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Order of Ahepa Power District No. 4 records
The materials in the collection span the years 1922-1999 and reflect the history, structure, and activity of the Greek-American organization. There are also a few biographical materials of its members. Almost all of the material is in English. The records consist of annual convention materials, by-...
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| Collection: | Order of Ahepa Power District No. 4 Records |
| Collection Number: | MSS159 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
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| LEADER | 07555ntc a2200253 u 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | ead-MSS159 | ||
| 008 | 190726i xx d | ||
| 040 | |e dacs | ||
| 099 | |a MSS159 | ||
| 110 | 2 | |a Order of Ahepa. Power District No. 4 |e creator | |
| 245 | 1 | |a Order of Ahepa Power District No. 4 records |f 1922-1999 | |
| 300 | |a 14.7 Linear feet |f 34 boxes | ||
| 500 | |a Materials Separated from the Resource: Photographs from the collection have been separated to Photo Group(PG) 385. | ||
| 520 | |a The materials in the collection span the years 1922-1999 and reflect the history, structure, and activity of the Greek-American organization. There are also a few biographical materials of its members. Almost all of the material is in English. The records consist of annual convention materials, by-laws, correspondence, directories, elections materials, financial and statistical data, histories, officer handbooks, meeting minutes and agendas, newspaper clippings and publication materials, programs and projects, reports and analyses, rules and ritual documents. The bulk of these materials is in Series I, which covers the broadest time period, and reflects that activities of the district headquarters, its board of directors, lodges, chapters, and committees. The most prominent records here are correspondence, convention and some financial materials. The materials represented in Series II, spanning the years 1936-1997, relate to the organizations' auxiliaries and include correspondence, directors, histories, minutes, rules, and manuals. Series III consists of only three folders and concerns Districts #3 and #5. The collection in general would be of particular interest to anyone interested in the rather complete, even coherent history of a local Greek-American organization that has changed, adapted, and remained active during most of the last century. | ||
| 520 | |a The Order of Ahepa is an international fraternal association founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1922 for the purpose of assisting all immigrants of Greek descent in achieving American citizenship. Its original name was the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. The record consist of annual convention materials, bylaws, correspondence, directories, receipts, minutes, clippings and other materials. | ||
| 540 | 1 | |a Restrictions. | |
| 541 | 1 | |a Gift of George J. Gialas on behalf of the Order of Ahepa Power District No. 4, 1995. Accession number M95-07. | |
| 544 | |a At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Gregory G. Lagakos papers (MSS062) | ||
| 545 | |a The American Hellenic Educational Progressing Association (AHEPA) was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 26, 1922, by two Greek-American businessmen, George A. Nichopoulos, eventually to become known as Geoge A. Polos, and John Angelopoulos. AHEPA was originally set up for the purpose of assisting all immigrants of Greek descent to achieve American citizenship through chapter "schools" of instruction in the principles of American government, language, and community life. AHEPA is a secret, fraternal, non-political and non-sectarian organization with local chapters in the United States, Canada, Australia, the Bahamas, and Greece. Although approximately 95% of AHEAP's membership is comprised of American (Canadian, or Australian) citizens of Greek descent, membership is not restricted to those of such descent. It is composed for four separate organizations, which work on local, district, and national levels. They are: the national order itself; the Daughters of Penelope (senior women's auxiliary), started in 1929; the Sons of Pericles (junior young men's auxiliary), begun in 1926; and the Maids of Athena (junior young women's auxiliary), started in 1930. All combined, the present membership of AHEPA and its parts is about 60,000. Headquartered in Washington, D. C., AHEPA and its auxiliaries consist of over 1000 chapters. In 1931, at the ninth national convention, the order was divided into 36 gubernatorial districts with a district governor at the head of each. Each district is comprised of chapters. Chapter representatives meet annually at the district convention to conduct business of the fraternity and to socialize. Pennsylvania chapters were located in three districts (#9, #10, and #11), with Philadelphia chapters #26 and #226 in district #9. In 1935, AHEPA regrouped, dividing into twenty-two districts in the United States and two in Canada. Power District #4, which no includes all chapters of Pennsylvania, was created in 1936. During AHEPA's earliest years, from 1922 to 1945, its emphasis was on "Americanization" and citizenship programs. Following the war, AHEPA broadened its scope, and many of its post-war projects were related to rebuilding war-torn Greece and keeping Hellenism alive among the American-born generations of Greeks. For example, following World War II, members continued raising money for hospitals in Greece and other Greek war relief programs, despite the civil war in Greece. On March 21, 1947, President Truman appealed to Congress for immediate military aid for Greece, and the ensuing "Truman Doctrine" was vital in helping to save Greece from communism. AHEPA maintained good relations with Truman, who was initiated into the order on Greek Independence Day, March 25, 1946. That same year, AHEPA's first health center opened in Chrysoupolis in northern Greece and construction began on an AHEPA Wing at Athens' Evangelismos Hospital. Later, other health centers were built. AHEPA continued its humanitarian efforts and civic programs, focusing much of its energy on a homeland in desperate need of help. Additionally, AHEPA passed a resolution urging self-determination for Cyprus in 1946, setting up a Cyprus Affairs Committee two years later, and in 1964 sent its first delegation to Cyprus. Education, in a variety of forms, has been a pillar of AHEPA since its inception. AHEPA still gives scholarships on local and national levels to promising Greek-American students, and has been a force in establishing Greek and Byzantine studies programs at college and universities across the country. In 1966 the AHEPA Educational Foundation was established as a means of granting scholastic aid. The organization also sponsored an Educational Journey to Greece, sending fifty students ages 14-17 to Greece annually for a one-month tour and studies program, while its Cultural Foundation has sponsored an evening of Greek poetry and music, and lectures on archeological finds in Cyprus. Moreover, AHEPA has also been active in encouraging Greek-American athletics. On the local, district, and national levels, the organization and its junior orders sponsor annual national tournaments in basketball, bowling, golf, and track events. Local chapters maintain active sports programs, and districts tourneys are offered. Finally, AHEPA has been instrumental in successfully organizing the Greeks of the United States to participate in large-scale charitable giving. They helped to finance and lead national and diocesan church institutions. They have donated over $100,000.00 for charitable purposes within the United States for flood and other national or man-made disasters, for the work of the Red Cross, and so forth. | ||
| 650 | 0 | |a AHEPA (Organization). | |
| 650 | 0 | |a American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Americanization--History--20th century. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Greek Americans--Societies, etc. | |
| 852 | |a The Historical Society of Pennsylvania |b Order of Ahepa Power District No. 4 Records |c MSS159 | ||