My Greek Barber's Diary

Hellas

Greek My

Barber’s Diary

MY LIFE AND TIMES AT CANADIAN AIRLINES 1968 -1997

Memories of a life well lived!

As told by a former Senior Vice President and Chair of the Council of Canadian Airlines Employees SID FATTEDAD F.C.G.A.

by CHRISTOPHER BEST AUTHOR OFTHE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE LEGENDARY MR.D

The George Chronopoulos Story

My

Greek Barber’s Diary THE GEORGE CHRONOPOULOS STORY

4 ~ Publisher

Copyright 2015 Christopher Best All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright, www.accesscopywrite.ca, 1-800-893-5777 Warfleet Press 1038 east 63rd Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., V5X 2L1 www.warfleetpress.com All photos from the collection of Christopher Best unless otherwise noted.

Cover Photo: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, 2014 Photos of George Chronopoulos Cover design by Christopher Best Text design by Christopher Best Edited by Dr Robert S. Thomson Printed and bound in China Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Best, Christopher 1949 My Greek Barber’s Diary The George Chronopoulos Story ISBN 978-0-9868793-4-0

1970s Vancouver, Ray Cantor, Voula, Terry Moore (the actress), Mrs. Cantor, George Chronopoulos

6 ~ Map

This book is dedicated to my lovely wife Voula and daughters Helen, Marianna, Jaime and grandchildren. I hope it will bring them happiness and understanding.

MAP OF THE DISTRICT OF MESSENIA (Southern Greece)

I was the 20,000th person through the door to buy a ticket for the big game. Herb Capozzi promoted my shop in both the Sun and Province newspapers for two weekends. 1965,

CONTENTS 1. The Chronopoulos’ Of Militsa...................................................13 2. Sargeant Chronopoulos...........................................................29 3. Married In Montreal..................................................................43 4. Good Guys, Bad Guys.............................................................53 5. My Beautiful Riviera Hair Salon...............................................73 6. The Royal Riviera.....................................................................91 7. Up, Up And Away....................................................................113 8. Two Trips of a Life Time.........................................................195 9. Three Weddings for Three Daughters....................................219 10. Puttin’ On The Breaks..........................................................231 11. India and Beyond.................................................................245 12. Bad Times, Good Times.......................................................269 13. Mentors, Clients and Golf Buddies.......................................285 14. A Wonderful Life...................................................................307 15. Appendix...............................................................................353 16. Index.....................................................................................363

10 ~ Stories & Anecdotes

This book is a collection of short stories and anecdotes in chronological order about the people, places and events in the life of George Chronopoulos. He has met and known a lot of people from all walks of life. “I would like to think that I have touched them all in one way or another.” While some might interpret some of the details in his stories as bragging, I feel it is the detail that makes his stories so interesting. Like a boy in a candy shop at age 80 he still loves meeting new people and greeting old friends and he always treats everyone just the same. His memory is so sharp it was a challenge not to include more of the details. His life has been filled with much happiness, sorrow and ups and downs. He has travelled extensively and bought and sold a lot of properties and businesses. But at the end of the day, he always likes to say, “I am still just a barber from a small village in Greece called Militsa.”

“Don’t limit investing to the financial world. Invest something of yourself, and you will be richly rewarded.”

-- Charles Schwab

Dimitri and Eleny Chronopoulus in Militsa. 1930s

1 The Chronopoulos’ of Militsa (A Family Tree)

My family is from Militsa, one of the warmest spots in Greece. It is located in the southern part of the Peloponnese peninsula near Kalamata and is the second most populous city in the Peloponnese. My greatgrandfather was born in Arcadia in central Greece. He travelled south to the province of Messinia and stayed in Militsa with his wife and son (my grandfather). Peasant families traditionally migrated south in the winter with their herds of sheep and goats. In this region you find orange trees, lemon trees, almonds, figs, grapes, and olives of the highest quality. It is one of the most fertile plains in Greece.

My grandfather had a large family. There was Nicoletta who was my aunt and the oldest. Right after her was my father Dimitri born in 1908, then Theodore, followed by Dennis, my uncle. My grandfather died

14 ~ Spyros Risvanis

very young at age 45 and my dad became the head of the family. He looked after his brothers and sisters while they were growing up.

My dad married my mother Eleni Rigas when he was eighteen. He became rich in many ways. She was born in 1905 and was twenty-one.

Traditionally, the girl’s family gave the boy’s family a dowry. My father received two acres of land. The mandritsa was for growing olive trees and vineyards. The anima was for growing wheat. They were both located a twenty minute walk from our village. My father was a good farmer and businessman. Eventually he added more land and bought his father’s partner’s share in an olive oil factory located at the back of our property. He used it for our own use and for business. He was a good family man and provider and was well respected in the village.

The Greek Orthodox Church gave to our lives order and happiness.

Family and religion are central to Greek values and behaviour. They reinforce each other. The Greek Orthodox Church advocates the traditional patriarchal family and this is specified in the marriage ceremony.

In this ceremony the wife accepts the husband as head of the family. We were a happy family.

Dennis was my father’s younger brother. He was born in 1915 so there were a few years between them. They always listened to each other and later became partners in everything. Dennis married Yianoula who was also from our village and stayed in Greece all his life, working on our farm. They had two daughters, Paraskevi and Anthoula. Uncle

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 15

Dennis looked a lot like my dad but was a little darker. He was a hard worker, thin and slight of build.

My aunt, Nicoletta had a good life. She married Tony Risvanis from a smaller village called Koutsamadis. The village was so small it had no stores, only a church and about ten houses. Everyone in the village worked hard on their farms. The village was very wealthy. They had three boys Aristidis, George and John, and two girls Anna and Helena.

Aristidis became very successful. He is now 85. He looked after my dad’s farm for years and I still phone him every week. Ari was drafted into the army and became a one star General. He later moved to Logga, a city of 1,500 people and opened a small convenience store. He wound up buying and selling various commodities and prospered. He bought a lot of farms. He built a new house and now he owns a commercial building that has a police station and a doctor’s office as tenants. Ari has two children, one boy named Tony and one girl named Nicoletta. Tony, Ari’s son is named after his grandfather and works in a bank. He started working at the Alpha Bank when he was twenty. He is now 58 and is going to retire soon. Tony’s son Spyros is a soccer star. He is ranked number 24.

He plays for the Greek football club Panathinaikos in the Greek Super League. He is 19 years old and in 2013/14 (his first year playing as a professional), he was voted Rookie of the Year! His other son Ari is a math teacher and the oldest. Nicoletta has a boy and a girl. Her son is an accountant and has just graduated university.

16 ~ Tom Gallos

Theodora was my second aunt. She married George Thomopoulos from the village of Andriani. When I was living in Athens, I took her to the doctor twice a week on the bus to have her hip wrapped. I had to get up at 4 a.m. because the doctor lived outside of Athens in Madra, about an hour and a half away from my house. She had one daughter and two boys. She was short and stocky like my dad.

Paraskevi translated: means Friday. She was my grandmother and very old during the war. She tried to hide us kids from the Germans.

There was a German army base four or five hours from Militsa near a town called Pilos. She too was short, about 5 feet 2 inches tall. She was always busy with the kids. She was a hard worker and a very strong person (They didn’t have modern inventions in those days so they worked hard). When my grandfather died, she married a man with several kids.

My father and mother had four children: Voula, me, Antonia and Kostas.

Voula was my eldest sister. I was told there was a huge celebration when Voula was born because my mother had lost several babies at birth (In those days babies were born at home with a mid-wife or ‘mammy’).

She had a good heart and a nice personality. She looked after us kids while we were all growing up. She married a man named Tom Gallos.

He was from a nearby village and they moved to Athens. Tom was in the restaurant business. Voula made garments at home for the fashion firm Haritos and they did quite well.

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 17

I had a happy childhood. There was also a big celebration when I was born. I was the first born son and my parents were very happy to have another healthy baby. There were lots of parties and much food. As a child I remember, in the wintertime, running down and hiding in the olive oil factory to keep warm. My dad did not work in the factory all the time but my uncle Dennis did. I didn’t see my dad much growing up because he was so busy. It seemed like he worked all the time. As a young boy, I had asthma and bronchitis. A Dr. Doropoulos used to visit me from Methoni. He would give me injections and little yellow pills for my fever. I remember I had an infection as well. There would often be a priest present when the doctor arrived to assure that I would be respectful and not cry. Everyone told me that I should become a doctor so that I could look after myself: ‘Physician heal thyself’ (Luke 4:23).

I got away with lots of things. My grandfather and grandmother on my mother’s side were named John and Fotoula Rigas. John was very meticulous. He spent hours grooming his horse. Everything needed to be just right. I remember he had a gun with two barrels. One time when I was about twelve, a friend named Theodoris (who was older than me), asked me to go hunting. I asked my grandmother if I could borrow grandpa’s gun. It was hard for her to say no to her grandkids. “If your grandfather finds out, he will be very upset,” she said. We went down to the valley. I saw a bird but each time we got close, it would move further away. This happened over a distance of 1.5 kilometres. There were several people

18 ~ Panagiotis Tsimiklis

making wine nearby. I pointed the gun at the bird and pulled the trigger.

I killed the bird but the gun was so powerful it knocked me backwards and I fell head over heels. Everyone laughed because it was only a small wild rooster.

My mother’s family lived in Militsa as well. John and Fotoula had two boys and three girls. Their names were Niko, Leo, Maria, Eleni and Anthea. John had a farm. Everyone in the village was involved in agriculture. They worked to live, making olive oil and wine, raising lambs and sheep. Everyone was self-sufficient. There was no electricity in the old days so they put olive oil in a jar, attached a wick and burned the olive oil to provide light at night. They lived like kings. They had everything they needed to live well.

Niko had four children from his first wife. They were Fotoula, John, George and Dimitri and four children from a second wife. They were Christos, Frank, Kostas and Panagiota. Uncle Niko was always kind but he was very outspoken. He was well known in the village and everyone accepted him and his characteristic nature.

Leo was handicapped and did not marry until later. He had no children. He liked to drink wine. When no one was watching he would scoop wine out of the top of the barrels using a glass. The only problem was he kept dropping the glass into the barrel. Eventually the spiggot plugged because the glasses lodged against the hole inside, blocking the wine from flowing out. When they checked the barrel it was half empty

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 19

and they found five or six glasses inside. He got caught.

Maria had two boys Dimitri and Panagiotis and two girls Angela and Maria. Panagiotis went to school in Koroni. He was much older than me but because of the war he was only one year ahead in school. He was a very good student and went on to university. He went into hospitality management and became the GM of the Delphi Hotel. He married a girl from Delphi. In his dowry he received a nice piece of land in Delphi and built a gift shop on it. He named the gift shop Apollo 8 after the second manned moon mission in the Apollo program in 1968. His younger brother Dimitri later took over management of the gift shop. They have done very well.

Anthea means bloom. She had four boys John, George, Nick (the oldest) and Peter and two girls Andreanna and Dimitra. They all now live in Montreal. The fourth boy George moved back to Greece and has a very nice house in Pilos. His daughter Anthea moved to Greece as well and taught English. Niko has four boys and they all work in the restaurant field. Peter has two girls.

My mother had five first cousins. One was six feet four inches tall.

He finished school and became a teacher. There was a village about a twenty minute walk from Militsa called Klisoura. Every morning he would walk there. One morning he was hit by lightning and killed. He had his umbrella up because it was raining.

My entire grandfather’s family was short. However, my

20 ~ Prime Minister Yannis Metaxas

grandfather’s brother’s family was all over six feet tall and blond. It was very unusual in those days to see a tall, blond Greek.

The fascists took over Greece. In 1936 Prime Minister Yannis Metaxas declared a state of emergency and became the leader of what became known as “the 4th of August Regime” (after the date of its proclamation). Metaxas adopted many of Fascist Italy’s institutions. Those loyal to Metaxas were promoted to positions of authority: police, security, civil service.

I was one of the Proethros’ kids. My father, who was loyal to Metaxas, was appointed head of four villages (from 1936 to 1950). His official title was “the Proethros,” which is something like a mayor. He was only 27 years old. The villages were Upper Militsa, Lower Militsa, Vlasaika and Karvounia Raika. Because we were the Proethros’ kids everyone knew us. We were expected to attend all civic ceremonies.

Let me tell you more about Militsa. Militsa was a small village (and still is). It overlooks the Ionian Sea to the south and the Messinian Gulf to the east. There were only about forty-five to fifty cubed houses. The houses were white washed and the window frames were painted turquoise. It looked very beautiful. Militsa is surrounded by arguably the finest olive-growing region in the world. The olive trees range from 10 to 100 years old. In the old days, harvesting was done in the traditional way by men with long sticks. Today it is done with machines. It was important to get the olives to the factory as quickly as possible to

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 21

assure the finest quality of extra virgin olive oil. The olive oil is very good and is thought to be a gift from Athena (the ancient Greek goddess) to the Greeks. Olive oil has always been the staple of Greek diets. Even today, the villagers of Messinia use it in large quantities at every meal.

It is purported to have many health benefits, and is a contributing factor in the theory of the link between the Mediterranean diet and longevity.

Many of the trees in Messinia have been continuously harvested for thousands of years. The name Militsa is in honour of one of two sisters (named Militsa) that was killed by the Turks long ago.

My father prospered. He added land to his acreage in the village.

Our house was situated on the city side of three acres and our olive oil factory ran along the right hand side. My father built another house with Uncle Dennis so each could have his own. Between the two houses was a one room guest house with a fireplace (it does not exist today). Olives and grapes are an important part of the Greek lifestyle so my father was always very busy.

Our olive oil factory was our livelihood. It operated around the clock, seven days a week, from November to January, and was powered by horses. Everything was done by hand. Later on the factory was modernized with electricity. I feel humble to have come from a village with no electricity, no plumbing and no cars. Strange, isn’t it, when I think of where I am today?

First the Italians came and then the Germans. Life was good in

22 ~ My Little Sister Antonia

Militsa until World War II came to Greece. I was six years old. I remember hearing the planes overhead. Mussolini, who saw Greece as an Italian province, invaded Greece without consulting Hitler and occupied the south. Because Metaxas was a germanophile and the leader of a fascist government, Hitler was in no hurry to invade Greece. He decided to invade only to help out his ally Mussolini. After the Italian capitulation in September 1943, the Italian zone was taken over by German forces who actively hunted down and executed Italian soldiers.

Antonia is my little sister. She was born August 23. There is a big difference between our ages. When she was ten, I was eighteen. She was a smart child and spent her whole childhood in the village. Later she trained as a dressmaker. She was born on the day our village celebrates its heritage so there was an especially big party.

The family is all important in Greece and one’s extended family is just as important as the immediate family. Individuals feel strong ties to grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, as well as to others who are connected to the family, such as godparents (referred to as koumbari).

Family obligations include participation in family celebrations and religious occasions, as well as caring for the sick and elderly.

I was happy when my baby brother was born but he died within a year or so. All I can remember about my dead brother was my father riding on a horse from Logga to Militsa holding my dead brother’s body in his arms. It was very sad. The next male born into our family was given

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 23

his name. He was born March 4, 1944. Kostas was a nice looking boy.

He was very active. There were too many years difference separating me from Kostas and Antonia. I would soon move away but we always kept in touch and we reunited in later life when we were older. When I moved to Athens to find fame and fortune, I did bring Kostas up to see what life was like in the big city. He worked in the daytime and went to school in the evenings. He was only twelve when I went into the army.

We always tried to help out others. During the war, I remember there were four strangers staying in our guest house. Every village had at least one Italian soldier that they hid from the Germans. The Italian soldier in our village was named Giovanni. He was from Naples and cooked a specialty called vatrahos (frog’s legs). Two of the strangers were Greeks from Arcadia, builders who worked on our second house.

The fourth stranger was a Greek Jew. Because my father was the Proethros (Mayor), strangers often stopped by looking for a place to stay while they were in Militsa.

One day while the Greek Jew was staying with us, another stranger came to our door. He was wearing black pants, a white jacket, black glasses and a gun. He stayed overnight. When he left he took two round loaves of bread and a large piece of cheese. We found out he was a spy.

The next day he came back with German soldiers looking for the men and boys of our village (The Germans often rounded up the men and

24 ~ Karapavlos and Tsimiklis

shot them in retaliation for someone shooting one of theirs).

The German soldiers were cold and unforgiving. My father told all the men and boys to hide because our spies at the edge of town saw the Germans approaching. When they got there, they found only women in the village. There were two older men about eighty-five who were too old to hide, Karapavlos and Tsimiklis from Ano Militsa. The Germans took both of them outside the village and shot them. It was very sad. They came into our house and their interpreter said to my mother, “Where is your husband?” “I do not know.” “Where is the Evreos (Jew)?” “I don’t know,” she said as she cried. “Where are the rest of the men? If you do not tell us we will burn your house down.” They threw some powder into the living room, shot a pistol off and the house started to burn. Kostas was only a month old and Antonia was a year and a half.

Kostas was in a naka (crib) hanging on the wall. A lady picked him up from the naka. “What is this?” said a German soldier with a pistol.

When he realized it was a baby, he said, “Okay, go!” Some ladies tried to save the only sewing machine in the village but were unsuccessful.

The village had a well for water which was located about thirty metres from our house. The ladies started throwing water from the well onto the fire. The Germans kept cutting the rope with a knife and the bucket would fall to the bottom of the well. Then the ladies would run off to find another bucket. The top half of the house burnt down as a result.

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 25

Our olive oil was stored in the basement in fifteen ceramic jars. Each jar weighed 150 kilos. They were huge. Luckily, before the war, my dad and my uncle had dug a hole in the dirt floor of the basement and hid one jar of olive oil. The olive oil was very important to our livelihood, both for selling and for using. We gave it to the villagers for free if they had no money but we always got it back in exchange for something. The Germans took everything (our olive oil, pig, a half a dozen piglets and some chickens). Usually, Germans didn’t steal, but it was near the end of the war and they didn’t have any rations. They were headed north, back to Germany.

Our winery was also important. There were four barrels of wine each weighing 1,500 kilos a barrel. These barrels were stored in a corner of the basement. We had some bags made of fire proof mohair which we threw on top of the barrels and then doused with water. The wine was saved. The Germans found them but they were too big to carry away.

The mohair bags we purchased from a company in a beautiful village in Lakonia (the next province east) called Anavriti. Little did I know that the family who owned the business would play a major role in my future family’s life; especially in the life of my eldest daughter, Helen.

Everyone just tried to survive. Over 100,000 people died of starvation that first year of the war. It was worse in the cities. Those of us on farms were a little better off. There was no school. I saw a lot of dead people. I was told these stories about our family during the war by my

26 ~ Gregoris Kasimioytis

mother. I was not there because I had been sent away with the men.

Civil War came to Greece after WWII. It was right versus left. On the left were Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria (backed by Russia). The U.K. and the U.S. backed the right. The civil war left Greece in ruins and was worse than WWII. It divided the Greek people for decades.

Thousands languished in prison for years. Many others sought refuge in communist countries or emigrated to Australia, Germany, the USA, the UK, Belgium and Canada.

My dad was very brave. During the civil war, the leftists took a young Jewish boy and tortured him by pulling out his nails. “Let the boy go.

He has done nothing wrong,” my father said. I guess they felt he was right because they let him go. He managed to save his life. They let him take the boy away. In the 1990s, I returned to Greece a few times on business. The boy’s father’s name was Gregoris Kasimioytis. I rented a car and discovered the family was still in the appliance business in Logga. I found the boy and I told him his name was not Kasimioytis but Kasman (During the civil war the Archbishop of Greece told all the Greek Jews to change their names to a Greek name and as a result he saved about 100,000 lives).

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 27

2 Sargeant Chronopoulos

After the war I went to school in Pilos (grades four, five and six) a city of 2,500. I was nine years old. My health improved when my father took me to Pilos. It seemed big to me because I had grow up in a small village. A few kids from my village went to high school there so I had company. Pilos is on the Ionian Sea. My father rented me a room with a family. The next week, I cried a lot. The doctor had told my parents to take me somewhere near the ocean for my health. I was never sick much after I started attending school in Pilos so I guess the ocean air was good for me.

After Pilos, I went to high school in Koroni. The town is nestled on a hill below an impressive Venetian castle. My cousin Aristidis attended another high school in Kalamata.

30 ~ Peter Voutiaros

The school in Koroni was only a two year school. I decided to go there because it was closer to our village so my father would not have as far to travel to see me. A man and his wife were the only teachers.

The man taught the secondary courses and his wife taught the more important courses (math, english, science). The man’s name was Mr. Barounis.

We all paid for our own room and board. A parent from each village would visit on the weekend and bring enough food to feed the kids from their village for a week. Because I was younger and had not been well, my parents watched me very carefully. There were only two of us from Militsa so they rented me a room in the house of the local pharmacist.

It was hard for my dad to visit every weekend so he made arrangements with Mr. Nou, the owner of a restaurant to have me sign for my meal whenever I came in and he would come and pay him at the end of each month. It was a nice restaurant.

Eventually I realized that my teacher was not a nice man. [There had been a massacre in the village in 1944. 1,500 people from the town had been executed, along with members of a Security Battalion who were stationed in the town. They had been fighting the EAM-ELAS commanded by Aris Velouchiotis at the start of the civil war. I thought maybe that the war had made him mean.] He was always looking at everyone suspiciously. “Are you the boy whose father owns the olive oil factory?” he said to me many times. I never told this to my father.

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 31

One time my friend Peter Voutiaros and I had our hair trimmed. We had buzz cuts. The barber, Dimitri, was a rightist and my teacher (I think) a leftist or vice versa. I was never sure which was which. The next day Peter and I were called to the office. “Where were you last night?” he asked me. Before I had a chance to speak he slapped my face and I fell down. Then he stepped on my jacket and kicked me a couple of times in the backside. It was very bad! When he kicked me, I wet my pants.

Instead of going back to class, I ran down to the waterfront and waited for them to dry. I was so embarrassed. Peter told me later what happened to him. Barounis pushed him. Peter was a big boy and a couple of years older than me. He had tried to hit Peter but Peter grabbed his arm. He could see Peter was too big. “I see you are a nice boy,” he said to Peter.

“Next time be more careful,” and he let him go. When Peter got to the door, Barounis hit him from behind and Peter banged his head on the door. Then he suspended both of us. For four days we couldn’t go to school. I called my dad and asked him to come down. My dad met with my teacher and he lied to my dad. “You have a very nice boy,” he said.

“He is a very good boy. I suspended him because the other kids thought I had a favourite.” None of it was true. “Your teacher is a good teacher,” my dad said, “He did well for you. You should listen to him.” That made me so mad that I decided to quit school at the end of the year and not return. He failed me in his four subjects. I passed the four subjects his wife taught (the important ones). He should have passed me too but it

32 ~ The Petropoulos Brothers

became personal after the incident.

I finally got the last word. About five years later, I saw him at a bus stop in Agios Andreas (a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the city of Logga). He recognized me. “Aren’t you the boy from Militsa whose father owned the olive oil factory?” he said. He never said my name or hello. “Is that all you remember about me?” I said. “What are you doing now?” he asked. “I am working in the sleazy underbelly of Piraeus, in the bars and night clubs, all because of you.” He ran off down the street and I never saw him again.

Mechanic, barber or businessman: those were my choices. After school, I thought I would become a mechanic until one of the mechanics in our olive oil factory got caught in a conveyor belt and was killed.

My parents decided I would not become a mechanic. They had been all for it until the accident. Because my father was a farmer and a businessman, he decided that I should become a barber and help to run the family business.

I was fifteen when I became a barber in the Port of Pilos. I have my father to thank for that and for many other things. I got to know the lifestyle in the port. The whole city was full of money when the sailors were in town. I swept the floor and had other duties. It was sort of an apprenticeship. The man’s name was George Mavroyianis. He taught me everything I know. One lesson he taught me was that the owner needs to know what is going on around him at all times. [After work,

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 33

I would go over to another barber shop to visit my friend who worked for a man named Gerry Kaldis. Gerry was fifteen years older than me and married with kids.] I left Pilos in late 1950 because my dad thought there would be more opportunity for me in Kalamata.

I worked in three different barber shops in Kalamata. The name Kalamata means nice eyes. A Byzantine church near the city is devoted to the virgin of Kalo Matia where there was a devastating historic fire and the Icon of the Virgin Mary remained with minor burned edges and classically beautiful and loving eyes. I was there for two years. Two of the shops were very high profile. One was on Aristomenous Street, the main shopping thoroughfare. In one shop I met the Petropoulos brothers (Dimitri and Harry). Harry often told stories about the German occupation of Kalamata during World War II. “My brother, Dimitri went for lunch,” said Harry. When he returned he saw a German soldier giving me a haircut. Dimitri ran off. He didn’t show up at our house for two days. “You are alive!” he said when he saw me. He thought the soldier was going to kill me and he got scared.

“Why was the German soldier giving you a haircut?” ‘I gave him a buzz cut but it was not what he wanted. I tried to be smart with the German. I didn’t understand how he wanted his hair cut. I started at the front with my clippers (manual) and by the time he noticed, it was too late. There was nothing I could do. He got up. I whisked him off and he grabbed me and threw me into the chair.’ ‘You vant to be a smart Alec,’ he says,

34 ~ The Petropoulos Brothers

“I’ll fix you!” He took the clippers and gave me a buzz cut. I was lucky.

Later I heard from someone that Harry was a good hunter. They said he went hunting for birds one time, jumped over a creek, and in doing so his gun went off and killed him.

I learned my entrepreneurial skills at a flea market in Nea Koroni (on the ocean south of Kalamata). You can sell anything at a flea market.

People bring tables and carpets and all kinds of stuff from junk to antiques. It is very warm in Nea Koroni in September. It’s probably one of the warmest spots in Greece. There are lots of banana trees, orange trees and lemon trees, dark, succulent Kalamata olives and honey-eyed figs.

In those days they also sold sheep, donkeys and horses at the flea market. Because it was hot all the animals were kept in the shade under the olive trees. You could always tell which animals were for sale because they would have an olive twig jutting out from their collar. The flea market was full of characters and offered a window into the everyday life and reality of the average Greek. It was an integral part of local life. The Petropoulos brothers rented a space and put up a tent. They sold accessories and dry goods and I tagged along. In the old days you could tell where a Greek came from by his last name. ‘Akos,’ meant you are from the next province of Sparta. ‘Poulos’ meant you were from Messinia.

‘Akis,’ meant you were from Crete Island and ‘oglou or idis’ meant you were from the north. You could meet anybody in the flea market. The Petropoulos brothers paid my way. The sellers and buyers at the flea

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 35

market were my role models. I was very competitive. That’s where my entrepreneurial spirit started. It was a very Greek thing!

I moved to Athens and worked in Piraeus, Athens’s port. Because I was too young to get a job as a barber (and I didn’t have my license), my dad got me a job with a printing company. I made 17 drachmas a day. “You should try to save 3 to 5 drachmas a day,” he said. It was impossible because I had to pay for rent, bus and food. I worked about three months. Then I noticed the foreman was missing a finger. “What happened?” I asked. “I was cutting some paper with a knife. The knife slipped and it was gone.” Forget this, I thought!

My first business was a laundromat. A friend told me about the automatic laundry business. One had just opened in Athens and it was for sale. “Would you help my friend and I buy the business?” I asked my dad after telling him all about it. “Yes!” he said. It was near a military school for officers. We tried to service all sorts of businesses, night clubs and restaurants but we didn’t have any transportation. I wanted to buy a motorcycle with a sidecar to pick-up linen but it didn’t happen. My friend and partner was book smart but not street smart. He was left alone to look after the laundromat when I was drafted into the army. He could not find businesses to service because he was not aggressive enough (you have to be aggressive to be a good businessman). So we lost the laundromat. Luckily, my friend had bought eight or nine lots in Athens.

When my father lent us the money to buy the laundromat, my friend

36 ~ Anastacios Rigas

put up his land as collateral. Five lots covered the loan. He wanted my dad to take all the lots because he was afraid he was going to lose them.

My father did not want to because he felt it might look like he was trying to take advantage. “Whatever it is worth, I will take,” he said. My friend’s name was Anastacios Rigas. He died shortly afterwards. We kept those lots in the Athens neighbourhood of Ano Liosa until thirteen years ago (2000) when the city appropriated them to build a playground.

We were compensated but not nearly at the price they were worth and it took us a long time to get paid. My dad asked me to come back to the village but after I had lived in Athens there was no way I could return to village life.

I had a good life in the army. I was supposed to serve for twentyfour months but I actually only served for twenty-one. Everyone wanted me to cut their hair. They didn’t pay me, it was my job. At first I was stationed in Kalamata. Most of my time there was spent cutting hair. I wanted to go out on manoeuvres with the other soldiers. “Just stay here,” they said to me. I really had a good life because of the free time. All day long I talked with all ranks, from generals to enlisted men. They all knew me. Then they moved me to Kilkis in Central Macedonia. There was a military base there with about 480 soldiers training to become sargeants. I spent three months there. When it came time to receive my stripes, I was asked to be the first to stand up and salute. The General personally handed out the first five (to me and four others).You had to

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 37

give your name, the town you came from and your mother’s name. Then I was transferred to Yiannitsa for forty days. After forty days I was going to be transferred to a NATO base in Smirni, Turkey but there was some trouble with the Turks and they didn’t let me go. I had the option to go to Athens or to go back to Kalamata. While I was in Yiannitsa I met the second in command for the northeast sector. He turned out to be my grandmother’s brother, Stalios Kyriopoulos. “Why would you want to go back down south?” he asked me. “Do you not like it here in Yiannitsa? Did your father talk to somebody?” Anyway, I decided to go back to Kalamata where I finished the rest of my service.

While I was in Yiannitsa, I asked my grandmother’s brother, “Is there any way that I can go to Athens for a couple of days before going to Kalamata?” “Pick up a live turkey from the mess and deliver it by train to the General in Athens. Ask the General if you can stay for a couple of days.” So I took a live turkey on the train down to Pireaus and went to my former boss’s house. I wanted to say hello. I left the turkey at his house and the next day I went up to see the General in Athens. “I have a turkey for your family for Christmas,” I said to him. “Where is the turkey?” he asked. “It is down in Piraeus (20 km away).” He called his driver. “Would it be okay if I stayed in Athens for four or five days?”

“Take my business card,” he said. “Do you have some casual clothes?”

“Yes.” “Don’t wear your uniform. If you have any problems, call me.”

The army, navy and air force each had their own military police. When

38 ~ Napoleon Bratakos

his driver arrived he gave me a puzzled look. He looked like he wanted to say, “Who is this guy?” So we went in his jeep and picked up a live turkey and delivered it to the General’s house. When I eventually returned to Kalamata, I was a few days late. The General (Napoleon Bratakos) knew me from my first time in Kalamata. I had been in his group before he was promoted. “Where have you been?” he said. “We were just about to send the military police out to look for you. I saw your name on the list two days ago but because I knew you I waited.”

On March 29, 1959, I left the army.

Guys were always asking me to help them. Because I was close to the General and knew everyone, I often helped my friends. In Kalamata, I met a guy named Kanelopoulos. He asked me to ask the General to give him three or four days leave to go to Athens. His dad owned a butcher shop so he brought a lamb and seven kilos of homemade wine for the General and I got him his leave.

After my army service I went back to the hair salon in Athens (my old job) and sold lingerie in my spare time. It was my friend Kanelopoulos’ brother who owned the lingerie factory. It was a very good business.

A lot of wealthy Greek businessmen started out selling door to door.

The only problem was, I was by myself. There could be a problem if you were caught alone in a woman’s house by her husband, selling her lingerie. I think you can understand the dangers. I learned it was an occupational hazard. In those days you could get killed. I wanted to find

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 39

someone to come with me but I couldn’t. I got scared so I switched to selling olive oil.

I went back to Militsa to vote. I was asked to pick up some money for some olive oil someone had sold to a client. “How is the olive oil business?” I asked the client. “Great!” so I switched and started selling olive oil. I hauled (50 or 60 kilos at first), back and forth from Militsa to Athens. I advised businesses, “Leave a barrel outside and it will sell.

You will see.” I told factory managers, “Tell them you sell olive oil. You will make big money.” Soon I was hauling two thousand kilos a week.

I was aggressive. I never took no for an answer. I always jumped into everything before I realized what problems might occur but I usually made money. Maybe if I had been better educated, I would not have jumped into opportunities quite so fast. It can work for you and it can work against you but I liked spending money.

I learned responsibility at an early age. When I was a kid, I remember my dad giving me a lot of cash to put in my pocket to take to my cousin, a one hour’s walk away. I knew at an early age what it was like to have money in my pocket. When my father asked me to come back to the village from Athens and I said no, that was it. I was on my own. But anytime I needed his help for business, he was there to help. Not very much, but he helped.

Then Canada came calling! Everyone seemed to be leaving. “If you want to go, I do not mind,” my father said to me. A second cousin Ari

40 ~ Canada Calling!

(who had already moved to Montreal with his family) said, “You should get married. I know some girls here.” We were good friends in Greece.

I took English lessons for a while from a girl in Athens. The girl was more interesting than the English so I didn’t improve much. Ari got his sister to sponsor me (saying we were going to be married) and I left Greece for Montreal.

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 41

26 ~ Angelo’s Barber Shop

Voula and me. 1959

3 Married in Montreal

Girls didn’t say much in those days. Greek marriages were all arranged. I arrived in Canada on October 26, 1959 on the good ship Nea Hellas. It docked in Quebec City and I quickly boarded the train for Montreal to join my relatives. My uncle had a restaurant so I worked for him for a couple of months until I got my barber’s license. My first real job was at Angelo’s Barber Shop in 1960. Gerry Kaldis from Pilos had emigrated with his family to Montreal much earlier than I and one day I went to see him. “George,” he says. “It is great to see you. Are you married yet?” “No, but I am looking for a good one.” “I think I know a good one,” he replied.

44 ~ Stavroula Pantazis

I met the girl of my dreams in a park. Gerry told my future wife’s brothers about me. “No, we are arranging something for her in Chicago,” they said. “No, no, no, wait until you meet my friend. You will love him.” Her name was Stavroula (Voula) Pantazis and she was the youngest of six children (two girls and four boys), born to a Greek priest and his wife in Evangelismos, Greece. All six had emmigrated to Montreal.

George was the oldest, then Atta, John, Greg, Bill and Stavroula. Atta was the first to emmigrate to Canada and her brothers followed. Finally Voula came in March of 1958. The first time I saw Voula was in the park. Gerry arranged the meeting. He told me she was well known in the Greek community for her good looks and I could sure see why. She was accompanied to the park by all her brothers and sister and I was with my uncle and Gerry. We walked around together. Gerry told them that we had been friends in Pilos. He bragged a little to make me look good.

I was becoming well known in Montreal he said because I was good at doing styles, which was true.

I learned a lot at Angelo’s Barber Shop. The owner was a Greek Romanian. He had six barbers. I was the sixth and the youngest (23).

We all cut hair differently. One was doing waves Hollywood style. The other was doing Perry Como style. I was doing razor cuts. I watched the others for a while and decided that I could do their styles as easily as my razor cuts. George (in the first chair) was Greek-French and Dennis (in the third chair) was Greek-Austrian. I was in the last chair. They called

MONTREAL ~ 45

me John because there were two Georges. In about two or three months Angelo put me in his chair between George and Dennis. After a while they were afraid they might lose clients so they asked Angelo to put me back at the end (my apprentice license was for the last chair).

My English was not very good and I definitely couldn’t speak French.

To show you how bad my English was, listen to this. One day a client came in. “How are you, myself?” I said. I thought I was saying, “How are you, my friend?” The guy smiled and I gave him a haircut. “Thank you, myself,” he said as he was leaving and he gave me a good tip. He was laughing all the time. I said the same thing to about four or five clients and their reactions were all the same. “I don’t know what is happening,” I said to a friend. They all give me a big tip and smile.” I told him what I had said and he too started laughing. Then he explained why it was funny. I always remember that!

My courtship of Voula was short. My next step was to phone her brothers and ask if I could see her alone. “No way,” they said. I had bought a Ford Fairlane after three months in Montreal so I took Voula for a drive. Her brother, George, and his wife, Antigoni, sat in the back seat. I stopped the car and we went for a walk. She was kind and she blushed when I talked to her. I knew people who had known her family in Greece and they told me that her father was a priest in Greece. I asked her what she wanted in life and I told her what I wanted. They were the same so we agreed to get married. People who say they love each other

46 ~ Nick Balafoutis

right from the start probably will not be together very long. If you like each other from the start and let the love grow, you will probably be together for a long time. She talked to her brothers and we got engaged.

My relatives were not very fair. They thought they owned me because they had sponsored me to Montreal. When I told them I was getting engaged, they didn’t like it. After the stroll in the park, we went back to my future wife’s house. My uncle agreed that he liked Voula but then he changed his mind. Actually, my aunt and her sister-in-law convinced my uncle that the marriage was not a good idea. Then they convinced my cousin Ari as well. I told my relatives that we were getting engaged the following Sunday. They didn’t say a word. “Are you still getting engaged?” my aunt asked on Wednesday. “Of course,” I said. “I wouldn’t say yes and then change my mind. It is done and finished.” She gave me a couple of bad words and then she started hitting and scratching me.

I kept my face down and got out of there quickly. I went to my future wife’s house and said to her, “If you accept me, fine, we get married.

This is me.” She did! “I am not marrying your relatives,” she said. “I am marrying you.”

I really didn’t like what my relatives did. My uncle’s brother Niko (who is now very wealthy), was a delivery boy for Jimmy Iliopoulos.

Jimmy said he would be my best man but my relatives told him if he did, they would stop buying from his butcher shop and grocery store. Jimmy came over and apologized. “I will be your Koumbaros,’ Gerry Kaldis

MONTREAL ~ 47

said, “No problem.” I invited Niko, my uncle’s brother, to my engagement party but he wouldn’t come either. My uncle, aunt and my cousin Aristidis and his sister gave some excuse and did not come. Only two of my cousins came: Nick Balafoutis and Dimitri Rigas with their wives and we had a nice time.

I almost got into big trouble. Arisitidis called me on the night of my engagement. “I want to come over and congratulate you.” We grew up together so we had been like brothers. “Meet me outside on the street,” he says. “No, I asked you to come to my engagement party and you wouldn’t come. Why should I meet you now?” Apparently my cousin had asked a boy from the neighbourhood to beat me up if I came outside.

I didn’t know anything about this at the time. The guy was supposed to wait for me under the stairs and jump me.” We were well trained in the army so maybe because of my training things didn’t seem right to me. I don’t know. You go into the army a kid and you come out a mature man.

I think everyone should go into the army for a short time. It is good for you. My army experience has given me confidence. I have relied on it several times throughout my life. I found out by chance about this plot to have me beaten up. Six years later a professional wrestler, Jim Tsonis, told me he had been contacted by my cousin to arrange the beating and he told me the story.

After my engagement I still had the key to my relative’s house so my cousin Ari phoned and said he wanted the key. I went over and gave

48 ~ Angelo’s Barber Shop

it to him. When I left Greece my mom had neatly packed my big, blue trunk (two feet high by four feet wide) with bed sheets, blankets and a couple of suits. I had everything I needed. It was square and solid.

When I asked for my trunk, I was in for a big surprise: they had burnt my passport and pictures. I was feeling bad but I didn’t know what made them do this. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” I told my cousin.

“Your thinking is wrong. I’m not afraid of you or anyone else.” For some reason they didn’t want me to marry Voula. I guess they wanted to run my life. I remember they found different girls who wanted to marry me. Actually, I never saw these girls but my uncle had talked to them.

One girl brought a copy of her paycheck to show how much money she made. Another brought her bank book to show she had money. She had $4,000 in her bank account, which was a lot of money. Another one was too short. It was an old world thing. “I am not marrying a cow,” I told them. “I don’t care how much money the person I marry has in her bank account. I am the entrepreneur and I will make the money.”

One day at Angelo’s Barber Shop the immigration people came to see me. They asked me to come down the next morning. My cousin had called them and told them that I had broken off the engagement.

Because my English was not so good my travel agent accompanied me to the immigration offices at 11 a.m. “How much money do you make?” they asked. The chef in those days at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel was making $45 a week. I was making $75 to $80 with tips. I told them

MONTREAL ~ 49

that I was engaged and we wanted to start a family and live here. “You are now a landed immigrant, no problem!” they said. So, I became a landed immigrant and Voula and I were married on October 9, 1960.

We didn’t like the cold weather in Montreal. I stayed at Angelo’s Barber Shop until the spring. George, the Greek-French barber wanted to open his own place across from the Jewish hospital at Cote des Neige and Cote St. Catherine Road. He asked me to join him.“I thought you didn’t like me,” I said. “I didn’t like you because you were too good.

But now you will be working for me.” I was making good money downtown but I felt uncomfortable. My relatives used to come in and give me a hard time. When my boss heard that I was going to leave, he called me and offered me big money. “I think I need a change,” I said. My new job paid $100 a week. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse so I moved up to the shop on Cote des Neige. George put me in front of the window to show me off. He was much older than me, fifty-five. I was only twentyfive and still known as John. I earned $110 that first week. The owner said that I could have $100 a week and fifty percent above that. For my first cheque he gave me only $100. “I don’t mind if you only give me $100 this week but if it happens two or three times, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“George, you are right,”he said and he paid me. I could have gone back downtown anytime and he knew it. I stayed through 1961 and then we decided to go to Vancouver. My wife’s brother, John, now lived there.

We really wanted to go to California because we missed the warm

50 ~ Leaving Montreal

weather in Greece.

I already had the tickets when (November 1961), the owner of a downtown salon with sixteen chairs in Place Ville Marie came to talk to me. I didn’t know who he was. I thought he was an insurance salesman.

He asked me to meet him across the street at the malt counter, in the drugstore. He introduced himself as Alan. “I want you to come work for me as my manager.” “I don’t speak very good English,” “No problem, we will work that out.” “Me going to Vancouver. We are going to take a plane.” “No, I will pay you well,” he replied. I already had the tickets but I was becoming well known in Montreal. It had helped that my boss was well connected and knew everyone. He had lots of high end clientele. I now knew how to do several different cuts. He was really trying to get me to stay. I told my wife about his offer but we decided to go to Vancouver. We left Montreal on January 2, 1962.

We had thought we would like to go to California but when we arrived in Vancouver it was fifty-six degrees. There we were, standing in our overcoats (It had been minus thirty in Montreal when we left).

The sun was shining. It was hot. “What’s going on?” we said. “It’s so warm.” You could see the grass and the sidewalk. In those days you couldn’t see the sidewalks in Montreal in the winter. Nowadays they clean them quite well. After about five or six weeks, I was able to get my barber’s license so we decided to stay.

It was never hard for me to get a license. In Montreal, three or four

MONTREAL ~ 51

months after I arrived, a guy asked me,” Do you have a driver’s license?”

“No, I do not have one yet!” I said. “Give me $2.” The next day he brought me my driver’s license. There was huge corruption in Montreal in those days. When I came to Vancouver, I had to get a new British Columbia driver’s license. I went to the motor vehicle license bureau at Oakridge and they gave me a questionnaire to fill out. I answered the questions. “George, you only have two answers wrong,” the girl said.

“Try again.” So, I took another questionnaire. This time I had four answers wrong. “George, what is wrong with you?”

“I am from Montreal.”

“Oh, you are French!” In those days they only had forms in English.

So she gave me my license. I never did take a test in Montreal or Vancouver.

Me with my dad at my Seymour Street salon in the sixties

4 Bad Guys, Good Guys!

My first job in town was at the Hotel Vancouver Barber Shop which was located in the basement of the hotel. It wasn’t a good job for a new barber. There were nine chairs and it operated as a free-for all, which meant you couldn’t develop a clientele. Not a good place for a new barber. My only client was Sam Pappas of Pappas Furs.

I left the Hotel Vancouver and went to a small salon at Forty-first and Oak Street where I stayed for six weeks. The owner, who was Italian, bragged about his salon. “I have the best guy in Vancouver.” Word got around. One night a guy came by, took a seat and watched me cut a customer’s hair. “I want to talk to you,” he said. I thought he was another insurance salesman. “No, I don’t want to talk to you.” I didn’t know

54 ~ Bob Golden

that he owned a barber shop (with six chairs) downtown on Georgia Street called the Waverly. It took me a long time to learn how to pronounce the name. He offered me big money. His name was Gus Lloyd.

