NEW YORK – The National Hellenic Museum (NHM) opened its new home in Chicago’s famed Greektown on December 10, 2011. Armed with an ambitious mission statement, “Connecting generations through Greek history, culture, and art,” the NHM began to make an impact on the cultural life of its city and the Greek-American community, and on November 25 it made its biggest splash to date with the opening of “The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great.”
The Museum’s Chairman of the Board, John Calamos who is Chairman, CEO, and CO-CIO of the global investment firm Calamos Investments, shared his excitement about the Museum and the exhibition.
“It’s the first time in 25 years that so many artifacts are coming here from Greece and other parts of the world, and it will go to Canada and other parts of the world,” Calamos said. “We’ve supported it, partnering with the Field Museum, where the artifacts will be, and there are exhibits at NHM.”
The exhibition, which was made possible by the contributions of The John P. Calamos Foundation and Calamos himself, is the result of the evolution of latter’s devotion to his heritage.
“I had been on the Board for a while. and as we progressed and got our own building” – a striking modern structure in Chicago’s Greek Town – “I took a more active stance,” he told TNH.
“My father came from Greece, so I am first generation here. Growing up Greek, I think it’s very important that we preserve our heritage and that we find a way to document our history and preserve it for future generations,” he said.
“I think it’s critical and one of the really exciting things the museum shows is that how so many Greek-Americans have contributed to American society as a whole…we highlight the immigrants’ story…it’s good history for our future generations to understand and to learn.”
His father Peter came over from just outside of Tripoli in 1914, “really just trying to find his way and he ended up in Chicago,” Calamos said. The history is a bit fuzzy, but he said “the way I understand it is that it was just before WWI and my grandfather wanted him to get out of Greece, and he put him on a boat.”
He continued, “it’s hard to imagine now. He didn’t know the language. He had to learn it, do everything on his own and just work hard.”
Like many Greeks, Calamos’ father’s American dream had a humble beginning. “He started by pushing a cart down the alleys selling fruits and vegetable and finally had the opportunity to open his own grocery store in the West Side of Chicago.”
Calamos and his brother Angelo and sister Loraine grew up above the store.
“My parents really supported me to get an education,” said Calamos, who was the first in his family to go to college.
“I took him back to his village when he was in his 80s – he hadn’t been there since 1914 – and we met a lot of his relatives. It was quite exciting for me and my family,” he said.
“I tell young people ‘you don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you came from” -it gives them confidence and character, he said, and an antidote to bullying.
The mission of promoting Hellenism is huge, and Calamos hopes his efforts inspire others to make contributions in areas they are most passionate about, such as preserving the Greek language.
He noted that he, like many Greek-Americans outside places like the New York Metropolitan area, does not speak Greek.
“My parents were very focused on their children assimilating into the larger community. The language is important as well, but teaching the history is really important,” he emphasized.
Calamos agrees that the Community should explore innovative ways of conveying Hellenic culture and traditions to children who are not fluent in Greek – “and it will motivate them to learn more Greek as well.”
Institutions like NHM in media and academic centers like Chicago can be instrumental in developing online and in-classroom programs for conveying Greek culture to Greeks and non-Greeks alike.
“We have a lot of good ideas like that. We can’t to everything all at once, but we have kids coming to the museum on Saturdays to learn the language.”
It’s a magnet for adults as well. “I took some friends of mine that weren’t Greek and took Greek dancing lessons there and that was fun,” said the man who is always learning, and who has been applying what
He has learned since childhood.
While majoring in finance Calamos also took a great interest in his philosophy classes. “I tell kids today that they were among the most important classes I took. The underlying them is that philosophy teaches you how to think, not what to think.”
Calamos also appreciates all the sources of support for his endeavors.
He noted the City of Chicago helped them obtain their own building, and that “A lot of the members of the Greek community are helping us make it a success. We are still moving it along, with different exhibits – we need to do more in the on-line area because we want to make it national, not just about Chicago.”
Calamos agrees that NHM’s mission helps boost Greece’s image at a time when Greeks and Greece are receiving negative press, but he also believes the Greek immigrant story can inspire young people inside Greece. “Quite frankly, we’re hoping they’ll learn from us, how successful we have been, and how hard work has accomplished that…I have been to Greece many times and it’s a two-way dialogue that has to happen. We can discuss things they can be doing differently to get their economy going. We learned from them, and they can learn from us as well,” he explained.
Asked if this is a good time for conversations between diaspora Greeks and non-Greeks about investing in Greece, he said “investment in Greece could happen, but they have to have the right foundation for investors to succeed there.”
He told TNH “I’ve been a huge advocate of rebuilding their private sector. When you say ‘we are going to invest in Greece’ we are investing not in the government, but in the private sector that creates jobs and wealth for everyone. It is critical that they have the right framework for that to happen…I think there is tremendous opportunity there, and the government is trying to lay down the framework to encourage that kind of investment,” Calamos said, noting that new investment laws are in the works.
He mentioned that many leading business persons in the Diaspora are part of The Hellenic Initiative (THI). “We have had conversations with people in the Greek government.” He hopes they were listening.
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