaners and Don Schelew. He described the meticulous care and attention to detail which the dry cleaning business demands-and receives- from its owners. In all aspects of their business these two brothers have clearly combined the Greek approach to hard work with North American professional expertise. Some of his favorite business stories involve the number of wedding dresses which he has been asked to clean. In one particular instance a young woman had brought him a dress, saying that it was her mother’s and grandmother’s, and was badly discolored with wear and time. He cleaned the dress for her – and it came out almost as good as new.

Summing up his business policy in these words, John said, “It’s the challenge in the work which makes you want to do the best job that you can. When I am able to help a customer no one else can help, I get a real feeling of satisfaction with the service we provide.” He is justifiably proud that the chemicals he uses are safe for the employees, the customers, and for the environment. Involved in every aspect of his work, John Angelopoulos has served on the boards of numerous professional associations, including a term as president of The Fabric Care Association of Canada. He is a strong advocate for increased training and regulations for individuals who want to open or buy a dry cleaning business. Right now, he says, the industry has few guidelines. “They should teach courses on the proper use of chemicals in the dry cleaning business. There are regular courses for plumbers, why not for people in our industry? We could help the province set up those courses and provide apprentice training programs.”

As both the past president of the St. George’s Church Council and as the co-owner of a major dry cleaning business in Halifax, John Angelopoulos is dedicated and hardworking. In speaking to him, one cannot help but get a sense of the excitement and enthusiasm this very busy man brings to everything in his active life.