May 2004
Full Steam Ahead
At the time of writing we are quickly approaching the 2000th entry on the Kythera-Family.net website, an increase of more than 500 since last month. Family trees, modern landscapes, nicknames and general history entries have been flooding in, and regular visitors to the site will have been hard pressed to keep up with all the wonderful new submissions. But there’s no rush, because the website isn’t meant to ever (!) go off-line, nor will entries become too old and be discarded. The wonderful thing about a website is that there is theoretically no limit to the amount of information on a site - it will remain online and accessible to all.
CD-ROM Version of the Site
For the collectors and connoisseurs amongst you we have produced an off-line CD-ROM version of the site. It works on any Windows computer and is just as easy to use as the website itself. Just click and enjoy. You can do your bit to ensure that the information on Kythera’s site is never lost by purchasing it from our Australian-Webmaster George Poulos for just A$20. The more copies which exist the better the chance that our great-great-great-grandchildren will be able to enjoy the riches already collected on the site. To buy it just send George an email at [email protected] or call him on Sydney (02) 9388 83 20. We intend to make an off-line version each year so start collecting this invaluable archive now.
Guest Book Entry of the Month:
Paul Coroneos - Garland, Texas
Family village of origin: Prongi
“Congratulations on your site. I look forward to using it to keep current on my father's island. He left there so many years ago and was never fortunate enough to return. I however have visited and will do so again and more often. Our family is of the “Arapianous”. We go back to a Ioannis and Nikos Koronaios who were reputed to have arrived from Koroni on an Arab slave ship. Their father must have been named Minas but no last name survived. Thus the “Arapo-Koronaious” paratsoukli. We still have relatives in and around Prongi. Nikos Koronaios left an settled in Molaous where that branch of the family prospered and some eventually immigrated to Chicago, Illinois. Years later my grandfather Polychronis asked the Molaous branch of the family to help send his oldest son, Panagiotis, to America. They agreed and my father went to Chicago as a member of that family. My father married a young lady from the Mani: Athina Mantakou. Because of her love of Greece and her loyalty to her husband, who died at the early age of 52, we now have a vacation home in Ag. Dimitri, Messinia and are able to visit the lovely Island at our leisure. Thanks to our wonderful nephew, Spiros Ramadanis, we are becoming more and more involved in the affairs of the island and enjoying it. This site is a joy because it gives one the chance to explore the many facets of the Island through the contributions of so many so effortlessly.”
Submitters of the Month
George Vardas takes the prize this month for his more than 40 landscape photos of the island. George, past president of the Kytherian Association of Australia, vocal advocate of the return of the Parthenon Marbles, father of two and an established Sydney solicitor, has obviously missed his calling as a travel photographer. Misty mornings over the hills and valleys of Paliohora; a lone espresso cup backed by the ripples of Kapsali’s crystal waters; British-built bridges joining cliffs with slopes; and the breathtaking bays and beaches of our beloved island are all expertly and movingly conveyed through the lens of George’s camera.
Peter Tzannes has been equally industrious. His 77 person strong family tree leads the field with genealogy enthusiasts George Stamatakos, Michael Mattys & Archie Poulos close on his heals. Peter has provided vital feedback about the family-tree section which will soon lead to improvements to the system.
Still in its infancy, the site has needed the help of many to achieve its full potential, and we look forward to hearing your ideas and criticisms. And if you didn’t already know it, you don’t have to put in your whole family tree in one sitting: you can add newly born or discovered members over months or years if you wish.
Special thanks also goes to submitters in April Kalie Zervos, John Zantey, George Poulos, Peter Tsicalas, Lindsay Johnstone, Judith Lorantos, Vicki Gesouras, Basil Macree, Eleni Malanos, Stephen Trifyllis, James Gavriles, Panagiotis Protopsaltis, Simon Crethar, Emmanuel Cominos, Alexander Vlantis, Nicholas J Comin, Annette Mitchell, John Stathatos, Maria Petropoulou, Maria Kominou, Manolis Samios, Panagiota Morfi, Peter Mavromatis.
James Prineas, Website Team Leader Europe
