The Lowell Hellenic Heritage Association       
Newsletter                        December 2007

This is to inform you about our recent activities and to ask your help in a forthcoming exhibit: The Centennial of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Building, 1908 – 2008.  We hope that you will consider joining us as a member (see the last item below).

As part of our continuing efforts, we are again hosting an active year of events in 2008 and hope you can participate. For your information, there is a lot happening in our community and below are some news we’d like to share with you.

1. Holy Trinity Centennial Exhibit: You can help us present an exhibit in conjunction with the Centennial of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Building (1908 – 2008) by sharing photographs, items and stories from the early years of church history to modern times, and help keep the memories of the church community alive. The exhibit will open on Sunday, June 15^th at 2:00 pm at the Mogan Cultural Center – 40 French Street, Lowell MA. Please see the link (to be constructed) for more information. We'd like to hear from you; send us an email.

2. Cultural Heritage Award: This past spring, the LHHA was awarded Lowell National Historical Park’s first Cultural Heritage Award for our “exemplary work on preserving the history of the Lowell Greek community…” The award letter further stated that we are … “an outstanding example for other ethnic groups to follow. The National Park and the citizens of Lowell are benefiting from your leadership ...” We thank the National Park for recognizing that the community that helped create the Park is still interested in supporting the mission established by the folks who worked alongside Pat Mogan to foster the preservation of Lowell’s unique heritage and history.

3. Preserving our Cultural Heritage Workshop: Please be on the lookout for an upcoming workshop on preserving your cultural heritage that will be cosponsored by the Mogan Cultural Center and the Lowell National Historical Park in the Fall of 2008. This workshop will help all of us understand the technical side of preserving our artifact, document and photographic collections so that we all may better protect the memories of ourselves and our ancestors.

4. Lowell Hellenic Heritage Website: We have put on our website excerpts from the Acropolis of America exhibits, more photographs, stories, and video. We have received email messages from Hellenes around the world, from Siberia to Australia; from Greece and from England to Montana.  Through our website, close cousins have reached out to each other and made contact that was lost for decades. We hope that this website ultimately develops into a virtual museum.  Visit us often.

5. New Edition of Greek History Book:  Nicholas Karas has recently published a new and expanded book, Greek Immigrants at Work “A Lowell Odyssey”. For more information about the book, you may contact Nick at nkaras25@aol.com, or visit the Lowell Downtown Barnes and Noble bookstore at 151 Merrimack Street, or the Lowell National Park Visitor’s Center at 246 Market Street.

6. Annual Meeting in May: Please join us for our Annual Meeting that will include election of new board members. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 7^th , beginning at 6:30, location to determined. A brief business meeting will be followed by a:

7. Remembrance Event:  Each year, we can look forward to LHHA focusing on one slice of Greek heritage in the Lowell area. So far, we have covered, among other topics, sports, rural areas of Lowell, work, and life in the 1930’s. We are discussing now what will be this year’s topic. Whether, you are a member, or not, come, listen  share what you know about the chosen topic and come encounter some friends you might not have seen in a while. Refreshments will be served.

8. Military Exhibit: We are partnering once again with the Greek American Legion and the Hellenic Culture Society to feature an exhibit of photos of those Lowellians who served in the armed forces from the Balkan Wars to the present. This year, an important focus will be “women in the military” and the important contributions they gave to our city and our nation. The exhibit and reception will be held at the Greek American Legion Post at 228 Worthen Street, likely on Memorial Day weekend.  We are still looking for additional military photos; if you have any please call Nick Karas 978-452-0116, or bring them that day.  The exhibit may also be viewed for some days after the opening.

9. Membership: We invite you to become a member of the Lowell Hellenic Heritage Association for the 2007/2008 season by writing your name and address (email address is optional) and returning it to PO Box 9602 Lowell, Massachusetts 01853. Membership is still only $15.00 a year. We thank you for your support in helping to preserve our story!