He was really Austrian but he had changed his name. I started to work for him.

We were living in Greektown (Kitsilano). All the newly arrived Greeks lived in Kitsilano. My wife’s brother, John, owned two houses in the 2300 block West 7th Avenue. Houses in those days could be bought for $10,000 to $15,000. He let us stay in one. A lot of Greeks emigrated to Vancouver between 1954 and 1960 and Greektown is where they settled. There was even a Greek Orthodox Church located at 7th and Vine.

I was the first barber in Vancouver to offer razor cuts and hair styling for men. Jack Wasserman wrote about me in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. One of my customers was Ken Stauffer who owned the Cave Supper Club. It was through Ken that Jack found out about me and that led to a nice write-up in the Vancouver Sun. For the first two weeks, I didn’t do much, no styles, just cutting. When I finally started doing styles, they put me in a back chair, the last chair in the salon, behind a curtain. In those days they considered it embarassing to see a man getting a blow dry and a style. For a while I worked behind a curtain doing razor cuts, Perry Como style or Hollywood style. Then, after two weeks, Gus threw the keys down in front of me and said, “Here, you look

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 55

after the place.” So here I am, no English, no friends, just a hot-blooded Greek but my brain was working. Before I knew it I was established in Vancouver. Bad guys, good guys, big business people, all came to me through word of mouth. There was no one else in Vancouver doing what I was doing. I was in the right place at the right time.

I made alot of friends in the Jewish community. Here’s how it happened. A young fellow named Bob Golden was waiting for a haircut.

It was a Friday afternoon. Nice looking boy, good hair, he thought he would see what I could do. Finally, I took him. I did his hair and when he went home his mom said, “Who gave you the haircut?” “A Greek guy who doesn’t speak any English. He gave me a style.” I had asked him, “Would you like a razor cut or style?” He didn’t know what I was talking about and said, “What’s that?” Then he said, “How much?” I wanted him to see what I could do so I said in my broken English, “You buy haircut, me buy style.” “Okay!” The next day his father came down and booked an appointment for every other Saturday. This was before the Beatles and the hippies. His father was Sid Golden. For fifty years I cut his hair. In those days I thought only poor boys worked, not the sons of the wealthy. Two weeks later, Bob dropped in and said to me, “Do you have a car?” “No.” “Do you want a ride home?” “Sure.” He was only sixteen years old and he was already driving. I didn’t know what to say.

“Fine, after work I will wait for you and drive you home.” We walked to the parking lot at Richards and Georgia. He told me he worked at

56 ~ Sid Golden

the Army & Navy. There was an old car parked next to a bright shiny new Cadillac. I thought we were going to get into the old car but he went and got into the Cadillac. They were a very wealthy family. They owned Belmont Properties (an apartment management/real estate company). We were still staying on West 7th Avenue in Kitsilano. My wife was standing at the window when we pulled up. “Who’s the guy in the Cadillac?” she said to her sister. To her surprise, it turned out to be me.

Bob and I became friends. My wife and his mom, Dora, visited each other’s houses. They often cooked together. Dora made wonderful Jewish kreplach (dumplings) and kneidlach (matzo balls) – a mixture of matzo meal, eggs, water, melted fat, pepper and salt. Voula taught Dora how to make Knish using filo pastry.

The Golden’s were well known in Vancouver. Sid was one of a group of Jewish businessmen who opened the Richmond Golf & Country Club in 1959. It was a private club. Before that they owned Gleneagles in West Vancouver. There was some discrimination in West Vancouver so they sold Gleneagles to the District of West Vancouver and built their own course in Richmond. Originally, it was Jewish only but then they opened it up to everyone. Mr. Golden offered me a membership as a present. All I had to do was pay the monthly fee. However, I didn’t play golf at that time and we sure didn’t have any golf courses in my village in Greece.

My first partner in Vancouver was Gus Lloyd. I worked from April

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 57

1962 until September 1964 for Gus at his Waverly Salon. During that time, I filled it up with barbers, six in all. Gus didn’t want to lose me.

“What are your plans?” he asked me. “I want to open a small restaurant where Greeks can come in for coffee and food, like they do in Europe,” “Well, we’ll do it together.” “No, no, no.” “No, we’ll do it together.”

He convinced me and we went and bought a building at Richards and Georgia and turned it into a Greek nightclub. We called it the Bouzouki Coffee House. I brought Greek musicians in from Montreal. There were only two nightclubs in Vancouver at the time, the Cave and Isy’s so there was plenty of room for one more. The law was different then. You could get a liquor license after you had been open for forty-five days but you had to close at 11:30 p.m. Only the Cave and Isy’s could stay open until 2 a.m. The first three months we lost about $10,000 due to delays in getting licences. That was a lot of money. You could buy a house for $10,000. To re-coup our money, we turned the nightclub into a steak house and called it The Wild Boar. It became very successful. We hired two more musicians, a blind German (who played the piano) and a Hungarian who played the violin. I got them from the Johann Strauss Restaurant. We got our money back in three months but we had to work for nothing in the beginning. The first Greek I met in Vancouver was Angelo Pappas. He lived behind us in Kitsilano. Gus and I each needed $3,500 for a down payment. Angelo introduced me to his bank manager.

The building cost us $55,000. We did huge renovations. The floor was

58 ~ Mike Mavritsakis

reinforced so an elephant could have danced on it. In the end, it cost us $110,000. Eventually, I sold my share to Gus in the spring of 1964.

He was living a different life style than me and at times it was uncomfortable so we went our separate ways. Gus turned The Wild Boar into Vancouver’s first gay club and it became quite successful.

I was working at the Waverly in the daytime and at the Bouzouki Coffee House in the evenings when my first daughter Helen was born.

When she was nine months old she only knew me through my photos.

At that age she still had beautiful wavy hair. I took my clippers one day and gave her a buzz cut. My wife almost killed me. It grew back really nice and thick but my wife was furious.

Everyone in Canada preferred Vancouver because of the weather.

My wife’s brother Bill moved out from Montreal. He was nine months older than me. He got a job at Western Canadian Fur Company. When he arrived in Vancouver, he had enough money to buy a house on the West Side which he still owns today. The house next door to him sold a couple of years ago for $1.65 million. Go figure. We rented from Bill for a couple of years to help him with financing. You couldn’t find anyone to rent a house back then. Our rent was $65 a month in those days.

It is not like it is today.

I always tried to do the right thing. Mike Mavritsakis came into the Waverly. I had met Mike on the boat coming over from Greece. He had gone to Kingston. He was from Methoni, a village about a fifteen

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 59

minute walk from my wife’s village. He was also a barber. He had been working in Omonia Square (in the heart of Athens) when I had been working in the Port of Piraeus, but we had never met. We discovered his family and my wife’s family knew each other. I hired him for the Waverly. He was a very good barber. After he had been working at the salon for a while he told me why he had come to Vancouver. “I had a girl friend in Kingston and we were getting too serious.” I talked to my wife and the next day I said to him, “Listen, do you love the girl?” “Yes.” “Then I want you to come to my house and phone your girl friend (her name was also Voula) and talk to her. Then my wife is going to talk to her and then I am going to talk to her. She probably won’t believe just you. If she trusts us she will come here.” And that is what happened.

She came here, they got married and they had two kids. I wanted him to do the right thing and be happy.

My brother-in-law George moved out from Montreal. He was going to work for me at the Bouzouki Coffee House as a cook but when I decided to sell he got a job at UBC. Our wives had been in the same class at school in Greece. Later, he worked on the tourist trains to Calgary and then as a cook in the lumber camps at Ocean Falls. He eventually bought a house here in Vancouver near Trafalgar and First Avenue. He brought his wife, baby and mother-in-law out from Montreal. He was quite happy looking after two women.

We had lots of fun at the Waverly. The Beatles came to Vancouver

60 ~ Jimmy Hill

on August 22. Everyone was excited. I got a telephone call at the Waverly, “Can you do a Beatles style?” “Sure, when was your last haircut?”

“Two or three weeks ago.” “Two months from today, you come down to see me and we will do the style.” “That long?” “Of course, your hair will be long by then and we can do something with it.” I was so fearless that I decided to leave the Waverly in September and open my own salon.

Lots of people dropped by the Waverly. Lots of stock-market tough He was one of the “Howe Street Boys” -- Harry Moll, Ted Turton, Murray Pezim, Lou Black, Basil Pantages etc. And Dave Davies (Big Dave). Jimmy Hill was a big guy very strong and a natural blond. They use to celebrate energetically at Moll’s Harry C’s eatery and Sugar Daddy’s, Charlie Brown’s and Sneaky Pete’s night spots back in the day. Hill barehandedly quelled three aggrieved motorcyclists. But his legendary feat came in September 1968, when he survived a reported three .38-calibre pistol shots to the body at the Georgia Hotel -- Hill says five -- from a Daniel Ceklay, who was later convicted of attempted murder. “He still has one [bullet] in him that gives him a slight limp,” says Hill’s long-divorced but still tender wife Beverly Hauff (In the words of Malcolm Parry).

While he was in St. Paul’s Hospital, Jimmy called me and asked me

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 61

to come over and cut his hair. He owned a house on south west Marine Drive. “Kid,” he says (he always called me kid), “Do you want to buy my house on Marine Drive, only $80,000?”

Jack Diamond had an office on Georgia Street across from the Bouzouki Coffee House. He was a regular at the Waverly. Along with Bill Randall they ran the B.C. Jockey Club which was responsible for horseracing at Exhibition Park. He was also the man who practically invented fundraising in Vancouver. The race track became an ideal arena to raise charity funds. When he spearheaded the Special Events Committee for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, of the $250,000 raised, $130,000 came from horse racing. Known as the BIG “Sparkplug” for his fundraising efforts that ensured the Games would finish with a budget surplus, Diamond also helped speed completion of Empire Stadium in time for the Games.

My partner in my new barber shop was Tony Farina, an Italian boy.

Tony was really good at bringing in new clients whenever things slowed down. He asked his mother, “Can you loan us the money.” “Yes,” she said, “as long as George pays me back.” So we opened our new salon at 650 Seymour Street under the Bay parkade. I was surprised that I could find such a good location downtown. It was not too far from the Waverly. I didn’t want to open close to the Waverly but this spot came available. I gave Gus three weeks notice but he let me go immediately.

He was more embarrassed than unhappy because someone had spread

62 ~ Jim Pattison

the word that he was gay. He thought that I had done it.

Everyone dropped by our new salon. It went very well right from the start. All my co-workers from the Waverly wanted to come with us but I said no out of respect for Gus. We hired two barbers, one from England named Jimmy and one from Ireland named Kevin and we had most of the establishment coming to us. Thanks to Sid Golden, guys from the Jewish community became my clients: Max Fugman, Syd Belzberg, Roy Cantor, Joe Cohen, Irving Kates (I was invited to his house just a couple of weeks ago (September 29, 2013), to celebrate his 85th birthday); guys from the Richmond Golf & Country Club. Practically every CEO in town came by: Jimmy Pattison and Mr. Rogers of B.C. Sugar. We called it the Riviera Barber Shop. My partner liked the Buick Riviera and that is where we got the name. I had a painter paint a mural on the back wall of the salon. It cost us about $1,000. We were making $100 a week to start and later more. That was a lot of money in those days.

The Lion’s won the Grey Cup. It was a big deal. The office of the B.C. Lions was located a little further down Seymour where the entrance is to the Bay parking lot. We had all the players dropping in for a hair a haircut: Joe Capp, Lonnie Dennis, Dick Fouts, Willy Fleming and Tom Brown. Tom Larscheid, their color announcer (one who fills in with background material during breaks in the play), and Jim Cox both came down as well. Tom still comes into the salon. Later on Tom was

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 63

the commentator for the Canucks games for thirty years.

I bought my first car in Vancouver in 1965 from Jim Pattison. It was a 1964 Pontiac Grand Parisienne. My wife and I walked into Jim Pattison Pontiac Buick at 18th & Main. Pattison was standing in an office at the back and when he saw us he came out and said to a salesman, “I will look after this young couple.” I was 30 years old. “That’s the car you are going to buy,” he says, like he could read my mind. He had all the confidence in the world. The car was white with a blue interior. I gave Mr. Pattison my business card and he started coming to see me regularly to have his hair cut. That is how I met Jim Pattison.

He came down for Ted Turton six or seven years and then he stopped. He started coming in again a few years ago and he still comes in today.

Doug Hill has been a client of mine since the Waverly. He owned a public relations company. “George, you have to go see Herb Capozzi (B.C. Lions GM) and have him send the players here,” he said to me.

“They already come here.” “No, you have to go tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. and see Herb in his office.” So I go. I walk in, the girls all smile.

“How are you today?” I said. I didn’t have a chance to ask for Herb. Before I knew it a photographer popped out from behind a life-size cutout of a football player and took my picture. In those days they had big flash bulbs that blinded you when they went off. I started to get scared because I couldn’t see. “Why, what I did?” Somebody touched me on my shoulder from behind. “Don’t worry George, I’m Herb.” They knew

64 ~ Lou Black

how many season tickets they had sold, ninteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine. I was the twenty thousandth person to walk through the door. I had no idea! They gave me two season tickets. They put my name with a picture of me (see page 8), in The Sun and The Province for two weekends in a row. The B.C. Lions and the horse races were the only professional sports in Vancouver at the time. The Canucks were still a minor league team (Herb would assume control of the Canucks in 1971 after they turned pro to keep them in Vancouver). In that same year I went from four chairs to ten chairs. It was huge publicity. I really believe you have to be lucky as well as smart. I didn’t realize that I had been set-up until almost fifty years later.

There was a huge stock promoter named Lou Black (Louie) who lived in Montreal. He had his hair cut by a stylist who knew me. “Do you know anyone in Vancouver who can do styles?” he asked the stylist. “I will send you to a guy who just moved to Vancouver. He is a way better barber than me.” Louie tried to find me here. He telephoned the barber’s association.

This guy was a promoter. He could promote anything. He liked my work. He sent me so many people from Howe Street, I couldn’t believe it! His former partner, Lou Wolfin, still comes in today at 82 years young. At that time Lou promoted a stock called Pyramid. He gave me an option on ten thousand shares. I was to pay him for the stock when I sold it. That is how much he thought of me. It was a lot of money. I

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 65

had no knowledge of the stock market. The stock went from $.65 in three weeks to $3 so I sold. I made $20,000. I ran down to see Lou. “Here is your cheque.” “Where did you get the money?” “I sold the stock.”

“Why did you do that? You should have called me first.” It wound up going up to $23 but I was happy to a certain extent because we make our own luck.

I went and bought my first house in Mackenzie Heights. The fellow who sold it to me was Gary Averbach of Belmont Properties (Today he is their CEO). He is one of the Golden family. Sid Golden is the nephew and partner of Lou Averbach, Gary’s father. They all still come down for a haircut. I paid $19,000 for a double corner lot. It was at 21st and Blenheim, northeast corner. I gave them $9,000 as a down payment on the house and I had a $65 a month mortgage. I bought a brand new Oldsmobile Delta 88. I was probably one of the first Greeks in Vancouver to have a color television. It was round in those days. We did a lot of renovations to the house. My second daughter, Anna Maria (we call her Marianna) was born in that house in 1966. We lived there from 1965 to 1969. I sold it for $36,000 because my wife wasn’t feeling well and wanted to move and sell quickly.

What was I to do? Jimmy Hill came over one day. He says, “Are you going away?” “No, why?” “I have some money. Can you keep it for me for awhile?” “Sure.” It was a lot of money. I did something really stupid because I didn’t know what to do with that much money. He didn’t

66 ~ Mickey Fillipone

come back that night so I thought, “I’ll put the money in the drawer. I didn’t want to take it with me. I locked the door and left. At midnight I woke up in a sweat, “What have I done?” I remembered what my father once told me, ‘The key is for the good people. Bad people will open it anyway.’ I got up and went downtown and entered through the back door. The money was still there so I stayed the rest of the night. The next day when Jimmy showed up I said, “You son of a gun.” I didn’t know what to say. If anything had happened to the money, how could I have explained that I had nothing to do with it? I was lucky! In those days I could have bought five houses with no mortgage with the money.

Today, the houses would cost 10 million.

Mickey Filippone was a client of mine. He and his brothers ran the Penthouse Cabaret, a fixture at 1019 Seymour Street since 1945. In its heyday, it was the city’s premier after-hours hangout, the place where stars like Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper and Louis Armstrong would come ’til the wee small hours. One day after I gave him a haircut he wanted a shave. “I don’t want to have any bleeding,” he said. He was a diabetic and it would have been hard to stop the bleeding. Afterwards, he got up, paid me $10 and went over to the mirror. “No blood,” he said. “That’s good!” He came back and gave me a $20 tip.

Jimmy Hill came in another time while I was coloring Lou Black’s hair. “Can you do the same for me?” he asked after I finished. “I don’t think it is a good idea because you are blond and you want me to make

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 67

your hair black.” “I want to look like an Italian partisan.” So I did his hair. I coloured it and gave him a haircut but it was definitely not that great. He was a nice guy to me. He never gave me any trouble. All the muscle boys downtown were nice to me. I don’t know why, they just were! I guess they felt they could be themselves with me. They didn’t feel like they had to be tough guys. I never interfered with anyone. I just did my job and that was it. Two or three days later Jimmy comes back. “George, can you change it back to my natural color?” “I don’t think so. I explained to you that it would be difficult but I will try.” So I put bleach on his hair. By the time I was finished (putting bleach on his hair) he was beginning to choke. He was allergic to the bleach. I should have checked before I gave it to him. In those days we washed client’s hair with their face down in the sink. He started to choke again and then turned red and then almost blue.Herb I grabbed Capozzihim and pulled him up. “George, if I had had to hold it another minute, I would have been in trouble.” I didn’t want him passing away in my chair. Once again I was lucky.

I brought my little sister Antonia over from Greece. The uncle of a man here in the Greek community came over to our house. “Does your sister want to get married?” “Sure.” They met and liked each other.

His name was Peter Tentes. They eventually had three daughters: Irene, Vicky and Nectaria. All of their daughters married and they now have seven grandkids. Antonia had a daycare centre when her children were

68 ~ Peter Tentes

young. Her husband, Peter, worked in a butcher shop and later owned two restaurants. They are both retired now and return to Greece for two months each year. Their three daughters are all well educated and live with their families around Greater Vancouver.

My wife’s sister, Atta, moved from Montreal to Vancouver. She had come to Canada as a housekeeper and gotten married in Montreal. Like all of us, she was a hard worker. Her husband was from Methoni. They had two boys. When they first arrived in Vancouver they stayed with us in Mackenzie Heights until they bought their own home.

I often had trouble with the pilot light on my furnace. I had a repairman come out and show me how to light it. One time, just after Marianna was born, I tried to re-light the furness and it exploded, knocking me against a wall. I burned my arm so bad that I couldn’t work. I had just bought my Parisienne from Jimmy Pattison and I said to my wife, “If we didn’t have the baby, we could drive down to California.” At first she said, “No.” Then a friend asked me to go with him. My wife says, “My sister is here now. I guess she can look after the baby.” Marianna was only fifty days old. Once we got across the U.S. border my wife saw some baby cows in a field with their mothers and cried, “Let’s go back.” We knew some people in Pasadena. I was driving fast on the highway near Sacramento and I got caught by a police helicopter. An officer pulled me over. “Why were you driving so fast?” he asked. “To get to my hotel so I can call my kids back home.” “You may never make

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 69

it to your hotel. Why don’t you use that telephone over there?” [He pointed to a phone booth across the street.] “My English is not good enough. At the hotel they put the call through for me.” He gave me a ticket for $36. The next day we drove to L.A. I found my friend’s home and when they saw my nice new car they said, “Let’s drive to Vegas!”

My wife didn’t want to go. “I’m too tired,” she said. It took us about six hours to drive to Vegas. We arrived there about midnight but we couldn’t find a hotel. It was a weekend. We finally stayed at the Hacienda Hotel in a new wing that was under construction. The next evening we drove back.

Max Fugman and I first met at the salon in the 1960s when he was going through a divorce. I never met his first wife. After the divorce we started to see more of each other. I was one of the first people he met in Vancouver. His family had emigrated from Israel in 1954 to Edmonton.

His brother Mordecai was killed fighting in one of the first Israeli/Egyptian wars. Max would come down to the salon and invite me over to his warehouse to pick out clothes for my wife. He was in the fashion industry and was very successful. We soon met his fiancée Margaret and we all became friends. She was the buyer for Eaton’s Department Store and very beautiful. It was a good match. Max was very bright.

Here is how Max met Joe Segal. Max took some nylon stockings in to show Mr. Segal for his Field’s Department Stores. Max worked as a salesman for Alan Frome. Later he opened his own agency and then he

70 ~ Max Fugman

started Jana & Co. his successful clothing import business. He was selling the nylons for $2 a dozen. They cost him $1 a dozen. Max had left the manager of Field’s 2,000 pairs. “Max what happened?” Mr. Segal says, “You don’t have anyone else to sell nylons to. You gave them all to me?” “Joe, whatever you haven’t sold at the end of the month, I will take back.” It was a good deal. It was also a huge profit for Mr. Segal over one hundred percent. Before Mr. Segal knew it, in about a week they were all sold. He called Max. “What’s wrong? I told you that I would take any back if you didn’t sell them.” “No, no, no, you need to send me more. I didn’t take enough.” And that is how the two met. That is one of Mr. Segal’s stories that I want to remember.

Who was the Chairman of the Board? Max used to come down to the salon every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. to have his haircut. He was always first in line. Trevor Peele (Chairman of the Bank of B.C.) would come down as well. At noon they would all go over to the Charcoal Room in the Four Seasons Hotel for lunch. At first it was just Max and Joe Segal but eventually others came down, Syd Belzberg (Max’s cousin) President of Budget Rent-A-Car of B.C. Ltd., Maury Wosk (aka MJ) who was in real estate, Jack Diamond, the owner of Pacific Meat Co. and creator of a “Day at the Races,” Charlie Diamond (his son), Leon Kahn (a successful real estate developer) and me. There were more, about twelve but I cannot remember their names. I just came along to hand out business cards and to make contacts. People kept in touch over

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 71

lunch in those days and to catch up on the latest gossip around town.

This was before computers and social networking. I think they were supposed to be at the synagogue but this is what they did every Saturday at noon for years. I don’t think there even was a Chairman of the Board.

Max was a nice guy, kind and fair. One time I took Max and our wives out for dinner. We were going to go to the dining room at the Hotel Vancouver in my Cadillac. When we reached the White Spot on Broadway, I turned in and parked in the car service area and turned on my lights.

“What are we doing here?” asked Max. “It is my treat,” I said, “so I am choosing where we go.” “No, problem, no problem.” That is what he always said, “No problem, no problem George.” Everything with Max was no problem. When the carhop came to the car I said, “Thanks but we have changed our mind.” I turned off the lights and we left for the Hotel Vancouver. We were always playing jokes on each other. Max was very nice and easy to be around and always very fair. If someone was unfair to him he would say, “That’s okay, that’s okay.” That was the kind of person he was but if he got upset, he could really get upset. Later, his younger brother Jack came down for a haircut on Saturday mornings as well.

“No electric trimmer for me!” said the young fellow.

5 My Beautiful Riviera Salon

Life on Seymour street was exhilarating! All sorts of people came into our new salon. One time I bought a briefcase with a combination lock and left it on my desk. Before long it had disappeared. There were lots of thieves around in those days. I had a client named Vince who I thought might be able to help. “What’s happening?” I said to him. “Are we stealing from the family now?” “What happened?” “Someone stole my briefcase.” “Oh, I know who did it,” he says. “Don’t worry, in one hour the briefcase will be back.” The briefcase came back but it was a different color. It had been stolen from somewhere else. I couldn’t argue the point anymore. It was hilarious!

74 ~ Mr. Rogers

Mr. Rogers was a client of mine. The Roger’s family had owned B.C. Sugar since the 1900s. “You should see your banker and buy one thousand shares of Great West Life Insurance,” he told me. He gave me his card and said, “Call me if there is a problem and I will fix it!” “How much is it a share?” “$30.” “No way,” I said. If I could have I would have but I didn’t have that kind of money. About four months later, the company amalgamated with another company and the stock went up to $245 a share.

Security at the Bay across the street would often catch crooks with stolen merchandise. The Seymour Street entrance to the Bay was open in those days and anyone could gain access to the cars parked above through the skywalk. One time the appliance manager on the fourth floor told me, “There were two guys with white uniforms. They had pencils on their ears and little boards. They were looking at our best refrigerators and stoves. One guy would say, “This one, what’s the number?

Take it!” They took two stoves and two refrigerators downstairs and put them on a truck. They would be sure the license plates were covered by a cloth which hung down from the appliances above. It hung just low enough to cover the numbers. Then they left. Just like that. Sometimes it would be televisions.”

One day a guy came into the salon. He was well dressed and it was raining outside. “George, can I talk to you in the back?” “Okay!” “I have a Patek Phillipe watch and some gold cuff links worth over $1,000.

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 75

You can have them for $100.” “No, I don’t want them.” “Okay, can you open the back door for me?” “Sure.” I opened the back door and the police were waiting with their guns drawn. How lucky was that? My instincts were correct. Guys would try and sell me cameras and Rolex watches. It was crazy! One time I said to one of the thieves, “Why you do this kind of work?” “Eighty percent of the people who come into your place would buy stolen merchandise from me and resell it for a profit.

They look respectable but they are not.” “Are you kidding?” “Sure, they buy it from me for $100 and then sell it for $500.” This is why later on the laws changed and the buyer became as guilty as the seller.

We joked a lot at the salon. A guy brought in a cake from Bon Ton Bakery. He bought it for one of my barbers named Dino. Dino was doing a shave when he came in. Some of my guys took the cake into the back and took it out of the box and put a brick inside. “You have a cake in the back,” I told Dino. He took the box (with the brick inside) home with him. The next day he called me, very upset. “What did you do to me? I had guests and I served them the cake. You guys are bastards!” He realized it was just a joke.

My barber from Ireland started going out with my manicurist. She was a beautiful girl. His visa expired twice and twice he had to go back to Ireland. The second time it happened, I put an ad in the newspaper for a new barber. The salon was sixteen feet wide and one hundred twenty feet long. One day he was in the back and a client came in. I called for

76 ~ Dr. J. Ross MacLean

Kevin. He didn’t come out of the backroom so I went back to get him.

He was cleaning blood off his face. The manicurist had done it. She found out that he had a wife in Ireland. “Don’t bring your problems to work,” I told them.

Dr. J. Ross MacLean used LSD to treat alcoholic actors from Hollywood in the acid room of his Hollywood Hospital in New Westminster.

Cary Grant, crooner Andy Williams, and Robert Kennedy’s wife Ethel were all said to have paid the $600 fee. MacLean became rich enough from Hollywood Hospital to purchase Casa Mia, a lavish mansion built

by George Reifel who made his money in the rum running business in the 1920s. Dr. MacLean was very generous. One time I was invited to a party at his house. The dining room was custom made. The table sat twenty-eight. He also owned the Sir Walter Raleigh Restaurant at Granville and Hastings. His manager was a Greek named Steve Notoris. I knew Steve for a long time.

Dr. MacLean became very wealthy. Later on in the 1980s, Murray Pezim, a local stock promoter, was appointed to the Board of Police Commissioners by Vancouver City Council. He threw a big party and invited Milton Berle, Don Rickles, Henny Youngman. They all came.

I was invited too. I had been told that Dr. MacLean had passed away. I walked into the party room and there’s Dr. MacLean. I was speechless.

Sadness again! My manicurist, Ingrid, was from Europe. Ingrid came to work for me on Seymour Street. She married one of the top

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 77

managers for Block Bros. in the electrical division. They lived in Tsawwassen. She was in a head-on collision on Highway 99. The accident was terrible.

Top dogs need grooming too. I cut the hair of all the mayors: Tom ‘Terrific’ Campbell, Art Phillips, Jack Volrich and later Mike Harcourt and Gordon Campbell. While some mayors might present themselves as “statesmen” who want to foster growth for the whole community rather than one sector, the bottom line is some are often more interested in resource distribution than social issues.

My English wasn’t good enough. Three guys were working for CJOR. They were Neil Soper, Peter Lake and Red Robinson. They were all clients of mine. “CJOR is for sale,” they said, “you can buy it for $12,000.”

“No, my English is not good enough.” I felt it would be hard for me to run a radio station if I didn’t understand what they were saying. They mentioned the same thing to Jimmy Pattison and he bought it. CJOR operated from the basement of the Grosvenor Hotel, at 840 Howe Street, on the east side of Georgia Street. The hotel featured the Simon Fraser Dining Room (full of murals of Simon Fraser’s discovery of the Fraser River). It was one of the more upscale hotels of the day. When the realtor was negotiating the sale with Mr. Pattison, he said, “The building is for sale, including the parking.” “How much is it?” “It is $190,000 for the hotel and the parking.” “Make it $200,000 for all including CJOR.” Mr. Cunningham (Cunningham Drugs) was one of Mr. Pattison’s

78 ~ Murray Pezim

customers and my client when Mr. Pattison worked at BowMac (Bowell McLean car dealership) on Broadway. Later on when he had his car dealership at 18th and Main, Pattison went to Cunningham and told him about the deal and said to him, “Do you want to be my partner fifty/fifty in the real estate?” “Sure.” In those days you put down ten percent and the property was yours. They became partners just for the building, not for CJOR, Mr. Pattison owned that himself. This was a big leap for him because he could now advertise Jim Pattison Pontiac Buick, at Main & 18th, all the time, over the radio. He told me that after about ten years he bought Cunningham out. “I want to be the only owner,” he said to him. “No problem.” It cost him double. In just ten years the property had doubled again.

There were lots of opportunities in those days. Mitzi Gaynor’s husband, Jack Bean, asked me to be a partner with him in a hair salon in Los Angeles. He was a friend of Dave Davies. During her nightclub years Gaynor rehearsed and broke in her nightclub routines at the Cave, located in the hub of the fancier end of Vancouver’s night life. The Cave was considered to be one of the most upscale clubs in western Canada.

The Las Vegas shows were always tested out here in Vancouver before moving on to Las Vegas. I could have moved to Los Angeles but I was just getting established in Vancouver and decided to stay here. Besides, I had the pick of lots of business opportunities right here in Vancouver.

Spas are big business. I knew the guys (Bob and Cal) who opened

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 79

the first Palm Springs Health Spa on Broadway & Vine. Bob was friends with my partner, Tony Farina and drove a Lamborghini. He had some friends in town from L.A. One day I was supposed to go with him to his house but I gave him some excuse and didn’t go. He gave a ride to one of his friends from L.A., flipped the car and his friend was killed. I was lucky! He made a lot of money. There were a lot of Palm Springs Health Spas all over Vancouver in those days. They were ahead of their time.

Today spas are big business.

A big supporter of mine was Murray Pezim. Someone told him about me and he made an appointment to come down. “I don’t have any cash with me. Will you take a cheque?” he says. In those days there were no credit cards. I didn’t know who he was. “No problem.” He handed me a cheque and I looked at it. It was for $300,000. It was a company cheque. His bill was only $12. “Do you want me to keep the change?”

I asked. “I’m sorry, wrong cheque.” He was just showing off. He was a promoter. He was publicizing himself, letting me know he had lots of money. He always gave me a big tip. Sometimes he would give me a very respectable amount. “This is from the market, he would say. “Just keep it!” It was a present. He tried to get me to buy stocks so there was a bit of give and take. In the 1970s he asked me, “George, how much money do you make from one of your fundraising dinners for the Greek community?” “We make about $50,000.” “I would like to match that.”

And he did! Every year he bought a table or two. He was a big

80 ~ Tony Farina

supporter. A lot of the stock market guys were like that. He was featured on the T.V. show, Life Styles of the Rich and Famous.

Lou Black was a big promoter. Lou made a lot of money with Pyramid. He offered to give me some money to take to Greece and invest.

We would be equal partners in the investments. It would cost me nothing and he would buy me a house and rent me a car in Greece. I was supposed to leave the last week of April, just before income tax was due.

He owed the government a lot of money. He wanted to leave the country and this was a way of getting some of his money out. On the 21st of April, the government of Greece was overthrown and a military junta took power. I had left the Greek army only eight years before and I was concerned that I might be in trouble if I returned. I got scared. [When I look back on it now, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to Greece, considering the mess it is in today. Now they have too many unions and lots of corruption.] Lou had made several trips to Munich the preceding year. He always took his Rolls Royce with him and a briefcase full of cash. He was trying to get as much money out of the country as he could. I didn’t know any of this at the time. I was told all of this later by a mutual friend. My wife and I got to know Lou Black quite well. We would often go out together for dinner at the Cave Supper Club and to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Before I knew it, he was gone for good to Munich! His wife followed him a short time later.

My partner Tony and I were planning on buying the hair salon in the

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 81

basement of the Hotel Vancouver. Tony went down to Las Vegas and lost a lot of money. He denied that he had signed a paper with the Hacienda Hotel (owned by a front man for organized crime). He told me that he wanted to sell the salon on Seymour Street. I didn’t know what his real reasons were at the time. He had been running bus trips down to Vegas on the side from Vancouver. I wanted to buy some real estate: thirty-five units at 2nd & Maple. In those days, the units were selling at $5,000 a piece but it would have to wait. The boys from Las Vegas came to Vancouver and said to me, “How would you like your partner with a broken leg or a broken arm?” “No, I want him to be healthy. I work hard. Maybe I can find a way to get the money.” After they left I called his mother and told her. It was then that they decided to sell the salon. I paid Tony’s mother $17,000 for his half and made sure she paid off the Las Vegas debt. Then he goes behind my back and buys the Hotel Vancouver Barber Shop. Not only that, he took four barbers with him from my Seymour shop. He comes by and says to me in the Italian style (casual, relaxed), “Hey, George, how are you doing?” Then he says, “I’m going to close the Riviera.” He was bragging that he was going to take all the business but this wasn’t going to happen. One of the big boys, Dave Davies (six foot four inches) was in the salon. He grabbed Tony by the ear and walked him out. “Don’t you ever step foot in here again,” he said. He never came back. I carried on and added more barbers. We gradually lost touch. About two years later, Tony called me. “George,

82 ~ Dave Davies

I need a job.” They shut him down. I do not not know what happened.

I felt bad to say no. For me it was okay. For him it was not so good! He came back to the salon. Probably one client a day said to him, “Tony, what are you doing here? You can’t stay away from George?” It ruined his day. After six months he had a nervous breakdown. I called his mother and said, “You better take Tony out of town.” He was very popular. He would go to the bar and buy drinks for everyone. The problem was he couldn’t afford it. She took him to Calgary. I passed through Calgary one time with my family in 1981. I called him up. He was very nice to my kids. He stayed in Calgary for twenty years.

Dave and Lillian Davies owned the Cave Supper Club in the late 1950s. They often complained about how difficult and egotistical many of the big name stars were, in particular Diana Ross. Dave Davies was an ex-fighter. Isy and Richard Walters owned the Cave from 1952 to 1959. They sold the club to Dave and he had it for six months. He had a final payment to make to the Walters and he could not pay so he made a deal with Ken Stauffer. Ken paid the Walters and he owned the Cave for the next 15 or so years.

I brought my brother Kostas over from Greece and taught him to cut hair. His first client was Charlie Diamond, the son of Jack Diamond.

“George, are you going to give me a haircut?” Charlie says to me.

“Sure.” I had my brother on the next chair. I had just started to train him.

I introduced him to Charlie and Charlie insisted he wanted to be his

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 83

first customer. Kostas became a very good barber and later he opened a restaurant.

Danny Ceklay (the guy who shot Jimmy Hill) was a client of mine.

One day about a week before he shot Jimmy he was at the back of my salon making a lot of noise. “Danny!” I said. “Quiet, you are making too much noise.” Mickey Filippone was there too making a lot of noise. After I heard that he shot Jimmy at the Georgia Hotel, I remembered what had happened the week before. Oh my god! I thought. Of all the guys I had to tell to be quiet it had to be him. I remembered how he looked at me and put me in his eyes and said, “You know what? I like you because you are a Christian.” That’s exactly what he said to me.

Rocky Marciano was in town with Bob Hope for a sports fundraiser at Hy’s Steak House. Dave Davies brought them both over for a haircut.

The big boys looked after many of the celebrities from the Cave. Marciano had a hairpiece. It was so natural that I couldn’t even tell. He died in a plane crash on the 29th of August when I was in Greece. Bob Hope was always joking around. I met lots of celebrities. I cut Paul Anka’s hair four times and Wayne Newton’s brother Jerry. I met lots of comedians and singers at the Cave: Brenda Lee, Mitzi Gaynor, Anne Murray, Diana Ross. Ken Stauffer would introduce them to me. George Gobel, I cut his hair, and the Mills Brothers. The Cave was amazing. It held fifteen hundred people. It was the first Vancouver club to be granted a liquor license. The venue’s interior featured stalactites that hung from

84 ~ Evangelismos

the ceiling.

Once, on Seymour Street, a guy walked in. “Give me a haircut?”

“Okay.” He sat down in the chair and started bad mouthing the last guy who cut his hair. I didn’t know the guy. I am thinking, “When this guy goes to the next barber, he is going to bad mouth me.” So I said, “You are all done.” “Yes, but you haven’t cut my hair.” “I don’t have to.”

“What do you mean?” “Because the next barber you go to for a haircut, I will be the jerk.” “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay. It is my decision. I am the owner. I take the responsibility.” “Please?” “Next time you come in I will cut your hair.” I had about ten or twelve barbers so I said, “If someone else is available to cut your hair, by all means, but definitely not me.” In the beginning he was mad but then he realized he had been wrong and said, “George, you put me in my place.”

John who owned the Avenue Grill in Kerrisdale was a client of mine.

[He had bought it from Chris and George Bonnis, two of the first Greeks I met in Vancouver. George became Helen’s godfather.] He told me he was going to sell so I told him to let me know before he did. I wanted the restaurant for my brothers-in-law. When I told them they said, “Okay, but we want you to be a partner.” “No, take your sister,” I said, so they did. One of Voula’s brothers had to go to Greece for six weeks. I asked one of the chefs to cover for him and he agreed. In a couple of weeks the chef says to me, “George, I need a raise.” There are two kinds of people, the ones who write cheques and the ones who cash cheques. Okay,

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 85

“How much do you want?” Two weeks later, “George, I need another raise.” He was nervous and couldn’t look me in the eye. I called John and said, “This guy asked me for a raise. I gave it to him and he is now asking me again.” “Tell him this is his last week. Don’t worry, I will back you up.” “All right. I will.” I said to Tommy, the chef, “You know what, I don’t think we can afford to pay you anymore. Either you give me your notice or we will let you go in a week or ten days.” “No.” “What do you mean no?” “How can you run the restaurant without a chef?” “Don’t worry about it. There are lots of chefs around. If you want to stay, don’t ask me for a raise again and you can leave anytime you wish but give me a day’s notice. If you don’t word will get around. Vancouver is very small, no restaurants will hire you. You will remember the reason. I am younger than you. You will have to go out of town to get a job.” He stayed with me for a while. Twenty years later he was working in Nanaimo. I never said anything but I guess word got around.

We all went back to Greece for the first time since we left. Voula took the girls and went in May. I followed in July. Neither of us had met each other’s parents. When I arrived, I rented a car and Voula came up to Athens with the girls to meet me. We drove back to Militsa and stayed overnight and then we drove to her home town of Evangelismos. It was the 20th of July. I remember because the following day the town celebrated St. Leo’s Day and there was a big festival, with lots of food and dancing.

On the night we arrived in Evangelismos there was a dance with aa

86 ~ Mackenzie Heights

band playing in the town square, maybe 300 or 400 people. Because my father-in-law was a priest, he was a little uncomfortable. I had only just met him. He was sitting staring at me as I was watching the dancing.

“What’s going on over there?” he asked me. Later I told my wife and she said, “I hope you didn’t tell him.” Priests are very conservative.

There was a well in the middle of town. Every time my wife went to get water, she would hear, “Oh, you’re the Giorgena (George’s wife).”

Voula and the girls were there for five or six weeks before I came. I couldn’t wait to join them in Greece.

I wanted to do something for the church. There were a couple of guys in the village who volunteered to paint the church. I bought them a long ladder, paint and all the brushes they needed. It seemed like the right thing to do. I met Tom (my sister Voula’s husband) for the first time on that trip. Greece was still recovering from the civil war. We all flew home together on KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) in September. We had a photo of Helen (she was only six), wearing a KLM hat and carrying a tray of candies, walking down the aisle like a stewardess. We made a Super 8 video of it as well.

I was cutting Jim Pattison’s hair one day in the salon. In those days, he carried an abacus with him everywhere (this was before calculators).

“George, give me your name and address. I want to do something for you.” Before I could give it to him I received a telephone call from Greece. It was my father, “Tom (your sister Voula’s husband) has just

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 87

passed away.” I told Mr. Pattison. He had just taken over Neonex. Whenever I remind him about this story and Neonex he says, “That was the toughest deal I ever made. It was just ugly!”

I always liked helping people. We sold our house in Mackenzie Heights and rented for two years. Before we moved, a man came up to me one day and said, “There is a young couple who I know who want to get married but they do not have a best man.” My wife and I helped them out. They appreciated it. We had them all back to our house for a reception after the wedding. Their names are Nick and Nicky Pilarinos.

We are koumbaros! (best friends). They often call us on holidays.

Voula was from a large family and was used to having lots of people around. She was alone in our big house in Mackenzie Heights all day long with two kids and it was hard on her nerves with no immediate family nearby. I took her to the doctor and he said to take her for a drive, visit friends, visit the park and go out for dinner. It will make her happier. So I took her and the girls out for dinner a lot in those days just to get her out of the house. I am sure some people thought we were living the high life but that was not the case. She was not as strong as I and lots of things bothered her. Events were happening in our lives so fast that I suppose it would have made most people a little nervous. In just five years we had gone from having no money to having lots of money, our own house in a wealthy part of town and two kids. When success happens fast it can make others envious as well and that bothered her. She

88 ~ W.A.C. Bennett

was probably not prepared for the success that came our way. After we sold the house we rented an apartment for a couple of years. She found it comforting to know there were others nearby if she needed help.

By the end of the 1960s I was hooked on the spirit of free enterprise.

I was eager to branch out further to see what I could achieve. During the 1960s, the B.C. Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett had nationalized the province’s largest hydroelectric company and named it B.C. Hydro. It also formed B.C. Ferries in 1958 and established the Bank of British Columbia, of which the government owned 25%. With examples like these to follow how could I go wrong?

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 89

6 The Royal Riviera

You had to be a promoter. I was out at Vancouver’s only horseracing track (Hastings Racecourse). It was in its day one of the swankiest establishments in town. It was run by Jack Diamond. Diamond began his racing stables in the mid-1930s. In 1965, with his guidance, the Jockey Club completed a new grandstand-clubhouse complex at Exhibition Park. I had a pass from Charlie Diamond, Jack’s son, to go everywhere.

As I sauntered up to the clubhouse, I ran into Jack, “the godfather of Hastings.” Jack was the heart and soul of the track. It’s gone downhill since Jack passed on. Hastings was one of the few places to gamble in Vancouver. What really hurt racing were the lotteries. “George, what are you doing here?” “I just came out for business.” The B.C. Lions and the horse races were the only professional sports in Vancouver in those days.

92 ~ John Levine

I had never been a gambler, I just handed out my business cards. “This is your first and last time out here,” he told me. “I don’t want you to come to the horse races because you work hard.” He knew. He came in for a haircut every week.

We didn’t always lose. A few years later, Joe Segal asked me to go to the races with him to see his horse. “I don’t want to go in case I run into Jack.” I told him what had happened. I went with Joe and right away he takes me upstairs to Jack’s office. I felt the same apprehension that I remembered from many years before: a certain hush like the world might come to an end. “What are you doing here?” Jack says to me.

