August 2003
Dear Friends of Kythera,
The website has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception 2 months ago. There are now over 190 entries making it a great resource for all things Kytherian. We are still working on the family tree section, and hope to announce its completion soon, even though it is, despite having top-flight programmers, a huge project in itself.
Competition
The Kytherian Association of Australia has kindly donated a copy of the brilliant "Kythera - A History" by Peter D. Vanges as the prize for our very first Kythera-Family.net entries competition. To enter simply submit at least 3 entries to the site, one at least of which should be in a section other than photography. The submitter whose set of entries is considered the most noteworthy will receive a copy of the book. The date of submission should be between the 11th and 31st of August, and, if you would prefer us to do it for you, you can simply send the material to be submitted to us by email. We will announce the winner in the next newsletter.
New Features: Kytherian Business Guide
We've been busy making the site faster and more convenient for visitors, as well as adding new categories. One of the categories is the relaunch of a guide which was published in the 1920s. The 1928 Greek Business Guide - some of which is featured in the archive/research section of our website - listed Greek business all over the world. Our new category is called the "Kytherian Business Guide" and it offers business owners of Kytherian descent a chance to promote their businesses and at the same time support the site. There are already three entries in the section and as the numbers increase we will add a sorting mechanism which will make it easy to search by country and type of business. If you would like more information about promoting your business in "the Guide" simply write to [email protected].
Here is the direct connection to the Guide:
http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=80
New Features 2: Kytherian Cultural Association
Recent visitors to the site might have noticed that we have added a whole section. The Kytherian Cultural Association in Hora was founded for the purpose of promoting cultural activities of all kinds on the island of Kythera. Their section on our site allows them to promote their activities and to display their considerable archives, which will be uploaded to the site in the coming weeks. Their photographic archive in particular is full of gems from the first half of last century, some of which already appear in our photography section.
New Entry Highlights:
In the "Oral History" category there are two new entries of note. The first is a heart-warming tribute to Anna Coroneo by Eleni Malanos and the second is a humorous and informative story of the Panaretos Family by Peter Tsicalas which also tells the story of how the fourteen-year-old Peter Panaretos, just off the boat from Greece and without a word of English, was bundled off alone to Casino in northern New South Wales (Australia) by train. A "must read". Here is the link to the "Oral History" section: http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=5-11
In the "Photography" section there is a new set of photos from James Gavriles from Michigan, USA, many of them group photos from his family in Logothetianika. He requests help with naming the people in the photos. And Peter Kominos has submitted two beautiful church photos from Ntourianika and Lianianika. There are now about 100 photos on the site.
Special thanks for new submissions also go to:
Alexandra Ermolaeff, Jim and Mary Hope, Marina Fitzpatrick, Katherine Alfieris-Stathis, Gerald Katsoulis, Peter Tsicalas, John Diacopoulos, Paula Kotakis, Peter Makarthis, Joseph Stratigos and Elleni Chambiras.
Guest Book
Thirteen entries have been submitted to the Guest Book section of the site. By adding your impressions (and criticisms) of the site you can help us add features important to you. This month's selected Guest Book entry comes from Georgia Pine of Beverly Hills, CA. USA, whose family originally came from Aroniadika:
"What a wonderful site! I hope we can all begin to add information to it. We in the United States do not have an organised association or group. This could just be the appropriate link to get us going! Thank you so much for all of you work thus far and hope this website will continue to grow."
Thanks Georgia!
Message Board
The message board section gives visitors to the site the chance to find long lost relatives or to announce events connected with Kythera or the Kytherian community. There are currently 9 entries, most of which are looking for family connections (Gavrilis, Stratigos, Cassimates & Fatseas amongst others). The selected entry of the month deals with an important issue: The Kytherian Hospital Appeal.
"We are fortunate indeed to have a Hospital in Potamos that serves not only the local residents but also visitors from abroad. It is consoling for Kytherians and visitors to know that urgent medical support is available when needed. The Hospital however is desperately short of equipment and a committee of volunteers has been formed to rectify the situation and raise the money needed. All funds raised will go directly to the manufacturers that supply the equipment." To read the entire entry and to view the contact details simply click on the following link:
http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=36&cid=17&did=199&pageflip=1
Recipes
My yaya used to make a fantastic spanakopita (spinach pie) which stood three inches high and was filled with fresh spinach and eggs and cheese and.... She has long since passed away but the memory of her love and of her spanakopita will remain with me as long as I live. Our yaya's were all brilliant cooks, weren't they or hopefully, aren't they? The recipe section on the site is there to help keep Kytherian cooking up to the standards of our yayas. Please help by submitting your family's recipes (or send them to us and we will submit them in your name).
Thank you all for your interest in Kythera-Family.net. We will continue to improve and extend the website to keep it the finest of its kind in the world, and your help with submissions would be, as always, much appreciated.
Best regards from Greek Summer weather in Berlin
James Prineas
Kythera-Family.net Administrator
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Australia:
Kythera-Family.net
c/- Kytherian Association of Australia
George Poulos, P. O. Box A203
Sydney South, NSW 1235 Australia
email: [email protected]
Europe:
Kythera-Family.net
James Prineas, Grimmstrasse 27, 10967 Berlin
Tel. +49.30.693 44 70 Fax. +49.30.69 59 66 0
email: [email protected]
About Kythera-Family.net
Under the auspices of the Kytherian Association of Australia, Kythera-Family.net aims to preserve and reflect the rich heritage of a wonderful island. Members of the community are invited to submit their family collection of Kytherian stories, photographs, recipes, maps, oral histories, biographies, historical documents, songs and poems, home remedies etc. to the site. Uploading directly to the site is easy, but if you wish you can also send your collections to us by email or post and we will submit them for you. Thus we can help make available valuable and interesting material for current and future generations, and inspire young Kytherians to learn more about their fascinating heritage.
