Fifteen year-old Haralambos hugged his widowed mom by no means to see her once more. Boarding a ship in Athens he sailed to America with hopes of a greater life.
Tears crammed Haralambos’ eyes as he noticed a statue with a torch in New York harbor. Haralambos had reached his vacation spot, a nation of people that have been free to pursue no matter they dreamed doable.
Inside weeks Haralambos found that “the land of the free and the house of the courageous” was not the Backyard of Eden. He discovered firsthand that democracy didn’t preclude prejudice. His darkish complexion and damaged English weren’t a well-liked mixture in 1907.
Pondering an American identify would possibly higher his probabilities at acceptance, Haralambos deserted his Greek identify. Touchdown within the Pacific Northwest, he modified his identify to Harry Smith. He married and raised a household. Harry Smith was my paternal grandfather, who died in 1957.
On Aug. 13, 1969, my father legally modified our identify again to Asimakoupoulos in honor of his dad. As we anticipate America’s 250th anniversary, I’m conscious of the debt we owe immigrants like my grandfather. It’s applicable that we embrace our ethnic range as People and have fun our roots with pleasure.
Greg Asimakoupoulos, Mercer Island