He had forgotten what he had said and I didn’t mention it. They were serving food and drinks in Jack’s office. Joe says, “Come on, let’s go downstairs.” I gave Joe $100 to bet for me. He came back later and gave me $500. He probably made a couple of thousand for himself.

Voula (my older sister), moved to Vancouver with her daughter Calliope (Poppy). I sponsored them. They stayed with us when they first arrived. Voula got a job in a factory making ski jackets. A few years later we found a house for her and Poppy. When my parents came out in 1972, they stayed with Voula. They also stayed with us for a while and with Kostas but usually they stayed with Voula. She never remarried.

She looked after Kostas and Antonia when they were growing up. She was like a second mother to them. They led a rich life together.

I did a lot of business. The opportunities were everywhere and

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 93

through my clients at the salon, I heard about even more. I was open to any kind of business and the first one I got involved with was a restaurant. John Levine had six PIZZARAMA restaurants. We bought one at Fraser and forty-ninth and another in North Vancouver on Marine Drive.

This was before Canada Place and the Seabus Terminal (it was a long drive to the North Shore in those days). John opened Brother Jon’s in burgeoning Gastown where restaurants such as the Keg & Cleaver, the Cannery, and the Crêperie had just begun to make their mark. Brother Jon’s was a 250-seat themed restaurant modeled on a Franciscan monastery, featuring fondues and B.C.’s largest selection of wines. The waiters were dressed in monk’s robes and John was seen everywhere as the “Head Monk”. He kept one pizza place on Broadway called Jon’s which was very popular. My partners were Roberto Abraham and my lawyer Nick Pyrgos. We turned the two PIZZARAMAS into Matteo’s restaurants. Then we opened a third Matteo’s in West Vancouver on Marine (between Sixteenth and Seventeenth) that same year. [Roberto’s fatherin-law had millions in the Royal Bank upstairs. I told him he should buy the property on the corner of Burrard and Dunsmuir (for $60,000) but he didn’t listen].

I met Donald Nixon through John Meier who was a business advisor to Howard Hughes. Hughes stayed for two months in the top four floors of the Bayshore Inn. He called from his plane and requested the top four floors. The manager told him they were full. “If I don’t get the rooms,”

94 ~ John Meier

Hughes said, “I’m buying the hotel.” Such threats had precedent. When the Desert Inn tried to evict him in 1966, Hughes bought the Las Vegas landmark.

There were five Nixon brothers. Two died young, three survived.

There was Donald (a business executive), Edward (a geologist) and Richard, the 37th President of the United States. Edward was the least controversial of the brothers. Donald’s association with Meier-Hughes went back to 1956 when he accepted a secret $205,000 loan from the billionaire industrialist whose businesses frequently depended on the good will of the government. I came into the picture when Hughes’ advisors tried to convince him to have a haircut (He was on the from Johnrun Meier U.S. tax authorities and had not been seen in public for many years). “If we call are you prepared to come and give Howard Hughes a haircut?” his people came in one day and asked. “No problem.” Long story short: he wouldn’t agree to have his hair cut.

John Meier arrived in Vancouver in July, a month after the Watergate break-in. He often came in for a haircut. Although almost all of the individuals in Howard Hughes’ inner circle never actually met Hughes, Meier not only met with him regularly but at one point was only one of five people allowed to see him. He was referred to in the press as Howard Hughes’ “right-hand man” and “the man to see about any of Howard Hughes’ operations.” President Richard Nixon’s brother, Don, testified to the Watergate committee that he viewed Meier as “the number-two

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 95

man with Hughes.”

It was an exciting time. Through John I met Terry Moore, the 1940’s Hollywood starlet and Oscar nominee. She claimed to have been married to the mysterious, enigmatic billionaire. Hughes had a legendary reputation as a womanizing “lady’s man.” But, unknown to much of Hollywood, he fell hard for this popular young starlet named Terry Moore... and secretly married her, or so she says!

Political intrigue and the CIA. John Meier and I were at the Delta Town & Country Inn to support John Reynolds. Reynolds was elected for the first time to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative MP for the Columbia riding of Burnaby-Richmond-Delta. There was John Meier, myself and our wives. John Meier was on the run from the U.S. government. Canada refused to extradite him to the U.S. John Reynolds, Tommy Douglas and a few other notable politicians supported Meier’s claim for political asylum from persecution by the CIA. It was a very turbulent time in the U.S. with left and right tensions everywhere.

Max Bell rented the top two floors of the Bayshore (After Hughes left in May). He was a Canadian newspaper publisher, racehorse owner and philanthropist. He partnered with Frank McMahon, a Canadian businessman, best known as “The man who did the most to open up northwest Canada’s wilderness—and convince oilmen of its treasures,” and then the pair joined with singer Bing Crosby to win the Irish Derby in 1965. He called me twice to cut his hair. Once I took my manicurist.

96 ~ Angelo Dundee

Max Bell was not very well and died in July in Montreal. Before he died he established the Max Bell Foundation.

When Cassius Clay (a.k.a. Mohammed Ali) was in town to fight George Chuvalo on May 1, I was called to cut his hair. “Have you ever cut Afro-American hair?” “Only once,” I said. They didn’t tell me who the haircut was for. All they said was, “Can we make an appointment for Angelo Dundee?” He was Cassius Clay’s trainer. Angelo Dundee came down. I coloured his hair. He got a manicure, the works. He confirmed the original call was for Cassius Clay but he wouldn’t come down.

Sometimes celebrities do this for publicity. It is an honour for me to cut the hair of someone who is well known. It is also usually fun. I get my picture taken. Sometimes people ask me, “How does it feel to cut soand-so’s hair?” “I don’t think it is any different.” Lots of times they are a lot nicer than you may think they are going to be. The money they have doesn’t matter. It is the person that counts. “The most important person to me is the person who is in my chair.” That is what I always say. I can often tell someone’s character by the way they behave in my chair. I kicked that one guy out without giving him a haircut.

My parents came to stay on the 5th of May close to Greek Easter. We barbecued a lamb in the garage because it was snowing. Mom and dad usually spent six months here and six months in Greece. They were supposed to stay for 45 days but they stayed for twenty years. I sponsored them too, to stay in Canada. It was nice to have them around.

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 97

“Buy property!” my dad would always say. The only problem was, in those days, there was no one to rent the houses. That came later. People bought houses to live in back then, not as an investment. We bought another house that year, at 11th and Collingwood. We stayed in that house from 1972 until 1992.

The Hyatt Hotel came to the Royal Centre. The lawyer for the developer was Jim Button. There was a tragedy in his family about this time.

His son was driving down from Whistler to meet him at the airport and he was killed in a traffic accident. Jim was my client. The architect for the building, Mr. Bourassa, was my client as well. They asked the Royal Bank of Canada and me to come in as tenants. I opened a second location in the Royal Centre and set up eight chairs. [I left my brother Kostas in charge of the Seymour Street salon. I hired a barber named Jimmy (he was the brother-in-law of my friend Peter Benias) to replace me.] In those days we were located in the corner where the food court is today.

We only cut men’s hair. About five years later, when Crimpers (the ladies salon) closed, I was allowed to open a uni-sex salon. I extended my space to twenty-two chairs. When the mall opened its doors I was there with my new Royal Riviera Hair Salon.

Enjoying life! I was often at the Top of the Mark (a downtown nightclub owned by Herb Capozzi). My friend Peter Benias was the Maitre d.’ I baptized my daughter and my nephew at the Top of the Mark. One time we had a Greek night for Capozzi. We bought a hundred

98 ~ Hy Aisenstadt

moustaches (Everyone thought Greeks wore moustaches in those days).

There was Murray Pezim, Capozzi and Harry Moll. There were three Capozzi brothers. Besides being GM for the Lions, Herb, as I said, assumed control of the Vancouver Canucks in the 1970s and started the WHITECAP soccer team, bringing professional soccer to British Columbia for the first time in its history.

Voula was the perfect wife for me. Each time I opened a new business she would say, “Oh, I don’t want to hear about it. You will do what you are going to do.” She was always busy with the kids. She liked going out with the various people I became acquainted with for dinner or to a show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre or to a wedding. I remember at Gary Averbach’s wedding I introduced her to Hy Aisenstadt of Hy’s Restaurants. “The last time we met you were a blond,” he said to her.

She got the joke. She was always happy to be a part of what I was doing but she didn’t get involved in the decision making. We had a partnership. She looked after the home and the family and I ran the business side. We were both equally important.

Princes and high rollers were everywhere. There was a conference in Vancouver called Habitat. A Saudi Prince was staying at the Hyatt. He asked for a barber to come upstairs to his room and cut his goatee. I had a guy who worked for me for twenty-five years named Bill Cremesti. I sent Bill up to to trim the Prince’s goatee. He gave him $100 (The cost of the trim was only $2). In those days, that was a lot of money. That

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 99

afternoon the Saudi Prince threw a lavish party and rented the 34th floor restaurant of the Hyatt for four hours. He flew caviar in from Russia.

My friends were good to me. Those days were amazing. I was making friends left, right and center. Sid Golden had a place in Palm Springs.

Sid and his wife Dora insisted that we stay there for ten days as their guest. There was my wife, my two kids and my lawyer’s wife, Marguerite, who taught at Crofton House School. She was also Marianna’s godmother.

Palm Springs in the 1960s had a reputation as a popular spring break destination. College kids with raging hormones headed to Palm Springs looking for fun. Later in the decade, numerous Chicago mobsters invested $50 million in the Palm Springs area, buying houses, land, and businesses. On the way home we drove through Death Valley, Las Vegas, and Reno and discovered ghost towns, mysterious moving rocks, acrid salt flats, sweeping sand dunes, chiseled canyons, surreal landscapes, and a posh desert castle. I had an Oldsmobile Toronado with the four-segment tail lights in the rear. Life was great!

Vancouver was growing. The New Democratic Party came to power in B.C. Premier Dave Barrett ousted the conservative Social Credit Party that had held sway over the province for several decades. In the past, city councils supported the kind of ‘business climate’ that attracts industry. The 1970s were a pivotal decade for Vancouver, making it a player in the world of of global trade. Being a port Vancouver needed

100 ~ Joe Segal

to improve its transportation facilities for moving goods to both local and global markets if it was going to truly become a global city. The land in and around Vancouver was in constant contention. These concerns were all-consuming and overshadowed most other social issues of the time.

Joe Segal was always talking business. Max told him about me. Mr. Segal founded Field’s Department Stores. He built them up by acquiring 240 Marshall Wells’ retail stores and then Zellers. I remember seeing him in a Chinese restaurant called Tang’s (across from my salon), here in the Royal Centre when we first opened. One day he came into the salon for a haircut. He was always talking business. He asked me how I was doing. Once he offered to work with me. He would supply the finances and I would supply the renovators. He wanted to buy houses with me, renovate them and sell them. I didn’t know anything about the renovation business back then so I told him no thanks.

When Mr. Segal was investing in Pier 1 in Seattle, my name came up and he came down to see me at the salon. I told him I was thinking of buying Tang’s restaurant. He told me that he had a restaurant in a better location that I should lease in the Merchandise Mart (the Bay’s Warehouse). He knew I was involved in the Avenue Grill. I leased his restaurant and we grew closer. He gave me an unheard-of thirteen year lease. [When I opened my salon in the Hyatt in 1973, rents were much cheaper than they are today. My rent was only $500 a month.] Being

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 101

a tenant, I noticed Mr. Segal wasn’t charging anything for cars to park on the roof of his building. “How come you have parking for free?” I asked. Parking was free at the Royal Centre in those days for the first six months and then it cost $10 a month. He started charging for parking as well. He continued to come down for a haircut every week and we always discussed business. Today parking on Mr. Segal’s building probably costs $300 a month. Parking in the Royal Centre is now $400 per month. We helped each other out over the years.

You need to stand up to the bullies. This guy came into the Royal Riviera one day. He was jealous. I had sixteen or seventeen barbers working 22 chairs. If each barber had seven or eight clients a day, at $15 each, it added up to a lot of money. “What are you going to do with your money, D.P?” the guy said as he left. Sometimes a barber needs to be a psychologist. I didn’t understand what he was saying so I smiled. “How long have you known that guy,” another client asked, “I didn’t like the way he talked to you. He called you a displaced person, an immigrant, and he was worried about what you were going to do with your money.” I had a feeling he said something like that. “That’s fine,” I said. The next time he came into the salon he says to me, “How are you?” “I am fine,” I said and crossed my arms and stared at him. “Come with me, I want to talk to you.” It is not what happens to you that counts. It is how you react to what happens to you that counts, especially when you have unexpected problems of any kind. “What do you want now?” he says sarcastically.

102 ~ Richard Brownlee

“Come into my office.” I looked him in the eyes and said, “Do you remember how you called me a D.P. when you were here last?” “What do you mean?” “You ever do that again, don’t come back because you will be in a lot of trouble. Don’t ever let me hear you have said that to anyone else. If I had understood what you had said the first time, I would have stopped you.” “I am sorry, George.”

It was time to move on. I sold my interest in all the restaurants. My wife sold her share of the Avenue Grill in Kerrisdale (and the one in the Merchandise Mart on Mainland Street) to her brothers. I am not sure if I actually liked running the businesses or if it was the ‘art of the deal’ that I liked the most. But now that I was established, my appetite for business was becoming insatiable and would not be confined to Vancouver alone or to restaurants.

People often came to me for help. There was a Dr. Papadopoulos who was my wife’s doctor. He was from Cyprus and a client of mine. He called me up and ask me if I knew a good bank manager that he could go to for a loan. I put him on hold and called my bank manager, Mike Rogers at B.C. Bank. He had been a good friend for a long time (You need to have a good relationship with your bank manager to get anywhere in business).“I have a Dr. Papadopoulos on the line who is looking for a loan under $100,000. I can sign for him if you like.” “We don’t ask friends to sign for friends but send him down.” I sent him down for a 2:00 p.m. appointment and he left the bank with a loan worth three

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 103

times what he originally wanted. He did not expect me to be able to do that for him. He was a good doctor but business is different. He was a gynecologist with a big salary.

Helping others pays off. I met Richard Brownlee through Dr. Papadopoulos. He was from South Africa. Richard was a real estate accountant.

He told Dr. Papadopoulos that he had a business deal for him in Tukwila just outside of Seattle: two hundred condos. He would get a good commission. Papadopoulos told me, “Because you helped me with the loan, I have a business deal with Richard Brownlee that I would like to include you in for ten per cent.” “How are you going to find the money?” I asked. “I thought you could find the money.” I didn’t say a word. I took my bank manager, Mike Rogers, and my account manager, Jerry Young, down to Seattle where we met Dr. Papadopoulos. We saw the building and they liked it but we needed a quarter of a million for the deposit.

There were four buildings with a swimming pool. The U.S. economy was in a recession but it soon picked up. The building was about seven or eight years old. We bought it for just under three million. When Papadopoulos went to sign the papers for the loan with Mike he says, “I don’t want George to take more than ten percent.” Mike told him to come back tomorrow and they would sign the papers. Mike wanted to tell me that he wouldn’t loan us the money unless I got 29.9 percent because he wanted me to be in involved.

So we bought the building and started to do the renovations. Every

104 ~ Al Goldberg

thing was going fine. Then Richard Brownlee wanted to buy my thirty percent. He wanted to give me clear title to a house on Doncaster Way next to St. George’s School in the university area of Vancouver. “No, I don’t want to,” I said. I want to play with this for a while.” “Okay, then you buy me out for the same amount.” I told Papadopoulos that I was going to buy Richard out and asked him if he wanted to join me but he didn’t. Long story short, I decided not to buy Richard out and eventually got out myself.

Two salons were too much. Kostas decided he did not want to continue working at the Seymour Street salon. Things did not go so well after I left. The guys all had other things they wanted to do. So I sold the salon for them and gave them the money. It was better than just walking away. They all became very successful. Everyone who has ever worked for me and left has gone on to become very successful.

This is how the Gold Plate Dinners started. Max Fugman, Irving Kates, Bud Herman and Syd Belzberg told me how to start a fundraiser for the Greek community. “My English is not good enough,” I said. “We will help you.” It all began when a client of mine, Al Goldberg, bought a $50 ticket for a Jewish dinner in 1974. “George, can you go to this dinner for me in case I win?” I went and I saw many of my clientele from the salon. It was nice. I told my banker, Mike Rogers, what was going on and the next year (1975) we bought one ticket together. Our ticket won a twenty-two inch Sony television from the loser’s pool. It was

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 105

worth $1,000. We decided we would flip and the winner would give the other guy $300. I won. That is when I started raising money for the Greek community.

It was a struggle at first. I was only able to convince seven people to be on my committee the first year. I wanted to start the Gold Plate Dinners in 1975 but the old Greeks thought it was just going to be a stag party. “Why you do that?” they asked. I had to wait two more years before I could put the first one together. I had to prove to these guys that it would really work. The seven people on my committee were Peter Palivos (Dino’s Pizza), George Vastardis (George’s Plumbing & Contracting), Terry Sklavenidis and Bill Gardner (Gentlemen Two), Art Virvilis (Banquet Manager, Sheraton Landmark) and Greg Pappas (Night & Day Restaurants). Mel Botsis helped out unofficially the first year as well. He joined the committee officially the following year. I was his Koumbaros at his wedding and I baptized his kids. I finally convinced the president of the Greek community, Angelo Pappas to give me the association’s tax number and we were off to the races. His wife Anastasia and my wife are first cousins which certainly seemed to help.

It was very successful. The first Gold Plate Dinner raised a lot of money and the following year would introduce me to my future golf buddy, Tony Parsons. We got the tax number in 1977. The Greek Archbishop of Canada, Sotirios, was here that Christmas. I took him and our priest Father Dimitris Partsafas out for lunch at Dino’s Pizza in Yaletown.

106 ~ Gerry Kaldis

I explained to them what it was all about. The Archbishop blessed me and said, “Good luck!” He was three months older than me and very open-minded. Our first dinner raised $27,500, the same year (1977) our community celebrated its 50th anniversary. A commemorative book was published that year and it would have been nice to have had the Gold Plate Dinner mentioned but I think we missed the press date. The next year, Tony Parsons (the news anchorman), was shopping one day in Gentlemen Two on Broadway. Terry Sklavinidis asked Tony to be the M.C. for our second Gold Plate Dinner. Tony and I would become great golf buddies.

Gerry Kaldis’ daughter, Julia, was passing through Vancouver on her way down to San Francisco the year my third daughter, Jaime, was born. We hadn’t seen the family since 1962. We told her that we were going to drive down and surprise her father. They lived in Foster City (San Mateo county), just south of San Francisco. When we finally drove down, it was a big surprise. We all started to cry. Jaime was only six or seven months old. The next year in May, we baptized Jaime here in Vancouver. It is a custom in Greece that the best man baptizes the first born. Because they could not come up when we baptized Helen, they all drove up and stayed with us for Jaime’s baptism party (christening).

The baptizing of a baby in the Greek Orthodox Church is a ceremony second only to marriage in its rich symbolism of dedicating the child to Christ. The symbols continue into the party afterward, as guests are

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 107

presented with special gifts. The reception was held at the Terminal City Club for two hundred people. I invited to the party Joe Segal, Max Fugman, lots of clients of who maybe half were Greek and several from city hall. It was good publicity. There was lots of dancing, music, drinks and everyone was very happy. In those days you had to promote yourself.

We liked California. In the 1970s we went back and forth to San Francisco every summer for about nine years. It was a good life. Gerry had a condo at Lake Tahoe where we sometimes went for a week or two. Tahoe is about 200 miles east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. One year Gerry and his wife surprised Voula and me on her birthday, August 17. They booked a room for us on the top floor of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. It was very nice. I played a little golf by then. They would often come to Vancouver in those days as well.

Frank Sinatra briefly owned the Cal Neva Resort in Tahoe from 1960 to 1963. He built the Celebrity Room theatre and installed a helicopter pad on the roof. Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. all performed there and vacationed with other stars and celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Peter Lawford, Joe DiMaggio, Clara Bow, Will Rogers, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters and Dick Buek.

I like to see others prosper. Gerry’s two sons were working in the parking lot of the Hyatt Hotel (Embarcadero) in San Francisco. “What are you guys doing working in a parking lot?” I said. “You should open your own restaurant. Find a place and if you like it, let me know and

108 ~ Dennis Kearns

I might help you.” Apparently they were already making good money providing repair service for the cars. Anything from brakes to oil, they would have the cars fixed over the weekend. It was convenient. A lot of people needed their car serviced (It left their weekends free for other pursuits). They had a garage close by do the repairs. I tried to copy their idea when I returned to Vancouver.

This is what happened. I called Paul of Impark when I got back to town. He was a client as well. I told him the idea of offering auto repair to his Impark customers. “I like it! Do you want to do it?” he said.

Impark had fifteen thousand parking spaces in Vancouver at the time.

“Sure, I will do it.” I set up the company and I arranged for a mechanic at a service station at 16th and Macdonald to handle the repairs. All I had to do was hire people to drive the cars back and forth. Then, just when we were about to start, Paul says to me, “George, I don’t want to do it.” “But everything is all set.” “No, I changed my mind. I don’t want to do it.” I found out later that he had arranged, behind my back, to do it with a mutual friend of ours. Luckily, I had also mentioned my idea to the Royal Centre and I did set it up for them. They still offer a service today but only a car wash. The repair service idea was adopted by other buildings later on. When our mutual friend found out that it had been my idea he dropped out. Paul let me down! He brought someone else in and they still offer car service to this day. They expanded all over North America and are very successful.

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 109

I played golf with Dennis Kearns. Kearns was brought in by Hal Laycoe (a not particularly popular coach of the Vancouver Canucks), during the franchise’s second season (1971). He played 10 years with the Canucks and was one of the best passers they ever had. One time I took my nephew Jimmy (Atta’s son), with me to meet Dennis at the golf course. We went to Dennis’ house afterwards and he gave Jimmy a hockey stick. Jimmy was very excited. Later, he became a member of the Marine Drive Golf Club. I like to think it was because of meeting Dennis Kearns.

I made lots of friends in the Jewish community. I met Irving Kates through Max Fugman. He was in the fashion industry just like Max. He was always joking around. I also met Bud Herman. Buddy, when I met him was in real estate and had investments throughout the Lower Mainland and the States. Bud loved life. He was a self-taught jazz pianist and together with his brother Al, who played sax, played in a band and made recordings. From an early age Bud always knew how to have fun, and he made sure that everyone around him had fun too and laughed along with him. His sense of humor was legendary and he loved to play practical jokes. He and Irving Kates were good friends. Of all my friends in the Jewish community though, I was the closest to Max. Not everyone likes Greek food. One time I took Joe Segal, Max Fugman, Maury Wosk and our wives for dinner at Yanni’s restaurant.

The special was roast lamb. Maury didn’t want the lamb because he

110 ~ Mr. Freeman

read somewhere how lambs were killed. We had a couple of glasses of wine. The waiters started dancing and Max started throwing plates.

“What are you doing Max?” they all asked. Then everyone started throwing plates.

Another time I went to Yanni’s restaurant with Syd Belzberg, Max and Mr. Freeman of Freeman’s Shoes and our wives. When we were all seated at our table, this guy comes towards me and points the end of his umbrella in my face. “Are you a Jew?” he says. “No, I drink a screwdriver, vodka and orange.” He must have thought that I was crazier than him. “That guy is nuts,” Max says to me. He did the same thing to another guy at our table. I called a waiter in Greek and told him to get rid of the guy. He was escorted out the door and wound up in the middle of the street.

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 111

Exhibition Park, Me, Dr. Mark Schonfeld, Joe Segal and his winning horse.1979 Me, Dr. Mark Schoenfeld, Joe Segal with Mr.Segal’s horse at Hastings Racecourse

7 Up, Up And Away!

Two guys came to town with their families. They didn’t know anyone. There was a Greek restaurant on Broadway called The Marathon.

They were having coffee there and they asked one of the owners (Tom Gallos), “Do you know anyone who needs workers? We need a job.”

“Go see this guy (he gave them my card). He knows lots of people.”

They came down here to see me. Steve and Tom were their names. They were painters. “I don’t know anything about the painting business,” I said. “All you need to do is talk to a property manager and ask him if he needs a painter.” “Fine,” long story short, when opportunity knocks, take advantage!

.

I didn’t know I had hired Laurel & Hardy. Our first painting job was at 535 Thurlow Street in the West End. I had a hair dresser named Anastasia. She was single. She met a man named Doug Eaton who worked for Knowlton Realty. He managed a place at 535 Thurlow Street. “Do

114 ~ Doug Eaton

you have any jobs for painters?” I asked him. “Are they any good?”

“Sure, they’re good.” “I have some fire exits where the stairs go up about seven or eight floors. Can they do them?” “Of course they can,” (At least I hoped they could). I called them and told them where to go.

I had to outfit them for paint and enough money to get by until the job was finished. Like I said, Laurel and Hardy. That was fine. Companies pay after 30 days. I would get my money back. Thirty days after they finished, they called me to pick up the cheque. I told them to go pick up the cheque. The following Wednesday, I still had not heard anything so I called them. They had spent all the money. I couldn’t believe it. I said, “Come down to the office because I have another job for you (This job was up on Thurlow Street, a property owned by Joe Segal). There were about nine units to paint. I had to figure out a way to get my money back. “Why did you do that?” I said when I saw them. “If we had given it all to you, there wouldn’t have been enough left for us.” “Yes, but I gave you a lot of money without any collateral.” They tried to explain their situation. Then they offered me a partnership. At first I said no.

Then I thought about it for a few minutes. “Listen, if we do a company, I would like to make it a limited company because you guys have nothing to lose. I called the company STG Painting (S for Steve, T for Tom and G for George). I incorporated the company with a lawyer. Then I gave them the other job. They agreed but they had no car. At that time I still had two Toronados, one for my wife and one for me. I didn’t need

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 115

them both. “Listen, it’s not perfect but it has a huge trunk. You can have one of my Toronados.” They put everything in the trunk. We had lots of fun when we were first starting out.

The economy was improving in some States but it was still not good.

In Seattle we signed with a management company for our properties but soon they didn’t want to work for us. Papadopoulos, for all his good intentions, was too obsessive in his efforts to make sure everything was running properly, continually calling to check up on things. Finally, no company would look after the building. I had to drive down to Seattle two or three times a week for a year. I remember on two occasions I had to go twice in one day (There were no cell phones in those days).

I never tried to make money off my partners. I wanted my painting company to paint our buildings in Seattle. I let Richard hire a local painter to paint one of the buildings. He brought us a bill for $13,000. I had a meeting with both partners and I said to them, “I want to paint the remaining buildings.” I couldn’t send my painters across the border so I was going to organize a group of painters in Seattle. “How much can you paint them for?” they asked. “In the low twenties.” The units cost us $13,000. We painted all three buildings and I only charged my cost. I didn’t make any profit but I knew the buildings and I knew how much to charge. As I said, I never tried to make money off my partners. If I had, I would be a lot richer today but I didn’t think that way. Although I was discovering that owning companies and buildings presented their own

116 ~ Buddy Herman

set of problems, I was eager to push on and do more. I was hooked!

Brownlee was moving to San Antonio. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to see an investment opportunity. “How much money can you invest?” he asked. “I don’t want to invest too much, under $100,000.” We drove from Vancouver, leaving my Lincoln Mark IV (another new car) in Seattle and taking his BMW 505. We bought ninety-six townhouses in a complex called The Fountains, conveniently located in the heart of the Medical Center of San Antonio. I found out later that my partner was Henry Block of Block Bros. (now H&R Block). In the States you can have a limited partnership with a silent partner before you’ve bought. In four or five months Richard told me he had a client who wanted to buy me out for three times my investment so I took it.

The guys were always having fun. When I was away in San Antonio my friends in Vancouver, Buddy Herman, Irving Kates, Max and Mike Rogers had a celebration. They hired a Loomis truck and drove it around the city. They called me in San Antonio, “You should be here,”they said.

“You are missing all the fun.” Buddy Herman and Irving Kates hung out a lot at Trader Vic’s a Polynesian-themed restaurant that bore the name of its owner Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. It was located on the water behind the Bayshore Inn downtown. Max and I would often come down and join them.

Max and I were like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. I played Dean, he played Lewis. We both loved life. Everything slid off Max. We were

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 117

RIGHT: Voula, Kostas (my brother who died) and me, about 1941.

RIGHT : Greece, Me on the left with Peter Voutiaros seated. He became a policeman in Pireaus, Port of Athens. The boy at the far right is Fotis Ptsiris. 1945.

118 ~ Mick Moutsouris

ABOVE: Me and Mick Moutsouris BELOW: Me at age 18 in Pireaus. 1948, BELOW RIGHT: Me on the left and a boy named Dimitri who I was training to be a barber.

THE CHRONOPOULOS’ OF MILITSA ~ 119

ABOVE: Voula age 16 in Evangelismo, Greece

`120 ~ My Army Days

Above: Taking it easy!

Above: Teaching

Above: Going for lunch

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 121

Above: Corfu

Above: Cutting hair in the field

Above: Me with my suitcase frull of barber’s tools which made me important.

122 ~ Life in the Army

ABOVE: Army buddies

BELOW: Marching with my company in Kalamata 1958

SARGEANT CHRONOPOUOS ~ 123

ABOVE: Me (Sargeant Chronopoulos) top, far right, standing. A General is seated wearing a hat. We are out on a training mission for young soldiers in Kalamata. 1958 ABOVE: Sargeant Chronopoulos in the army. 1958

124 ~ Voula’s Parents LEFT: My wife’s parents, Father Dimitrios Pantazis and his Presvytera Anna in their village of Evangelismos in.

1960

BELOW: My bachelor party in Montreal.

MONTREAL ~125

1960 Montreal Gerry Kaldis and his wife with Voula and me and Antigoni (my brother-in-law George’s wife) during our engagement.

1960 My first car in Montreal

126 ~ Gerry Kaldis

LEFT: Voula, Voula’s brother Bill and Antigoni BELOW: Voula, Antigoni and Eugeni 1960

BELOW: With Gerry Kaldis, my best man (Koumbaros) at my wedding.

1960

MONTREAL ~ 127

OPPOSITE: Church photo BELOW: Our Wedding portrait 1960

128 ~ Married in Montreal

ABOVE: The Wedding Party 1960 BELOW: Departing Montreal for Vancouver in January 1962

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 129

LEFT: Kostas in Greece 1960,

BELOW: Bill, Voula’s brother at left, a friend of Voula’s and her baby, Voula and me.

130 ~ Gus Lloyd

LEFT: Gus Lloyd with me and Voula at our house. Early 60s.

BELOW: Me in action with a young client.

BAD GUYS, GOOD GUYS ~ 131

ABOVE: The Bouzouki Coffee House with Gus’s mother.

RIGHT: George and Greg, Voula’s brothers. Early 60s, BOTTOM: Mike Mavritsakis and his wife with me and Voula. 1963

132 ~ Angelo Pappas

LEFT: Me with Father Partsafas

BELOW: Dinner at Angelo Pappas’ house.

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 133 LEFT: Antonia’s wedding in Vancouver to Peter Tentes 1965

BELOW: Helen and Marianna with Voula.

1968

134 ~ George Bonnis

ABOVE: The 1964 Pontiac Parisienne I bought from Jim Pattison in 1965 on Main Street. I was 30 years old.

BELOW: Relaxing at home in 1965.

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 135

ABOVE: My old friend Peter Voutiaros (left front) in Tourkolimano in 1969.

BELOW: My brother Kostas’ wedding to Roula in Vancouver in 1968

136 ~ Clients & Friends

ABOVE: My Beautiful Riviera Barber Shop on Seymour Street with all the chairs.

MY BEAUTIFUL RIVIERA HAIR SALON ~ 137

Bob Golden in the 1960s

Herb Capozzi in the 1960s

Max Fugman in the 1960s

Sid Golden in the 1960s

Jimmy Pattison in the 1960s

Joe Segal in the 1960s

138 ~ Ted Turton LEFT: Big Dave Davies

RIGHT: John Meier in the 1970s

ABOVE: Jimmy and Beverly Hill in Acupulco, Christmas 1969. Jimmy used to go to Acapulco every Christmas and always rented the penthouse suite at the Acapulco Hilton.

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 139

ABOVE: Matteo’s Restaurant, 1700 Marine Drive, West Vancouver (Me, my wife Voula, and Rosario and Roberto Abraham, our partners in the restaurant. 1972

Lou Black in the 1960s

ABOVE: Ted Turton

140 ~ Irving Kates

ABOVE: Me, Voula, Helen and Marianna 1970 BELOW: Irving Kates on the left with Basil Maramaras and me.

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 141

ABOVE: Me, Basil Maramaras and Norm Miller

142 ~ Maury Wosk

ABOVE: My Royal Riviera Salon in the 1992.

LEFT: Ad for my salons in the seventies.

THE ROYAL RIVIERA ~ 143

ABOVE: My staff at the Royal Riviera in the 1970s.

144 ~ Archbishop Sotirios

LEFT: Me and Archbishop Sotirios BELOW: Dinner with Father Partsafas, Terry Sklavenidis, the Archbishop, me and George Vastardis

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 145

ABOVE: Me, ‘Big Giorgaros’ George Gianokopoulos, Tasos Kolas and Peter Palivos

BELOW: Golf buddies, me, Peter Palivos, Nick Panos and Chris Cellias

146 ~ Steve Fonyo

ABOVE: Cutting Nelson Skalbania’s hair, with Steve Fonyo and Bob J. Carter and his son. In the Royal Riviera, 1970s, BELOW: Me with Murray Pezim and Marc Gastineau of the NY Jets.

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 147

ABOVE: 1980 The Committee for the Gold Plate Dinner had grown from seven to twenty members by then.

BELOW: Committee meeting for the Gold Plate Dinners 1980s

148 ~ David Wolfin

ABOVE: Giving David Wolfin his first haircut.

BELOW: The gang at the Royal Riviera in the mid 1970s.

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 149

ABOVE: Me, Jaime and Voula on the Greek cruise ship.

RIGHT: The first night on board the cruise ship I met the Captain.

150 ~ Our House in Militsa

ABOVE: The girls at the Acropolis BELOW: Dinner on board the Mediterranean cruise ship.

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 151

ABOVE: Dinner at our house in Militsa.

BELOW: Me high on a camel in Egypt.

152 ~ Ephesus

ABOVE: Here we are with our Renault near our house in the village of Militsa.

LEFT: 1969 My mother Eleny in the back and Aunt Yanoula preparing bread for the oven.

OPPOSITE PAGE; 1983 Jaime, Voula and me in Venice

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 153

154 ~ Dimitri & Eleny Chronopoulos

ABOVE: The wedding party, L to R, Jaime, Marianna, Helen, Bill, Voula and me. 1985

LEFT: Marianna with her grandparents

THREE WEDDINGS FOR THREE DAUGHTERS ~ 155

ABOVE: Jaime and John’s Chronopoulos family wedding photo.

June 22, 2002 BELOW: Jaime and John dancing at their wedding reception.

June 22, 2002

156 ~ Bill Vlahos LEFT: Jaime and John Matheos standing beside the Jaguar.

2002

BELOW: George, Jaime and Voula 2002

PUTTIN ON THE BRAKES ~ 157

ABOVE: New Years 1985-6, Voula and Bill.

BELOW: Golf in Palm Springs with Telly Savalas and my friends, 1989

158 ~ Henny Youngman

ABOVE: Bill Vlahos, my son-in-law, my dad Dimitri and me.1985

PUTTIN ON THE BREAKS ~ 159

ABOVE: When Murray Pezim was appointed to the Board of Police Commissioners by Vancouver City Council, he threw a big party (see text page 78). Murray, Don Rickles and me.

LEFT: Me with Henny Youngman at Murray Pezim’s party.

160 ~ Peter Palivos

ABOVE: Kostas Liaskas, Father Partsafas, Geoorge Pantazis and me in Vancouver at Easter. 1989 BELOW: Palm Springs 1989 with Dino Drikus, George Pappas, Peter Palivos, John Petris and me.

INDIA AND BEYOND ~ 161

ABOVE: The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver in the 1930s.

BELOW: Parthenon replica in West Vancouver in 1978. Photo courtesy of the West Vancouver Memorial Library 0776 WVML.

162 ~ Laurion Silver Mines

ABOVE: Me in India at Madras.1996 BELOW: The Laurion Silver Mines financed the fleet when the ancient Athenians defeated the Persians. It also financed the building of the Acropolis and other monuments of the Golden Age of Athens.1996

INDIA AND BEYOND ~ 163

BOTH PHOTOS: Me in India buying textiles with my cousin Sotiros. On the right, a factory worker.1996

164 ~ Archbishop of Toronto & Bartholomew of Istanbul

ABOVE: At the La Paloma Resort Hotel, in Tuscon, Arizona with Bill’s mother’s cousin, John.

BELOW: 1998, Me with his eminence the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholmew of the Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul and the Archbishop of Toronto.

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 165

ABOVE: Max Fugman and Syd Belzberg and me putting a $250,000 plaque up for Max’s father. Joe Segal was not present. May 14, 2000, BELOW: Gus Karvelis, Nick Panos, me, Terry Sklavenidis, George Vastardis, Leo Sklavenidis, Nick Plaxidas, Tony Papajohn, Jimmy Vastardis and Chand Tsandoulas at Quattro on 4th in 2002.

166 ~ Neil McRae

ABOVE: Me and a Saudi prince in my salon, 2003 BELOW: Me with Peter Palivos, Tom Larscheid, George Giannakopoulos and

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 167

ABOVE: Marianna with my grandsons George and Jimmi BELOW: Me with Rich Coleman, Neil McRae and Tony Parsons at Northview Golf & Country Club where we raised $600,000 for the big fire in Kelowna. 2006

168 ~ Gordon Campbell

ABOVE: Me with Premier Campbell at Greek Day on Broadway in Vancouver. 2007 BELOW: Me with Debra Hope, Wayne Cox and Squire Barnes at Tony Parsons’ wedding in 2007

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 169

ABOVE: Me with Jimmy Pattison 2011 BELOW: Me with Joe Segal, 2013

170 ~ Our Five Grandsons

ABOVE: The Boys: L to R, Jimmi, George K., Dean, George V., Christian BELOW: 2014 Me with Alexander Ludwig, an actor in Vikings.

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 171

ABOVE: 2015 George’s girls, Yuki, Marta, Paula and Laura BELOW: Dr. Tildesley, my grandsons Dean and George and me at the Bill Vlahos Lecture Series Dinner in 2011 at Cloud 9 on Robson Street.

172 ~ Dinner With My Friends

ABOVE: 2014 Dinner with Judge Bryan K. Davies, Craig Sturrock, Ramono F. Giusti and me.

BELOW: 2015 Georgia and Markella Matheos

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 173

like two brothers and had an envious relationship. Max’s brother Jack told me, “I would sit there and listen to Max with his broken English and you would answer in your broken English but I could understand everything.” Max came to Canada when he was seventeen from Israel with his family.

One time Max was going away on a trip. One of our mutual friends, Basil Maramaras, ask me if I thought Max would lend him his Rolls Royce for a wedding. Max agreed and I took Basil the Rolls Royce. After the reception I drove the Rolls Royce home. Max told me to be sure and put it in my garage when I was finished as he would be away for a week. On the way home there was a road block. When the RCMP officer came up to me he saluted. My wife was with me. “Sorry for holding you up but have you had anything to drink this evening?” he asked. “No, just a couple of drinks with dinner.” “Okay, sorry to have taken up your time.” My wife and I talked about it. We wondered why he had saluted me. The reception was at Gleneagles. When we reached Lion’s Gate Bridge the car wouldn’t accelerate. I was pushing down but nothing was happening. I was afraid my friend had broken something. When we finally got home, I took a look and discovered the carpet lodged under the gas pedal. I guessed they had taken the carpet out to clean it and put it back too far up under the pedal. I put the car in the garage and as I closed the door I noticed on the back window CC which means consulate. Max was the Honorary Consul for Thailand in British Columbia. That is why they saluted me!

174 ~ Labros Stassinopoulos

There was big money in Texas. After a short time Richard and I flipped a couple of businesses. One was five hundred units on a golf course called Fairways. I knew a guy named Monty (who was the son of a man from Winnipeg) who owned a property in the West End (a twenty story building on Haro Street). He also owned the Sands Hotel at Denman and Davie. He wanted to invest in Texas so we sold him the five hundred units. The other business I bought was comprised of ninety-six units in San Antonio. I went in with Richard and two friends from Vancouver, George Vastardis and Labros Stassinopoulos. Later, I gave George my shares so he would have more control.

We contemplated moving down to San Antonio. I sold my interests in Seattle when I started buying properties in San Antonio. At the same time I owned another sixty-four units in San Antonio with my wife.

My sixty-four units were near a big army base. I got Mr. Brownlee to look after things but I was disappointed because it didn’t work out well.

I wound up selling it in 1980 to a company from Chicago. The U.S. economy was starting to go down again. The number of units was not enough to warrant my flying back and forth to San Antonio every two weeks. I was getting tired. “How about if we move to San Antonio?” I said to my wife. My oldest kids were ten and thirteen but I didn’t want to take them out of school. Another reason was the salon. It was too important to me. It was where I met people. All my contacts, friends and celebrities I had met through the salon. I remember when Nelson

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 175

Skalbania heard that I had bought the property in San Antonio he came over, “How come you didn’t invite me?” he asked. He was wheeling and dealing at the time. He was responsible for selling Wayne Gretzky to Peter Pocklington. In 1981, he sold Langara Gardens to Maury Wosk.

There were others as well who were buying property down south back then: Joe Segal, Leon Kahn, Irving Kates. They bought a huge property in Seattle, and did very well.

I became the international financial advisor to the Bank of Tonga.

My influence was growing (or so I thought). John Meier got his Canadian citizenship for helping the Canadian government uncover several CIA agents operating in Canada. Both Meier-Hughes were looking for a place to set up business outside U.S. jurisdiction. They set their sites on Tonga and opened the Bank of the South Pacific. Meier was heavily involved in the financing of infrastructure projects in Tonga. Terry Moore was also involved promoting the bank to her Hollywood friends.

I didn’t know anything about any of this at the time. I just learned this while researching my book. I had a friend named Tony Harris who knew a lot about ships. I had met him through Nick Pyrgos. He had at that time around fifty ships operating in the Pacific. Tony and Nick came over to my house for dinner one night. Nick had a friend, Kostas Karas, who had connections in Greece. “If you buy a ship, I will put it in my fleet,” Tony told us. Kostas found a ship of 10,000 tons in Piraeus. We needed one charter to pay for the ship and then we could make our profit by

176 ~ Donald Nixon

selling the ship for scrap. In those days you could make a lot of money from scrap metal. The ship was good but old. I told John Meier that I knew a few shipowners. When he opened the bank he put me down as his international financial advisor. He gave me my own business cards. I wish I had kept one!

We were always going out for dinner. The Minister of External Affairs for Tonga came to Vancouver. He was a big guy, six feet, seven inches. The Prime Minister of Tonga always sat in a chair because he weighed about four hundred pounds. We took the minister down to Yanni’s Restaurant on Robson Street whenever he was in town.

The U.S. were after Meier. One night John Meier asked me and some other fellows to come to his house on the bluff in Tsawwassen. We were drinking and dreaming big dreams. All of a sudden the RCMP passed by and shot their flashlights in the front window of his house. We were not sure if they took our picture. He told me when he opened the bank in Tonga there was one U.S. Navy ship anchored in the harbour for two years, right up until the U.S. closed the bank.

John Meier knew lots of people. Through him I met Donald Nixon, the President’s brother, when he was staying at the Hyatt. He was six-feet-two, 240 pounds and had a weight problem. He had come from Washington to see John. It is now known that the White House was suspicious and sensitive about any connections between Donald Nixon and Hughes-Meier. One theory about the motive for the

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 177

Watergate break-in was that the Republicans wanted to find out how much the Democrats knew about Donald Nixon and Howard Hughes. I got scared! (Meier was eventually kidnapped by U.S. authorities in the late 1970s, while returning from the beach with his family and friends in Tsawwassen). Apartments, painting and ships-- life was sure getting interesting for this barber from Militsa. I counted among my friends billionaires, ship owners, CEOs, financiers, celebrities and brothers of presidents. The future would see me jet-setting to Europe and beyond and I could hardly wait.

