Chuck Ballas Sr. can trace his heritage to Lesvos, a Greek island, and his wife, Penny, can trace her heritage to Sparta. Kevin Martin/Staff

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church began in the 1800s. Kevin Martin/Staff

Greek families embrace food, fellowship

His ancestors hail from the lush Greek island of Lesvos. Her lineage leads to Sparta, in the Greek mountain country.

Since moving to Augusta in 1954, Chuck Ballas Sr. and his wife, Penny, have made the Garden City their home - and enjoyed the fellowship of a Greek community that has thrived since the 1800s.

"My dad had Luigi's restaurant, and when he became ill I came down here to look after him," said Mr. Ballas, who worked as an engineer in Cambridge, Mass., before moving to Augusta.

He thought his visit would be brief.

"But once we got here, we fell in love with this town and decided it was the best move we ever made," he said. "We have everything in the world here."

The first Greek families arrived in Augusta in the last quarter of the 19th century, according to a 1981 history of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, where many local Greek families worship.

"In the earliest days, most of the Greeks who came here lived downtown - and they owned fruit stands, restaurants and small businesses," said Esther Parrish, a church member and local historian. "To this day, most of these families are still here."

The earliest families included the Schiadaressi brothers, the Calamas brothers, the Antonopoulos and Thevaous families and dozens of others. By the early 1900s, it was time to establish a church.

The church received its official charter Dec. 8, 1917, and the lot on which the church now stands was purchased from the Christ Presbyterian congregation two years later.

The church is the focal point of Augusta's Greek community - and the thread that connects local families with their cultural past. Each year, it holds its annual Greek Festival, with food, music, dance and other traditions.

"We try to make the festival authentic in terms of promoting our culture and our heritage," said Mary Edna Keller, who has helped with the event for the past 25 years. This year's festival is scheduled for Oct. 6-8.

Like their ancestors across the sea, Augusta's Greek families embrace fellowship and food year-round - and one almost always accompanies the other.

"Culture has a lot to do with food," Mrs. Ballas said. Pastichio (baked macaroni with meat), moussaka (eggplant) and lemon-oiled baked chicken are traditional favorites.

To this day, a visitor cannot leave the Ballas home without being offered koulourakia, a Greek butter cookie.

"When you go to a Greek home, they have to offer you something sweet," she said.

Mr. Ballas, whose baptismal name is Constantine, always looks forward to his "Feast Day," which falls on May 21, when all men who share that baptismal name are entitled to fun and fellowship. The date is also the Feast Day for women named after St. Helen.

What do you do?

"You have a party," Mr. Ballas said, grinning.

Feast days are on differing dates for other given names, and there are always plenty of Nicks, Johns or Marys to celebrate. And to make sure no one is left out, there is even a Feast Day for those with no given Greek name: All Saints Day.

Although some families have left the Augusta area, others have arrived to replace them.

"Through all these many years, their descendants are still here," Mr. Ballas said. "Today they are doctors, dentists, lawyers, businesspeople. ... They love Augusta."

Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com .