Collecting Greece

My father's Merchant Marine vessel visited New York City. There, he met and fell in love with my mother. Over the years I have tried to contact relatives in Greece to no avail. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor my parents decided to move to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to be near my mom's family. My father joined Bethlehem Steel. They wanted him to head up the European division since he spoke seven languages, including Chinese and Japanese. Mom said no, explaining that she wanted us all to be together as a family. At the end of WWII my brother was born. I have always had an interest in my Greek ancestry; my brother did not. My dad was an avid fisherman, having come from a fishing village in the Chalkidikes region of Greece. This is the middle finger of the "three finger" region of northern Greece, about 130 kilometers south of Thessalonica. His family owned an olive tree orchard. I was introduced to stamp collecting by my mother in 1949.

Except for the earliest issues, my collection is near complete. Those Hermes heads and some others are hard on the wallet.

-Kleon Mimis