My wife didn’t like to travel. I took Voula to Hawaii but she didn’t want to go. When we were coming in for a landing in Hawaii, she was holding on to both sides of the chair, terrified. I tried to get her mind off the landing. “Did you pick up the money and the passports off the table?” “Who cares about the money. Are we going to land safely?” she cried holding on to the kids. Jaime was only two and a half years old, Marianna was twelve and Helen was fourteen. She didn’t have my adventurous spirit. I guess opposites do attract!

I trusted the boys. I flew to London, England with my bank manager, Mike Rogers. I called my wife on the way down to Seattle to catch our plane. “The boys in San Francisco called,” she said. “You told them you would help them buy a restaurant.” “I will call you from Seattle,” I said.

I talked to Mike about it. “Tell them definitely, no problem for a $50,000 loan,” he said.” In Seattle, I called my wife. “Tell them to go ahead

178 ~ Claridges

and buy the place.” I didn’t need to know anything, I trusted the boys.

When we arrived in England we drove south southeast of London to a town called Battle (near the historic Battle of Hastings site) in East Essex to see Mike’s uncle. We stayed with him for nearly a week. He had a beautiful place. He was a retired tea taster at the local hospital. He would tell them which kind of tea to buy from Bali and Ceylon. He had done very well and had great style. Mike’s uncle drove a Rover. Only five hundred had been made, which was a good thing because he told us the body rusted out quickly.

I told my wife how nice Mike’s uncle and wife had been and she said to be sure to do something for them. “What can we do to repay your aunt and uncle’s hospitality?” I asked Mike. “We could all go into London and have dinner at Claridges,” they told him. “Fine, no problem.” Claridge’s is an art deco hotel located in Mayfair. It has been favoured by royalty and the most distinguished figures of every generation. We took the train, first class, into London. We took his aunt to the beauty salon and then all of us went over to Claridge’s. We did everything in style.

We followed the maitre’d into the dining room “for dinner” (by which they mean our lunchtime), wearing our tuxedos. “Hello, how are you?” one of the waiters says to me. “Fine,” I said, surprised. They took us to our table and when he passed by a second time he says, “Why didn’t you tell them to take you to your table?” My first time in Claridges and they think they know me. I called the waiter back, “Maybe you think I am

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 179

somebody else. Where is my table?” He took me over and showed me a posh area which was booked exclusively for Greek shipowners all year round. There was a step up about six inches high. It had a brass railing all around. There were about four or five tables. Because they do not know when the shipowners will be in town, it is reserved all year round.

He thought I was one of them.

Do Claridge’s have doggy bags? We ordered Chateaubriand for four with salad, apertif, soup, the works. The British have “dinner” (their big meal of the day) at noon. The old folks filled up quickly. “We cannot eat anymore,” they said, “what do we do?” “We can get a doggy bag,” said Mike. “No, no, no, not at Claridge’s,” scolded his aunt. I listened to them and when the waiter passed by, I asked, “Can we have a doggy bag, please?” “No problem. Would you like the vegetables too?” “No, no, you keep them.” They brought us one pound of meat (which his uncle put in his pocket) and we went out on the town, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, we saw it all. Then we took the train back. When we got back to their house, his uncle says, “I am hungry. Does anyone want a sandwich?” “You are going to see thick bread with very fine slices of meat,” said Mike. It was a fun night!

I knew a couple of Greek shipowners. I had met Dimitri Lemos in Vancouver through Basil Maramaras. Dimitri was the nephew of Costas Lemos, the patriarch of the Lemos shipping dynasty. Basil’s company supplied the food for the crew on the freighters when they arrived in

180 ~ Dimitri Lemos

Vancouver’s harbour. He had a big business. In 1963 the guys from the Greek ships all came to my Greek nightclub. Every night after closing they would invite everyone to their ship to continue the party. I introduced Basil to Mike Rogers and they did a lot of business together.

Dimitri had said to let him know the next time I was in London so I called him. His uncle Costas lived in Lausanne, Switzerland (where many Greeks live). In 1969 he was the wealthiest Greek shipowner in the world. The Lemos clan come from Oinousses, a tiny set of Aegean islets off the coast of Turkey which have produced some of the greatest names in Greek shipping. There are more than a thousand shipowners in Greece today and their operations range in size from huge to small. They made their fortunes by spotting the enormous opportunity in the U.S. government’s decision to sell off hundreds of surplus military transport vessels at discounted prices after WWII. Our last day in London we went out on the town with Dimitri Lemos.

We said goodbye to Mike’s aunt and uncle and drove back to London.

Booking ourselves into the Lancaster Hotel near Hyde Park, we put our suitcases in our rooms and went out to meet Dimitri. We spent the entire afternoon together until it was time for dinner. Then we went to a bar for a couple of drinks. Dimitri owned a mansion in London that had belonged to one of the families who owned Marks & Spencer. He was driving a little Grenada, four door. We went to another bar but before we got there, we heard a loud blast. “Don’t worry, it is only the Concorde

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accelerating on its take-off to New York,” said Dimitri. It was an unbelievable sound. We went to a few more places. There was a Greek Street in Soho. “We can either go to a restaurant in the East End or we can go to a taverna with Greek music,” Dimitri said, “We should go to the taverna because we don’t have our wives with us.” Just then another two shipowners arrived with their wives and a beautiful girl pulled up in Dimitri’s Lamborghini. Before long, there were nine of us.

We went to this Greek nightclub and sat down at a table. The owner was playing a bouzouki and a belly dancer was dancing. The clientele were mainly Greeks and Arabs. Mike and the Jewish accountant (also named Mike), had had a few drinks and were getting excited. They grabbed some plates and started breaking them on their heads. “Greeks don’t do that,” said Dimitri. “You don’t hit yourself, you just throw them on the floor.” He ordered a dolly with six piles of special (break away) plates and we all took turns throwing the plates on the floor. On the other side of the room, the Arabs started tossing one, five and ten pound notes. The waiter hurriedly swept the floor and picked up the money. It was a fun night. At the end of the festivities, Dimitri asked for a bottle of Cognac. He emptied the bottle onto the concrete floor (on top of the broken plates) lit it and the floor burst into flames (but not for long).

Afterwards, we all went out for coffee and ice cream. It was about 4:00 a.m. and everything was still open. We got back to the hotel about seven or eight, picked up our suitcases, paid for our room and flew back to

182 ~ Henry Fresco

Seattle, having never used the room.

My friend Syd Belzberg who owns Budget Rent-A-Car said to me before we left for London, “Don’t drive your car down to Seattle. Call Budget and see if they have a car that needs to be returned. Sometimes people drive up from Seattle and leave their cars here. They have to pay guys to drive them back. You can get a ride to Seattle for free.” We drove down in a station wagon and we came back in a luxury car. In Seattle we told them our return dates. We sure had a swell time!

Business as usual. Back in Vancouver, we arranged the loan for my koumbari’s kids. The restaurant was busy but they had to go slow to get cash out. Each day they built up the business in order to establish credit.

In six months, they had paid back the loan. They kept the restaurant for over twenty years. It was in San Jose.

They did very well. It wasn’t long before they bought another restaurant and a gas station and then a third restaurant. Between the three restaurants they were making a lot of money. Gerry eventually died and so did Gus. Jaime no longer keeps in touch with Julia on the internet.

My contacts in London had set up a few meetings with some British banks so I flew to London by myself in the early summer. Once in London, I quickly boarded a train for Bournemouth. At the Bournemouth Hotel a guy met me and took me straight to a cricket game. I was so tired I just wanted to go to sleep. [Luckily my first meeting was not until the next afternoon.] Later, he took me to a restaurant for dinner. He

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ordered a big glass of Guinness. “This is nice,” he said. “I’ll just try a small glass?” I knew it would be too rich for me. The next afternoon I went for my meeting in Eastcliff.

After my meeting the people I met moved me to another hotel. This hotel was situated southwest of London. It was beautiful and very elegant. At the restaurant we went to that night there were portraits of Churchill, the Royal family and other British dignitaries on the walls.

The next day we concluded our business and I flew back to Vancouver with a contact that would soon see me jetting back to Lausanne, Switzerland.

On this trip I met a man named Henry Fresco. He was an architectural engineer with five or six offices all over Europe. He must have been involved in investment financing but I do not recall exactly. “Why are you staying at such an expensive hotel?” he asked. “What do you mean compared to the night before it is much cheaper.” Lausanne is considered the “San Francisco of Switzerland,” thanks to its curvy, hilly landscape.

It’s not an easily walkable city. It is also the smallest city in the world to have a subway. As you travel down to the lake in Lausanne you reach the Port of Ouchy. Henry Fresco told me about a 19th century patrician house that had been converted into a hotel (it is now called the Hotel Elite) with 27 rooms. I am not sure what it was called back then, maybe the Hotel Orient. It was located in the center of town near the post office and St. Francois Square. It only cost me $22 a night (if it was the

184 ~ Harold Cantrell

Orient it is a little more expensive today) and it has 33 rooms. It was very nice. It had a five star restaurant downstairs.

It’s a small world. I didn’t realize it would be so easy to find someone in Switzerland. The morning after I arrived (Sunday), I went downstairs and asked a taxi driver to take me to a Greek church. He pulled up in front of a synagogue. “Where is the Greek church?” I asked. “It is behind.” Inside I met some Greeks. There was a restaurant in Vancouver in those days called the Peppermill on Pender Street. The owner was Peter Baxivanakis. He told me that he had an uncle in Lausanne. Believe it or not I ran into him in the church. “You have a big hello from your nephew in Vancouver,” I said to him. A lot of people talk to me while I am cutting their hair. People say all sorts of things. They talk about their family and friends. They talk about their business. A barber needs to have patience, a work ethic and most of all love talking to people. We decided to go for a coffee at his home.

It was 2:00 p.m. on Sunday and I was getting really hungry. I didn’t know that in Switzerland, on Sundays, everything closes at 2:00 p.m. After coffee, I went back to the hotel and because the restaurant downstairs was closed, I went upstairs for a nap. When I awoke the restaurant was still not open. I hurriedly walked over to the stone-paved St. Francois Square (the hub of Lausanne), expecting to find a restaurant open and noticed some people up on a hill at what looked like an open air market.

As I got closer, I could see the word restaurant and then another

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 185

smaller sign which read, “Horse Meat Only.” Horse steaks, not for me!

I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. Years later I stopped in Lausanne with my family and showed them the hotel.

I met with Harold Cantrell. Harold acquired primary ownership of the American Bank located in Irving, Texas. Under his leadership as President and Chairman of the Board, the bank prospered. Harold consistently demonstrated a tremendous individual drive and effort to succeed which was an inspiration to many. On numerous occasions he asked me if I needed financing. He even came to Vancouver once to check me out. I put him up at the Hyatt. I had some people in London looking to help me finance some properties in Texas. When I told Mr. Cantrell, he offered to give me a letter of credit (LC) for 10 million as long as I invested it in Texas. I flew back to Vancouver and met with my lawyer. I suggested that I include my lawyer’s name on the letter of credit, which turned out to be a big mistake.

We received the Letter of Credit (LC) for the 10 million from Mr. Cantrell (appendix p.361). I flew to Houston with my lawyer and met a Miss Sebastian regarding financing. From there we flew Braniff International to Gatwick Airport in London. Then we went on to Lausanne.

In Lausanne, we went to the Banque de Suisse and showed them the letter. The bank checked it. Apparently they had issued too many letters and it was not worth the full amount. They offered to give me $1 million with payback in five years in Swiss francs. Upon my insistence the

186 ~ Leon Kahn

letter was in both my lawyer’s and my names. The interest was only two percent in Swiss Francs or ten percent in American dollars but my law-yer said, “No.” The American dollar was way down. Jimmy Carter was president. Nick and I had an argument and I didn’t take the money.

Nick was Marianna’s godfather (so we were close) but he was cautious.

You have to remind lawyers they work for their clients. I could have paid it back in three or four months because the American dollar did get stronger. My contacts in London told me to see Henry Fresco once again. Henry suggested I might look into getting a letter of credit for a lesser amount in a letter he wrote to me in December (appendix p.362).

Leon Kahn became a client of mine in the 1970s at the Royal Riviera. There was always interesting people coming in for a haircut. Many of them have remained my friends for decades. A barber has to like talking to people. There was always lots of celebrities from the Cave Supper Club. When the entertainers came to town, they often dropped in for a haircut. Leon told me that when he was sixteen (during the war) he was picked up by the Germans in Poland. He was put in a long line.

There was a Greek in front of him. “What are you?” asked a German.

“Greek!” “Go this way.” When he asked Leon what he was, he said, “Greek.” He got away. He wrote a book about his wartime experiences in the Polish resistance. “I am here because I called myself a Greek.”

One day in the 1990s when I was a member of the Richmond Golf & Country Club we were joking and he said to me, “We now have a Greek

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 187

at the club.” “Not only one, we have two,” I said. “You are right!” He was very successful. He became president of the construction wing of Block Bros. (Canada’s largest real estate firm), before leaving to open his own firm. Among Kahn’s most notable projects were the Vancouver Show Mart Building and the Seattle Trade Centre. He was also a good friend and neighbour of Arthur Block.

Max Fugman was considered a pioneer in the clothing import business from Asia, particularly Thailand, which recognized him as an Honorary Vice-Consul and Honorary Consul. He opened a women’s fashion import business in 1966 which he called Jana & Co. and it became extremely successful. There are many stories about Max. One time it was his birthday. Mike Rogers and I decided to throw a birthday party for him. We invited his friends from the establishment: Joe Segal, Charlie Diamond and Irving Kates. There were about thirty-five people. We wanted to go to Boston Pizza on Tenth Avenue. Peter Benias was the manager (he had left the Top of the Mark). In those days it was very cheap to eat out. We decided to pick Max up in a Smithrite garbage truck. We arrived at Max’s office in a Cadillac and I went inside and got him. When we got outside, the Cadillac pulled ahead and the Smithrite appeared. I opened the door and shoved Max inside but he grabbed my sleeve and we both tumbled into the garbage container (it had been cleaned for this purpose). It was in late August and very hot. It didn’t smell so good, as you can imagine. He didn’t know what was happen-

188 ~ David Spencer

ing. When we got to Boston Pizza all his friends were there: Trevor Peele (the Chairman of the Bank of B.C.), Joe Segal and his son-inlaws, Dr. Mark Schonfeld and Norm Miller.

After I sold my properties in San Antonio, my wife and I drove home through San Jose (the capital of the Silicon Valley). We stopped at Cozy’s Restaurant in San Jose and met Gus and his family who took us to one of Anthony’s Restaurants, also in San Jose. Anthony owned a smaller restaurant in Santa Cruz as well. The smaller one was open from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. All it sold was omelets and salad. He had four or five people working for him and he hardly ever needed to come in.

He was making $1,000 a day gross. Lots of eggs! “My net profit per day is $500,” he told me. I am thinking to sell.” “If you are thinking to sell, I am thinking to buy,” I said. His staff handled everything. He wanted to spend more time with his big restaurant. In those days if you owned a business in the U.S. worth $200,000 or more you could move down from Canada anytime. I had no problem because I had lots of investments in the U.S. Before we finished dinner Gus says to Anthony, “If George doesn’t want it, I am interested.” I was so upset. He was so stupid. Long story short, what finally happened was Anthony decided to sell the big restaurant to Gus and keep the omelet place. The omelet place was well established and fit well into the Santa Cruz scene (The quintessential California beach town). It would have been hard to duplicate this operation elsewhere. Gus was making big money each

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 189

month just selling bacon and eggs but he got greedy. Anthony’s was their fourth restaurant.

One day back in Vancouver my two painters came to me. They were very upset. They had been fighting over who was going to drive the car. “You guys are like a couple of kids,” I said. “If one of you does not want to stay in the company, he can go down to the lawyer and sign his share over to me.”

The problem was the good guy left. I had a job to do at the Royal Centre Mall. When I registered the company, I had taken out a $5,000 loan to pay for the car and the $1,500 they owed me and I put the car in the company name. I tried the guy out but he made a mess of things so I didn’t want to give him the job. I had him drive the company car around and I kept telling him there were no jobs. I let him do a couple of small jobs. Soon he could not afford to put gas in the car. I told him to take the company and the car and go but he didn’t have any money.

He left the car and I never saw him again.

My painting business boomed with new management. Another boy showed up who had done some work for the company. He was a good, hardworking fellow. I asked him if he could look after the painting business. “Sure,” he said so I made him the manager.

We did a lot of painting. David Spencer owned many houses and properties all over Vancouver. I met David through Bill Moore who managed his properties. David was the only member of the Marks &

190 ~ Tom Campbell

Spencer families left. He owned Spencer’s Department Store on Hastings Street (which later became Eaton’s and then Sears.) Today, SFU is located on the original site. David owned a row of beach front properties in Kitsilano opposite the St. Roch (maritime museum). There were six houses in all. I raised two of the houses and put in basements. He also owned a block of houses between 7th and 8th avenue around Laurel or Spruce. “Start with the first house and work your way around,” he told me. “Do whatever needs repairing.” In West Vancouver, in Dundarave west of Peppi’s Restaurant, he owned one and a half kilometres of beach front houses (between the railway tracks and the water). He and his boyfriend owned a house in Hawaii where they spent most of their time.

David also became a client of mine at the salon.

I handed out business cards for my companies all the time in my salon. Whoever came in for a haircut got a card for something or another.

That is why I didn’t want to give up the salon and move to San Antonio.

Because I am a perfectionist as a barber, I expected my painters (and later renovation people) to be perfectionists as well. I found it hard to find perfectionists in these fields. The guys were just happy to finish the job. I never looked at the profits. I always concentrated on the service.

Because we did such a good job the first time, we were never asked back to put anything right.

I had a lot of clients. I contracted to paint Tom Campbell’s high rise apartment by the Burrard Street Bridge. I also painted his house and

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 191

another building that he owned downtown. He too was one of my clients from the salon. Almost everyone I talk about in this book was one of my clients if they lived in Vancouver or were visiting.

Voula was more cautious and conservative than me. I wanted to take my family on a memorable trip before the girls got too old. I suggested a trip across Canada and the U.S. “Why don’t we buy another house instead and forget about the trip,” Voula suggested. She was afraid something bad might happen. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go, she was just very cautious and worried a lot.

I felt invincible and I wanted to do more. Both my salons were very successful. My business in the U.S. had paid off and money seemed to be easy to get for future investments. I tried to learn from the successful people around me. All the contacts I made through my salons were very important. I enjoyed being in the middle of the action. If anything was holding me back it was my English. I wished it had been better. It limited my ambitions like when I wanted to buy CJOR. On the other hand, if my English had been better, I may not have made as many friends.

We were all from the working class and I am sure they identified with the immigrant in me, the broken English and all. We were struggling together to make a better life for ourselves and our families. I had yet to experience any real difficulties in my life.

Everything was perfect! I had three beautiful daughters, a beautiful wife, a house on the west side of town. I knew more people than most

192 ~ Lives of their Own

and I must admit that I didn’t give the future much thought. I was too busy living in the present. Maybe if I had stayed in school longer instead of learning to think by the seat of my pants on the street, I might have been better off, but who knows. I was who I was!

I always felt that I would be successful and I wanted to share my success with my family and relatives. In the early 1980s my family and I would go on two trips of a lifetime. Later, I would see all my daughters begin lives of their own. But I would also encounter business relationships and problems that would confound and challenge my faith in the belief that all people are essentially good.

UP, UP AND AWAY ~ 193

Me, Voula, Margarita and George in Rome The girls: Poppy Mary, Helen and Marianna

8 Two Trips Of A Lifetime

It was the first of two trips of a lifetime. I took my family on a trip across Canada and the USA for forty-five days. We left on June 28, 1981 (the summer Charles and Diana were married in London) and came back on August 7th. We all jumped into my shiny new Cadillac (another new car) and drove 22,000 km, in forty-five days. North America is so much bigger than Greece. The first day we drove straight from Vancouver to Banff (850 kilometres). We stopped for lunch in a park by the side of the road. One of my kids told us a story about bears and we all got nervous so we packed up our lunch and left. The mountain views were spectacular.

Each day there was a new city. From Banff we drove to Calgary.

We stayed at a Four Seasons Hotel (which is no longer there). Dinner was at the very first Hy’s Steakhouse in Canada. The next day we were back on the road to Regina (750 Kilometres) where we stayed at a Best Western.

196 ~ Nick Bourbouhakis

Nick Bourbouhakis (the GM of the Mediterranean Hotel on Davie Street in Vancouver) was a friend of mine, he got me the room for free. From Regina we drove all the way to Fargo, North Dakota, stopping in Moose Jaw and then Winnipeg. There was nothing much to see. It was all very flat.

Everybody told me to be careful driving along the highway near Moose Jaw (There were lots of crazy drivers). They said I would probably get a ticket. I heard on the news that the RCMP had caught a drunk lady speeding. It went to court but she didn’t get charged. The police got upset by the verdict so they went on strike. The day we went through there were no police on the highway, which made it even more dangerous. We stayed mostly at Holiday Inns. They had swimming pools and were mainly for families. We would rise at 6 or 7 a.m. and drive until we could drive no more, usually stopping at 2 p.m. in the afternoon. Then we would relax, have dinner and be in bed by 10 p.m. The next morning we would do it all again.

We continued on our journey through the U.S. From Fargo N.D. we went to Minneapolis and St. Paul (the twin cities), then Wisconsin and finally Chicago. Both countries sure seemed big to this Greek from Militsa. I had called ahead to book the Holiday Inn by O’Hare airport. There were two Holiday Inns, one good one and one bad. They booked us into the bad one and I didn’t sleep the whole night. Things were not straight

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 197

forward. To turn the T.V. on you had to lock the door. They had x-rated massage and movies in the room and that was no good for families with kids. The next morning we moved to the other Holiday Inn which was only four or five blocks away and stayed for five or six days. My wife had first cousins in Chicago. She hadn’t seen them in thirty years. On the 4th of July they took the kids down to the waterfront.

We drove to Detroit and took the big Ambassador Bridge over into Canada and stayed the night in London, Ontario. The next day it was on to Toronto where we spent four days and then Montreal for eight days.

My uncle still had his restaurant on Sherbrooke Street so we found a hotel nearby and I walked over to the restaurant to say hello. I had my baby daughter, Jaime with me. We talked a little. “It is good to see you,” they said. I didn’t want to talk about the problems we had when I got married so we left it at that. The daughter of a lady from the same village in Greece as my wife was getting married so my wife and the girls went to her wedding. We had relatives in many places --Toronto, Montreal, Chicago -- but because there were five of us and we wanted to relax we didn’t stay with any of them. Some of our relatives got upset. I had eight first cousins in Montreal. Then we left and headed south to New York City, Philadelphia, Maryland and Washington D.C. We almost got into trouble in Washington D.C. When entering the capital you need to make a turn. If you go straight ahead you enter a

198 ~ Tarpon Springs

rough neighbourhood. I didn’t know so I went straight ahead. An African-American guy standing on a corner saw our license plates and yelled, “Go back!” I was concerned for the kids. We were on the east side which has a lot of crime. We saw lots of sites in Washington including Capitol Hill and the White House. Then we continued south to North Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and finally, Daytona Beach.

Daytona, Disney World and Cleatwater. The kids were all enjoying the trip. Jaime was five years old now. How time flies! My other girls were fifteen and eighteen. I made a bed in the back of the Cadillac with a piece of plywood and some foam. Even I slept on it sometimes when my wife was driving. We arrived in Daytona and found a hotel on the beach.

We liked it so we stayed for two nights. The sand on the beach was so hard that people were driving their cars on it. As we were leaving Daytona on Sunday I noticed a Greek church. The girls were in shorts so they were not appropriately attired to go to church. “I will go in and light a candle.” Inside the church a fellow asked me, “Where are you from?”

“Vancouver,” I said. “I know a guy in Vancouver.” “You do, what’s his name?” “John Stubos. I’m his first cousin.” “What do you do here?” I asked. “I am a real estate agent.” “Do you have any good buys?” I liked the area. “I have fifty-six rooms near the water.” “I am interested but I am leaving right now. Can you send me the information?” “Come on.

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 199

We’ll go see the building right now. I will take you.” When we left the church we ran into my wife. “Where are you going?” she said. “I’m going to see a building.” “Are you crazy? You take a guy out of the church to show you a property?” “I’m not taking him, he’s taking me.”

She knew me very well so we went to see the building. I found out later that the area around Daytona Beach was not strong in tourism. The price was good though. “Thank you very much,” I said. “I will call you,” but I never did. We got in our car and drove to Disney World. Our next stop was Tampa and then Clearwater. In Clearwater we saw a long, private beach in front of a Hilton Hotel so we stayed for twelve days.

Tarpon Springs, Florida is called Greektown. It has the highest percentage of Greek-Americans of any city in the U.S. One street is named Athens Street. The first Greek immigrants arrived in the city during the 1880s and were hired to work as divers in the growing sponge-harvesting industry. We saw a monument to the early sponge divers. The shops along Dodecanese Avenue in the sponge docks district of Tarpon Springs are still thriving both as a historic landmark and a current tourist destination. The street winds its way from the bayou towards the Tarpon Springs Aquarium at the other end.

Along the way it passes the marina and sponge boats docked along the north side of the street. The historic Sponge Exchange is on the south side. There are many restaurants that serve traditional Greek cuisine

200 ~ Richard Brownlee

and fresh seafood. There are also quaint boutiques that sell everything from real local sponges to imported goods. One restaurant had been in the same family for four generations. The street is narrow and reminiscent of a seaside village in Greece, with delivery trucks parked in the right of way and locals that greet each other in Greek and stop to chat without regard for the traffic. It felt like home. There is also a Greek Orthodox Church. It is the only one that I have seen in North America with a bell tower. They all have bell towers in Greece.

We were now heading to Texas. First we drove to Jacksonville, Florida and then on to Louisiana. We passed through New Orleans but we didn’t stay. My partner, Richard Brownlee, had booked us in to the Holiday Inn in Dallas. The building is the one where Sue Ellen in the T.V. series “Dallas” tries to jump off the roof. “Where can we find a nice restaurant?” we inquired at our hotel. They sent us to one where all the celebrities went. It was very nice and not too expensive. I saw a man sitting having a drink, talking to himself. I recognized him as a client from Vancouver but I didn’t say hello. I didn’t want to embarass him. He was a lawyer.

Next stop Casper, Wyoming, and then the long trek home. We first traveled northwest to Woodstock, Kansas, before arriving in Wyoming.

We had no problem booking hotels on the entire trip until we reached Casper. I went to four different hotels and they were all booked. At the fifth one I said, “Listen, I have my kids with me. Our next stop is all

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 201

the way to Spokane.” “Okay, I will give you a room.” “Why have I not been able to get a room?” I asked. “We are holding rooms for the oil workers who will be coming in later tonight. They spend a lot of money in the bar.” It seems oil workers were prefered customers over families with kids who didn’t spend as much money. Early the next morning we left Wyoming. There was a bad smell for about a half hour because the oil wells gave off sulphur and gas.

Travelling in the 1980s was sure cheaper than it is today. After Spokane we drove on to Seattle. We spent a few hours in Seattle and then headed home. Gas at that time was about $.10 a litre. I could fill up my tank in those days for $10 or $12.

I got a big contract to paint Langara Gardens at Forty-ninth and Cambie. There were sixteen low rise buildings in all. I assembled eight crews of painters. “You finish one and then I will give you another and I will pay you accordingly,” I told them. Two painters could make good money and get the job done quickly. They could hire more painters if they needed. They started work the day we left on our next big trip and by the time we got back they were all finished. Usually we made thirty or forty percent profit. We all did quite well on that job.

Juggling my busy work schedule and taking a second trip of a lifetime was not an easy thing to do but on June 19, 1983 our family and another family departed for Europe. Accompanying us was my good friend George Vastardis, his wife Margarita, and their two daughters, Maria

202 ~ My name is Stephan

and Joanna; five girls and two couples. I got a contract to do renovations on the top ten floors of the Mediterranean Hotel on Davie Street (west of Burrard), a short time before the trip. We were working on the roof the day they put the balloon roof on B.C. Place stadium, the first of its kind in the world.

We were not prepared for what awaited us at our hotel in London. The 97th Annual Wimbledon Tennis Tournament was in full swing and London was crammed with people. John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova were playing. We had booked our hotel from Vancouver but when we arrived at the hotel they said, “We are overbooked.” We were all disappointed. It was another trip of a lifetime. We thought it would probably be our last opportunity to travel together as a family. Our girls might get engaged and who knows what the future might hold. We waited in the hotel lobby for about four hours and nothing happened. I called British Airways. It was a Saturday, about an hour before closing. “Listen, we paid for our rooms and we have the receipts. There is no room. We have been waiting in the lobby for four hours. I will wait a half hour longer and if we do not get a room, I am going to call The Daily News.” In fifteen minutes a limo pulled up and took us to another, more expensive hotel. We stayed in London for a week and saw all the sites including Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.

We had arranged in Vancouver with the Renault factory to buy two Renault 9’s in Paris. It was the car of the year, a small family saloon

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 203

style car which France produced in the 1980s. We ordered automatics. It turned out that Paris was just as crowded as London due to a big fashion show. Nevertheless we finally found a hotel. It was our first night in ‘the city of light’ so we wanted to find a nice restaurant for dinner. As we were strolling along the Avenue de l’ Opera, I noticed a travel agency called Athenia. “It must be Greek,” I said. There was a guy inside on the phone so we waited for him to finish. When he was done he saw us and came outside. I asked him where we could find a good Greek restaurant.

“Would you like to go to a Hasapo Taverna or to a Zithes Teatorio (low end or high end). “Teatorio” I said. I knew that it would be expensive but he said there was one only a few blocks away, which was convenient.

We were told it is where all the Greek shipowners and expatriates go.

It was called Stephans. When we got there we discovered that the men were all wearing tuxedos. “A table for nine,” I said at the door. “Are you Greeks?” he asked. “Yes.” “Well, my name is Stephan. Welcome to my restaurant.” Besides being the owner Stephan was also the maitre’d. He told us that he was from Cyprus. The food was excellent. The kids had beef souvlaki made with filet mignon. They had just barbecued a lamb on a spit. “Would you like a nice barbecued lamb?” he asked. “Sure,” so he brought out a good size order. It was decorated quite beautifully. We had a nice bottle of wine. When it was time for dessert he says,” “The dessert is on the table over there. Please help yourself.” There were all

204 ~ George Vastardis

sorts of French pastries and other fancy desserts from which to choose.

Before our coffee we had a bottle of Napoleon brandy as well. When we were all quite full and feeling satisfied, we asked for the bill. “Let’s pay the bill and then catch the plane home,” my friend George said. We both knew it was going to be an expensive dinner. I pulled out my credit card.“I am sorry, we do not take credit cards.” We couldn’t believe our ears! “Are you kidding?” “Don’t worry,” he says. My son is a pilot for Air France. He is sometimes in Vancouver and you can pay him or you can pay when you come back to Paris.” “It took me forty-two years to get to Paris the first time,” I said. “I don’t know when or if I will ever be coming back. Listen, we have cash, how much is it?” “It is $92.” “That’s all? Please give us the full price.” “That is the full price,” he said and he showed us the menu.” Sure enough, that was all it cost. We couldn’t believe it. The only thing he didn’t charge us for was the brandy. That was on the house. We said “fine” and gave him the money. Some very expensive restaurants in Paris are by invitation only. We guessed we got a good deal because we were Greek but we were never really quite sure. We planned on stopping in again on our way home but we didn’t because one of the girls got sick. We picked up our cars and headed to Switzerland. We were going to travel through Italy to our final destination of Greece. I liked the idea of travelling from the Alps to the Agean all in a single journey.

Switzerland is beautiful any time of the year. I wanted to show the

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 205

girls where I had been on my past business trips so we stopped in Lausanne. I showed them St. Francois Square and the Lausanne Palace.

Then we went to Geneva where we visited the Ritz Carlton Hotel. We had lunch on a garden patio across the street from the hotel. We all enjoyed the beautiful Swiss scenery. Then we drove into the long (twelve kilometre) St. Bernard Tunnel through the Swiss Alps and arrived in Aosta, Italy, where we stayed overnight.

Italy was marvelous as well! We drove to Turin and then on to Milan.

In Milan, we parked the cars in a public parking lot but we were concerned because our luggage was on the roof. “I will keep an eye on it,” said the parking attendant and he did. Everything worked out fine. Then we drove to Verona and stayed overnight. The next day we drove to Venice. When we were on the autostrada (highway), a Porsche passed us doing 140 km. It felt like we were standing still.

There was a lady from my village in Greece who was teaching Italian in Venice. Her name was Tasia Koulos. She had originally trained as a medical engineer. She fell in love with an Italian boy and decided to stay. Because she could not practice as an engineer, she decided to become a teacher. They had a three month old baby. We stayed at a hotel in Venice and the next day her husband (who was an engineer for the City of Venice) took us on a tour of the old city.

From Milan through Venice it is practically a straight line to Trieste.

We stayed the next night in Trieste and got up early the following morn-

206 ~ The Yugoslav Police

ing. We were at the border at 6 or 7 a.m. We were told that we had to buy gas coupons to use while we were in Yugoslavia. They knew how far we had to go so they knew how many coupons we needed. After driving for about an hour we stopped at a gas station. “What time do the banks open?” George asked. “I can exchange your money,” said the man. We gave him $100 American and he was supposed to give us back 6,000 Yugoslavian dinar but he only gave us 600, which meant he only gave us $10 instead of $100. “That’s fine,” we said. We didn’t know.

The kids wanted to have breakfast. As we drove along we saw a tourist motel. It was only about 9:30 a.m. so we went inside for breakfast. They didn’t have anything but black bread, marmalade, a little butter and dark coffee. I went to pay. Breakfast was 700 dinar but I only had 600. How could that be? That’s when we realized that we had been cheated. We went to the front desk and we asked to call the police. The guy didn’t want us to call the police. “Listen, we want to call the police. We have a problem. Call them.” “No, I can’t,” he said. There was a Persian guy nearby who said to him, “You let them phone because any problem they have will become your problem too.” So the guy got scared. When I was in the army I learned that every policeman in the world has a number.

When I talked to the policeman, I said, “Good morning, can you tell me your number?” “Ninety-two.” I will never forget that number. “What can I do for you?” “Listen, we stopped at a gas station three or four kilometres from here. We gave the man $100 and he only gave us back

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 207

600 dinar.” “How far away are you?” the policeman asked. I told him where we were. “Can you go back and pick up your money or do you want us to bring it to you?” “We can pick it up.” So we drove back. The police had called him and he was waiting for us. “Oh, my mistake,” he says. “You are going to end up in Siberia if you are not careful,” said my friend George. We took the money and left.

The Yugoslav police were just as corrupt. We drove on to Zagreb and then Belgrade. Every city had a big highway that changed into a single road, thirty kilometres before and after each city. There was a large police presence on Yugoslavian roads and they routinely spot-checked motorists for drinking and driving. We were driving along a stretch of highway when the police stopped us. “You are driving too fast,” the policeman said and handed me a ticket. “Where do I pay?” “You pay me now.” “How much is it?” “$2.” So I gave him $2 and he told me to go. We were stopped four times by different policemen every fifty kilometres. I think they phoned ahead to tell the next policeman we were coming. At the end of the day we made it to the outskirts of Belgrade.

There was a meeting of communist countries being held in Belgrade so we could not stay in the city. We stayed at a nice motel in the suburbs that seemed clean with big rooms. We later discovered a couple of dead cockroaches in the room that were very dry. We knew they had been dead for some-time so the room could not have been used for a while.

The next day the police stopped us again. I had a few $1 bills with me.

208 ~ Panos Tsimiklis

We went through the same routine but this time I took out the $1 bills and slowly counted them into the policeman’s hand. All the way up to six. We were getting closer to the border with Greece and we were getting braver. “Whatever I have you can have,” I said. “No, no, no! You keep it and he gave it all back to me except $4.” George and I had discussed what to do over dinner the night before. The secret, we decided, was to ask for a receipt. “May I have a receipt please?” “No, no.” “But I gave you $4. Here is another $2, now please give me a receipt.” He finally gave us the receipt and nobody stopped us again.

When we finally made it to the Greek border, the customs official saw our French license plates. “How much money do you have?” they asked. “We don’t have any money, just what we need for the family.”

We did have some cash. Credit cards were not used much. Long story short: we told him how much money we had. Unfortunately, I am embarrassed to say that over there you cannot trust anybody.

The views were wonderful. You can drive from Thessaloniki to Athens in about six hours on the National Road. It’s not a bad drive and we passed some interesting countryside. The stretch of road at Tempe is the most dangerous in Greece. The highway narrows from four lanes down to one lane as it cuts through a narrow pass. The edge of the road is a steep cliff and there is a river far below. We passed some beautiful beaches near Mt. Olympus which is close to the city of Volos.

We were booked into the five star Caravel Hotel in Athens amidst

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 209

some confusion. George and his family went to his wife’s sister’s place (Roula and Alex) in Kamena Vourla, outside of Athens. The Caravel Hotel opened in the 1970s and had a traditional feel with a very formal reception. It is situated close to the diplomatic quarter, a fifteen minute brisk walk to Syntagma, the town centre. The rooftop pool was often deserted and was very welcome after a day of sightseeing in the intense heat. In the corner of the rooftop was a small prayer room used by Muslims. The views to the Acropolis were amazing. Nick Bourbouhakis, my friend in Vancouver, used to be the general manager of this hotel.

He booked us in for free for the whole summer but he didn’t tell me it was free. He wanted it to be a surprise and it sure was! Here is what happened. We arrived and checked in. They gave us a suite with two bedrooms, a huge living room, a bath and three televisions.

I called a couple of my cousins to join us. One cousin, Sotiros Charitos, I did business with later. The other cousin, Panos Tsimiklis, had been the GM of a chain of hotels in Delphi but was now retired. We were already in the dining room when they arrived with their wives. “Please join us,” I said. “No, no!” They didn’t want to because they thought it was too expensive. We went back up to our suite. “How much are you paying for this suite?” Panos asked. “I don’t know, I didn’t ask because it had been arranged in Vancouver.” (I actually had asked and was told, “Don’t worry about it.”) Then my cousin explained to me what was going on. “This suite will cost you about $1,000 a night.” “Who cares,”

210 ~ Panos Tsimiklis

I said. What could I say! I was worried but I didn’t want anyone to think I was cheap. After they left, I said to my wife, “Guess how much this suite costs.” “How much?” “$1,000 a night.” “Didn’t you ask downstairs how much it was?” “No, I was too embarrassed.”

That night I couldn’t sleep. The next morning I went downstairs.

“Excuse me,” I said to the desk clerk. “Can you make up my bill? I am expecting a telephone call and I may have to leave very quickly.” I was embarrassed. He turns and looks at me thoughtfully while leaning on the counter with one arm and says, “You know, Mr. Chronopoulos, your bill is worth close to $100 with the telephone call and the dinner.” “And for the room?” “Mr. Chronopoulos,” he says standing up quickly, “You are booked in as a guest for the summer for free.” “Oh! Really?” I said smiling. I felt quite relieved. “Should I pay the $100 now?” “Do you want to check out?” “I don’t know!” I went upstairs and told my wife and we decided to stay for three more nights.

Next we went down to Militsa for a few days. My dad had asked us down because Ari’s daughter (Ari my first cousin) was getting engaged. Voula (my older sister) and her daughter Poppy were in Militsa for the engagement. Poppy had found a boy who wanted to marry her.

He asked Voula and she said, “Ask my brother.”

That night we went for dinner to Finikounda a lovely village with friendly locals. It is located on the south west tip of the peninsula between the twin Venetian fortress towns of Koroni and Methoni (two

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 211

two hours by public bus from Kalamata). Before we reached Finikounda the boy who wanted to marry Poppy asked me to stop the car. It was very hot. The two of us got out of the car. “Mr. Chronopoulos, I would like to marry Poppy. She agrees and we would like your blessing.” We talked for a while. “If you get married,” I told him, “then you marry the daughter and the mother. Your mother-in-law will always be with you to tell you what to do. Most of the time she will do good things for you but sometimes you are not going to like it.” I knew this to be true because it had happened to my brother-in-law George. “No problem,” he said. We got back in the car and all of us headed to a beautiful restaurant high in the mountains south of Finikounda. After, we returned to our beautiful hotel in Athens and it was just like returning home.

I had a friend in Vancouver named Bill who had a three bedroom suite in Glyfada (a suburb of Athens, close to the ocean). He was in Athens and he came over to our hotel and asked us to stay in his apartment for a few days. The only problem was I had arranged a one week Mediterranean cruise for both George’s family and mine. It also included my sister Voula, her daughter Poppy, my cousin Panos, his wife and Margarita’s sister. A total of fourteen in all! We were going to visit Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Rhodes and Patmos.

This is how the Mediterranean cruise came about. I went with a friend down to Piraeus, the Port of Athens, where we met Athanasopoulos, the controller of a shipping company. A Texaco representative had just

212 ~ Thanasakis Pappas

arrived at the same time. “What’s happening with Texaco?” I asked.

“Where are you from, the States?” he asked. “No, Vancouver, Canada.” “Vancouver, I have a brother there.” “What is his name?” “Angelo Pappas.” “Are you Thanasakis?” “Are you George?” His brother had mentioned my name to him and suggested that we should meet. Long story short: we had known about each other for a long time. Then the controller says to me, “I will give you and your family a good price on a Mediterranean cruise (The regular price was $1,500 per person). I will give you a deal you would be stupid to refuse: $450.” “I am travelling with another couple and their kids,” I said. “I will have to ask them if they want to come along.” “No problem!” All fourteen of us got to go on this cruise for only $450 each. There had been a cancellation and the company couldn’t fill it. The food and the booze alone for seven days would cost more than what we were being charged.

From Piraeus our first stop was Egypt, Port Said. We all drove to Cairo. Both our older daughters took the bus. My wife, Jaime and I took a taxi and so did George and Rita and their youngest daughter. We followed the bus all day, wherever it went. It cost us $50 for each taxi.

In the beginning it was only $25 but it went up. We drove about two hundred kilometres. On the right side was the Sahara desert (the world’s hottest), with its multi-coloured mountains. On the left was the Suez Canal. It was simply unbelievable. On the Nile we saw a huge, empty ship. It looked like it was three stories high. It had been delivering

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Datsun cars (there are lots of cars in downtown Cairo). Then we went to the pyramids. There was a guy who had a camel for rent. Tourists climbed up on top of the camel and had their picture taken and then jumped off. They told us on the ship that we needed to be careful and not pay more than $1 for a picture. I was the last guy to go up and the one to pay. He put me up on the camel. It is very high up there. “Pay!” he says. “Okay, let me down first.” “No, you pay first.” “How much is it?” “$45.” “No way, they told us on the boat it would only cost $1 each and if we have any problems we should call the police. I stay here.” “No problem, come down.” He didn’t want me to stay too long on the camel because he would lose money. Every minute was worth $1. “I will give you a good baksheesh (tip),” I said. I gave him $25 and he was happy.

The next day we arrived in Israel. We tied up at the Port of Ashdod. It is located 25 miles south of Tel Aviv and was built as Israel’s third port, after Haifa and Eilat. Ashdod is one of the few deep water ports in the world built directly on the open sea. It opened in 1965. We couldn’t take any pictures because it wasn’t allowed. If you go inland for five kilometres you come to a junction. If you turn left and go for 34 kilometres you come to Tel Aviv. If you go right 34 kilometres you come to Jerusalem.

Our time was limited so we went to Jerusalem. We visited the Mount of Olives, Golgotha and the church of St. John. As we were walking along, my wife said, “Give the beggar some money.” A little later, we saw the same beggar, dressed up nicely like everyone else. It made me mad! It

214 ~ Galileo Hotel

was just a job to him.

We visited many wonderful ports of call. We stopped in Cyprus and saw the Port of Limassol. In Turkey we went to the ancient city of Ephesus, the largest city site in Asia Minor. Ephesus is the best-preserved Roman city in the Mediterranean region and Turkey’s top site after Istanbul. Over time the ocean has dropped back thirty kilometres. Ephesus is a major tourist attraction, especially for travelers on Mediterranean cruises. It is also home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We visited the island of Rhodes and saw both the upper and lower city. On Rhodes George and I took our two youngest daughters to the beach (It turned out to be a topless beach). “Do not look at the girls,” we told our daughters. We talked to a couple of the topless girls who happened to walk by. When we got back to our wives, our daughters told them what we had said. “How come you told the girls not to look at the topless bathers while you did?” they asked. Then, it was on to Patmos. On Patmos we visited the Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John the theologian lived all his life. We also saw the monastery nearby where his robe is located and then we headed back to Athens.

On the road again. George and his family went to his village and we went to mine. Then we got together again at Patras and we all took the overnight ferry to Brindisi, Italy. From there we headed north-west to Naples. We still had the same two cars. In Naples, as we were entering a gas station, two guys stopped us. One started talking to me. “No, no,

TWO TRIPS OF A LIFETIME ~ 215

no leave me alone,” I said. The other guy went around to the back of my car and bent over to let the air out of the tires. George was right behind us and he leaned on his horn. They both took off!

From Naples we headed north and followed the coast of Italy up to France. Our next stop was Rome where we saw spectacular sites such as the Colosseum and the Vatican. The streets were very wide. We had trouble getting back onto the highway from the wide streets. In Florence we stayed at the Galileo Hotel. It was unbelievable, brand new!

This hotel is in the heart of Florence and the staff was beyond wonderful. Leaving Florence we continued north and stopped in Genoa, Italy’s sixth largest city. Then it was on to France. On the way we stopped in a village to eat and found ourselves in the middle of a big birthday party for a thirteen year old. They asked us to join them and wouldn’t let us pay for anything. It was so nice we didn’t want to leave. We then drove on to Chambery, Lyon and finally Paris.

We returned the cars to the Charles de Gaulle Airport parking lot after an amazing trip! There was a huge line-up in the Charles de Gaulle airport parking lot. “Don’t you want to check the cars?” I said to the guy.

“Don’t worry, we have insurance for that.” We were surprised! We had had a special deal on the two cars. We had three months to return them if we didn’t want to buy them. We had had them for two and a half months.

When we bought the cars we paid a down payment of $1,615, which was now refunded. Because there were five of us, we saved about

216 ~ What a Glorious Trip!

$1,500 ($350 per person), the difference between flying to Paris or to Greece. The down payment was the difference. The cars were in our names so we just gave them back. We saved about $2,500, the amount it would have cost us to rent cars if we had flown to Athens. So we had two brand new cars for two and a half months for free. We arrived back in Vancouver on September 10, after three glorious months in Europe.

A year later my oldest daughter got engaged!

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ABOVE: Helen and Bill arriving at their wedding party at the Hyatt Hotel in a horse drawn carriage. 1985

10 Three Weddings For Three Daughters Dr. Papadopoulos told me about a young medical resident. “George, there is a nice young boy from Halifax. His name is Bill Vlahos and he is doing a residency in Internal Medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital. I think he would be a good match for your daughter Helen.” It was in October. I told my wife and we said that we would like to meet him so we agreed to get together Saturday for dinner at Yanni’s Restaurant on Robson Street.

Here is how Helen met Bill. We had not eaten Greek food since we returned from Europe so I said to the family, “Girls, where would you like to go out for dinner?” “Let’s go to a Greek restaurant,” said Helen, “Let’s go to Yanni’s.” She must have been reading my mind.

It all looked very natural. When we arrived at Yanni’s around 6 p.m., everyone was already there. There was Bill, Dr. Papadopoulus, his wife and three kids, and the head of St. Paul’s Hospital and his wife. I had

220 ~ Ted Thibeault

met him before at Papadopoulos’ house. “George, how are you?” Papadopoulos says seeing me. “What a surprise! Come and sit with us.” I told my wife not to say anything to Helen. Usually if you tell your kids to do something, they do the opposite. I do not think Bill knew anything either. In those days, parents did try to arrange their kids’ weddings.

Marianna my second daughter was suspicious. We all got to know each other that evening. Helen was twenty. Bill was nine years older.

Dr. Papadopoulos introduced us to the doctor and to Bill. I introduced them all to my family. We all talked about the trip. The kids were talking together and we grown-ups were talking together. My wife and I had to leave early so I asked for the bill. It was for eleven people so it was not cheap. I paid for it and we left. Marianna was very bright and became suspicious. “No, no, no, we didn’t know anything about them being there,” we said.

Their courtship happened very fast. “George, Bill likes your family,” Papadopoulos says, “and he likes your daughter. He wants your blessing.” “Thank you very much,” I said. “She is a little bit young but I will talk to my wife.” Long story short, we gave them our blessing.

His parents decided to come out from Halifax for a visit and to meet their future daughter-in-law. I didn’t talk with Bill for about a month and he and Helen only saw each other between her exams. Bill’s sister worked as a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital. Bill was very shy until he got to know you. He was a very polite boy. We became friends

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as well as relatives. Bill’s parents lived in a small town in Nova Scotia called Springhill, Anne Murray’s hometown. There they owned a successful business called The Springhill Candy Kitchen. They, along with Bill’s grandmother and one sister and her husband, came for the engagement in June. The party was at our home, and catered by Yanni’s, of course! We arranged to have the wedding a year later.

My friends, Joe and Rosalie Segal and Max and Margaret Fugman both wanted to do something for my daughter for her wedding. After the engagement I invited Joe, Max and his wife, Mark Schonfeld (who was my doctor and Joe’s son-son-in-law), my family, Bill, and Maury Wosk and his wife for dinner in a private room in the Hyatt. I was doing a lot of painting for Joe, Max and Maury. They owned many buildings which they graciously allowed my company to paint over the years. Margaret and Rosalie decided they would have a rehearsal party at Joe’s house, Rio Vista on SW Marine Drive, the night before the wedding.

Ted Thibeault (who recently died), was the GM of the Hyatt Hotel at the time. He came downstairs to see me in the salon. “George, I want to do something for your daughter’s wedding. You have helped me a lot over the years.” I wasn’t sure what I had done but it was nice to hear.

He was leaving the Hyatt but he gave me a letter stating that he would give me an excellent deal on the wedding dinner, including the alcohol.

It was amazing!”

I wanted to do the same for my other two daughters. I couldn’t do

222 ~ Joe Segal

that just for one so when the time came they both had their weddings at the Hyatt as well (in 1989 and 2002). The Hyatt gave me about the same discount for them. My daughters would probably have been happy with a with a smaller wedding but I could afford it. I wanted their weddings to be something special that they would always remember. I was only too happy to do it. When I arrived in Canada, I only had $9. I had nothing to complain about. My life was great!

As the wedding got closer, we needed to get things organized. There was my daughter, my wife, my son-in-law to be and me. Jaime was there but she didn’t say anything to anybody. “If we were in the village we would have donkeys,” I said in Greek while they were talking about the food. “Mr. Chronopoulos, do you want to have some horses?” Kelly, a very nice boy who was in charge of the banquet said to me. “What are you talking about? I meant if we were in the village.” “No, no, no, if you want, we can have a horse with a carriage.” “How can we on the fourth floor of the hotel?” “Don’t worry about it.” “I don’t want it. It sounds like a lot of money.” Horse and carriage rides had just started up in Stanley Park. Those were the horses. They wanted to advertise their rides to the people at my daughter’s wedding. The man who owned the horses came to see me. We knew each other but I didn’t know his name. “George, is that you?” he says. “I have some horses and I would like to do this for you. Kelly told me all about the wedding.” “It’s too expensive.” “No it’s not. For you, we will do it for free. We just want

THREE WEDDINGS FOR THREE DAUGHTERS ~ 223

the publicity. “How much is it?” “What I want from you, George, is for you to pay for the insurance in case the horse kicks or bites somebody.”

“How much is that?” “$80.” “For $80, I would be stupid to say no so I said okay.”

CBC wanted to broadcast the part with the horses. “No, I don’t want to go that high profile,” I said. “I am only a barber.” “Don’t worry.” They went ahead and broadcast highlights, but not in Vancouver. My cousin saw it in Montreal, but just some footage of the horses arriving outside, nothing about horses being inside the building. CBC didn’t know what to call the wedding. Was it a Rolls Royce wedding? Was it a high society wedding? Was it an establishment wedding with horses? “It is probably the WEDDING OF THE DECADE,” said both Max and Joe. It was high society to a point and definitely establishment. We had Joe Segal’s Rolls Royce, Rosalie Segal’s Rolls Royce, Syd Belzberg’s Rolls Royce, Max Fugman’s Rolls Royce. There were so many Rolls Royce’s that they were offered to the wedding party to drive them from the church to the Hyatt.

Everything went off without a hitch. The rehearsal party at Joe Segal’s house the night before (on May 24) was wonderful. The party was only for out-of-towners and the wedding party, 85 altogether. They had a band. I will never forget it! I never thought that people like them would ever do that for someone like me. I was just a barber.

The only people who knew about the horse were my wife, Jaime,

224 ~ Greek School

Bill, Helen and me. They brought the horse and carriage in through the parking lot and up the freight elevator. There were actually two horses.

The owner thought that if one horse didn’t want to get into the elevator they would use the other one. They told me they decorated one horse with flowers but the other horse apparently ate them. They found an old Victorian carriage, covered it in velvet, put the horse and the carriage into the elevator, and came up to the fourth floor. They put on a good show. There was a huge party inside, a little over 500 people. The door was closed. I didn’t know exactly what they were going to do -- that was up to them. “They’re coming,” someone yelled. Everyone looked at the wrong door. The door where they were was at the back of the patio.

They opened the door and the first thing we saw was the horse’s head.

It was really something. The horse came in. The wedding went on until one or two in the morning. “We ate a lot, we drank a lot and we danced a lot. Everyone had a great time. The next day we had a beautiful brunch at the Hyatt that was put on by Bill’s parents” My kids were always happy kids. None of them left home before they were married. The next day Helen and Bill left for Fiji on their honeymoon. I drove them to the airport. I paid for Helen’s education and school expenses. When we were at the airport Helen said to me, “Thank you very much dad for the great wedding and all you have done for me.” Marianna did the same thing. I was blessed. When they returned from their honeymoon, Helen made a nice dinner for all the in-laws,

THREE WEDDINGS FOR THREE DAUGHTERS ~ 225

the Halifax connections and us.

Marianna’s my middle daughter. Ever since she was a little baby she was always different, many times I tried to compare her with my older daughter. “My name is Marianna” she would say “my name is not Helen. You have to know I have a different personality”. She is still like that. When she is upset she will tell you. I remember her in elementary school, she was upset that the Academic award that she had been receiving every year was given to another student who she felt didn’t deserve it based on their marks. She asked me to come with her to talk to her teacher, but didn’t want me to speak for her. I don’t exactly remember what was said but she sorted it all out on her own, a typical episode of Marianna.

She went to the University of British Columbia and received a Bachelors Degree after 4 years in Psychology and Classical Studies. She wanted to work at the museums in Greece but then she met her future husband. Marianna had travelled to Greece a few times while she was at UBC. We sent all our girls to Greek school here in Vancouver when they were growing up. Later, my grandkids also went to Greek School.

Mom was hoping she would have settled on a career before she got married but when love happens it happens. My late father and mother liked her husband Gus and his family a lot. My mom was at her engagement party in April but died two months later. My dad was at her wedding. Gus came down to the salon one day and asked me if it was

226 ~ Gus Karvelis

okay if he became my son-in-law. We knew he was a good boy from a good family so I gave my blessing.

I wanted to give all my daughters the dream wedding I thought they should have, even though they never asked for it. All three weddings were at the Hyatt where I had connections and could get a special deal.

My daughter Marianna keeps saying she only knew 100 people of the 642 guests that were invited. But it was just my way of showing my thanks to all my family, friends, clients and business associates. When we have a wedding in Greece, we invite the whole village. It’s how you show your appreciation. If you don’t invite everyone it can be seen as an insult. All my daughters did not understand this. They thought I was being extravagant. For example, I brought them all up into their reception hall in different ways. Helen by horse and carriage, Marianna in a Mercedes and Jaime in a Jaguar. This is something I could have only dreamed about doing while growing up in a small village in Greece where donkeys would bring the brides to the church. And for all three girls, true to tradition, the father of the bride paid for it all. But this is how you do it!

Jaime is named after the Bionic Woman. She is the baby of the family, ten years younger than Marianna. Her given name is Dimitra but my other daughters called her Jaime after the Bionic Woman, which was a popular TV show in the 1970s. I met Lindsay Wagner (the real Bionic Woman) in Dallas at the Plaza of America. We were five guys looking

THREE WEDDINGS FOR THREE DAUGHTERS ~ 227

for oil wells. We were just speculating, looking around. There was Terry Sklavenidis, Bill Gardner, myself and another fellow. We had a limo that drove us around and showed us oil wells for three or four days.

We all bought cowboy hats, boots and tiny neckties. We were having a couple of drinks in the bar at the Plaza of America Hotel and we wanted to have dinner in their restaurant. They wouldn’t let us in because we didn’t have proper ties. That is where we saw Lindsay Wagner.

That evening we met a tycoon when we went to an Italian restaurant.

Terry’s wife is Italian. When we arrived at the restaurant we asked them, “What is your oldest bottle of wine?” It was a bottle of 1958 red wine.

They also had a white wine that was about twelve or fifteen years old (white wine does not last long). After four or five bottles of wine, we asked, “Where can we find a Greek nightclub?” They told us about a swinging club with a big orchestra that was not very crowded. At the club I met a guy who was from Vancouver. He had left Vancouver on a freighter and jumped overboard off the coast of Texas. He made his way to Dallas and married an American woman. He now has two or three restaurants. He became a tycoon. I do not remember his name.

Jaime was a seasoned traveler. By the time she was five or six years old, she had travelled halfway around the world with us. We passed through twenty-two states on our great North American road trip. When we came back from Europe in 1983 all the kids in her class had to write about their summer vacation. She wrote about her trip to Europe and it

228 ~ Plaza of America Hotel

was published in her school newspaper. She was always a nice girl and very bright. Clean-cut! She also answered you directly just like Marianna, but that is good.

Jaime went to college with a girl named Alisa. After they both finished university, Jaime became a high school teacher. They were very close. Alisa moved to Los Angeles and worked numerous jobs. She was working for Disney’s marketing department at the time. She worked with a girl who knew John’s family. The two of them introduced Jaime and John to each other. Alisa was the matchmaker and the maid of honour at their wedding.

John came here for a visit. We had him over for dinner. I heard John tell my kids he was working six days a week (10 hours a day) as an editor at PBS in Atlanta. When I heard that a 26 year old was working six or seven days a week, that was good enough for me. They would never go hungry.

My wife, Jaime and I, flew to Detroit (John’s mom and dad had come to Vancouver the previous September). We went for their engagement party and we arranged the marriage for June 22, 2002. His family all came out to Vancouver for the wedding. I invited my friend Dr. Michael (from Switzerland) and Max Fugman’s wife (Margaret) loaned us her Jaguar. Max, myself, and Dr. Michael went out for tea one afternoon to the Hyatt (26th floor). “I came here from Switzerland because I have great respect for my friend George and his family,” said Dr. Michael.

THREE WEDDINGS FOR THREE DAUGHTERS ~ 229

“I had an invitation to be in Versailles for a fundraiser for the Queen of Jordan (my wife is involved with the organization), but I wanted to come here and be with my friend.” Max and I looked at each other. We were not sure if he was bragging or what. Then he pulled the invitation out of his pocket. There were about 400 people at the banquet at the Hyatt. Jaime’s crowd was a bit younger and John’s family were from out of town.

They are doing well. After they married she moved to Atlanta with John. Jaime got a job teaching at the Sylvan Learning Center. John continued working as an editor for PBS. They had their first child in 2005: Markella, my first granddaughter. Their second child, Georgia, was born in Vancouver in 2010, my second granddaughter. Jaime became an American citizen but continues to bring her daughters up in the Greek tradition. Both of her daughters attend Greek school just as she and her sisters did!

11 Puttin On The Breaks

When Anwar Sadat was the President of Egypt, I met Gamil (Ali) Naguib through my lawyer, Nicholas Pyrgos. He was the brother of Mohammed Naguib, Anwar Sadat’s right hand man. I do not know how he came to be in Vancouver. During WWII, Nick had been a lawyer and translator for the British in Greece. He was very well educated. When the Germans invaded Greece the British soldiers all left for Cyprus and Egypt. Nick went to Egypt as well, accompanied by his English wife, Marguerite, who had been a teacher at a private school in Athens. The Germans were killing everyone.

From Egypt Nick and Marguerite came to Canada.

George Vastardis’ brother-in-law Alex owned Caesar’s Restaurant in Richmond. Alex came up with the idea of selling Greek olives, olive oil and other commodities to the Egyptian army because no one was doing it. He

232 ~ Gamil Naguib

was an importer. I introduced him to Ali Naguib. We called our new import company GNA, (G) for George, ((N) for Naguib and (A) for Alex.

Gamil negotiated the deal with his brother in Egypt. Unfortunately Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic militants at an army parade in Cairo. The deal fell through. Afterwards, many of Sadat’s supporters and inner circle were arrested or relieved of their duties. Nick had already incorporated GNA as an import/export company so I used the name for my painting company instead. Gamil Naguib went with Nick and me to Lausanne in 1979 when we were given the letter of credit for 10 million. Gamil wanted to meet with Henry Fresco in Switzerland. Gamil was a big guy, six feet, four inches tall and older than me. It was hard to imagine him playing soldiers with his older brother Mohammed when they were kids. Mohammed Naguib had been Egypt’s first President in 1953.

I received another letter of credit from Mr. Cantrell for $500,000 (appendix p362). It still had both our names on it so I decided not to travel back to Lausanne. I was told that it would be too difficult to remove my lawyer’s name. There would have been too many questions asked.

Steve Ramphos was the President of the Greek community in Ottawa.

The Metropolitan of Toronto had told him about our Gold Plate Dinners and he wanted to start his own. He told Steve to contact me and to organize it the same way that we did. We have raised a lot of money for the community over the years. We were able to pay off the mortgage on

PUTTIN ON THE BRAKES ~ 233

our new community centre, as well as fund other projects. I guided him by telephone but I could not go back to help because I was busy with my daughter’s wedding. They decided to have their dinner on May 27.

It was very successful. They made a good profit the first year. In 1985, there were two gold plate dinners in Vancouver, one for the Hellenic community on the westside and one for the Hellenic community on the eastside. Today, it has grown into a premiere Vancouver event and the single largest fundraiser for the Greek community.

I heard from Lou Black again. Nineteen years after he moved to Munich he came back to Vancouver. He told me about his Cadillacs and his villa and that he had a new wife. His first wife had fallen in love with a man he had hired to look after his house and automobile collection.

Both Lou Black and his partner Lou Wolfin told me about his bank dealings in Switzerland. He had a safety deposit box. Only he and his first wife knew the combination. One day he bumped into his wife leaving the bank with a suitcase full of cash. “You can have either your jewelry or the cash but you cannot have both,” he told her. The jewelry was very good and worth a lot of money. She decided to take the jewelry. He married again, this time to a girl from Taiwan.

He became a little paranoid after he made all that money on Pyramid.

The only guy he trusted was me. He came from a family of actors in England. He had been a bus driver, then he emmigrated to Montreal and then to Vancouver. He knew how to spend money. He was a very good

234 ~ George H. Bush

friend to me. After the problems it took Lou Wolfin a while to separate his business dealings from those of his partner Lou Black.

U.S. Vice-President George H. Bush popped in for a haircut during Vancouver’s Expo 86. The reservation was made under the name Mr. McBridge. Ten minutes before the appointment Secret Service agents arrived to check for bombs. When Bush walked in, the World Cup was on. “What’s the score, George?” he looked at me and said. Bush received the royal treatment, including manicure and neck massage from Suzuki.

I waved the fee but the future President insisted on paying $40 and gave me a signed picture for my wall. Today I charge about $70 for the full service treatment, including manicure and massage but back then a simple haircut went for a bargain-basement price of $12. It was late when we finished, about 6 p.m. Bush had some papers, a speech or something that he left on the counter. By the time he reached the escalator he realized that he had forgotten his papers. I saw the papers, grabbed them and went running after him. He turns and yells, “My papers, George, my papers.” He thanked me and departed. “Do you know how far back they checked you out?” asked the secret service agents. “Before you were born.” If they had learned I knew John Meier, I thought maybe even further.

My wife and I flew down to Puerto Vallarta just for fun. It was a pleasure trip on Holiday Airlines, a charter out of Vancouver. We flew to Mazatlan and then on to Puerto Vallarta. On the flight down I was read-

PUTTIN ON THE BRAKES ~ 235

ing in the in-flight magazine how on a previous flight someone had won a trip to Beijing. They often had a contest where passengers were asked to guess something. There was lots of information and statistics regarding the airplane in the magazine and I read these pages. It wasn’t long before a steward appeared and said, “How many gallons of gas does it take to fly from Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta?” We were supposed to answer the question and win a prize. I thought if I could answer the question maybe I too could win a trip to Beijing. Unfortunately not! I did some quick calculations: air speed, gas, time, and came up with 2,820 gallons. I was off by 12 gallons. The answer was 2,832 gallons. “Pretty good,” I thought. I was the winner. Beijing here we come! As winners, they brought us some socks, tooth paste and a bottle of champagne. I don’t drink champagne. There were three couples from Edmonton so I said to them, “Would you like the champagne?” After they drank it all, I asked the stewardess for two more bottles. On the way home we saw them again because it was a charter. “You owe us two days in Mexico,” they said. “Why?” “We were so drunk we fell asleep Saturday night and didn’t wake up until Monday morning.” “Don’t blame me because you drank too much,” I said. Because I flew a lot, I had spent many hours reading in-flight magazines. That is how I was able to figure out the answer. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Puerto Vallarta.

There was a fundraiser for the Vancouver Aquarium. It took place on a boat. There was Joe Segal, Jack Poole, John Cleghorn, the VP of the

236 ~ John Cleghorn

Royal Bank, and others. They had to sell tickets for a dinner. When Mr. Segal dropped by for his regular Saturday haircut, he is eleven years older than me and I always call him Mr. Segal out of respect (He said to call him Joe but I can’t) he asked, “Do you think you can sell any tables for the Aquarium?” (Each table sat ten people at $250 each). “Sure, give me three tables.” I figured I could sell them to my clients. Mr. Segal sold three or four tables himself. John Cleghorn had been my client since he had returned to the main branch. He was always very firm and business like. He never really talked much. He would come in and say, “Good morning.” He would pick up the newspaper, sit down and I would get to work. Mr. Segal told John Cleghorn that he had sold seven tables.

“How did you do that?” he asked. “George, from the hair salon downstairs, sold three.” “The next day Mr. Cleghorn came down to see me.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could sell tickets for our fundraiser? You sold three tables for Joe.” “Mr. Cleghorn, have you ever said anything more to us than good morning, hello, haircut please?” “George, you are right, my apologies.” Then we began to talk. “You meet only executives in your position but there are a lot of good, capable people around who are not executives.” I just reminded him that you do not have to be an executive to know how to do things. He is a very nice man. He became the President and CEO of the Royal Bank and moved back to Toronto.

Every time he came back to Vancouver on business he would stop by and say hello. When they lived in Vancouver his wife and two kids

PUTTIN ON THE BREAKS ~ 237

always came in to have their hair cut. I guess he respected my honesty and that I take the time to talk to people and show an interest in them.

My mother passed away. Six months before she died, she was in Greece. She was back and forth many times, maybe fifteen in all. It was always nice having mom around. She loved all her kids. When we were young, she told us lots of stories. She will never be forgotten because she was very special. Near the end, when she was in Greece, she went to a local hospital in Kalamata. They didn’t tell her but they discovered that she had cancer. She came back here with my dad and lived for another six months. She was able to see Marianna get engaged. She spent two weeks at UBC Hospital and there was always someone with her. The day she closed her eyes, I was the only one with her in the room. I was reading a book when I heard the heart monitor begin to make a noise. I knew she was gone. It was all very peaceful. It was an honour for me to be there.

I got a contract to paint the CIBC building. Kim Campbell (who was then a lawyer), had her office in the building. My guys were painting the fire exits one day and I realized that there was no coffee shop for the 1,500 people who worked in the building. There was a cafeteria FOR MEMBERS ONLY. “Why don’t you put a food bar in to service the rest of the people in the building?” I said to the property manager, Roger Loads of Mackenzie Management. I suggested to him how to do it: offer homemade sandwiches, make a nice counter where people can sit.

238 ~ Murray Goldman

Long story short, I wound up signing the lease myself.

I was always finding restaurants for my family. My wife had lots of experience from working at the Avenue Grill in Kerrisdale. After Kerrisdale, I had a coffee shop in the YMCA. My brother and sister-in-law ran it for a while but they soon left to open another place. My wife took it over in 1984 and then we sold it a year later. Jaime, had just started school and my wife was looking for something to do. Management built a shop for us on the fourth floor. We called it the Snack Stop. I opened it for my wife so she had somewhere to go from nine until two.

Bill was in his early 20’s when he became a GP. “He told me that when he was young he would look through books of B.C. He would tell his mother that he would move there one day. He came to Vancouver to do his internship after graduation from Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax. After his internship he moved to Trail, BC to do some locums. There he was very busy but he still made time to take some trips with his friend Tom. They traveled around the US and they also went to Europe and to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. “Bill opened his own practice in Endocrinology in 1987.

I asked him “do you want to buy an office?” He said “ I don’t have any money”. “No problem, I don’t have any money either”, I said. He found an office across from St. Paul’s Hospital. It was a perfect location. We went to see the real estate agent and I said to Bill “don’t tell him that I am your father-in-law, tell him I am a contractor”. When we got there

PUTTIN ON THE BREAKS ~ 239

we realized it needed a lot of work. We did some wheeling and dealing and got the price down to where we wanted it. With the help of the manager I knew at HSBC, Bill was able to buy his office. “So now I own an office, amazing!” he said.

I wanted to open a drugstore for my three daughters. Helen was now a licensed pharmacist. When Boots Drugstore closed its location in the Royal Centre, I took over the spot. The only problem was there was a recession at the time and ICBC left the tower above. The mall went flat.

That was a loss of 1,500 potential customers. Fifty prescriptions a day was great when ICBC was there but after they left we struggled to fill ten.

There was a mens wear store upstairs in the mall called the Zodiac.

They closed and the location came available. My good friend John Grant from Hathaway told me about a fellow named Don. He had worked there and said that it was a good location. He would work for me if I wanted. I knew Terry Sklavenidis from when he worked at Murray Goldman. He was now a partner in Gentlemen Two on west Broadway.

Terry is considered one of the best menswear salesmen in Canada. His mentor was Murray Goldman. Murray Goldman was so good! A lady came in to buy a suit for her deceased husband and he sold her an extra pair of pants or so the story goes. “You should open a second store with your brother-in-law, Bill Gardner,” I said to Terry. “I know a good location that has just come available.” “I would like to see it,” he said. I felt

240 ~ Roy Cantor

Terry should be downtown where there were more people. He liked the location. By accident the building manager came by. Terry says, “If George will be my partner I will take it.” We went for breakfast and he explained to me the ins and outs of the business and I trusted him. I don’t know what made him change his mind but later on he said to me, “I don’t think that I will be able to do it.” I had given my word to the building manager so I told Terry that I would go ahead anyway and if he changed his mind to let me know. Then I asked Ron Horsefield who was a distributor in the menswear business to join me. He said yes. Then Terry got back to me and said he changed his mind. I thought the three of us could do it but when I told Ron he decided not to get involved. I was going to do it whether anyone came in or not. Management gave us $79,000 for lease-hold improvements then I found out that I would have to sign for another $250,000 for merchandise. I watched the way Terry ran the business and I realized that he didn’t really need me. My English was still not very good so I decided to get out. Terry’s son Michael now runs the place along with his partner Steve. They are doing a great job. It is still called Georgio’s after me. That was my one and only involvement in the retail clothing business.

My friend, Roy Cantor, died of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Roy was a good friend. In 1969 when Voula went to Greece he invited me to his house for dinner. He had a new Greek housekeeper who was as good a cook as my wife. Roy was originally a jeweller but when I met him he

PUTTIN ON THE BREAKS ~ 241

was in men’s shirts. He had a manufacturing company on Water Street that employed two hundred people. I was asked to be a pallbearer at his funeral. The night before the funeral, I still didn’t know which funeral parlor to go to. I thought it was the one at Broadway & Alma so I went there at 11:30 the next morning but no one was there. I called my friend Max to find out the correct address. “Douglas and Williams,” he said.

I was already late but I eventually got there and had to wait inside the doorway until they were ready for the pallbearers. He was a nice man.

Dean is our first grandson. He was born in 1989. He was always full of energy and loved playing tricks on his grandmother (Voula). When he was about three years old one of his favorite “games” was to throw shoes off balconies or any high ground expecting to hit a moving target (like his grandmother or anybody unlucky enough to be below him).

One day he got his yia-yia on the head with a shoe “Are you okay?” he asked. “Yes” she replied. “Then let’s do it again!” He was always making jokes.

There was a Chinese couple who owned the 6/49 Lotto stand across from the salon. They knew another couple who claimed to be from Malaysia. The Malaysian woman needed a job so I hired her as my receptionist. She was very beautiful and good for business. Her sister’s husband Jacob, was the right hand man to the constitutional monarch of Malaysia. She told me her brother-in-law was looking to invest in a golf course here in Vancouver. I had a Jewish client named Jack Bell who

242 ~ Telly Savalas

who was known as the Cranberry King. He started B.C.’s first cranberry farm on Lulu Island in 1946. He owned Green Acres Golf Course in Richmond so I told him about the offer. “Yes George, it is for sale.” Jack gave me a letter saying if I put the deal together I would get $200,000.

I wasn’t too worried because my contact from Malaysia told me, “The way we do business in Malaysia is: if the price is 20 million, we get six and a half percent.” That was about $1,500,000. Everything was fine until August 1990 when the Americans invaded Kuwait. The Malaysians got scared. They decided not to invest any money in North America. Instead, they built a golf course in Malaysia with one hundred and fifty townhouses around the fairways. My friend’s wife did get a contract to build the kitchen cabinets in the townhouses. So many times I just missed out on some really big deals.

Telly Savalas was holding a golf tournament in Palm Springs for the Greek community (North America). They sent us invitations because we had played in other tournaments. He was raising money for a charity event at the Sheraton Hotel. It cost us $400 to play golf for two days.

There was me, Peter Palivos, George Pappas, Dino Drikus and John Petris (Suzy Cream Cheese Ltd.). John had a home in Palm Springs so we all stayed there. We played eight or nine games of golf over the course of a week, including the two tournament days. The day we arrived we teed off at 3 p.m. When we made it to the eighteenth hole it was so dark we had to use the lights on our golf carts because it gets dark early

PUTTIN ON THE BREAKS ~ 243

in Palm Springs in January. We had lots of fun. Telly Savalas was a big boy and a nice guy!

I was beginning to realize that being a businessman was not always a smooth ride. One often encountered unscrupulous people along the way which I will not elaborate on further. I still felt optimistic enough though to continue to look for new business opportunities. I wanted to get involved in larger projects, further afield, with people who were well known and trustworthy. I was not eager to get involved with businesses that were too risky. My close circle of wealthy friends in town who supported me in the past continued to be loyal and steadfast.

My immediate and extended family of friends and acquaintances was growing. I had two married daughters and we were all healthy and prospering together. That was the most important thing to me.

I found out I really enjoyed travelling so I thought if I could combine travelling and business then that is what I wanted to do. It didn’t really matter if I had to take two steps back once in awhile, as long as I could then take ten steps forward.

1997, Me with my wife Savroula and our grandkids (LtoR), Jimmy, Christi George and Dean at our house at 2672 Point Grey Road.

Lavrion Silver Mine in Greece

12 India And Beyond

I tried to do too much. I opened a drugstore, moved the salon to its present location, then opened Georgio’s Men’s Wear upstairs and the Snack Stop in the CIBC building, all at the same time. We also bought a house and I continued to run my painting business. I lost a small fortune that year.

Voula was operating the Snack Stop and making good money so she wanted to buy a new house. We saw a house which we liked. It had originally been on the market for $629,000 but they had dropped it to $569,000. We decided to buy. I made a cash offer subject to inspection.

When I went to see Phil, my bank manager at HSBC, he didn’t even ask me, “How much?” All he said was, “Just sign the cheque.” The vendors had accepted our offer of $500,000. When I asked Phil to close the

246 ~ Dimitri (Dad) Chronopoulos

mortgage he suggested that I back out of the deal because he was sure that interest rates were going down. However, instead of going down they went up and in three months the rate was 14.75 %. I was paying $7,500 a month interest on this new house and losing $7,500 a month on the drugstore. I was stuck. I had to close the drugstore. I really did lose a small fortune that year. I sold the house in 1994 for the same price I had paid for it. It cost me the interest I had paid on the loan since we bought the house.

I was upstairs at the Hyatt for a late dinner with Jacob from Malaysia on ....1991. He had come to Vancouver to look at a golf course. I had season tickets to the Canucks and I took him to the game. The Canucks were playing the New York Rangers. After the game I left him at the hotel and went home. Later that night I received the horrible news from my son-in-law, “Dad, your father died.”

Losing my dad was a big loss although he had been suffering for a few weeks and I didn’t want him to suffer any longer. It was time. He had prostrate cancer. It was very sad. He passed away on a Friday. We decided to have the funeral the following Tuesday. There was a large turn out: four or five hundred people, all from the church. It was very cold outside and when we came out of the church it was snowing. Only about thirty people turned up at the cemetery. I remember the limos were having trouble getting up the Arbutus hill just north of twenty-fifth avenue.

INDIA AND BEYOND ~ 247

Dad couldn’t speak any English so he very seldom came down to the salon. When he did come down he liked to sit behind the big desk in my office. I remember one time he was watching the garbage men pass by in the lane behind our house. “Me Greek, you Italian?” he asks one of them. “Yes,” the fellow replied. “Remember the war, boom, boom, boom? Friends!” He was talking about World War II. Another time, he lost mom. They were coming home from my sister’s house. They didn’t want to take the car. They liked to take the bus and poke around in the stores. At Main & Broadway they somehow got on different buses, probably because of the crowds. My dad made it home. “I lost mom,” he says to Voula. “Are you serious?” “I am serious.” “What happened?”

He told her what had happened. How were they going to find her? Voula phoned the salon and my brother answered. “Papou lost mom,” he says to me. “What?” Back home, the grandkids were all crying. It was now dark. Mom was very smart, though. She stayed on the bus. We called the bus depot and said, “We lost an old lady.” “We will call you back.” They got back to us shortly and said, “There is a bus coming to Broadway and Main. The driver says an old lady has been on board for a couple of hours and she won’t get off.” Helen and Voula went down and met the bus. She was so happy to see them she started to cry. “God sent you to me,” she said.

We were all having dinner once with my parents. “I saw on the news that an old couple who had some money put it under the carpet and a

248 ~ Ari Risvani

mouse ate the bills,” said my brother. Mom and dad looked at each other. “Did you guys do that?” asked Kostas. “No, no, no,” mom says.

“He told me to do that but I didn’t do it.” We had lots of fun. We included them in everything we did. Their last twenty years with us were very happy.

Dad had to wait until his older sister Nicoletta married first. This is a Greek custom. She married a very nice man but as Ari told me, the family was very poor. My brother and I never knew this because we were not around. As I said Nicoletta’s son Ari became very weathy. Whenever he came to visit us in the village he always brought us something.

Kostas and Antonia thought the reason he always brought something was that he thought we were poor. That was not the reason. When my parents started coming to Canada, Ari looked after their farm. “Are you working for the Chronopoulos family?” someone asked him one day.

“No, I am just paying back what my family owes them.” I told this to my brother and sister. They thought it was the other way around. Ari really appreciated how my dad had helped them out when he was just a boy.

My dad never said anything about it. I give him a lot of credit for that.

He was a good man.

“You are lucky to have such a wonderful wife,” they would always say. They loved her more than me if you know what I mean. They lived with us most of the time they were in Vancouver. Anything my wife asked for, my dad came running: the garden, you name it. He would

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walk to the store and get it. When he got old and needed to go to the doctor my wife always took him because my sister didn’t drive. They liked to do things together. They would go and buy things for the garden. “We need $200 for the garden,” she would say to me. “What are you talking about?” I wasn’t interested in the garden. “You don’t know anything about the garden, just give her the money,” dad would tell me.

He was right. I had left the farm early in life to go away to school. It was nice they liked doing things together. Voula did everything for Dad when he got too old and so did my brother and sister. I was so happy my parents liked my wife. They liked my brother’s wife too. I remember at the cemetery where Voula’s mother and my mother are buried there was a plot between them reserved for Dad. “I don’t know if there is enough room for me between those two,” he said to my sister Antonia one day.

Antonia laughed and said, “Don’t worry Dad, when you die, we’ll fit you in.” Thanks, Dad! RIP! Sophia Kogos was a good friend of ours. She was married to Nick Kogos who owned the Commodore Supper Club with Johnny Dillias.

It had been built by booze baron George Conrad Reifel. They bought it from Reifel in 1929 when the stock market crashed. It was built in the Santa Fe art deco mode. In the words of the Georgia Strait newspaper, “Upstairs it contained a great dance floor which offered foxtrotters and jitterbuggers an alternative to the Hotel Vancouver’s over-crowded ballroom. Gilded, ornate, and featuring a “New York style” stage capable

250~ Bill Clinton

of holding big bands, the Commodore boasted a one-of-a-kind “sprung” dance floor: There was a layer of horsehair stretched across a bed of rubber tires, allowing the hardwood surface to bounce and undulate beneath the hooves of twinkle-toed dancers.” Under Nick and Johnny the Commodore thrived as a dinner-and-dance club and was rented out privately to corporations and social clubs whose employees and members didn’t mind “brown bagging it” (liquor licences were virtually nonexistent at the time).

Nick and Sophia were great supporters of our church. Nick bought a house with a large lot on SW Marine Drive in West Vancouver near Tiddley Cove. The property extended from Marine Drive down to the water. He bought a second lot on Marine Drive and on it he built a replica of the Parthenon. Like the original Parthenon it was made of marble which he had brought in from Italy. Nick asked the City of Vancouver if they wanted to put it in Stanley Park as a tourist attraction but they declined. Sophia and my wife’s father both came from Koroni, Greece.

Her family had been teachers for 150 years and had taught my wife’s family. We became good friends. We visited her often in West Vancouver. Sotirios, the Archbishop of Canada, was a good friend of her family. “No other Bishop will ever set foot in this house,” Nick said before he died. “When we both die this house will be left to the Achdiocese of Canada.” They had no kids. Her last Easter she came over to our house.

It was a Sunday. The next Thursday she got sick. She called my wife

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about three or four in the morning. I told her we would come over. I called 911 and told them, “If she dosen’t come to the door, break it down.” We went and saw her at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver. She was sick for two or three days. We called the Bishop and he came out from Toronto. He and Sophia were very close. She was a very nice lady. Sophia and Nick helped the church a lot. They donated alot of money to build our new church on Arbutus Street in 1972.

Jimmi is Marianna and Gus’s first son and my grandson. Jimmi was always sophisticated and polite. He liked sports and worked with his cousins in the back at Shaughnessy golf course. I love playing golf with my grandkids. We always have a lot of fun and some friendly competition. One day we were playing at UBC and we saw a coyote. It made me feel like I was back in the village in Greece. They are very viscious and I was worried for my grandkids. So, I began chasing the coyote with my golf club. They remember this story and still laugh. I’m happy with all my grandkids. Jimmi is now in 3rd year Sciences at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. He is not sure what he is going to do so we will see.

Bill Clinton met with Boris Yeltsin in Vancouver. George Stephanopoulos, Clinton’s press secretary, was going to bring him downstairs for a haircut. “When George Bush was here he got his hair cut in the shop downstairs,” he said to Clinton in the lobby. “No, no. We don’t go there!” He didn’t want to come down. The hotel manager told me this.

252 ~ Christian Vlahos

Clinton and Boris Yeltsin had a meeting at Seasons in the Park. Later (in another city) Clinton was on the news. He had kept his plane waiting.

Asked where he was he said, “I had to go see my barber.”

After I lost all that money I needed to find a way to get it back. I still had the painting company. I was doing small jobs here and there.

Then I got a big job from Maury Wosk (everyone called him MJ) for his Beach Towers. He asked me to paint the underground parking as well. I was able to pay my painters working on the parking garage from small jobs. Then MJ says to me, “George, when are you going to give me the invoice?” “Don’t worry,” I said. “I will.” Whenever I came with an invoice he wouldn’t let me leave. Both MJ and Mr. Segal always paid me immediately, not in thirty days. I didn’t even write up an invoice for him until after we had finished. That is how much we trusted each other.

I painted a lot of his businesses. Larry King was the MC for his 85th birthday party upstairs at the Hyatt. I met him at the party. I liked Larry King’s hair. It looked just like mine. MJ owned lots of real estate, was a developer and later on a philanthropist. Finally, I called him and he says, “Come on down!”

“The day Christian Vlahos was born my wife and I went to church with my grandsons George and Dean. After church we went to eat lunch and Dean who was 6 at the time was telling us that if they baby comes out with the head down there will be no problem. My wife was getting scared. “What are you talking about?” I asked. Dean continued, “if the

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baby comes out with it’s legs first, then it will be a problem. And you know yiayia, the body of a normal man has 100,000 km of veins.” His father Bill was obviously teaching him these medical facts. I told Bill that he had a doctor in training. Many times I argued with Bill. “Don’t put too much pressure on the boy.” When I was in primary school (in Pilos), there were three friends. One was Tom Zombolas. His father was a businessman and owned a retail store. Another was Dimitris Haramaras.

Dimitri’s father taught physical education at the high school and he was very tough! And I was the third. We all sat at the same desk in school.

Lots of times I went to Dimitri’s house to study. “You go into the room at 4 p.m. and you don’t come out until 7 p.m.,” his father would say. It was like punishment. He put so much pressure on his son that at age eighteen he committed suicide. I told Bill this story. After lunch we headed straight to the hospital and Christian was born. Bill said to us, “I now have my golfing foursome.”

My next business was importing textiles from India. I called my cousin Sotiros in Greece who was in the clothing business. “How is your business importing textiles from India?” I asked. “Good!” I told him that two friends and I, Kuku Batra and Max Fugman, were looking for a new business opportunity.

I remember the last time we ordered textiles, the shipment was delayed two weeks. In India they are not always in a hurry to send you your goods but goods are seasonal and time-sensitive and you

254 ~ Mike Begledis

absolutely must have them delivered on time. There were 12,000 pieces in this shipment. Our customer decided that he didn’t want the shipment because it was too late. I had to fly to Greece! The merchandise had been held up at customs for four or five weeks and it was costing us a lot of money, about the equivalent of $11,000 (2 million drachmas). It got even worse. Someone told us they would buy the shipment for 500 drachmas per piece and give it to the poor. I said no way because we would lose credibility with the manufacturer. I sold the goods to some gypsies who in turn sold the shipment for 1000 drachmas a piece. I traveled to Greece about five times in the 1990s, mostly on textile business.

I remember a beautiful wedding in the Greek Islands. My wife and I went to my friend George Vastardis’ daughter’s wedding on the Greek island of Andros. “Come on, take the boat to the islands,” George said to me. My friend in Greece, Mike Begledis, is very wealthy. He had a yacht (complete with captain and crew). He wanted me to use it for a week to go to Andros. He told his crew to take us anywhere we wanted to go for a week but I didn’t want to feel obligated. He did loan me his Range Rover and we drove it all over Greece.

I had a client from Texas named Mike Sims. Mike had some boats for sale and Max and a friend of his George Gaffney (ex Royal bank) bought one. I introduced Mike to Max. Mike was a promoter and an oil tycoon. Max got him to deliver the boat to his home in Puerto Vallarta

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so he must have got a good deal.

Then there was Mike Sims. He wanted to buy property in Vancouver. He found a place on Fir Street. It was owned by Kingswood Capital Corporation (Mr. Segal’s company). Mr. Sims came in for a haircut.

He had a strong Texan accent, a southern drawl which I only partially understood. “I found a place I want to buy but this young fella doesn’t wanta sell it to me,” he said. I asked him where it was and he told me. I called Mr. Segal. “Is it true that you don’t want to sell your place at 14th & Fir?” I knew Mike had the money because I had asked him. “Do you know the guy?” Mr. Segal asked. “I do. He came in here for a haircut.

I haven’t done any business with him.” Mr. Segal is very bright and sharp. “Okay, send him to me.” He bought the place. His wife was Russian. When you walked in it looked like a Russian palace. I have been there many times for dinner. Long story short, he told me after five or six years that he sold it for $7 million. He owned a Bentley and so did his wife. I am sure Max got a good deal on that boat because Sims said to me, “Your friend Max really knows how to wheel and deal.”

Celebrities can be nice. I saw Liberace standing in front of my door one time (this was when we were down by the food court). I put on my jacket and went outside. “Hello, how are you?” I asked. I didn’t know who he was but his face looked familiar. After we parted, I remembered his name. He was very nice to me.

I almost became a Greek shipowner. One could buy a brand new

256 ~ Monte Carlo Restaurant

ship at a good price in Romania. Nicolae Ceaucescu, the communist dictator of Romania, had kept his people working in the 1980s by building ships at their Black Sea port of Constanta. Some of the ships were four or five years old and had never been to sea and they had quite a few. I talked to a client of mine and he wanted to invest with me (I couldn’t afford it by myself). [Unfortunately the cost of upgrading the ship proved to be too high for us]. We were all ready to buy the ship and join the fleet. One or two charters would have given us a good profit and we would have owned the ship.

I flew to Bucharest to check the situation out. By now there had been a revolution and Ceausescu and his wife had been shot on Christmas Day, 1989. The guy who picked me up from the airport said he was the son-in-law of the new leader. His father was the Minister of the Interior.

He was apparently married to a Romanian tennis star. I spoke to her a couple of times on the telephone but I do not remember her name. Her husband picked me up and took me to the Parliamentary Palace and we walked around outside for a while. I was also there on Independence Day, December 1, 1996. The army was on parade. I was asked to sit on the podium with several dignitaries but I didn’t want to. “Oh, come on, George.” “No, I have to go meet someone.” I didn’t want to wind up like Ceaucescu or Sadat.

The business climate was not good in Romania. I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel which did not have a lot of business either. It was

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empty. I saw many construction cranes in Bucharest. There were probably around thirty buildings under construction at the same time, all left unfinished. I thought I would be coming back but I never did. That night they took me to a beautiful restaurant but there were no people.

We went to the famous Monte Carlo Restaurant in Cismigiu Park. The waiter came out with a tray loaded with steaks, fish, venison. “What would you like?” he said. There was quite a variety and the service was good. I told my contacts in Bucharest that I would call them when I got back to Vancouver. I tried to sell some containers of goods in Romania, which was actually the reason for my visit. They were interested but it was hard to get the money out. Long story short, I didn’t do any business there. “There are three million people in Bucharest but only five hundred thousand live well,” I was told. It was very corrupt!

Ships are expensive. I remember a shipowner from Greece in the 1990s. He went to Romania and bought ten ships, all of which needed to be upgraded. The guy who was buying was supposed to pay for the upgrade costs which were expensive. The Romanian government started to lose money so they stopped building ships.

It was not my fault. I was supposed to meet my friend Kuku Batra in India. Max could not go on on this trip. Kuku had asked me to take a set of Callaway golf clubs to India for him. He lived in India and was returning home and he would have been over his limit and have to pay duty on the clubs. I had put his clubs on board myself in Vancouver

258 ~ Suki Sekhon

and then flew to Frankfurt. Then I flew to Bucharest. When I arrived in Bucharest, no clubs. Before flying on to India, I went to Greece for a couple of days.

I visited the Lavrion Silver Mines in Greece. Andreas Sygros, a banker and promoter, took over the historic Lavrion Silver Mines in 1873.

These mining facilities are believed to be the oldest in the world. They were used to finance the fleet with which the ancient Athenians defeated the Persians and to make repairs to the Acropolis and other monuments during the Golden Age of Athens. Sygros convinced the Greek people to support the mines. During his time he built the Hospital Evangelismos, Sygros Jail and a lot of schools. He also built a large boulevard connecting the airport to the hospital and the jail. “Why did you do that?” he was asked. “I built the hospital in case I get sick, the jail in case I go to jail and the boulevard so they can take me to the cemetery.” I was asked to do some public relations work for the mine by John Georgeolas who was the CEO of Decade Silver Mine. Melina Mercouri (the Greek actress, singer and politician) was the Minister of Culture for Greece at the time. Eventually she declared the mines a national heritage site and tourist attraction and no more mining was allowed. After a short time, it was on to New Delhi and a very upset friend. Kuku landed in Delhi about an hour after I arrived. I waited at the airport for him with his brother-in-law Rahoul.

Rahoul had a brand new Jeep Cherokee (They drive on the right

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side of the road in India, the same as in England). When we went outside to wait by his jeep, I saw what looked like twenty-five soccer balls in two rows directly in front of us. I soon realized they were the heads and faces of some local workers (must have been jetlag). There were cows wandering around as well. Rahoul had four guys watching his jeep.

“How are you, my friend?” Kuku asked when he arrived. “Fine, but I have some bad news. The clubs didn’t arrive at their destination.” He starts screaming. “This is how you welcome a friend to your country?”

I said. “I will take the plane and go home. I don’t want to stay.” “I am sorry, my friend, I am sorry.” “It was not my fault. All I can do is put a claim in on my travel insurance.” The clubs were worth $5,000. I had just tried to help him out.

Upper class weddings in India can be quite lavish. We stayed at the Oberoi Hotel on the Delhi Golf Course. In New Delhi, I later met another friend, Suki Sekhon from Vancouver, and a fellow named Meshi Talwar from India (who had a factory that made parts for all makes of automobiles and some airplanes). We played a couple of rounds of golf while we were there and every night from Wednesday to Saturday we went to a wedding. The strange thing was, it was always the same wedding. Each night the wedding reception was at a different hotel (Hilton, Hyatt etc.). There were around a thousand people each night at the wedding. Friday night was a religious holy night and we were not supposed to drink. That Friday night there were about fifteen hundred people at

260 ~ Mumbai, India

the wedding. The groom rode in on a white horse with lots of fireworks (They were a very wealthy family). There was another wealthy family who owned a textile factory called Nanda Brothers. They were very nice. One of them said to me on Friday night, “George, come here.

Don’t go inside yet.” I went over and he opened the trunk of his Mercedes. There was a huge ice box full of fine scotch. It was a bar! At the party there was lots of spicy food which I wasn’t used to. The ladies were all very beautiful wearing their traditional costumes. They were all very polite and hospitable.

Everyone was having a great time. They cooked all the food right there at the wedding. My cousin Sotiros had come down from Greece for the wedding as well. There were two musicians playing. Everyone was dancing and throwing money. Then two more musicians appeared out of nowhere. “Watch, I am going to make the music stop,” I said.

I threw down a whole bunch of paper money (rupees). [It is a Greek tradition to throw money as well as plates.] The musicians stopped and started picking up the money. The other two musicians who were not supposed to be there (they had sneaked in) were asked to leave.

Business went well and I wound up sending a couple of containers of textiles to Greece.

I flew to Mumbai with a billionaire. I had met him a couple of times in Vancouver. Then we flew to another place. I forget his name. We had to motor two hundred kilometres through the jungle, which was inhab-

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ited. “Those people out there are only wearing a leaf on the front and a leaf at the back,” I said to my friend when we were in the limo. We were going to a place where they color the textiles. We stayed in what they called a village although it had over 300,000 people. Eighty-five percent of the people worked for this guy. The next day we left for Madras and then home to Vancouver.

My next business was a renovation company. I got a contract to paint Langara Springs in Vancouver. While I was there the engineers for the property told me they had sixty-eight townhouses that were leaking on the steps into the patio. “Can you fix them?” “Sure.” I repaired sixtyeight townhouses at 59th & Cambie. I decided to explore the opportunity and stopped the painting part of my business. That is how I got into the renovation business.

After Langara Springs the jobs started pouring in. The engineers took me to Rumble Street. There was another building there that we were paid quite well for renovating. Other jobs followed: New Westminster Quay, apartments in Coquitlam and in Vancouver. Most of the buildings had been built by Andrew Molnar. After losing so much money the future looked promising again. I combined my renovation company with my painting company and called it GNA Painting & Renovation.

George K. my fifth grandson loves sports. George is a goalie and plays for Fusion FC. He’s had some great experiences traveling to Germany and playing soccer and being one of a few kids chosen to practice

262 ~ The Ecumenical Patriarch

with the women’s National team. He was very excited. I saw him play once at SFU. It was so cold and foggy I wondered why I had gone to see him play. That is until I saw George play. Then I knew why I was there.

Whether the team won or lost, his skills were obvious. Maybe George will eventually go to University on a sports scholarship. Who knows?!

We all flew down to Scottsdale, Arizona with my son-in-law Bill’s parents. We drove up to Tuscon to see John, Bill’s mom’s cousin. John had emigrated to New York when he was fifteen, taken dance lessons and became quite proficient. During WWII he went into the army and entertained the troops alongside Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas and others.

His wife was a dancer as well. After the war they danced on the Ed Sullivan Show. They had a contract to work two or three months each year on the cruise ships. They divided their time between their home in New York, the cruise ships and a second home in Tuscon. When I told John that I had met Bob Hope and others from Hollywood we became best friends because we now had something in common.

The Ecumenical Patriarch (Head of the Greek Orthodox Church) came to Vancouver. I was on the committee that arranged his visit and I was asked to look after the accommodation. They needed twenty-five rooms. I approached the Hyatt and they gave me a good price. I told the Archbishop of Toronto that we could get the Hyatt at a good rate.

“No,” he says. “Why not?” He was concerned about the traffic. “The police can escort us and it will all look very important and official.”

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“No let’s try Richmond.” He was right! By the time he had travelled across Canada and stopped at several places, he would be tired and would not want to drive downtown to a hotel. I asked the Delta Hotel in Richmond for twenty-five rooms and told them that I worked for a charity organization in the community. A week later I called them back and told them there was a problem. I now needed fifty-two rooms. They were booked but they managed to accommodate us by sending the overbooked guests to other hotels. The RCMP were with our group for security. It was a big success! When we were all upstairs having cocktails, the Bishop says to me, “George, will you go first so everyone will know where to go.” So they all followed me downstairs. It was pretty high profile. Downstairs my two grandsons Dean (age nine) and George (age seven) were both blessed by the worldwide leader of our church. I didn’t realize it at first but it turned out to be good publicity. I was in the right place at the right time. “Once you get lucky then you get smart,” according to Jimmy Pattison.

The head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America resigned on August 30, 1999. Demetrios Trakatellis of Greece was named his replacement. He had earned his doctorate in religion at Harvard and had taught for more than a decade at the seminary. Because I was involved in the church and had been appointed an honourable member in 1989, I was invited to New York to attend the swearing-in ceremonies. My friend Dr. Michael had a title in the church so it was

264 ~ Chris Theodoropoulos

his duty to inform me that we were both invited. I now have the same title as Dr. Michael: Archon (in the Greek Orthodox church: Hartoularios). “Tell Chris Theodoropoulos he is invited as well,” said Dr. Michael. The invitations came in different colors and indicated where we would be seated in the church. Dr. Michael suggested I telephone the Archbishop of Toronto, Sotirios (because I knew him), to arrange better seats for the ceremony. This I did. In return all my expenses were paid by my friends. The first day I was sitting behind Hillary Clinton and the Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani. The next day I sat next to the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Papandreou. It was my first time in New York as a tourist. We all stayed downtown at the Waldorf Astoria.

Joe Segal owned a building at Pender & Bute. My company was doing some work for him. My foreman stretched a long hose up to the top floor of his building and left it there overnight in order to save time. At midnight the hose burst and flooded seven floors. It is the foreman’s job to make sure everything is working properly. My foreman Bob knew what to do. He was a good worker. Mr. Segal knew that I was leaving at 9 a.m. the next morning to drive to California. The building manager called me at 6 a.m. “How you doing, George?” “I just finished dancing,” I said, “When you call me at 6 a.m., what do you expect me to say?”

“You’re dancing?” “What happened?” “I am swimming. Seven floors flooded with water.” “Okay.” About 9 a.m., I talked to Mr. Segal.

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“George, you’re supposed to leave today.” “Yes, but your building is flooded.” “Do you have insurance? If you don’t have insurance, don’t worry about it because I do.” “I don’t know. It is my first business accident.” He insisted that if I was still in town at 11:00 a.m., he would be very upset. So I took my car and left.

Another time we were repairing the roof of the Hyatt Hotel. I had a crazy guy working for me. I do not know why it happened but he threw a piece of steel weighing fifty pounds over the edge. We were lucky. It came down and didn’t hit a soul. He was a good shot. It landed in the swimming pool. Another time, at the Hyatt, we had a sign (16 feet by 2 feet), on the side of our mobile scaffold. The wind came up and the sign went crashing down thirty-seven floors to the pavement below. It didn’t hurt anyone. We were again very lucky. It didn’t even break any windows on the way down.

After losing all that money at the beginning of the 1990s I was not eager to open another business in Vancouver. As I said, I tried to open too many businesses at once. I thought I might have better luck in Europe and India. But when opportunity came knocking in 1996 the idea of starting a renovation company seemed like a natural progression. I had lots of friends with houses and businesses that needed repairing so again I dived in head first. I still hoped to recoup my losses from the early 1990s. My family was well. I had three more grandkids and my work with the church continued to play an important role in my life.

266 ~ Bill Vlahos

Then tragedy struck! I heard about it on an afternoon when my wife phoned me at the salon. “You better sit down,” she said. “Why?” “You just sit down.” Then she told me and I started to cry. My son-in-law Bill had cancer of the blood, lymphoma.

Bill was a realist. The day after he was diagnosed, we went for a drive. “What are we going to do now, Bill?” “Dad, we have to deal with it. When you win a million dollars, you have to deal with it. The bad luck comes along, you have to deal with it. He got a lot of support from his colleagues.

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13 Bad Times, Good Times!

Everyone was at the Gold Plate Dinner except Bill. He was supposed to be there to draw the first ticket. We were all waiting for him.

I remember that night so well. I had a ticket and I won $7,500 for my grandkids. I was sorry that Bill was not there to see it. “Bill is in the hospital,” my wife said when I called. He was so weak that he could not come to the dinner. His blood count was down. On Saturday morning, it was really raining so I went down to the salon and then over to the hospital. He convinced his doctor to let him come home for two or three days. My daughter brought him home but the next day he was in so much pain they called me and I took him back to the hospital. I left him in the Emergency Room. When I came up to visit him I had to give him morphine. His doctors had inserted a needle in his arm which was connected to a drip (intravenous therapy). All I had to do was push a button. He never came out of the hospital and died on the 17th of September 2000.

270 ~ Dr. Hugh Tildesley

It was very painful. He said to me on one occasion, “Dad, when I come out we are going to go to St. Andrews.” In 1989 he had been asked by some pharmaceutical companies to give a talk to a group of European doctors. My daughter was pregnant with my grandson so Bill decided to take along Dr. Chronopoulos. [We had just moved the salon to our new location in the Royal Centre. At the last moment I decided not to go.] Just before Bill died he said to his mom, “Mom, I’m going!”

“Where are you going?” she asked. “I’m going to God. They need me more there.” That really touched me. It was very sad. After Bill’s passing, Helen needed help. We all decided that the best thing to do was to move in together. We bought a new house and we all moved in together.

The children were still young and we wanted to be there to support Helen and the boys. Eventually Helen went back to work as a pharmacist and they were able to move forward and live on their own. I have been through a lot of sadness but there were lots of good times both before and with my grandkids.”

When Bill died, I found out just how respected he was amongst his colleagues. He was apparently well known all over B.C. His sister told us that he often scored one hundred percent on his exams. He was a very smart guy. “Bill joined our division in 1987,” Dr. Hugh Tildesley told me. “He was a Dalhousie medical grad and did his residency at St. Paul’s followed by a fellowship at McGill. He became a staff member at St. Paul’s in 1987, joining me and Ted Wilkins. He founded the

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 271

St. Paul’s Lipid Clinic which was ahead of its time (it offered teaching as well as cooking classes). He quickly established a robust clinical practice and a fine reputation as a clinical teacher. He was a co-investigator with me in many clinical studies. He is celebrated annually with the Bill Vlahos Memorial Lecture which I organize.”

Max had a stroke. He had developed a blood infection while in Mexico where he owned a home in Puerto Vallarta. He went down as often as he could. Once he was back here and in the hospital, I went to visit him. When I reached his room one of his daughters was by his bedside. “How did you get in here?” he said to me. “I am not supposed to have visitors.” “I just walked in like I knew what I was doing,” said Dr. Chronopoulos. He came out of the hospital after about three months.

He couldn’t walk very well after spending so much time in bed. He fell a couple of times but eventually he got better. He had quadruple bypass surgery a few years earlier for a leaky valve so I was sure relieved to know that he was going to be all right.

I had great hopes for my renovation company but unfortunately it was not meant to be. When we got to the big jobs (over a million each), I made a mistake and hired foremen who were used to working on smaller jobs. They tried their best but the bigger jobs required foremen with alot more experience which I did not realize. The other problem was I had so many people working for me that payroll deductions became a nightmare. There were three big jobs: New Westminster Quay, Coquitlam

272 ~ Bob Golden

and 7th avenue in Vancouver. I had the painting company from 1975 until 1996. The renovation company I had from 1996 until 2001. It took seven or eight years to clean up the mess.

The tragedy of Bill’s passing affected us all deeply. I lost my aggressive nature. I couldn’t pull myself together. It was really tough. It took me five or six months to be able to concentrate on my renovation company. If you don’t look after your business, others won’t either. That is what happened. By the time I was back on my feet, it was too late. The problems with the business were too big to rescue it from bankruptcy.

Afterwards some people came to me and told me that I had been living the good life and not paying attention to my business, but they didn’t know. Thankfully, I had a lot of good friends who helped me through those difficult times. They knew what had happened. They gave me their sympathy and respect and I am forever grateful. Now my grandkids are my wealth. It doesn’t matter if you have money or not. Family is what counts!

After Bill died I looked after my grandkids. I tried to point out to each of them how people’s lives can take unfortunate turns if they do not make the right decisions. I told them that they could wind up like the people on skid row if they were not careful. “Thank you Papou,” they all said. You have to teach kids right and wrong. Every day we have to make hundreds of decisions. The decisions we make today will affect our lives tomorrow.

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 273

When Dean was a teenager, I called Bob Golden and asked him if he could put Dean to work for the Christmas holidays. Bob was in charge of Future Store. When he got the job, I drove him down at 5:30 in the morning on Boxing Day. There was a huge line-up. “These people are waiting in line to buy things they worked hard for!” I told him. He was a big boy so they put him to work in the back moving boxes. Next, he got a job at Budget-Rent-A-Car. “Mom, I have the best job in the world.

I’m driving Mustangs and Lincolns,” he said when he called. All my grandson’s started working when they were sixteen.

I was appointed Archon with the title Hartoularios by the Archbishop for my work with the Greek community. There were only eleven people with this title in Canada at the time. Today there are thirty-seven. We are the Archbishop’s representatives. To receive that title you usually have to donate a lot of money or in my case do a lot of hard work. I didn’t pay any money. It is like being a Senator. The Greek Church likes to recognize hard work. I travelled back to Kitchener to receive the title and then I went to Montreal for a couple of days. Whenever the bishop is here, the Archons sit up front during the church service. It confirms our position in the church as dignitaries. We are not recognized as much here in Vancouver but whenever we travel back east for a special occasion, we are recognized. It is an honour.

Gordon Campbell invited me twice to his swearing in ceremonies as Premier in Victoria. The first time, I took the helijet over. I think there

274 ~ Bob Golden

were a couple of reasons why he invited his barber. When I was organizing the Gold Plate Dinners for the Hellenic Centre we invited Mayor Campbell. He knew that I was responsible for them. He was also, at the same time, one of my clients. I was cutting his hair one day. “How are things going, George?” he said. “Not so good. My son-in-law just passed away. He was a doctor. I am looking after his family now.” A tear ran down his face. Gordon Campbell’s father was a doctor who died young. Gordon was only 10 years old so he knew what it was all about. I think he wanted to do something nice for me. Once we got to know each other, I think we grew closer. When I got the invitation to Victoria, I was surprised because each MLA was only allowed two guests. The Premier could ask ten. There were his two kids, his wife and his mother. I met Peter Lake and some others on the helijet. They were all my clients at the salon. After dinner we took the heli-jet back.

I got an invitation again from Gordon, four years later. I said to my good friend, Max Fugman, whom by then I had known for thirty-five years, “I think they should invite someone else.” He didn’t say a word.

When I finished giving him his haircut he said to me, “Let’s go into your office.” “George, there are four and a half million people in British Columbia. He can invite five or six people after his family. Out of four and a half million people you are invited. Don’t you think it is a bit rude not to go?” “I just wanted other people to have the opportunity,” I said. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to make reservations on the helijet

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 275

but they could take me over but they couldn’t bring me back the same night. I would have to stay overnight and come back the next day so I took my car instead. I knew what I should do but it took a good friend to help me get my priorities straight. The swearing in ceremony was held at the Lieutenant Governor’s house. It was very grand! Gordon respected my work with the Greek community.

“George is my second grandson. He really loved sports as a young kid. I sometimes took him to his soccer games. I never got to do this with my daughters, so it was a real treat to be able to see him play.

George was a mild mannered little boy. Like any younger brother, he would follow Dean and be a willing participant in his “games”. They were like a dynamic duo. His mother would even dress them as pairs at Halloween. Like Batman and Robin, Aladdin and Abu, and Captain Hook and Peter Pan. I had a heart attack. Six stents were put in my arteries. I should be in the Guinness Book of World Records. Dr. Don Ricci was my doctor (He did the first heart transplant in Vancouver). He was very nice but tough as a truthful doctor should be. “You know, your six stents cost $18,000 but you don’t have to pay,” he says to me the day after the operation.

“Listen, do you want me to get better? You should have said, “You don’t have to pay first and then said $18,000. You almost gave me another heart attack.” Here is how it happened.

I didn’t have any energy. It started on Saturday, then it continued

276 ~ Dr. Don Ricci

through Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, I decided that I better go to my doctor, Daniel Ezekiel, and see what was wrong. He was away but the other doctor in his office looked me over and told me to go downstairs for a cardiogram but to be sure and tell them to have the results for me in the morning. I went back for the results Thursday afternoon and nothing matched my concerns. To be sure, he insisted I go for a stress test on Friday. When I got home Thursday night Helen told me that I should go straight to the hospital and not wait until Friday.

My wife had made a beautiful dinner of lamb chops (everything I didn’t need!) but I was not hungry. About midnight, my grandson, who was fifteen, kept telling me, “You go to the hospital, Papou.” Finally I said to my wife, “Let’s go! I’ll drive.” I didn’t feel anything, just down.

When we got to the hospital, they quickly put me in bed and did some tests but they couldn’t find a thing. “Check his blood.” said a very good man, Dr. Campana in the Emergency Room. In a while a nurse came in and gave me a shot. About fifteen minutes later the doctor came back.

“George, you are very lucky. Not because you had a heart attack but because you are having one now and you are here. We gave you something so you will not feel a thing.”

It’s good to have friends. About 4 a.m., Dr. Campana told my wife to go home. In the morning, I called the salon but no one answered. I called Georgio’s upstairs about 9 a.m. and told Terry I was in the hospital. Then I called Max. ”I’ll call you back,” he said. “Wait a minute,” I said.

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 277

“I am in the hospital having a heart attack.” Max was always on the go. Within twenty minutes, he was standing by my bedside (He had dropped everything). That just goes to show how good a friend he was.

Friends were coming by to wish me well. The last one was Chris Theodoropoulos, in the hallway, just before they wheeled me into the operating room.

“George, how are you?” The voice was a familar one. It was Dr. Don Ricci. I had met him a couple of times. My son-in-law knew him. It was my friend Terry though who had called him. They had both been at the same dinner party the night before so I guess he was on Terry’s mind.

“We are going to perform open heart surgery,” he said. “Are you kidding?” “No, your arteries are 90% blocked.” “Don’t misunderstand me,” I said, “I am with you one hundred percent. But, is there anything else you can do, besides the surgery?” I remembered when Max had his bypass surgery. It was not for me. He thought about it for a minute and then he said, “Yes.” He called in another doctor and they put me on a hard piece of wood. I was told to hold up my arms. After about five minutes I said, “I can’t hold them up much longer.” I could hear someone counting: 6, 8, 12, 16. They were putting stents into my arteries from down below. I was awake but I didn’t feel any pain because they froze the spot where the stents went in. No anesthetic, they just used a video screen to show an x-ray view of my beating heart. By injecting “contrast chemicals” (chemicals that turn blood vessels dark on the X-ray),

278 ~ Dean Vlahos

the doctor was able to see what he was doing. They inserted six stents into my coronary arteries. Stents are small, made of an extremely fine wire mesh. Once inside the artery they are expanded and stay in position to keep the artery open. Mine are chromium and platinum so they were very expensive ($27,000 each in the US). “How long do I have to have them?” I asked Dr. Ricci. “All your life,” he said.

We were blessed. Jaime and John gave us our first granddaughter, Markella. She is very smart and talented. Her mother had her playing the piano early and now she is taking singing lessons as well. We didn’t get to see them too often because they were in Atlanta but we were happy that they were all well and doing fine.

I cry easily. I was playing golf with my grandson Dean. He was sixteen. “Papou (Grandpa), do you know how lucky we are because we have you?” I am very sensitive. “Me too!” “You know why? I tell my friends that I play golf with my grandpa and some of their parents are as old as you.” I thought he was going to say something else. Then he says, “Where did you use to to take your kids besides McDonalds?”

“To the restaurants of course. We went to Yanni’s a lot. That is where your mom met your dad for the first time. I am very upset with my situation because I cannot give you guys what I gave my daughters.” “You know grandpa, as I grow up and get to know you better, I think if you had been able to give us the life you gave my mom, you would have spoiled us and we would not have been such good boys. I think it was

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 279

meant to be like this.” He has told me this a couple of times.” “You wanted to give us everything. You came from Greece with only $9. Look at the people you know. Look at the people you have met. Look what you do. You have met the President of the United States. You know the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Istanbul. Look at the celebrities you have met.” I could not say anything. He put me in my place. “Don’t worry. Just be alive. Be there for us. Stay healthy!” I am very happy that I have grandkids like this. The family goes to church and they send their kids to regular school and to Greek school. They speak Greek. What more could we ask for.

I had some bleeding in my nose. I was out for a walk one morning before work and that is when it started. I lay down on my back on a park bench. I didn’t have any tissue paper. A lady came along and offered me a clean pair of socks. It was all she had. I called my wife and she called my brother-in law to come and get me. He took me home. Blood was all over the place so we called an ambulance. It was even coming from my eyes. It was probably an aneurism but they were never quite sure. Two hours after I got home the bleeding started again. I was in the hospital for seven days before they sent me home the second time. I was under a lot of stress and they guessed that that had something to do with it. There was lots of pressure. I tried not to say too much to my wife because she is very sensitive. If she knew too many bad things, it would just upset her even more. It is tough when you are up and then you are down.

280 ~ Rich Coleman

As a result I started to walk downtown to the salon and I began to play more golf. I sold our house and paid off a lot of the bills. It was hard on Helen because she was so young when Bill died and she was left with three kids. We all pulled together somehow and gradually the kids got older and we dealt with it the best we could. It was too difficult for me to restart the painting and construction company because of the legalities.

I would have needed to set up a new company and I didn’t understand everything I needed to do.

Your health is so important. I have known a lot of people who have sacrificed their health in order to make money and it is not good. I still have lots I want to accomplish before I call it quits. And I will!

I met Rich Coleman (MLA for Fort Langley-Aldergrove) at a golf fundraiser for children at Northview Golf Course. It is Tony Parson’s and Neil McRae’s event. It costs $600 per person now. I have been invited a few times. Gordon Campbell played when he first became Premier.

I drove into the parking lot at the golf course, picked up my clubs and went and checked the list of tee-off times. Tony and I were together in one cart. Neil McRae and Rich Coleman were in another. I didn’t know who Rich was at the time. “Where are you from?” I asked. “I’m with the government.” “Oh, that’s nice!” And that is how I met Rich Coleman.

He was just newly elected to the government in 2002, the same year as the big fire in Kelowna.

Markella developed type one diabetes when she was only eighteen

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 281

months old. I was flying down to Atlanta at the time. Jaime was supposed to pick me up at the airport. My wife was already at their home in Atlanta. I phoned my daughter’s house and my wife answered. “You better take a taxi,” she said, “Jaime has taken Markella to the hospital.”

We found out later that she felt ill because of high blood glucose. There are a lot of people with diabetes. You just have to live with it. You have to be there and be happy for them all.

I would like to thank Helen and Andre Ioanou who were the owners of a Pharmasave downstairs in the Bentall Centre Mall. They gave my daughter Helen a job and have helped her alot over the years. Helen Ioanou has a sister named Anna whom we also got to know very well. I taught her how to play golf. She is now a member of a private club here in Vancouver. She became a very successful CEO. One time when Dr. Michael was in town we all met at our church and went out for lunch afterwards. They are all very nice people.

I guess I should have felt lucky that I was even around at the end of this decade. Voula, Helen and I were all devastated by Bill’s passing. When you lose the will to carry on, it affects everything and everyone around you. If it had not been for our grandkids, I am not sure if we would have made it through those difficult times. My troubles were emotional and then physical after my heart attack. I now try to get out and play golf every chance I get. The exercise is important. I am grateful to my golf buddies who I talk about in the next chapter for keeping me busy on

282 ~ Dr. Michael

the golf course. I am also grateful to the church for always being there and for comforting us in our hour of need. Time has helped a lot to control my wife’s MS. As with everything in life, you learn to deal with it.

If you have good friends, good family and strong beliefs, it sure helps a lot!

BAD TIMES, GOOD TIMES ~ 283

Me and Voula with Oprah Winnfrey on her visit to Vancouver. 2013

14 Mentors, Clients and Golf Buddies

Georgia Matheos my second granddaughter was born January 12, 2010. She is so cute and she knows it. She is the little one. She takes advantage of everyone. Her mother was the baby, just as my wife was the baby in her family. The baby is always the baby no matter how old they get. She copies Markella a lot. Markella takes piano and now singing lessons. All my girls took piano lessons. What more can I say?

For our 50th wedding anniversary on October 9, our kids sent us on a Mexican Riviera cruise. We went first to Cabo San Lucas where most of our time was spent shopping. Our next stop was Mazatlan. There was nothing planned in Mazatlan. They were selling timeshares nearby and someone asked, “Would you like to see a timeshare?” So they put us

286 ~ Gordon Campbell

in a taxi and drove us to a very nice place. I wanted to know how much they were but I definitely didn’t want to buy. “If you join our resort you can stay in any of our locations worldwide,” a salsman says to us.

“Do you know that Greece is the most popular tourist destination in the world,” I said, “and you don’t have any locations in Greece.” “I know, I am sorry. I wish we did.” “I have connections in Greece,” “You do?”

“Yes, my relatives have two villas. The location is first rate. It is occupied from May 1 until October 31, but it is free for the rest of the year.”

“I am very interested.” By this time he was telling me the numbers.

They were asking $65,000 for two weeks. “I can give you $27,000 each for the two villas for six months.” “No problem but I will have to phone and discuss it. I need to make sure they are still available.” “Okay then let’s make a deal.” He came down to $40,000 from $65,000. “That’s good,” I said. “For my two villas, you give me $27,000 each, that’s $54,000, less $40,000 so you owe me $14,000.” “I bring you here to sell you a timeshare and now I owe you money.” “Here is my business card,” I said. “Give me a call if you want to do it.” We went outside and he says to the taxi driver (who was waiting), “Take Mr. Chronopoulos and his wife to wherever they want to go.” Timeshare salesmen are usually quite pushy but when he found out that he had to give me money I never heard from him again.

My friend Dr. Michael phoned me from Switzerland. He told me about a stock, GQC Goldwest, which was trading at $.05. He didn’t

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 287

tell me to buy it, he just said, “George, check out this stock. Ask your broker to give you the news on Goldwest before Thursday morning.”

I didn’t do it. At first, I felt stupid but I did the right thing. I told Mr. Segal about it. “You don’t borrow money to play the market,” he says.

I never did do that. Later, I said to Mr. Segal, “Guess what happened?”

“What?” “The stock went from $.05 to $.35 to $.40, $.50, $.60. It wound up at $2.03.” It is so frustrating sometimes. Just think if I had invested $50,000. This has happened to me quite a few times.

Just before the Olympics in London, Jimmy Pattison came in. “I just got back from England. A big hello from your buddy!” “Who’s my buddy in London?” “Your name came up at lunch and he told me to say hello. Gordon!” “Oh!” I was pretty proud. Here he was, the B.C. High Commissioner to the UK, with all the things he must be doing and he thinks of me. I guess I must have made an impression!

Worrying is never a good idea! Lately though, things seem different, I don’t know what’s happening. I was talking to Mr. Segal not too long ago. “Don’t worry, something is coming along for you because you were there for us all.” When I was younger, I didn’t think much about the future but now that I am getting older, I think about it more and more. I want to give my grandkids what I gave my kids. My dad was not able to give me these luxuries but he gave me lots of other things.

My kids have all grown up to be good people. The only thing that hurts me is that I lost my first son-in-law. My other two son-in-laws are

288 ~ Dave Greenwood

very respectful and we think very highly of both of them. My grandkids respect me and my wife and their mother-in-law. They respect their families. Unfortunately, I am not in a position now to give them what I gave my kids. All three of my girls finished university. One is a pharmacist, the other a dental assistant medical secretary and Jaime a stay at home mom. Jaime stopped working when Markella was diagnosed with diabetes to care for her and now that she is becoming increasingly self sufficient she is going back into the work force. Marianna never worked as a dental assistant or medical secretary. They all have degrees: Helen’s Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy, Marianna a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in psychology and classical studies and Jaime Bachelor of Arts with a major in Geography and Bachelor of Education -- all from UBC. I was invited for my birthday by my friend, Dr. Michael to New York.

There was a stock called Timmins Gold leased to the New York Stock Exchange and I was invited to attend the ceremony. My goddaughter’s husband Alex (Peter) Tsakoumis was the VP of Timmins Gold.

I went to Montreal after New York. One of my cousins who was at my engagement party, Jimmy Rigas, had passed away the year before. I took his son and his wife to the cemetery on top of Mont Royal to light a candle. There was so much snow that we had trouble finding his grave.

His wife started clearing the snow off one grave until her son called out, “Mom, that’s not the right one. It’s over here!”

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 289

“We are a success. We all came up together,” said Jimmy Pattison to me one day. “Yes, but I didn’t make any money.” “Money is not success,” he says, “You were there in the beginning. You had the money, you made the money. You had money before I did. How many people could do what you have done? How many people could buy what you have bought? How many people do you know? Anybody I talk to, you already know them.” I guess he is right. Jimmy Pattison believes in luck.

Joe Segal doesn’t believe in luck. Mr. Segal says, “You work for your good luck and you work for your bad luck.”

“George, you are half my age,” Mr. Segal said to me one day. “I would give half my fortune to be your age.” “That would be very expensive.” “What do you mean?” “How old do you think I am?” He didn’t want to say. “How old?” “Only eleven years younger than you.” “Oh, I didn’t know that.” He thought I was sixty-five. I am not sure if he was just trying to make me feel better. I was 77 and he was 88. “I don’t think you want to give up half your fortune for only eleven years.”

Dave Greenwood, a member of the Rotary Club, came in for a haircut. “I am sending medical supplies to third world countries,” he said.

“Greece is not a third world country,” I said, “but could we send some supplies to Greece?” “Sure.” I like getting on the telephone and helping people out. I called my nephew, Nick Rigas, who is a doctor in Greece.

We decided to send a fifteen ton container of supplies worth just under a half million. We sent beds, wheelchairs, crutches (slightly used) plus

290 ~ Tom Andanopoulos

80,000 needles, syringes and gauze which were all brand new. The list was nine pages long. World Vision was involved. We sent the list to those in charge of the hospital in Kalamata. “Just send whatever you like,” they said. “We can use anything you send.” They sent me a confirmation on their letterhead. Nick told me there was another hospital in Athens called KAT. I talked to a doctor (Tom Andanopoulos) who was in charge. He was a real gentleman. Dave agreed to send two containers.

I raised enough money to cover the shipping costs to Kalamata through my good friend Chris Theodoropoulos. The shipping costs for the container to Athens was covered by Nick Segouis, Gary Averbach and Fred Strumpski. The medical supplies were donated by the Rotary Club.

Long story short we think someone tampered with the container we sent to Kalamata. The shipment to Athens arrived without any problems.

They sent me photos of the equipment set up in the hospital. At Christmas my cousin checked with both hospitals. The hospital in Athens still had enough supplies to last two years. The hospital in Kalamata was out of supplies. The Rotary and World Vision are looking into the problem.

At least one of the hospitals benefited from our efforts.

Mr. Pattison called me. “Hi George, this is Jimmy. I have two tickets for you and your wife to go see Oprah on Thursday.” I didn’t expect a call from him because I had just seen him the week before. “Opera?”

“Ya.” “Can I talk to my wife to see if she is feeling okay?” “Sure.” I called my wife. “Mr. Pattison has two tickets for us to join him and his

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 291

family at the opera.” “Opera, you remember the last time we were there you wanted to leave in the middle.” “Ya, but I turned him down for something else so I don’t want to say no.” “Okay, if you want to go we go.” I called my daughter Helen and told her. “Which opera?” she asked. “I don’t know.” I picked up the tickets from Maureen (Mr. Pattison’s assistant) and walked back to see Helen at the pharmacy in the Bentall Centre. I handed the envelope to Helen. “Take a look and tell me which opera we are going to see.” She opened the envelope. “Dad, you are going to see Oprah Winfrey.” “Take me, take me,” cried all the girls in the drugstore. When Mr. Pattison came in I told him the story and we had a nice laugh.

Markella was invited by the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation to attend a research announcement at UBC. I don’t know how many kids were invited. She was asked to go because she was interested in eventually becoming a JDRF Youth Ambassador (which she recently became).

Their picture was taken for JDRF promotional purposes and included the president of JDRF and the researchers from UBC working on human clinical trials. She is feeling okay! At age four or five she could check her own blood sugar levels. She would tell her mom her sugar level and her mom would tell her which foods to eat.

As I said, since my heart attack I have tried to play a lot more golf.

I usually play with Tony Parsons. I have known Tony since 1978. One time Tony asked me to play golf and I said, “No, I can’t play, I am

292 ~ Max Fugman

busy.” Another guy called me and asked me the same thing. I gave him the same answer. Later, I called Tony back and said, “It looks like I can go.” “We are first off in the morning,” he said.” When I arrived, the other guy was there. He saw me with Tony. “Oh, you would rather play with Tony than with me?” “Don’t be a fool.” I said. We were all surprised.

Max had a second stroke. I came down on Sundays and took him out for breakfast. We dropped bagels off on Mr. Segal’s doorstep like we did in the old days. I was surprised when he had his second stroke because he seemed to be feeling quite well. After a couple of months they moved him into Louis Brier (care home and hospital).

Many times I visited him there. “Take me out! We’ll go for lunch,” he would say to me. “No, I can’t do that. Only family can take you out and I am not family.” He was in a wheel chair. A couple of times I met him and Margaret at Kaplan’s Deli across the street. One day I wheeled him down the hall to a big window and we stayed there for a few minutes looking outside. We didn’t know what to say. “George, that’s life!” he said all of a sudden. “Ya, Max.” I looked at him and he put his head down and started crying. I couldn’t hold it either and I started crying.

“Come on Max,” I said. I stayed for awhile and gave him a haircut. We were both uncomfortable. It was very sad. His wife had brought all their bedroom furniture to make it feel more like home, as well as some family pictures. He was only three months older than me.

Eventually he went back to the hospital. I saw his family there one

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 293

time. He had seven kids. I walked back with his brother, Jack. He was gone in a few days. On May 14 I made it to the hospital and told him I would be right back. It was voting day and I had to go vote. I walked from the General Hospital to 4th & Macdonald. His brother called me before I got back and told me he had died. I have made that walk a couple of times since and I always remember Max. We had some great times together.

I went to the gala for Mr. Segal at the Vancouver Convention Centre on June 4, 2013. It was to celebrate the life and achievements of one of the city’s most accomplished businessmen and philanthropists. The reception was at 5:30 and dinner was at 6:30. Almost everyone was there. It finished about 11:45. Paul Anka was the guest singer. Joe’s son, Lorne, texted me the invitation about two weeks earlier when I was having lunch in the Hyatt with a lawyer. “George, if you sit at their table, it is kind of bragging. If you sit at my table, I will pay for a table.”

“But I am invited by them.” I didn’t want to lose the sale. It was $5,000 per table. “Okay,” I said, “I will sit at your table.” I demoted myself from a $50,000 table to a $5,000 table. It didn’t really make any difference. The only thing was if I had sat closer to the head table, I might have met Paul Anka again. There were fifteen hundred people there. It was all very impressive. The food was great, filet mignon. Paul Anka was great.

I should be in better shape because I play so much golf. Last

294 ~ Graham MacLachlan

Tuesday October 1, Tony called me up. “George, it’s going to rain tomorrow (We usually play golf every Wednesday morning). Thursday should be a better day.” No problem. About two hours later Graham MacLachlan, the President of the Royal Bank came down to my salon from upstairs. “How about playing golf tomorrow?” “I think it is going to rain.” “I think the afternoon will be okay. Another banker has his client and you are my friend so that makes four.” “Okay!” I am entitled to get Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning off after forty-nine years. The next day, Wednesday, it was really pouring. I tried to reach Mr. MacLachlan but could not. Golf is golf. If you give your word you have to be there. At five after one I was at Shaughnessy Golf Course. In a couple of minutes he showed up. “Are we on?” I asked. “Yes.” “But it’s raining!” I thought we would have a couple of drinks and then go home. Usually, when it is raining golfers go inside for a couple of drinks and wait for the weather to improve. They let us go from the tenth hole because the first nine were too wet. I played a bad game. The other three guys played well but they were all thirty-five years younger than me. I do not play well in bad weather. When we finished, we went to the lounge for a couple of lattes, some wine and then dinner. The only problem was I had to keep my word with Tony for the next morning. At Shaughnessy I walked, pulling my cart. The next morning I met Tony at the golf course. He always arrives before me. We played eighteen holes.

Between Wednesday and Thursday I walked about sixteen kilometres.

MENTORS, CLIENTS AND GOLF BUDDIES ~ 295

It was only on the last few holes on the second day that I was really getting tired. Not bad for 79!

It’s been a busy week! I sometimes think I should have bought a golf course, I am playing so much golf. I got a text message from Kuku Batra. “Nine-thirty tomorrow morning tee time, Semiahmoo in the States.

If you can make it, please call.” I texted him, “No thank you.” He has brought a lot of friends to me over the years. A little earlier, I had received a telephone call from Chris Van Zeist who manages Jones, a big fashion company in New York. “Our friend from Victoria, Moustafa, is coming. Tee time is one-thirty at Point Roberts.” I told him, “No.” After a couple of hours, I thought maybe I could make it. The weather was improving. I texted him back. “All right, if there is still an opening let me know.” He texted me back at midnight (he was at a movie). “Yes.” The next morning he texts me back again. “Can you pick me up?” That was a problem. My grandson wanted my car. My daughter was with her other son in the States. My other daughter’s car was here but I could not find the keys. “If you pick me up, I play. If you don’t, I can’t play,” I said. They picked me up and I had a golf game on Sunday too. Today is Wednesday, October 9. I didn’t play with Tony today because I am tired.

Besides, it is my 53rd Wedding Anniversary and we will do something special tonight.

This morning my old friend George Vastardis called to wish me a happy anniversary. “I am coming down for a haircut and then I would

296 ~ Glen Clark

like to have lunch with you to celebrate your anniversary.” “Fine.” He came, I gave him a haircut and then we went upstairs to the restaurant in the Hyatt. Nobody knew it was my anniversary but they know me very well after forty years. We ordered lunch and when we asked for the bill they said, “It is paid.” They do that for me quite often. Over the years, I have had many anniversaries and weddings upstairs because it is so convenient. It is very nice. I told the manager, “That lunch was for my 53rd wedding anniversary.”

On October 16, 2013, Jimmy Pattison opened his aquarium in Toronto. “When are you going to open in Toronto?” I had asked him the week before. “We were supposed to open in September but we were held up waiting for licenses. It will be in October.” “You told me you were going to England, New Delhi, Mongolia. Are you going on a commercial airline?” “Not this time, I am going in my own plane. This is a different kind of trip. It will only be for ten days. After one or two days, what am I going to do?” It is like us taking our car to Seattle. He and I talk about lots of things. He is a good friend. He is 85 years old. Everyone knows.

One time I hung a photo of Jimmy Pattison over a photo of John Reynolds up on my wall. “Oh, you put a picture of everyone whose hair you cut up on your wall?” Jimmy said when he saw it. “No, I just put yours there to remind me to ask you something.” “What?” “I want you to ask Glen Clark to come in for a hair transplant.” “How about me?”

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“No, it is too late for you. You don’t have enough merchandise” (Hairlines need to be high for a hair transplant). He understood what I meant.

He is a businessman. “Glen has never been in my salon. I have cut the hair of every Premier since W.A.C. Bennett except Clark and Barrett.”

I went over to Joe Segal’s house Sunday because I heard that he had fallen. A couple of weeks before, I had dropped off some bagels on his doorstep. He had gone to see a friend in Kerrisdale and slipped on their carpet. He hurt his neck and nose and was in the hospital for a week.“Why did you leave the bagels on my doorstep and not come in?” he said when I phoned him to see how he was feeling. I reminded him that Max and I used to do it all the time. “All right, can you send someone to give me a haircut?” “No, I will come personally.” “Okay, I’ll call you and give you a time.” He called me and we set up an appointment for Sunday morning at half past ten. I went over. He lives in a beautiful house on Belmont Avenue. He moved there twenty years ago. His property stretches all the way down to Spanish Banks. I have been there many times. Once he gave my wife a tour of his house. There is even an elevator. He has a huge swimming pool and an underground parking lot for ten or fifteen cars. It is huge. He made his money in the old days in the fashion industry. He has given back a lot, $12 million for a new mental health centre at Vancouver General Hospital and lots of charities.

Sometimes people think I am bragging but I like to say good things about my clients. On August 29,1969 when Rocky Marciano died, I

298 ~ Nick Panos

was in Greece. I was in a cafe with some friends and we heard about it on the television. “Oh my god, Rocky Marciano has died,” I said.

“I just gave him a haircut. He gave me his autograph on the back of a picture of Paul Anka that I had.” “George, we know you don’t lie but don’t you think that is quite a coincidence?” “That is just the way it is, guys. Celebrities and important people drop by all the time.” In the early 1970s, Jules Leger, the Governor General of Canada, came in for a haircut. A lot of the time I can’t even tell my relatives when a public figure is coming in for security reasons. The other day I saw someone well known on T.V. “Do you know him?” Someone asked. “I think I do. I do not always know their names but I remember their faces. That is what I do downtown, give people haircuts. A lot of my clients happen to be well known. What should I do, lie and say, “No, I do not know them.” The other day when Jimmy Pattison came in I had just finished cutting the hair of my friend Nick Panos (of Omega Travel). He says to Mr. Pattison, “Hello, Mr. Pattison, I’m Nick. I remember you when I was working at the Fraser Arms Hotel in the 1960s.” He is going to go and tell everyone that he met Jimmy Pattison here in my barber shop.

It is not bragging, it is true, it happened. It is just the way it is. A few years ago, before he had his problems, Conrad Black came in. I didn’t know who he was. Then I realized that the man sitting waiting for him was Peter Newman, the writer. I put two and two together.

Another death in the family, so to speak. A good friend of mine

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died over the Christmas holidays, Ted Turton. He was my stock broker so I went to his funeral. I met Ted in the 1960s. He started Hemsworth & Turton in 1950 and then in 1968 he brought Peter Brown in as a partner and called the new firm Canarim Investment Corporation (the predecessor of present day Canaccord). In 1963 his daughter and my daughter were both six months old. One day we visited Lou Wolfin (Lou Black’s partner). Lou had invited us and Ted and his wife to a barbecue at his house. Me, the little Greek boy from Militsa, thought a barbecue was for roasting lamb but it wasn’t, it was for hamburgers. He had an Olympic size swimming pool. We ate, drank and swam. I considered myself not a bad swimmer so I dived in. All of a sudden my ear filled up with water. It was okay at first but by the time I got home it was so painful that I had to go down to St. Paul’s Hospital to get the water out. When Lou Black gave me the 10,000 shares (see page 64), Ted was my broker.

Ted was my client for many years but then he left to go to Winnipeg. “I learned everything I know from Ted,” Peter Brown said in his speach at Ted’s funeral. It was Mr. Brown who told me of his passing. After the funeral Peter invited a bunch of us to Shaughnessy Golf Course for a nice reception. Everything was first class. I remember after we bought our house in Mackenzie Heights my wife cooked a nice dinner and we invited Ted and his wife over. Nice guy!

I’ve know Mel Zajac for a long time. I received some brochures regarding a point-of-sales company called Swipe for Kids. If you use

300 ~ Mel Zajac

their point-of-sales terminal, they donate a percentage to a charity of your choice. I figured if I could get one of my buddies to try it and it worked, it might mean millions for a local charity. I told John Reynolds about it and he suggested I tell David Aisenstat (Keg Restaurants).

“Did you get a hold of David yet?” asked John the other day. I told him that he was busy negotiating a deal in London, England so I thought I would talk to my friend Mel Zajac. I haven’t heard back from Mel yet.

We will see!

“I remember in the old days you used to use an abacus before there were computers,” I said to Jimmy Pattison the other day. “George, your memory is so sharp.” “I am glad it still is because I have started to write a book.” “Oh that’s nice. Who is the writer?” “You know him, Chris from the band.” “Oh yes, he is good.” We talked for a while. Afterwards he started to relax. When he first comes in he is still thinking about his work. It takes him a while to relax. I talk a lot. Sometimes, if he doesn’t want to talk anymore, he says, “Pardon me?” as if he didn’t hear me.

Then I know it is time to stop.

When I hear how my three grandsons are now doing things on their own, taking responsibility for their own lives, it reminds me of myself when I was their age. I always had to think ahead about what to do, just like they are doing now. I was on my own since grade four in Pilos. I am very proud of what I have accomplished. I was able to stay clean in many ways. A sixteen year old bachelor alone in Athens could have

MENTORS, GOLF BUDDIES AND CLIENTS ~ 301

gotten into a lot of trouble. I was always busy with my job, the army, then more jobs. Even when I came to Canada, my English was not very good and it still isn’t but I have always kept busy.

I am so lucky that all my grandkids get along. They all care for each other and look out for each other, even for the little ones who run the show. This for sure is a blessing.

Tony Parsons and I have played golf together for twenty years. You must like someone if you play golf with them for that long. We are only competitive in the sense that we always encourage each other to play better. Tony is a nice, quiet guy who always laughs at my jokes. He has been the MC for our gold plate dinners, many times. He does a lot of charity work. Tony received the Queen’s Jubilee Award, partly for his charity work at Shaughnessy Golf Course. Tony insisted that I should write this book. “George, you have to get someone to write your stories down,” he kept telling me. I thank Tony for that as well. He retired last week and has moved back to Victoria. We are both going to miss our weekly golf games every Wednesday morning.

I am so grateful that Voula has been by my side for fifty-four years.

She probably has her complaints and I probably have a few, but that is only normal. She is a great cook. She can still remember what she cooked for people when they came over years ago. For her to put up with me for so long is a miracle. If there had never been any bad words between us, wouldn’t life have been boring? I only feel bad that I can

302 ~ Mr. Pattison

no longer give her the things I used to give her so many years ago.

Women need security. Now our security is our kids. My wife has given everything to her kids. So have I. For a while our kids looked after us and we got to see our grandkids all the time. We all lived together in a large house on the west side of town. It was all very nice and convenient because we had lots of support and we saw everyone all the time. Voula and I have always been surrounded by family which has always been nice.

Everything changes. A few months ago Voula and I moved into our own apartment in Kerrisdale and we love it. This is the first time that we have truly been on our own for a very long time. Everyone still comes over to visit but when they all leave we have lots of time to ourselves which is the way it should be. The family is growing up and they have their own lives, well, maybe not Georgia and Markella just yet.

So far, this decade has been one of reflection, on old friends passing and on the changing economic times. The Victoria Chinese Restaurant in the mall had a fire last September and has yet to reopen. It is supposed to re-open in the spring. People liked to pop in for a quick style and cleaning up before meeting their friends at the restaurant. My business still keeps me here, at least for the time being and I still enjoy seeing everyone.

Mr. Pattison arrived back in town last Saturday from a trip. He had to meet fifty people on his boat and needed a haircut so he started calling

MENTORS, GOLF BUDDIES AND CLIENTS ~ 303

me at the salon at 8:15 a.m. Between 8:15 a.m. and 9:00 a.m he called eight times. Finally one of my stylists, Laura, came in just as he called again. “Find out when George can take me because I need to be somewhere at 11 a.m.” I was still at home. I was having trouble finding my car keys because my grandson borrowed them the night before. “Tell Mr. Pattison to come any time between 9:30 and 10 a.m.” I told Laura when she called. “No, no you have a 9:45 appointment.” “Okay, tell him to be there at 9:30 or 9:35.” “So which will it be, 9:30 or 9:35?”

Mr. Pattison said when she called. She didn’t know what to tell him. He wanted to beat me here and was having some fun with her. So he arrives at 9:25. I had come at 9:24 1/2, thirty seconds ahead of him. Just as I hung up my jacket, he walked in. “I beat you!” I said. “Why didn’t you call me at home?’ I asked. “Okay, let me put you in my Blackberry here between the big boys. B for Buffett, C for Chronopoulos and G for Gates. When he was sitting in the chair I could see over his shoulder and sure enough they were both there!

I am so grateful to all my loyal clients who continue to drop by: John Reynolds, Bob Golden, George Vastardis, Jack Fugman, Tom Larscheid, Peter Brown (who has always been extremely loyal), Craig Sturrock (he helped me a lot), Mike Jones, the Honourable Judge Bryan K. Davies, Dr. Mark Schonfeld (President of Langbury Holdings Ltd.), Mr. Justice Bruce I. Cohen of the Supreme Court of B.C., Anastas Maragos, Peter Kletas, Fred Strumpski, Ken Liebscher, Sid Fattedad (who has

304 ~ Ted Turton

just written his own book about Canadian Airlines) and everyone else.

Thousands of people have passed through my salons over the years so you will forgive me if I have left anyone out. Some have died: my dear friends Max Fugman, Roy Cantor, Buddy Herman and Ted Turton.

Life has not turned out exactly the way I wanted but I have done all right. I am not done yet. I never know who will be the next person to walk through that door. To quote Mr. Segal, “Something might be just around the corner.” I have spent my whole life meeting people. I don’t think that I am quite ready to stop just yet.

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1984 Lake Tahoe

15 A Wonderful Life - Concluding observations by George’s biographer Christopher Best

“George, I think you are the richest man in town,” I said after he had finished telling me all his stories. It was very clear to me what his life had been all about.

You have a gift, the most wonderful gift in the world. You have been a big influence on so many people’s lives that it is hard to know where to begin. You know more people than anyone else I know. You give them something and they get something back from knowing you. It is not easy to put into words. Call it friendship, inspiration, hope. All these people in the stories that you have shared all love and respect you. They would not have remained your loyal friends over the years and invited

308 ~ Gus Lloyd

you to their houses, banquets and parties if they had not thought so highly of you.

“You have been there for us all over the years,” said Jimmy Pattison.

“You have done a lot. Who could do what you have done, bought what you have bought. Everyone that I meet has already met you.” Your being there for the people who have come in and out of your life over the years has meant a lot to them all, whether they have stopped to realize it or not. If you find that hard to believe, just think what their lives might have been like had you not been there for them.

A lot of people would be much poorer. Gus Lloyd may never have opened the first gay club in Vancouver, had you not been there to start the Bouzouki Coffee House with him. If you had not paid off Tony Farina’s gambling debts to the Vegas mob, he may have wound up in some alley with his arms and legs broken. Because you didn’t buy CJOR, Jimmy bought it and was able to promote his car dealership on Main Street. Who knows how not buying CJOR might have changed his rise in the business world? If you believe that everything happens or doesn’t happen for a reason, then what you didn’t do has just as great an effect as what you did do. Dr. Papadopoulos would not have gotten that $200,000 loan from your bank manager, Mike Rogers, nor would he have been able to purchase the four buildings in Tukwila. If Richard Brownlee had not purchased the properties he bought with you as his partner, he might not have gone on to other successes.

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 309

You employed a lot of people: All the barbers you have hired over the fifty years that you have had your salons, the painters and construction workers you gave a job to in your painting and renovation companies, the two painters you helped get up on their feet when they first arrived in Vancouver, the staff in your restaurants and the list goes on and on. You started a painting business (which you knew nothing about) so these two painters would have jobs. When your Seymour Street salon closed, you sold the business and gave the money to your employees because you wanted them to have some money in their pocket.

You helped a lot of people. Your immediate family may not have prospered without the help you gave them (nor even be here if it had not been for you). Once you were a success in Vancouver, you brought your younger sister Antonia over. Then you brought your brother Kostas over from Greece and trained him to be a barber and gave him a job. Later on you sponsored your father and your mother to come to Canada. You brought your eldest sister Voula to Vancouver after her husband Tom died. You helped three of your wife’s brothers buy a restaurant on west 41st Avenue.

You are a hero to many. Helen, Marianna and Jaime regard you as their hero or if they don’t, they certainly should. You have been a big help to them all their lives. Besides providing for them when they were younger, as any parent does, when it came time for university, you paid for their education and provided for them until they were either married

310 ~ Gerry Kaldis

or working full time. You paid for a lavish luxury hotel wedding for each with 400 to 500 invited guests, as well as extras. Later you wanted to buy them their own business, a drugstore. When Helen’s husband Bill died you looked after her and their family. You helped them sell their house, sold your own house and bought a larger house on the west side of town so you could all live together. You looked after them for six years until your daughter was well enough to move on.

Poor to some degree is a state of mind. Before I started doing interviews for my books (over 100 interviews in the past 25 years), I never realized how little money my family actually had while I was growing up. I never thought of our family as poor. If your only measurement for poor is how much money you have, then you could say we were poor.

But when I think of my life growing up, I never felt we were poor.

We didn’t have much money but that was just the way it was. When I decided to go to university, I knew that I would have to work and earn the money. My parents could not afford to send me to university. It was never an issue. When I thought about getting married, I knew it would not be a lavish wedding. If I had wanted that, I would have had to find a girl with a father like George but I didn’t think that way. I realized that I would need to wait, put myself through university, get a good job and then get married, if that is what I still wanted to do and that is exactly what I did! I feel I had a rich and wonderful childhood because it was always full of caring and loving people.

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 311

Your Gold Plate Dinners have benefited a lot of people. The Gold Plate Dinners you started at the Hellenic Centre in 1977 have been held each year now for 37 years. They have raised over $3 million. The money has been used to purchase housing for the needy in Vancouver and for other projects. Once you started the first Gold Plate Dinner, other Hellenic communities across Canada followed your example and started their own Gold Plate Dinners. Today they are viewed as the most important fund raiser in the Greek community.

You have raised money for others. On many occasions you sold tables at fundraisers for Joe Segal, John Cleghorn (CEO of Royal Bank) and others. They all benefited from your efforts. Each table you sold raised thousands of dollars for needy causes.

Your friends have benefited from knowing you. Gerry Kaldis’ sons, Gus and Alex, would not have been able to buy their first restaurant had you not helped them out with the loan. Your friend Monty would not have profited from the condos you sold him in San Antonio. George Vastardis and Labros Stassinopoulos would not have profited when you gave them your shares in another condo project in San Antonio. Paul Clough would not have known to offer car service to his Impark customers if you had not told him about the opportunity (He might have found out on his own but who knows).

You were always thinking of others. Isn’t it true, George, that the real reason you did not move to San Antonio in the 1970s was because you

312 ~ Mike Rogers

didn’t want to put all the people who worked for you out of a job. They were people who depended on you for their livelihood. The barbers at the Royal Riviera and the painters in your painting company all depended on you. You put them ahead of your own best interests, something you have been doing all your life.

You have always been of strong character: You were always brave and followed your heart, always putting church and family first. You treated everyone the same. You knew how to promote yourself and others. You believed in yourself and you believed in others. You always tried to help others and you always kept your standards high.

You set goals and followed them through. Although you had only been in Vancouver a short time, you felt confident enough to go into debt and buy a property with Gus Lloyd on Richards Street. Instead of copying an already successful business model, you opened the first Greek nightclub in town, the Bouzouki Coffee House. You were always an innovator and not afraid to try new things. Then you opened your first hair salon, the Riviera on Seymour. You loved all the people, from the high rollers to the down-and-outers, who entered your shop. You were perceptive but not judgmental. Everyone had a story to tell and you wanted to hear them all. In time, their stories became your stories.

You also opened a second salon on the lower level of the Hyatt Hotel.

You created your own luck. When opportunity presented itself, you were ready to seize it. You were down in Seattle checking out proper

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 313

ties with your bankers, Mike Rogers and Jerry Young before Dr. Papadopoulos had finished making you his offer. Likewise, when Richard Brownlee asked you to go to San Antonio, this put you both on the road to success as you bought condo units left, right and center. You made your Seattle venture seem like child’s play. You saw everyone you met as a potential opportunity that deserved nurturing. Howard Cantrell was your biggest opportunity but you soon discovered that little problems could soon turn into big problems which could set you back rather than propel you forward towards your goals.

Family was always in the forefront. When your parents decided you would not become a mechanic because the mechanic in their factory was killed, you respected their wishes. Your dad said you should become a barber and that was fine with you because you respected your father. When you felt it was time for you to leave Greece, it was only after your father gave his blessing that you felt free to leave.

You lived a proactive lifestyle. When the stock which Lou Black gave you went up to $20,000, you happily cashed it in and bought your first house in Mackenzie Heights. You knew what you wanted. You followed a proactive course that you had set for yourself. If you had been a reactive person, you would have gone to Lou Black and his partner Lou Wolfin and asked them what you should do before cashing in your stocks. You had one daughter by now and another one on the way and you needed a house of your own. The house was in Mackenzie

314 ~ Lou Black

Heights where eventually a lot of wealthy Greeks would live. It was exactly where you wanted to be.

You treated everyone the same. It didn’t matter if they were good guys, bad guys, Greeks, Jewish, CEO’s or the guy next door. It didn’t matter who came through the door of your salon, the most important person to you was the person sitting in your barber’s chair. This is one of the reasons you got along with everyone. Many of them became your friends and you loved being the one who brought them all together. Soon, people would come to you for introductions to other people whom you knew. People would send others to you for a helping hand because you knew everyone. You had contacts in many places. If you could not help them, you could introduce them to someone who could. “You know everyone I know,” Jimmy Pattison once said. “In fact, when I meet someone new, they already know you.” Before long you found yourself with several lifelong friends: Joe Segal, Max Fugman, Syd Belzberg, Irving Kates, Maury Wosk, Sid Golden, Jimmy Pattison. Being in the center of the action was the role you most cherished and the place you wanted to be. You became a provider to all, almost a Twentieth century Figaro, in fact, a “factotum della città.”

You were a great promoter. You realized early on that you would need to promote yourself. You had lots of mentors such as Lou Black and Lou Wolfin. You took it upon yourself to go out to places like Hastings Park just to hand out business cards and you always handed out business

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 315

cards at the salon. You let yourself be guided by others (some call it luck), like the time you went down to the Lions’ office on Seymour and Herb Capozzi congratulated you on being the 20,000th person through the door (which was a set-up). You became an endearing figure on the Vancouver scene in the 1960s with your good looks, amiable personality, natural charm and enthusiasm and even your broken English. Greeksounding worked both for you and against you but I would say mostly for you because it meant that you didn’t come on too strong with people who might otherwise be scared off. It gave you a humble, unpretentious quality so that tough guys like Dave Davies and Jimmy Hill felt inclined to call you “kid.” Others like Murray Pezim and Ted Turton (both “Howe Street” boys) would take you under their wing. You knew some of the biggest promoters Vancouver has ever seen. You not only knew them you learned from them all. You could often be seen at the Cave Supper Club with Ken Stauffer, the owner. He would introduce you to the stars and you would invite them to drop by for a haircut whenever they were in town. You even saw your youngest daughter Jaime’s baptism party as a way to promote your businesses.

You always believed in yourself. You never let people push you around. As early as Koroni in 1949, when your teacher lied to your dad, you made the decision not to return to school because your teacher was wrong. You didn’t let anyone tell you what to do in Montreal either. You married the person you wanted to marry and not someone your rela-

316 ~ Tony Farina

tives chose. You set a proactive course for the future. You were never reactive. You decided what you wanted to do in your life rather than let someone else decide for you. When the guy came into the Riviera on Seymour and started bad-mouthing the barber who had last cut his hair, you kicked him out. You told him it was your shop and your choice not to cut his hair. That showed strength of character and a confidence which he was not expecting. What did he do? He said, “George, you put me in my place.” When another guy came in and called you a DP you did the same thing, you confronted him head on. When you found out what DP (displaced person) meant you told him never to do it again and he backed down and respected you for it. When John Cleghorn asked you why you had not told him you could sell seats for his fundraiser you let him have it with both barrels. What did he do? He respected you for it and after he left Vancouver, he dropped in to see you whenever he was back in town. When the chef at the Avenue Grill confronted you a second time for a raise you stood your ground and told him if he wanted to stay, never to ask you again for a raise. You went even further and reminded him that Vancouver was very small and people talk. His reputation would catch up with him if he wasn’t careful. You always displayed a great sense of character which made people respect you more and more.

You believed in people. You were always helping others. When your partner Tony Farina came to you after they shut his place down you

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 317

gave him a job and forgave him for disrespecting you and stealing four of your barbers. When you painted your own buildings in Seattle you did not charge your partners. You painted the buildings at cost. When one of your employees asked if he could charge some building materials to your account you said, “No problem.” Because you believed in people you never imagined he would order $25,000 worth of material and never pay you back.

You always kept high standards. You never wanted to let anyone down. “We were never asked back to do a painting job twice,” you said, “because we did such a good job the first time.” While others were more interested in profit, you were interested in providing the best service possible for your customers. When Joe Segal and others came to you to help with their fundraising activities in later life, you approached the job with as much enthusiasm and excitement as you did when you bought your first condo in Seattle. Why? You didn’t want to let your friend Mr. Segal down and I don’t believe you ever did. You were always there for your golf buddies if they called you to meet for a round of golf. Even if you had had a busy week or had played golf several times already that week, you would always oblige them. Why? You didn’t want to let them down. I have been with you in your salon on several occasions when someone has called and ask you to fit them in for an appointment and you have always tried to help them. I have felt bad a couple of times

318 ~ Greek Archbishop of Canada, Sotirios

because one or two have wanted to come by at that precise moment but you said no because you were talking to me. Why? You didn’t want to make me feel inferior.

The role you have cherished most in life, George, is that of the provider. You have been a provider to many. Like your father before you, you provided for your immediate family: Voula, Helen, Marianna and Jaime. You provided for your brother and sisters and parents in later life by bringing them all to Canada and helping them get started on a new life. Whoever came to you wanting something they were not disappointed. You loved being in the role of the provider. The list is endless: Dr. Papadopoulos, Richard Brownlee, the painters Steve and Tom, Gus and Alex in San Francisco, Max, Syd and Irving Kates when they said they wanted to help you start a fundraiser for the Greek community. You didn’t think your English was good enough but you didn’t want to let them down, so you gave it a try. Boy, did you give it a try! It is now the most successful fund-raiser the Greek community has ever seen. Not only in Vancouver but all across Canada Hellenic Centres have copied your idea. And with your two hair salons you provided steady work for countless barbers over the years.

Even the Greek church has recognized your contributions. You were made an Archon and given the title of Hartoularios for helping others through your fundraising efforts. For many years you have been a personal friend of the Greek Archbishop of Canada, Sotirios. When you

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 319

were invited to New York the Archbishop helped you get the best seats possible for the inuaguration ceremony of the new Ecumenical Patriarch of New York.

George, some of your friends would like to reminisce and tell you themselves just how much your friendship has meant to them over the years: Jimmy Pattison “Hi George, this is Jimmy. We have known each other for a long time.

I just wanted to say that no one could ever find a more loyal friend than you. Even though I did not come down [to your shop] for a few years, we picked up right where we left off and we renewed our friendship. I would also like to say that I have always admired your commitment to your family. I know you hold your family in the highest esteem: your wife and girls and your grandchildren. And your memory. What I would give to have your memory! You remember details like no one else. I do not know how you do it but keep it up, old friend, and congratulations on your book!”

320 ~ Joe Segal

Joe Segal “Hi, George, Joe here. George, you were the kind of individual that was like the fulcrum in the community. All the guys would come to you to get their hair cut. You had all the stories. You knew everybody in the community who had a problem, who didn’t have a problem, everyone who had a problem with his wife, everybody who had a problem with his business. George, you had all the history. You have had a lot of tough breaks over the years. I have known you, George, for many years.

I went to your kids’ weddings. You went through the tragedy of losing a son-in-law at a young age. The one thing about you though, George, is you have always had a sense of responsibility towards your family. You have made a lot of sacrifices along the road, a lot of sacrifices to keep your family together. If the question were, “Is the family the priority or am I the priority?” you would always do it for the family. There was a great deal of personal sacrifice on your part over the years.

You were young, you came from Greece. Being a barber is like being a writer or an accountant. You have your limitations. You can only be as good as what you can produce with your own hands. And you are only as good as what you can produce in a limited number of hours. That was the limitation. I think, George, in your younger years you were probably capable of accomplishing a hell of a lot more than being a barber but you got locked in. As you got more responsibility you had less

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flexibility. Then you started to lose the ability to pursue what you were capable of. That was the problem.

George, you never had the privilege of using your ability to the fullest. You could have been an even more successful businessman. But what you did coming over from Greece without the language and without a lot of money, now that is impressive. If you had been born here and had had parents who taught you the way around you would have had a big advantage over someone who was a total stranger when they came here. George, I think you could have gone a long way if you had had the breaks. But, in spite of it, you have retained your dignity and your positive attitude and your compassion and your caring. That is half of what makes a man. (If you have a choice to develop that kind of reputation or to make a lot of money and be a bastard on the other, then you follow the path that leads to good.) You have done that and that’s why I respect you.

No matter what your stature is in life you can have a lot of money and be very lonely. You can have a little money and have a lot of friends.

The objective, of course, is to have both. But money is a commodity and if you don’t use it, it isn’t worth anything. So if you have a mountain of money and you put it under your mattress what does that achieve? But if you take it and invest it or you help others then at least there has been a purpose. I come across many people. When you come across someone who is sincere it has a ring to it. And George, you have always been a

322 ~ Graham MacLachlan

sincere, straightforward individual who has always rung true. I know you are very proud of it too!

I remember when you were involved in the development of the new Greek church on Arbutus Street. I used to drive by it on my way to my home on SW Marine. They used to have a big grey stone out front identifying the church. It reminded me of a tombstone in the cemetery.

It should have been more celebratory. I would debate these things with you, George. But you were always a good guy. You’re getting on in years. Your 79 now! Age is what you make of it. You can’t stop the clock. You are still vibrant.

My memories of you, George, are from a personal viewpoint not a social viewpoint. I have known you through many of your friends. Max Fugman was a very good friend of yours and that caused me to respect you. As you know, I was never one of the boys. I lived a very sedate life. I looked after my business. I always respected you George. Your integrity is unquestionable.

Graham MacLachlan “Hi, George, Graham MacLachlan (regional president for the RBC Royal Bank). When I first started to go to your barbershop, George, I had my hair cut by a lady. I believe she was your niece. She left to have a baby and that is when you started cutting my hair. You started telling

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me stories about the people in the various photos up on your walls. You knew everyone: Jim Pattison, Peter Brown, the Premier. I found through our conversations in the chair that you went to Montreal when you immigrated to Canada. I told you that I grew up in Montreal so we had something in common. You told me that you were an entrepreneur and had tried lots of businesses, clubs, restaurants, real estate. You had done well on many and not so well on others. The other thing we had in common was golf. We talked a lot about golf. I found out you played with Tony Parsons at UBC and that you had played at Shaughnessy as well so one day I invited you out to Shaughnessy. It was raining but you still wanted to play. We teamed up and played against a couple of other fellows I knew. I think it was on the second hole that you took a swing and pulled a muscle in your back. You never said a word. You just carried on. That kind of perseverance, that competitive streak that you have is amazing. And you really enjoy playing golf. You talked about your wife and her MS. I told you I had a younger sister with MS but she ended up passing away at twenty-eight years old. So we had that in common.

Then you talked about your son-in-law passing away. He was a doctor.

That clearly impacted you. You told me your daughter had three sons, one of whom worked at Van City. You seemed like such a decent guy.

I wondered what it was that I could do to help you out. So every now and then I would give you some hockey tickets for the Canucks and you would take your grandsons. You really enjoyed that. You have had a

324 ~ Peter Brown

long history with RBC and knew guys who had held my job before me: John Cleghorn, Rod Penny Cook. You saw how I fit in. So we also had the bank in common. You have a repertoire of stories that you always tell. “I would like to take you to dinner,” I said to you the other day. I thought you would appreciate that. You are a people person. Just a steak and a couple of drinks. You are friendly, honest, hard working. You’ve got the work ethic. You are just a decent kind of guy. I am very happy and honoured to be able to make a contribution to your book. I wasn’t sure if it was something that was really happening or something you were just wishing would happen. And then Mr. Best called! You have worked so hard over the the years, George, and you deserve a break.

I enjoy chatting with you. You met my son Dave who now works at RBC. You came in one day and met him. I have wondered if maybe I reminded you in some way of your late son-in-law?”

John Reynolds “Hi, George, John Reynolds here. Do you realize that I have been coming to see you for 50 years. I remember when you and your lovely wife Voula came to my nomination way back in 1972 in Delta. I can’t get over how many people you know. Do you remember years ago when Murray Pezim was doing his fund raising deals? Milton Berle would come to town and Bob Hope. They all came down to see you if they

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stayed at the Hyatt. I guess you knew what you were doing when you opened your shop below the Hyatt Hotel. You had a direct line to each room in those days. I was always involved in a lot of fundraisers at the Hyatt back then (I still am, for that matter). We would all drop by and see George before the event. Everyone loved you, George. We all got our pictures taken with you. You have always been such a good guy George, and honest as the day is long. I have always enjoyed playing golf with you as well. You are a good guy to play golf with. I can always tell what a guy is like when I play golf with them. You don’t break your golf clubs and you don’t swear when you miss a put. You always enjoy the game of golf for what it is: exercise and participation.

You have always been a great family guy who is extremely proud of his family and rightly so because they are all good people. I have spent a lot of time with you at fundraising dinners for the Greek community and at golf tournaments. You have always been a good friend. You cut my son’s hair as well. My youngest son is 28 this year and you gave him his first hair cut. He still has a picture of you and him on that day. He is very successful. He has his BA, MBA and CA degrees. George, you have been a part of his growing up years. My other son, as you know, still drops in from time to time. I have to say George, you sure don’t lose any customers either, unless they move away. Peter Brown I know still comes in. Many times I would be waiting for you to finish with Peter or Peter would be waiting for you to finish with me. You cut the hair of

326 ~ Tom Larsheid

the who’s who of Vancouver.

There are so many good things about you, George, that it is hard to know where to start. The way you always help people is right up there at the top. If someone sitting in your chair says, “Did you hear so and so has a problem? Is there anything you can do to help?” you are always the first one to jump in and lend a helping hand. You are such a caring, loving, family man that I always look forward to going to see you for a half hour every two weeks.

A few years ago you were raising money to help out in Greece. Be sure and tell everyone about that. I know you don’t want to come off as bragging but George, you have done a lot for others and people should know it. But I know that’s the kind of guy you are. Getting on the phone and helping others is a very big part of your life. You are a rich guy, George, because of your family and all the friends you have. That’s what rich is all about. You have led an exemplary life. What a life you have led! How many barbershops are still around from fifty years ago? You are a survivor. I’m afraid to go to another barber. I am very happy that Mr. Best is writing this book for you.”

Tom Larsheid “Hi, George, Tom Larsheid here!” Remember way back in 1964 when when I was a football player for the BC Lions? I had come up from the

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States in 1962. The Lions’ office was on Seymour Street and your barber shop was just up the street. I was walking by one day and thought, “I think I will go in for a haircut.” Lo and behold, fifty years later here we are talking about George. I do not know how many others in your line of work can say they have had clients for fifty years. Not only are you a magnificent barber and really know how to cut hair but what is really impressive is the relationships that you have been able to develop with your clients over the years. If I tell you something in private, I know it’s not going to go any further. The best way to describe you, George, is that you are honest and trustworthy and the moment someone meets you you have a way of making them relax and feel comfortable. You also have the ability to chitchat. You are old school. You connect with your clients. You are more than a barber, you are a friend. We have discussed good times and bad times, our ups and downs and we both feel very comfortable doing so because we are supportive of each other. That’s what friendship is all about. I never saw a lot of you socially; our relationship was mainly in the barber’s chair and it was beautiful. You have always been very supportive of me. You have had clients in every walk of life in Vancouver. You have known the movers and the shakers. You know top business executives. You know sports personalities. You know people in the entertainment business. Maybe the greatest compliment to you as a barber is how often people come in to town and ask, “Do you know where I can get a good haircut?” Whose is the first name that

328 ~ Bob Golden

comes up? George Chronopoulos. The VP of the U.S., George Bush, some of the greatest entertainers in history (Henny Youngman, Milton Berle, Red Buttons, Bob Hope, Paul Anka, Wayne Newton): You knew them all. It’s just terrific! You are quite a character. I think you have a wonderful story to tell. You have been been involved in so many things I wouldn’t know where to begin. You aren’t just a barber, you are an entrepreneur. You are a remarkable guy. You are a great family man as well. You love your Greek heritage and you love people. I feel fortunate that I can count myself as one of your friends. You love doing what you do so much. The people, the clients, they are your life. I often wonder what it must be like absorbing so much information in the course of just one day. But that’s just George being George! You are a remarkable guy.

Here’s a short story.

I was honoured in 2010 with the Jack Diamond Award from the Jewish Community Centre as the sports personality of the year. The banquet was at the Hyatt. I wanted to stay at the Hyatt. I was in to see George earlier in the week. “Oh, I’ll get you a room at the Hyatt,” you said. “I know the guys.”You got on the phone and told them that I was being honoured as the sports personality of the year. Lo and behold, I check in and they give me a three room suite. I had just retired. Life after retirement is wonderful. I play a lot of golf. We go to Palm Springs every winter.

How you doing, Koumbaros? George you’ve been a wonderful

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friend. You‘ve been through the ups and downs in my life and me a little in yours as well. The one thing that I will always be very thankful for is that when I was 24 years old I walked into a little barber shop on Seymour Street in Vancouver. Little did I know that I was going to meet a friend for life. Thanks, George!

Bob Golden Hi, George, it’s Bob Golden. I was probably the first customer you ever had from the Jewish community. When we first met, your English was not very good. That was fifty-one years ago. You became a very good friend of our family, more specifically my dad. Voula taught my mom many great Greek recipes. We have always been invited to your family events and you have been invited to our celebrations. We have lost contact a little lately because Mom lives in Palm Springs half the year. Dad is in Louis Brier (home and hospital), as you know, because you still come over every two weeks to cut his hair. Dad doesn’t recognize most people. He has dementia but when he sees George, he moves his index finger next to his middle finger several times to make a hand clip (barber’s clippers) so he still remembers you. You have cut my dad’s hair now for fifty-one years.

You did some work for my dad when you had your painting and renovation company. You are well respected in the Greek community,

330 ~ Jack Fugman

the Jewish community and probably in the community at large. We all love you! The world would be an inferior place if you were not a part of it. My dad loved you, George. You two talked business a lot. I remember Dad always tried to help you out whenever he could. He became a kind of advisor as did most of the guys: Segal, Pattison, the Howe Street Boys and the Vancouver Rounder Group (Dave Davies, Jimmy Hill). I remember Dave Davies coming over to our house. My dad and uncle were in the furniture business. From time to time they would sell furniture out of the house to friends. I remember Dave Davies walking out of the house with one TV under one arm and another TV under the other arm. Big guy! We had to open both doors for him. Jimmy Hill was a close friend of the family. He is about eighty-four today. He introduced me to weight lifting when I was a kid. I used to go to the Broadway Gym. I remember he pressed 415 pounds on the bench. He’s about five feet ten inches tall. When he got shot at the Georgia Hotel, the bullet didn’t penetrate past the muscle. That’s why he lives today.

“It’s been a great ride, George!” I have always appreciated getting an email or a call from you on the holidays. You are one guy that I have always had a lot of respect for and so has my family. You always give back of yourself and your time to the community and you are a very dear friend of our family. Keep watching your health. You could be doing a better job there, I think. Nowadays being a barber is a tough business. It has its ups and downs. Right now it is a little down.

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Even though you don’t cut my hair anymore I still come down to the Riviera and Marta does a fine job. You cut my hair for twenty years before I moved to Montreal. As long as there is a Riviera I will come down.

Jack Fugman “Hi, George, Jack Fugman here!” I guess I‘ve know you since I was twenty. It must have been about 1968 when I first came in for a haircut.

Everybody changes in life. They change their dentist, they change their doctor, everything. Why do you think so many people still come to see you? I have never walked away from you, George, because I like you.

Every time I walk in you greet me with a big smile and a, “Hi, how are you doing? How’s it going?” Then you give me a big shake or a hug.

If someone asked me to tell them something bad about you George, you know I couldn’t. I don’t even think I have ever been angry with you. Even my brother Max said, “I’ve never been angry with the guy.”

We used to talk about you when we were together. People get a warm feeling from being around you. You are so involved in the Greek community. I used to go to all your Greek dinners. You learned how to do things from your friends. You have a big heart. Losing your son-in-law was probably the biggest tragedy in your life and you have such a beautiful wife in Voula.

332 ~ Max Fugman

The most beautiful thing about you, George, (and I have known you many years), is the way you got involved in so many people’s lives. You never wanted to let anyone down. It didn’t matter if a customer were a ditch digger or a bank president, you cut everyone’s hair. You started on Seymour Street then opened in the Royal Centre and then moved to your new location where you are today and there was no logical reason for people to follow you but they did. For many years now it has always been a comfort to sit in your chair and relax and talk. You talk about people but only in the friendliest way. I can sit down with you, George, and we can talk about anything and I know it won’t go any further.

When it comes to friends, you treat them all like royalty. You really do!

To you, we are all family. You are definitely one of life’s characters. I was privileged to be invited to all three of your daughter’s weddings.

My brother Max came down for a haircut every Saturday morning.

When he was in the hospital you went there to cut his hair. You have probably done that for a lot of people. How many other barbers would do that unless they were being paid $1,000. If you thought someone was a friend or if someone was important to you, that is what counted. It’s good business. It’s smart business and it’s family business. George, you really mattered to Max. You guys had a relationship like two brothers.

When you were together, you were together. You played and you played well together. I saw it thirty years ago. Anytime there was a function and Max was there, you were there too. If you had a function, Max was

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there and you guys were always joking. You played funny games. If anybody needed help you were there to help or Max was there to help.

George, you are a natural born leader. You were never one to sit back and let others take the lead. You are very proactive when it comes to the Greek community and when it comes to your own family. You are the type of guy who will do everything he can possibly do. I saw it years ago. My brother used to tell me stories about how George did this and George did that. It wasn’t so much a financial thing, it was more a leadership thing. No, George, there is nothing to look down upon where you are concerned. You treat everyone the same once they are in your chair.

Max was an extremely successful guy whereas I was just a working guy. You have a relationship with everyone. You are so rich in everything that counts: love, caring, friendship, affection. If you are George’s friend, you are George’s friend, there is no nonsense.

You are an amazing guy! You have been up and down over the years but you are still relevant. I always love to listen to your stories. I used to come in for a haircut after my brother on Saturday mornings. Max would wait for me and then we would all go for coffee. I do not know anyone who has ever gotten mad at you. You have the ability to get into our hearts, our souls and our minds with such calmness. I’ll be sitting talking to you and maybe mad as hell about something and all of a sudden I think of you and I’m back to normal.

334 ~ Nick Panos

You screwed up my moustache one time. You gave me an Adolph Hitler moustache. That wasn’t good! “Don’t worry George,” I said. I went home and shaved my moustache off. I‘ve had a moustache since I was in my twenties. Remember when I came back I said to you, “Don’t touch my moustache.” We still laugh about that today.

When I got divorced thirty years ago, I went to you to get a haircut.

“My wife and I have split,” I said. You put your hand on my shoulder and said, “That’s okay! You will be fine.” It meant a lot to me. You made me feel like it was the right thing to do.

Your relationship with Max was outstanding. It was the kind of relationship that any two friends would want to have. When Max passed away in May 2013, you were there every day. Right from when he had his last stroke in December, right up until the end. It was a unique relationship. Do you remember, George, when Max had his driver’s license taken away after his first stroke? You would pick him up every Sunday and the two of you would go for lunch. You are the kindest fellow. Max died just short of his seventy-seventh birthday. He travelled all over the world. He loved Mexico. He lived a good life. He enjoyed his life. I think I am going to cry!

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Nick Panos Hi George, Nick Panos. I met you in 1962 when you opened your Greek nightclub on Richards Street, the Bouzouki Coffee House. Lots of Greek immigrants came down. It was one of the first nightclubs in town after the Cave and Isy’s. You wanted to make your mark in business. You always had a burning desire to do so. You were always a great promoter. People were attracted to your personality. You had a way about you that won people over. You were always very kind and very discreet. I knew you were a good family man right from the start. You tried to bring the Greek community together with other communities so we could work together for the common good of us all. You managed to do this very well with the Jewish community. You had the charisma that enabled you to do this and people respected you. You were always able to get people to trust you because you cared about people. I know you are very religous as well in your own way.

When our generation arrived in Vancouver in the 1960s we brought new life to the Greek community. The first Hellenic community started in Vancouver in the 1920s. The church was at the center of everything.

Over the years we all tried to bring to our community the things that it needed most. We bought a property up on Arbutus Street where we wanted to build a new church. We were looking for a fundraiser to raise money to build the church. That is when you came up with the idea of

336 ~ Syd Belzberg

the Gold Plate Dinners. It had to be something that we could hold each year. It took you a while to convince the elders that it was a good idea.

Greeks feel that their religion is part of their culture and therefore do not feel as restricted by it as do other groups (such as Orthodox Jews).

We live our religion. Greeks have a certain charisma that allows them to integrate well with other communities.

About twenty years ago, George, you taught me to play golf or I should say you taught me how to hit the ball. I didn’t stay with it. My business took up too much of my time.

You took the loss of your son-in-law very hard. You have taught your grandsons well. They have all moved on from the tragedy. Kids are resilient! They are very respectful of their parents and grandparents.

Today that is a problem with the younger generation.

You have been a good friend of the Metropolitan of Toronto. He has given you a lot of support. The Metropolitan needed someone to represent him in Vancouver. Someone to advise him when it came to local matters. If he needed something done in Vancouver, he always knew who to call on to get the job done. We call him the Metropolitan of Toronto. You call him the Archbishop of Canada.

George, you have always been an extremely social person. We always see you somewhere socially. Your Gold Plate Dinners made it possible for the community to pay for the new church. They are by far the most important fund raiser we have today.

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You command a lot of respect, George, within the Greek community.

I hope your book is well received and it gives you the strength to carry on with all your good work.

Syd Belzberg Hi George, Syd Belzberg. Around 1970 I had an office downtown.

Your shop was the place where we all gathered on Saturday mornings to get a haircut, see you and mingle with the rest of the gang which included my cousin Max, Joe Segal, Trevor Peele and others. We all came down to chat, even if we had been in for a haircut during the week. We would all go for breakfast and sometimes carry it on into lunch.

Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, we moved over to the Charthouse Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel where we all met Saturdays for lunch. Murray Pezim sometimes dropped by. It became a tradition. We always had booze, french fries and then lunch. You were always there in the middle of us all.

I use to have trouble understanding Max, who had immigrated from Israel. In those days (the 1960s), I only understood one out of ten words.

Today I understand one out of two. I had to do a lot of guessing. In your shop I would be in one chair and Max would be in the other. You would go back and forth between us. Umberto (Il Giardino Restaurant), often came in as well.

338 ~ Maury Wosk

We both had a friend in the licensing department at City Hall. Every Wednesday he came in for a free haircut. This must have gone on for three years. You never said a word. You often gave people free haircuts if they couldn’t afford to pay. I bet you haven’t mentioned that in your book. You have always been such a good solid guy. What you see is what you get when it comes to you. Everybody sort of flowed through your shop. I think you single-handedly kept the the traffic flowing through the Royal Centre Mall for many years.

I remember when you were in charge of selling tickets for your Gold Plate Dinners. The day after the dinner you would start selling tickets for next year’s dinner (just a different coloured ticket). There would be eight hundred to a thousand people at these dinners and I bet you must have sold seven hundred and fifty of them. One time I got a call asking me if I had sold tickets to someone in my office. “Yes,” I said. “Well there is a Chinese gentleman here with his six year old daughter.” I had to come over and explain to him the event was not for kids. Everyone wanted to come they were so popular. Your dinners were always great affairs and very successful. You would always get up and give a speech and no one ever knew what the hell you were saying.

It was funny, I could go to almost any Jewish function in Vancouver and you would be there. When Max divorced around 1970 he had five kids. It was Max’s job to look after the kids on Saturday. He would take the kids with him down to your barber shop and your girls would baby

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sit them while we all went out for breakfast. You had nail girls back then so they all helped out. You, of course, never minded.

When I bought my house up on Belmont Drive there was a beauty salon downstairs. Remember I asked you to come over and set it up for me. I didn’t use it much but about a year later when I was house bound from an illness and couldn’t go out, you came over and gave me a shave and a hair cut downstairs. Door to door service. You are so great!

George you are one of a kind and I say that from the bottom of my heart. As we all go through life we meet one or two people who are special, different! I have met a few. Jack Diamond was one. I have had race horses for over fifty years, as you know. Maury Wosk was another.

And so was an old friend named Jack Croft. He was right out of a 1930s movie. He used to run junkets to Las Vegas. Like you, George, he knew everyone in Vegas. He was one of a kind as well, just like you. They threw the mold away when they made you guys. You are very special George. A very caring and loving man. A very special, one of a kind character!

I am really shocked that you are writing a book. I am looking forward to reading it. I wouldn’t know where to begin or what to say. But you, George, you had every hustler and every stock promoter in town passing through your doors. You learned what deal was hot and what deal was not. I think your book will be a bestseller!

340 ~ George Vastardis

George Vastardis George Vastardis here George. I’ve known you I guess for about forty years. When you started the Gold Plate Dinners you approached me to be on your committee. There were only seven of us that first year.

Over the years we have grown closer Koumbaros. I am only six months older than you. I have two daughters and you have three so our families lives were very compatible. We all had a great trip to Greece together in 1983. Life goes up and down but our friendship has always remained the same. You certainly know a lot of people. You should be a millionaire by now but- maybe you are too nice.

You are the kind of guy who can associate with everyone. You are very charasmatic. Everyone is your friend and you enjoy being friends with everyone. That is your lifestyle. When our wives join us we always have a good time. I think you are the number one guy for everyone else but maybe not always enough for yourself. You should be retired and enjoying life.

The Greek church has recognized you for your work, ideas and organizational skills. You are one of the exceptional Greeks in North America, I think. You are known all across Canada. The Archbishop sure thinks highly of you.

The Greek community can become jealous of its own if they become too successful, especially if one is too close to the Archbishop or

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Ecumenical Patriarch. Who does this guy think he is? they will say. I guess it is human nature as well and not only a Greek thing. You are well respected George. You have been involved in a lot of ventures.

You are able to get along with investors, engineers, you name it. You can move in many worlds. Your style is not to impress people but to be involved in the community.

Voula is the nicest person. My wife likes her a lot. We have six grandchildren. My wife looks after them just as Voula looks after your grandchildren. Whenever there is a difference between you and Voula, we always side with Voula. She is the calming influence in your family.

She does not like being the center of attention like you do.

When your son-in-law Bill died, Voula was there everyday for his kids (your grandkids): what are they going to wear, where are they going, how will they get there, what are they going to do? Voula likes having a close family life. She is a very religous person but also a very refreshing person to be around.

You and I are good friends, George. We always respect each other.

You deserve only the best. I also happen to like you very much, which is also important. We sometimes have our differences but that is only to be expected. As we both approach eighty years of age, I wish you all the best with your book. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Keep on surprising us, George!

342 ~ Father Partsafas

Father Partsafas Hi George, Father Partsafas. I met you through the church. Because Voula’s father was a priest and priests’ families usually get together we met just after I arrived in Vancouver in 1974. You introduced yourself to me and you also became my barber. You have always been a good member and supporter of our church. You have often worked with our head in Toronto, either on the telephone or whenever he comes to Vancouver.

You have provided a lot of financial and moral assistance to us over the years. You are a great man. You always give more than you have. The church honoured you by making you an Archon. The Bishop here in Canada gave it to you. Your dinner committee has worked with us since the beginning of my tenure.

George, I love you for what you are and for what you have done for the community (and are still doing) and for how you have always treated me. Today the young people of the church are taking over but you still want to be in charge. You have a lot of friends. Your standards have always been high and only the best will do and maybe that is one reason you have been so successful. In business, some people like you and some people do not. You always wanted to be a success in life. You have been a barber for a lot of years. I have been to your house many times for weddings and name days.

The Hellenic community in Vancouver started in 1927. We call it

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the Greek Orthodox Community of St. George. Others just refer to it as the Hellenic community because the charter came before the church.

The first church in Vancouver was at 7th & Vine. There was an older priest before me who also used to go to see you for a haircut. I think one time he wanted you to dye his hair. You told him it wasn’t a good idea but you did it for him anyway. When he gave his service the following Sunday, nobody recognized him. He should have listened to you. There are three separate Greek congregations here in Vancouver. The third one, after the one on the eastside and us is in Surrey. We all operate independently except when we come together for holiday events.

You always talk fondly of your home town of Militsa. I too have strong feelings for the land of my birth. I guess all Greeks do. Your dad was very proud. I am from Samos. It is famous for its wine. It is very sweet. Lord Byron taked about it. My family were butchers on the island. Our name eventually became Partsamos meaning part of Samos.

Church and family have always been important to you. You have done so much over the years. Sometimes, though, I think you might have benefited from having an advisor. But you have done well. I am very happy to have known you all these years. I will be retiring soon and I am sure that you will be a part of it. You have been a good friend, George, and your family has been very supportive of me. Priests’ daughters and sons usually support other priests because they know what our role is all about.

344 ~ Tony Parsons

I have been here a long time and I hope I have done a good job. I tried to do my best for everyone. There are always people who have concerns.

This was my second community. My first was in Waterloo, Iowa. I had thirty-five families. I am Canadian and three of my kids were born in Iowa. The fourth was born here in Vancouver.

Tony Parsons Hi George, Tony Parsons here. I remember when we first met. I was over at Gentlemen Two on Broadway one day and Terry Sklavenidis asked me if I would MC your Gold Plate Dinner. I thought it would be a one shot deal so I said yes. As it turned out I was your MC for thirty years. How time flies! You were part of the ‘committee’ and a founding member. After Terry moved his business into the Royal Centre I would often run into you in his store. Over time we got to know each other very well. Eventually I became a client at your salon. We became really, really good friends.

You have a lot of friends. It is surprising the names of the people who come into your salon. Some of them you probably gave their first haircut. You established yourself very well as a businessman and as a barber. And you are so family-orientated. I suspect a lot of Greek people are like that. It is in your culture. You have an internal love for your family. I have great admiration for you for that reason. You go out of

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 345

your way to look after them, see that they are okay, give them money if they need it. You also have a large extended family. Everyone knows everyone in the Greek community. It is quite large in Vancouver. If you go to a church service at the Greek church, everyone knows everyone.

The congregation goes outside afterwards and they catch up on the latest news, telling family stories, just keeping everyone informed with everything that’s going on. The Greek community is very community conscious. They like to raise money for various and sundry programs.

They do a lot of charity work. They are very proud that there is a Greek bank in Vancouver. My connection of course is through you. You know everyone.

I do not know what it is about you, George, that makes you always so darned enthusiastic. You have been after me to go with you and your family to Greece for years. I just haven’t been able to find the time. You still talk about it as if it is the most natural thing in the world. You have an enthusiasim, a diversity and an interest in things far beyond any other barbers I know and I know a lot.

George, we have played a lot of golf together over the years. When we first started, I called a guy I knew at the University Golf Club and asked if we could set up a permanent ‘tee-time’ every Wednesday morning because we wanted to get out at first light. He knew you as well. So we always played together every Wednesday morning. We walked the course and talked about your problems and about mine. Golf became a

346 ~ The Vancouver Club

way we got to know each other outside of the barber shop and the Gold Plate Dinners. Through you, George, I met others in the Greek community. I met a wide spectrum of people. One thing I discovered early on in our relationship is that you have a tremendous sense of humour. You are a very funny guy. One time we were invited to play golf at the Vancouver Club. On that course there is a Par 5 hole (the longest in the province, 600 yards). It is very unusual. Our host says to us, “The idea here is to aim at that highrise building right at the end.” “Which floor?” you asked without missing a beat. We all killed ourselves laughing over that one.

Do you remember that, George? You are a very clever fellow with a great sense of humour. You used to play golf with your son-in-law, Bill.

I know you have never quite gotten over his passing. He was part of the roots of your life. Bill was true family. He was a very clever, clever man who was revered by many.

First and foremost though, George, you are a great friend and you have never once charged me for a haircut. Maybe I shouldn’t say that. I know that anything you have in your shop, you would gladly give it to someone if they really needed it. I also know that anyone who has ever rented a chair from you absolutely adores you. Some have stayed with you for years. I am a guy who doesn’t like getting his haircut. But I have to say, George, you have made it a pleasure. You always made it fun to come down. Occasionally people like Jimmy Pattison or John Reynolds would drop by. It was a social circle.

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 347

On the golf course, I also have to say, you are always a pleasure to play with. If you hit a bad shot you never get upset. Maybe for a moment but that is it! It never spoils your game. For our calibre of golf you always play a good game. If you had started playing when you were younger you might have become a really good golfer. You are coaching your grandsons now. A couple of them are really quite good. I know golf is a big part of your life.

I feel, George, that you are a very, very special guy. Beyond being a barber you have had so many other things going for you, things which people would never ever dream you were a part of. You love your heritage. I think you truly love being a Greek. It’s a hallmark for you in your life. You are very well respected by the hierarchy of the Greek Church and even been given some honours for your work in the community.

A lot of people who come and go around you are a big deal and here is this humble barber from Militsa in the middle of them all. I guess being a barber might be considered a minor occupation so people don’t expect the high brow connections that you have.

Another thing that I like about you, George, is you never ever walk away from anything. You always try to fix it however you can. “Honour your obligations,” is your motto. You are just that kind of guy. Others hide or get out of town but not you, you always stay and face the music.

And you are not shy! You go out on a Sunday to the University Golf

348 ~ Gold Plate Dinners

Club and say, “Can I get a game?” You will play with anyone. You must have played with over one thousand people.

George, you are the most likeable man I know. I have known a few important people over the years but the difference between you and and the rest of us is the important people you meet have all become your friends and stayed your friends. And you have an uncanny way of sizing people up when you first meet them. You can tell right away if they are someone you want to know. You can really read people.

I remember you told me about one of your clients in Montreal when you were first starting out. You cut a patch out of his hair in the back without realizing it and left a bald spot. You quickly put some dye on it so he wouldn’t notice your mistake. You think it is very funny now but I bet you were not laughing at the time.

I think, George, that you and the original committee should receive some kind of lasting recognition for coming up with the idea for those Gold Plate Dinners. It has been a hell of a fund-raiser for the Greek community and raised millions of dollars. Thanks, George!

Well there you have it, George. Pretty nice having friends like that, isn’t it? They sure think the world of you. But let’s get back to those feelings of accomplishment.

What brings us happiness? The things psychologists know cause

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 349

happiness are things like being in a community, helping others make a difference, trying new, novel activities and getting into meaningful activities. George, if this is true, then you must be not only the richest man in town but you must also be the happiest (deep, rich state of well-being). Happiness is only one component of a three-pronged state of wellbeing: happiness (the emotional evaluation of your life); life satisfaction (which is more of the cognitive rating of your life); and, finally, negative emotions. Yes, an appropriate level of negativity is part of well-being, so it is okay George to feel like you have not accomplished everything you wanted to in life. Negative emotions stop us from doing dumb things and motivate us to change. One big change psychologists say we can all make in our quest to be happy is to adjust our priorities. Stop trying to keep up with your neighbours. True happiness in life comes from a deep place. It does not just come out of our circumstances in life but out of the fabric of how we live our life.

This book is about a life built upon the traditional family unit. In this age of broken marriages, single parent homes, childhood obesity and other social problems, the family unit has never been more needed and, I think, desired. It offers a strong foundation on which to build one’s life. In order for us to all have strength and grow, we need to have support. The family structure can offer that support. Whatever the reasons for the above problems in the 21st century, we could all learn a lot from My Greek Barber’s Diary: Talking to your future spouse before you get

350 ~ My Greek Barber’s Diary

married and being sure that you both want the same things in life. Honouring your mother and father. Living your life as an example to others and to your children. Treating everyone the same. Showing support for other members of your family, both immediate and extended: brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles. Not just talking about doing something but actually doing it. ‘Walk the talk.’ In life, most successful people display these traits. The lucky people in life, like you, George, have more than one support system in their life. It is usually a strong belief in something other than the physical: church, God, religion, the creator, meditation. George’s story can serve as an example to us all on how we can live our lives if we really want to. It just takes a little will power, strength of character, a belief in one’s self and a long term investment in the belief and power of others to make it all happen.

What a wonderful life, George, you have changed so many people’s lives through your actions. You have lived a life full of accomplishments because you believed in yourself. Your strong belief in the Greek church and family have made you the person you are today and allowed you to achieve your goals. Your beliefs have made you strong and dictated the path in life you chose (that of a strong provider not only for your family but for your extended family of relatives, friends, business associates and employees). Those beliefs have seen you through both good and bad times. You have made many strong and loyal friends, many whom you have now known for fifty years. No man is poor who has friends!

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 351

What a wonderful life! The most wonderful gift in the world is to love and to be loved in return. You said in the beginning of this book that in the end when all is said and done you are still just a barber from a small town in Greece called Militsa. Actually, George, we are all in the end, and only, the stories we tell and you have a million. Thanks for asking me to write your book. You have made me the second richest man in town!

352 ~ My Greek Barber’s Diary

A WONDERFUL LIFE ~ 353

APPENDIX I - Documents & Letters

354 ~ Henry Fresco

APPENDIX ~ 355

356 ~ American Bank

APPENDIX ~ 357

358 ~ Hebrew University of Jerusalem

APPENDIX ~ 359

360 ~ Appointment to position of Archon

APPENDIX ~ 361

362 ~ 1993 Financial Times Article

Index Symbols 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games 61

A Abraham, Roberto 93, 139 Abraham, Rosario 139 Acropolis, Greece 162, 258 Agios Andreas, Logga 32 Aisenstadt, Hy 98 Aisenstadt, David 300 Ambassador Bridge 197 American Bank 185 Anavriti, Greece 25 Andanopoulos, Tom 290 Andriani, Greece 16 Andros, Greece 254 Angelo’s Barber Shop 43, 44, 48, 49 Anka, Paul 83, 293, 298, 328 Ano Liosa, Athens 36 Ano Militsa, Greece 24 Anthony’s Restaurants 188 Aosta, Italy 205 Apollo 8 19 Arcadia, Greece 13 Archbishop of Canada 336 Archon 318, 342 Aristomenous Street, Kalamata 33 Athens, Greece 35, 37, 231 Atlanta, Georgia 281 Avenue Grill 84, 100, 102, 238, 316 Averbach, Gary 65, 98, 290 Averbach, Lou 65

B B.C. Ferries 88 B.C. Hydro 88 B.C. Jockey Club 61 B.C. Lions 62, 63, 91, 326

B.C. Sugar 74 Balafoutis, Nick 47 Banff, Alberta 195 Bank of B.C. 70, 88, 188 Bank of the South Pacific 175 Bank of Tonga 175 Banque de Suisse 185 Barnes, Squire 168 Barrett, Dave (Premier) 99 Bartholmew of the Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul 164 Batra, Kuku 253, 257-9, 295 Battle, England 178 Baxivanakis, Peter 184 Bayshore Inn 93, 95 BC Lions 326 Bean, Jack 78 Begledis, Mike 254 Belgrade, Yugoslavia 207 Bell, Jack 241 Bell, Max 95, 96 Belmont Properties 56, 65 Belzberg, Syd 62, 70, 104, 110, 165, 182, 223, 314, 318, 337 Benias, Peter 97, 187 Bennett, W.A.C. (Premier) 88, 297 Bergeron,Victor, Jules Jr. 116 Berle, Milton 76, 324, 328 Bill Vlahos Memorial Lecture 171, 271 Black, Conrad 298 Black, Lou 60, 64, 66, 80, 139, 233, 299, 313, 314 Block, Arthur 187 Block, Henry 116 Block Bros 187 Board of Police Commissioners 159 Bonnis, George 84, 135 Bon Ton Bakery 75 Boots Drugstore 239 Botsis, Mel 105 Bourbouhakis, Nick 196, 209 Bournemouth, England 182 Bournemouth Hotel 182

364 ~ Index

Bouzouki Coffee House 57, 58, 59, 61, 131, 308, 312, 335 BowMac (Bowell McLean) 78 Braniff International 185 Bratakos, Napoleon 38 Brindisi, Italy 214 Brother Jon’s 93 Brown, Peter 299, 303, 323, 325 Brown, Tom 62 Brownlee, Richard 103, 104, 115, 116, 174, 200, 308, 313, 318 Bucharest, Romania 256, 257, 258 Budget Rent-A-Car of B.C. Ltd. 70, 182 Buffett, Warren 303 Bush, George, H. (VP) 234, 328 Button, Jim 97 Buttons, Red 328

C Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 285 Caesar’s Restaurant 231 Cairo, Egypt 232 Calgary, Alberta 195 Campana, Dr. 276 Campbell, Gordon (HC) 287 Campbell, Gordon (Premier) 77, 168, 273, 274, 275, 280 Campbell, Kim 237 Campbell, Tom (Mayor) 77, 190 Canaccord 299 Canarim Investment Corporation 299 Cantor, Roy 62, 240, 304 Cantrell, Harold 185, 232, 313 Capozzi, Herb 63, 97, 98, 137, 315 Capp, Joe 62 Caravel Hotel, Athens 208, 209 Carter, Bob, J. 146 Carter, Jimmy 186 Casa Mia 76 Casper, Wyoming 200 Cave of the Apocalypse 214 Cave Supper Club 54, 80, 82, 315, 335

CBC 223 Ceaucescu, Nicolae 256 Ceklay, Danny 60, 83 Cellias, Chris 145 Chant, Maureen 291 Charcoal Room, Four Seasons Hotel 70 Charitos, Sotiros 163, 209, 253, 260 Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris 215 Charlie Brown’s 60 Charthouse Restaurant 337 Chicago 196 Chronopoulos, Anna Maria 65 Chronopoulos, Anthoula 14 Chronopoulos, Antonia 16, 22, 67, 92, 133, 248, 309 Chronopoulos, Dennis 13, 14, 17, 21 Chronopoulos, Dimitri 13, 21, 97, 158, 246 Chronopoulos, Eleny 152, 154, 237, 247 Chronopoulos, George 16, 118, 124, 125, 130, 131, 134, 140, 141, 145, 146, 149, 151, 153, 154, 156, 159, 160, 163, 165, 166, 168, 169, 171, 174, 176, 188, 210, 211, 212, 214, 219, 234, 281, 286, 293, 299, 303, 320, 321, 328, 336, 341, 346 Chronopoulos, Helen 58, 133, 140, 154, 219, 220, 224, 309, 310, 318 Chronopoulos, Jaime 106, 149, 153, 154, 177, 197, 212, 226-8, 238, 281, 309, 318 Chronopoulos, Kostas 16, 23, 24, 82, 83, 92, 97, 104, 117, 129, 135, 248, 309 Chronopoulos, Marianna 68, 133, 140, 153, 154, 220, 224, 225, 237, 309, 318 Chronopoulos, Nicoletta 13, 15, 248 Chronopoulos, Paraskevi 14, 16 Chronopoulos, Roula 135 Chronopoulos, Sargeant 120, 122 Chronopoulos, Theodora 13, 16 Chronopoulos, Voula 98, 117, 130, 131, 139, 140, 149, 153, 154, 156, 157, 177, 178, 191, 238, 241, 249, 290,

INDEX ~ 365

299, 301, 302, 318, 324, 331 Chronopouolos, Voula (Sis) 16 Chronopoulos, Yianoula 14, 152 Chuvalo, George 96 Cismigiu Park, Bucharest 257 CJOR 77, 78, 191, 308 Claridges, London 178 Clark, Glen 296, 297 Clay, Cassius 96 Clearwater, Florida 199 Cleghorn, John 235, 236, 311, 316, 324 Clinton, Bill 251 Clinton, Hillary 264 Cloud 9 171 Clough, Paul 311 Cohen, Bruce, I. (Justice) 303 Cohen, Joe 62

315, 330 Davies, Dave and Lillian 82 Daytona Beach 198 Decade Silver Mine 258 Delphi, Greece 209 Delphi Hotel 19 Delta Hotel, Richmond 263 Dennis, Lonnie 62 Detroit, Illinois 197, 228 Diamond, Charlie 70, 82, 91, 187 Diamond, Jack 61, 70, 82, 91, 339 Dillias, Johnny 249 Dino’s Pizza 105 Douglas, Tommy 95 Dr. Hugh Tildesley 270 Dr. Michael 228, 263, 281, 286, 288 Drikus, Dino 160, 242 Dundee, Angelo 96

Coleman, Rich (MLA) 167, 280 Commodore Supper Club 161, 249 Concorde 180 Constanta, Romania 256 Cox, Jim 62 Cox, Wayne 168 Cozy’s Restaurant 188 Cremesti, Bill 98 Crete Island, Greece 34 Croft, Jack 339 Crofton House School 99 Crosby, Bing 95 Cunningham Drugs 77 Cyprus 211, 214, 231

E

D

F

“Day at the Races” 70 Dalhousie University 251 Dallas, Texas 200 Davies, Bryan K. (Judge) 172, 303 Davies, Dave (Big) 60, 78, 81, 83, 138,

Fairways (Texas) 174 Fargo, North Dakota 196 Farina, Tony 61, 79, 82, 308, 316 Fattedad, Sid 303 Field’s Department Stores 69, 100

EAM-ELAS 30 Eaton’s Department Store 69 Eaton, Doug 113 Ecumenical Patriarch 262, 341 Egypt 151, 211, 231, 232 Egypt, Port Said 212 Empire Stadium 61 England 178 Ephesus, Turkey 214 Evangelismos, Greece 44, 85, 119 Exhibition Park 91 Expo 86 234 Ezekiel, Daniel, Dr. 276

366 ~ Index

Fiji 224 Filippone, Mickey 66, 83 Finikounda, Greece 210 Fleming, Willie 62 Fonyo, Steve 146 Foster City 106 Four Seasons Hotel 70, 337 Four Seasons Hotel, Calgary 195 Fouts, Dick 62 Freeman’s Shoes 110 Freeman, Mr. 110 Fresco, Henry 183, 186, 232 Frome, Alan 69 Fugman, Jack 71, 173, 303, 331 Fugman, Margaret 69, 228 Fugman, Max 62, 69, 71, 104, 107, 109, 110, 116, 137, 165, 173, 187, 221, 223, 253, 254, 271, 292, 304, 314, 318, 322, 332, 333, 334, 337, 338 Fugman, Max and Margaret 221 Fugman, Mordecai 69 Fusion FC 261

G Gaffney, George 254 Galileo Hotel, Florence 215 Gallos, Calliope (Poppy) 92, 210, 211 Gallos, Tom 16, 86 Gallos, Voula 86, 92, 210, 309 Gardner, Bill 105, 227, 239 Gastineau, Marc 146 Gates, Bill 303 Gatwick Airport 185 Gaynor, Mitzi 78, 83 Geneva, Switzerland 205 Gentlemen Two 105, 106, 239, 344 George’s Plumbing & Contracting 105 George, Stephanopoulos 251 Georgeolas, John 258 Georgia Hotel 60, 83, 330 Georgio’s Men’s Wear 245

Giuliani, Rudy 264 Giusti, Ramono F. 172 Gleneagles Golf Club 56, 173 Glyfada, Athens 211 GNA Painting & Renovation 232, 261 Gobel, George 83 Goldberg, Al 104 Golden, Bob 55, 137, 273, 303, 329 Golden, Dora 56, 99 Golden, Sid 55, 62, 65, 99, 137, 314, 329 Goldman, Murray 239 Gold Plate Dinners 104, 105, 106, 147, 232, 269, 274, 311, 336, 338, 340, 344, 346, 348 Golgotha 213 Gordon Campbell (Premier) 323 GQC Goldwest 286 Grant, John 239 Great West Life Insurance 74 Greek Orthodox Church 14, 54, 106 Greektown (Kitsilano) 54 Green Acres Golf Course 242 Greenwood, Dave 289 Gretzky, Wayne 175 Grosvenor Hotel 77

H Howe Street Boys 60, 315, 330 Hacienda Hotel 81 Haramaras, Dimitri 253 Harcourt, Mike 77 Harrah’s Lake Tahoe 107 Harris, Tony 175 Harry C’s Eatery 60 Hartoularios 318 Hastings Park Racecourse 91, 314 Hauff, Beverly 60 Hawaii 177, 190 Hebrew University of Jerusalem 358 Hemsworth & Turton 299

INDEX ~ 367

Herman, Buddy 104, 109, 116, 304 Hill, Beverly 138 Hill, Doug 63 Hill, Jimmy, 65, 66, 83, 138, 315, 330

Jon’s Pizzarama 93 Jones, Mike 303 Junior Diabetes Research Foundation 291

Holiday Airlines 234 Hollywood Hospital 76 Hope, Bob 83, 324, 328 Hope, Debra 168 Horsefield, Ron 240 Hospital Evangelismos 258 Hotel Elite (Lausanne) 183 Hotel Orient (Lausanne) 183 Hotel Vancouver 249 Hotel Vancouver Barber Shop 53, 81 Howe Street Boys 330 Hughes, Howard 93, 94, 177 Hy’s Restaurants 98 Hy’s Steak House 83 Hy’s Steakhouse, Calgary 195 Hyatt Hotel 97, 99, 176, 185, 221, 222, 226, 229, 246, 265, 296, 312, 325, 328 Hyatt Hotel (Embarcadero) 107

Kahn, Leon 70, 175, 186 Kalamata, Greece 13, 29, 33, 36, 38, 122, 211, 237, 290 Kaldis, Alex 311, 318 Kaldis, Gerry 33, 43, 44, 46, 106, 125, 126, 311 Kaldis, Gus 188, 311, 318 Kaldis, Julia 106 Kamena Vourla, Greece 209 Kanelopoulos 38 Kaplan’s Deli 292 Karas, Kostas 175 Karvelis, George 167, 170, 261, 262 Karvelis, Gus 165, 225, 251 Karvelis, Jimmi 167, 170, 251 Karvelis, Marianna 167, 172, 225, 251, 288 Karvounia Raika 20 Kasimioytis, Gregoris 26

I

KAT, Athens (hospital) 290 Kates, Irving 62, 104, 109, 116, 140, 175, 187, 314, 318 Kearns, Dennis 109 Keg & Cleaver 93 Keg Restaurants 300 Kilkis, Greece 36 King, Larry 252 Kingswood Capital Corporation 255 Kitsilano 57 Kletas, Peter 303 Klisoura, Greece 19 KLM 86 Knowlton Realty 113 Kogas, Nick and Sophia 250 Kogos, Nick 249 Kogos, Sophia 249 Koroni, Greece 19, 29, 30, 250, 315

Il Giardino Restaurant 337 Iliopoulos, Jimmy 46 Impark 108, 311 India 162, 163, 253, 257 Intercontinental Hotel, Romania 256 Ioanou, Helen and Andre 281 Irish Derby 95 Irving, Texas 185 Israel 211, 213 Isy’s Supper Club 57, 335

J Jack Diamond Award 328 Jana & Co. 70, 187 Jerusalem, Israel 213 Jockey Club 91

K

368 ~ Index

Koulos, Tasia 205 Koutsamadis, Greece 15 Kuwait 242 Kyriopoulos, Stalios 37

L Lake, Peter 77, 274 Lake Tahoe 107 Lakonia, Greece (province) 25 Lancaster Hotel, London 180 Langara Gardens 175, 201 Langara Springs 261 La Paloma Hotel 164 Larsheid, Tom 62, 303, 326 Las Vegas, Nevada 81, 339 Laurion Silver Mines, Greece 162 Lausanne, Switzerland 180, 183, 184, 205, 232 Lavrion Silver Mines, Greece 258 Lee, Brenda 83 Leger, Jules (G.G.) 298 Lemos, Costas 179 Lemos, Dimitri 179, 180, 181 Levine, John 93 Liaskas, Kostas 160 Liberace 255 Liebscher, Ken 303 Life Styles of the Rich and Famous 80 Lindsay Wagner 226 Lloyd, Gus 54, 56, 130, 308, 312 Loads, Roger 237 Logga, Greece 15, 22 London, England 177, 182, 186, 202, 300 London, Ontario 197 Lord Byron 343 Los Angeles 228 Louis Brier Home & Hospital 292, 329 Lower Militsa 20 Ludwig, Alexander 170 Lulu Island 242

M Mackenzie Heights 65, 68, 87, 299, 313 Mackenzie Management 237 MacLachlan, Graham 294, 322 MacLean, J. Ross, Dr. 76 Madra, Greece 16 Madras, India 162, 261 Malaysia 241 Maragos, Anastas 303 Maramaras, Basil 140, 141, 173, 179, 180 Marciano, Rocky 83, 297, 298 Marks & Spencer 180, 189 Marshall Wells’ retail stores 100 Maryland 197 Matheos, Georgia 229, 285, 286 Matheos, Jaime 155, 156, 281, 288 Matheos, John 155, 156, 228 Matheos, Markella 229, 278, 280, 281, 288, 291 Matteo’s Restaurant 93, 139 Mavritsakis, Mike 58, 131 Mavroyianis, George 32 Max Bell Foundation 96 Mazatlan, Mexico 285 McGill University 270 McMahon, Frank 95 McRae, Neil 167, 280 Medical Center of San Antonio 116 Mediterranean Hotel 196, 202 Meier, John 93, 94, 95, 138, 175, 176, 177, 234 Menghi, Umberto 337 Merchandise Mart 100, 102 Mercouri, Melina 258 Messinia 13 Metaxas, Yannis (PM) 20, 22 Methoni, Greece 17, 58, 68 Metropolitan of Toronto 232, 336 Mexico 334 Michael, Dr. 228, 264, 286, 288 Milan, Italy 205 Militsa, Greece 13, 16, 18, 20, 39, 85, 150, 151,

INDEX ~ 369

152, 210, 299, 343, 351 Miller, Norm 141, 188 Minneapolis 196 Moll, Harry 60, 98 Molnar, Andrew 261 Monte Carlo Restaurant 257

Nixon, Edward 94 Nixon, Richard 94 North Carolina 198 Northview Golf & Country Club 167 North Virginia 198 Notoris, Steve 76

Montreal, Quebec 44, 46, 50, 128, 197, 223, 315, 323, 348 Mont Royal, Montreal 288 Moore, Bill 189 Moore, Terry 95, 175 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan 196 Mount of Olives 213 Moustafa 295 Moutsouris, Mick 118 Mr. Bourassa 97 Mr. Rogers 62, 74 Mumbai, India 260 Munich, Germany 233 Murray, Anne 83, 221 Murray Goldman 239 Mussolini, Benito 22

O

N Naguib, Ali 232 Naguib, Gamil (Ali) 231 Naguib, Mohammed 231 Nanda Brothers 260 Naples, Italy 214 Nea Hellas 43 Nea Koroni, Greece 34 Neonex 87 New Delhi, India 258 New Democratic Party 99 Newman, Peter 298 Newton, Jerry 83 Newton, Wayne 328 New York City 197 Night & Day Restaurants 105 Nixon, Donald 93, 94, 176, 177

Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi 259 Oinousses, Greece 180 Omega Travel 298 Omonia Square, Athens 59

P Pacific Meat Co 70 Palivos, Peter 105, 145, 160, 242 Palm Springs, Ca. 99, 157, 160, 242, 243, 328, 329 Palm Springs Health Spa 79 Panagiotis 19 Panathinaikos F.C 15 Panos, Nick 145, 165, 298, 335 Pantages, Basil 60 Pantazis, Antigoni 45 Pantazis, Atta 44, 68 Pantazis, Bill 44, 58, 126, 129 Pantazis, Dimitrios and Anna 124 Pantazis, George 44, 45, 59, 131, 211 Pantazis, Greg 44, 131 Pantazis, John 44, 49, 54 Pantazis, Stavroula (Voula) 44 Pantazis, Voula 45, 49, 119, 125 Papadopoulos, Dr. 102, 103, 104, 115, 219, 220, 308, 313, 318 Papajohn, Tony 165 Papandreou, George 264 Pappas, Angelo 57, 105, 132, 212 Pappas, George 160, 242 Pappas, Greg 105 Pappas, Sam 53 Pappas, Thanasakis 212 Paraskevi 14

370 ~ Index

Paris, France 202, 204 Parliamentary Palace, Bucharest 256 Parsons, Tony 105, 106, 167, 168, 280, 291, 294, 301, 323, 344 Parthenon (replica) 161, 250 Partsafas, Father 105, 132, 144, 160, 342 Patmos, Greece 211, 214 Patras, Greece 214 Pattison, Jim 323, 330 Pattison, Jimmy 62, 63, 68, 77, 78, 86, 134, 137, 169, 287, 289, 290, 296, 300, 302, 303, 308, 314, 319, 346 PBS 228 Peele, Trevor 70, 188, 337 Peloponnese 13 Penny Cook, Rod 324 Peppermill Restaurant 184 Peppi’s Restaurant 190 Petris, John 160, 242 Petropoulos, Dimitri & Harry 33 Pezim, Murray 60, 79, 98, 146, 159, 315, 324, 337 Philadelphia, Pa. 197 Phillips, Art 77 Pilarinos, Nick and Nicky 87 Pilos, Greece 16, 29, 32, 43, 300 Piraeus, Athens (Port) 32, 35, 211 Piraeus, Greece 175 PIZZARAMA restaurants 93 Plaxidas, Nick 165 Plaza of America 226 Plaza of America Hotel 227 Pocklington, Peter 175 Poole, Jack 235 Port of Ashdod, Israel 213 Port of Limassol 214 Port of Ouchy 183 Port of Piraeus, Athens 59 Prime Minister of Tonga 176 Ptsiris, Fotis 117 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 234, 235, 254, 271 Pyramid (stock) 80, 233 Pyrgos, Marguerite 99, 231

Pyrgos, Nick 93, 175, 186, 231

Q Quattro on 4th 165 Queen Elizabeth Theatre 80, 98 Queen of Jordan 229

R Ramphos, Steve 232 Regina, Saskatchewan 195, 196 Regis, Eleni 14 Reifel, George, Conrad 76, 249 Reynolds, John 95, 296, 300, 303, 324, 346 Rhodes, Greece 211, 214 Ricci, Don, Dr. 275, 277, 278 Richmond Golf & Country Club 56, 62, 186 Rickles, Don 76, 159 Rigas, Anastacios 36 Rigas, Anthea 18 Rigas, Dimitri 47 Rigas, Eleni 18 Rigas, Jimmy 288 Rigas, John and Fotoula 17, 18 Rigas, Leo 18 Rigas, Maria 18, 19 Rigas, Nick 289 Rigas, Niko 18 Rio Vista 221 Risvani, Anna 15 Risvani, Aristidis 15, 29, 210, 248 Risvani, Ari (Tony’s son) 15 Risvani, George 15 Risvani, Helena 15, 210 Risvani, John 15 Risvani, Nicoletta (daughter) 15, 248 Risvani, Tony 15 Risvanis, Spyros 15

INDEX ~ 371

Riviera Barber Shop 62 Riviera Hair Salon 136, 331 Robinson, Red 77 Rogers, Mike 102, 116, 177, 180, 187, 308, 313 Romania 256 Rome, Italy 215 Ross, Diana 82, 83 Rotary Club 289, 290 Royal Bank of Canada 97 Royal Centre Mall, Vancouver 97, 189, 338 Royal Riviera Salon 97, 101, 142, 143, 146, 148, 312

S Sadat, Anwar 231, 232 Samos, Greece 343 San Antonio, Texas 116, 174, 175, 188, 190, 311, 313 Sands Hotel 174 San Francisco 106, 177, 318 San Jose, Ca. 188 Santa Cruz, Ca. 188 Savalas, Telly 157, 242 Schonfeld, Mark, Dr. 112, 221, 303 Seattle 115, 116, 175, 177, 182 Seattle Trade Centre 187 Segal, Joe 69, 70, 92, 100, 101, 107, 109, 137, 165, 169, 175, 187, 223, 235, 236, 252, 255, 264, 287, 289, 293, 297, 304, 311, 314, 317, 320, 330, 337 Segal, Joe and Rosalie 221 Segal, Lorne 293 Segal, Rosalie 223 Segouis, Nick 290 Sekhon, Suki 259 Shaughnessy Golf Course 294, 299, 301 Sheraton Landmark 105 Simon Fraser Dining Room 77

Sims, Mike 254, 255 Sir Walter Raleigh Restaurant 76 Skalbania, Nelson 146, 175 Sklavenidis, Leo 165 Sklavenidis, Michael 240 Sklavenidis, Terry 105, 106, 144, 165, 227, 239, 240, 344 Smirni, Turkey 37 Snack Stop 245 Sneaky Pete’s 60 Social Credit Party 99 Soper, Neil 77 Sotirios, Archbishop of Toronto 144, 164, 264, 273, 318, 340 Sotirios, Metropolitan of Toronto 232, 336 South Carolina 198 Spencer’s Department Store 190 Spencer, David 189, 190 Spokane, Washington 201 Springhill Candy Kitchen 221 St. Bernard Tunnel 205 St. Francois Square (Lausanne) 183, 184, 205 St. Leo’s Day 85 St. Paul’s Hospital 219, 238, 270 St. Paul’s Lipid Clinic 270, 271 St. Paul, Minnesota 196 St. Roch (maritime museum) 190 Stassinopoulos, Labros 174, 311 Stauffer, Ken 54, 82, 83, 315 Stephan’s Restaurant 203 Stephanopoulos, George 251 STG Painting 114 Strumpski, Fred 290, 303 Sturrock, Craig 172, 303 Suez Canal 212 Sugar Daddy’s 60 Swipe for Kids 299 Switzerland 204, 233 Sygros, Andreas 258 Sylvan Learning Center 229

372 ~ Index

T “the Proethros” (Mayor) 20, 23 “the 4th of August Regime” 20 Talwar, Meshi 259 Tampa, Florida 199 Tang’s Restaurant 100 Tarpon Springs, Florida 199 Tentes, Peter 67, 133 Terminal City Club 107 Texas 174, 185 Thailand 173, 187 The Bay 74 The Beatles 59 The Cannery 93 The Cave Supper Club 78, 82, 83 The Crêperie 93 The Greek Archbishop of Canada, Sotirios 105 The Marathon 113 The Mills Brothers 83 Theodoropoulos, Chris 264, 277, 290 The Province 64 Thessaloniki, Greece 208 The Sun 64 The Wild Boar 57, 58 Thibeault, Ted 221 Thomopoulos, George 16 Tildesley, Hugh, Dr. 171, 270 Timmins Gold 288 Tom Brown 62 Tonga 175, 176 Top of the Mark 97, 187 Toronto, Ontario 197, 296 Tourkolimano, Greece 135 Trader Vic’s 116 Trakatellis, Demetrios 263 Trieste, Italy 205 Tsakoumis, Alex (Peter) 288 Tsimiklis, Panos 209, 211 Tsonis, Jim 47 Tukwila, Washington 308 Turkey 180, 211, 214

Turton, Ted 60, 139, 299, 304, 315 Tuscon, Arizona 164

U University Golf Club 345, 347 University of British Columbia 225 Upper Militsa 20

V Vallarta, Puerto 234, 254 Vancouver Canucks 98 Vancouver Convention Centre 293 Vancouver Rounder Group 330 Vancouver Show Mart Building 187 Vancouver Sun 54 Van Zeist, Chris 295 Vastardis, George 105, 144, 165, 174, 201, 204, 206, 209, 211, 214, 215, 231, 254, 295, 303, 311, 340 Vastardis, Jimmy 165 Vastardis, Joanna 202 Vastardis, Margarita 201 Vastardis, Maria 201 Venice, Italy 205 Victoria Chinese Restaurant 302 Virvilis, Art 105 Vlahos, Bill 153, 157, 158, 219, 220, 224, 238, 253, 262, 266, 269, 270, 272, 280, 310, 341, 346 Vlahos, Christian 252, 253 Vlahos, Dean 171, 241, 252, 263, 273, 275, 278, 301 Vlahos, George 171, 252, 263, 275 Vlahos, Helen 25, 153, 224, 239, 276, 280, 288, 291 Vlasaika, Greece 20 Volrich, Jack 77 Voutiaros, Peter 31, 117, 135

W Wagner, Lindsay 226, 227

INDEX ~ 373

Walters, Isy and Richard 82 Washington D.C. 197, 198 Wasserman, Jack 54 Watergate 94, 177 Waverly Salon 57, 58, 59, 62 Western Canadian Fur Company 58 WHITECAP soccer team 98 Wilkins, Ted 270 Winfrey, Oprah 290, 291 Winnipeg, Manitoba 196 Wisconsin 196 Wolfin, David 148 Wolfin, Lou 64, 233, 234, 299, 313, 314 Woodstock, Kansas 200 World Vision 290 Wosk, Maury (aka MJ) 70, 109, 175, 221, 252, 314, 339

Y Yanni’s Restaurant 109, 110, 176, 219 Yeltsin, Boris 251 Yiannitsa, Greece 37 Young, Jerry 103, 313 Youngman, Henny 76, 159, 328 Yugoslavia 206

Z Zajac, Mel 299, 300 Zellers 100 Zodiac Menswear 239 Zombolas, Tom 253

“For a while I worked behind a curtain doing razor cuts, Perry Como style or Hollywood style. Then, after two weeks, Gus threw the keys down in front of me and said, “Here, you look after the place.” So here I am, no English, no friends, just a hot-blooded Greek but my brain was working. Before I knew it I was established in Vancouver. Bad guys, good guys, big business people, all came to me through word of mouth. There was no one else in Vancouver doing what I was doing. I was in the right place at the right time.”

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