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* *MIDDLETOWN TIMES HERALD, MIDDLETOWNNickles ReturnsFamily Reunion Held HereAfter Hit Arrival on VoLcarnia from AthensMy JAMES C. HARJUSONPeter J. Nickles. a distinguished se\ e'jt .y-three-vear-old gentlemanwho parlayed a few pennies and a shrewd 'Greek business sense into one of Middletown's mos: prominent restaurants and jn aue and lost two fortunes in the course of his life-time, was back in his adopted land today after a fifteen-year absence.Smiling and happy and in excellent health despue the years spentunder the heel of the Nazi invadsr. Mr. Nickles arrived yesterday aboard the former Italian hner. Volcania. ten days out of Athens. He was greeted at the New York dock by his youngest son. Aristides, one of the three sons who now operate the Coney Island and Central Restaurants here.In Middletown last sight, the formal family reunion was held— with the other sons. Brasidas and John and the seven grandchildren and two daughters-in-law be had never seen. Mr. Nickles* appearance here1 was described as a “visit by members of the family but they made no secret of the fact that they hope to persuade him to remain here for the rest of his life and to send to Greece for his wife. Anna.**1 thank God, Mr. Nickles said.POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTInterested when they came marching through the village in 1913.The residents of the village had been warned and they fled fo thehills minutes before ibe Germans arrived. Prom trees nr-d etiUea the.Greek guerrillas, of which Mr. were arrested by P*ixc Nickles* son, George, was a leader, re1* Bette in front oi took pot shots at the German troops, street when they refu The Nazi reaction to this activity lt;an order to ha.t an a: was swift and sure. jgo home.the;twenty-two. City Juc C- Phulkner, who pres Dougherty case dlsqual; in the case of Sirs. Sh latter was arraigned bJudge Martin RosenbluThey burned Zoupeca to — ground. Not a house was left stand-j y _ |*s* __ ing. Then they searched the ruins.| r f|||| HA - —confiscated whatever was worth-]* vuuvuwhile and left the debris to the 500, ..............villagers when they came down fromthe HM* » 'ConJrt-ea pvS *Without money or propeny for I can Labor one: vacar the second time m his life—the Nazi-; one Senate seat andi dominated government previouslyj seats were filled—all\ had taken over his bus line—Mr.|by Maine which held j Nickles and members of his family September ninth. Main embarked on a hand-to-mouth exist-!a Republican Governoience. They livedbam and ain the shell of an;raying that as M :e whatever they; the nation, lassMaineSecould find in the sparse fields and Iurns ;ro2J Maine di ! forests.much of anything e: The Red Cross and the Greek * Republican State stillRelief Fund provided some of the:hears.living essentials but when the war ended. Mr. Nickles was ready to , return to America. His Middletown ‘sons arranged the passage and his (Passage and his presence here :o-; day was the result.Mr. Nickles had a word for the bovs—“Don't go to Greece.” he told them las: night. It's no good 1 now. Stav in America.Mead - -• Continued /Ton *Declaring tliat theCmted States and of on the election in Ne— *• h » mi « 11 Irv j*Kilroy Was Hereand sez:VOTE FORJOHN T.SHERLOCKDEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FORCommissionerof WelfareOrange CountyExperienced as a Farmer and Contractor.• Former member of the Orange Co. Board of Supervisors.• Member of the County -Welfare Committee 7Years.When he returned to this country for the first time in fifteen years yesterday, Peter J. Nickles was greeted bv the seven grandchildren he had never seen. He is pictured here with five of the seven. Left to right, front row. Peter J„ Mr. Nickles and Anna. Rear row, Peter B, Joan and Georgia. Anna. Peter B. and Georgia are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Brasidas Nickles. Peter J. and Joan are the son and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Nickles. Absent when this picture was taken were the other two grandchildren Peter A. and Demfetxia, children of Mr. and Mrs. Aristides Nickles.—Photo by Harrison.“I did not think I would ever get back”Saw His VUIafe BurnedAnd the members of his family nere were inclined to agree with his observation. For in 1943 Mr. Nickles had escaped being shot by a matter of minutes and had watched from the hills as the German Army set fire to his village and burned his three houses and all his worldly possessions to the ground. That was when he went broke the second time.The story of Peter J. Nickles is the story of any of the hardy immigrants who came to this country before the turn of the century andstayed to prosper and to grow to love this great nation.He arrived m America in 1889 at the age of sixteen, a strange boy in a strange country. He worked in Oil City, Pa., for a time and then went to Ridgeway. Pa., where herose, fell and then sank to nothing as the Greek market experienced its post-war depression.1So in 1924 Mr. Nickles anti his oldest son, Brasidas, (William) returned to America, this time to jopened a candy'store. When the! Middletown where two cousins were j [ candv business began to return a | operating aRestaurant The restau- J profit. Mr. Nickles sent to Greece for .«** wasnt doing so well andMg j' __ - _ . ‘ 1OOR *rto ■*v/ pmicmc PiflfiiY fJIIfl •i his childhood si 1 Caravasios. whombetween the candy business and j under the touch of: the former candy { the marriage, there was the Greek- ■ store proprietor, it began to do a,tremendous business. Then, as now., it was located at thirty-seven West j Maui street. Business was so good i that in 2927 he sen: for two of the IR E X A I RVACUUM CLEANERSNo Bag—Clear Water Sinks Dust and DirtPHONE 6904BOB DUNN24 COMMONWEALTH AVE. MIDDLETOWN. N- Y-Turk War in 2397. Mr. Nickles. along j with other Greek immigrants went i back to the native land to fight thei Turks. Mr. Nickles was wounded. A „ T . „ ..Turk bullet went in his right shoal-1 remaining three son.., J - itier and came out on the other side, j Aristices (Artnur). In 1931,He was hospitalized and then re-1 Nickles turned the restaurant mer. turned to America. *° ‘•ne i*ir€e 501,5 111145 -c*u...,d *o2 Children In Greece| Greece.Mr. Nickles and his wife became,Gentleman FarmerAmerican citizens and became the; There he bought three houses in, | parents of five children, the three1 the village of Zoupena. thirteen S sons now living in Middletown, [ miles south of Sparta, and became |another son. George, and a daughter,! a gentleman farmer. To keep in1Mary. The latter two children are} touch with business, he bought a still in Greece.In 1920,Greek standai! bus company that shuttled between now a millionaire by j Athens and Sparta. The Nickles for-1 lards, Mr. Nickles. sold tune was on the upswing both inthe candy store and returned, with his entire family, to Greece. HereGreece and the United States. When the war came. Mr. Nickles.he went broke for the first time. I was Zoupena's most distinguished !The value of his American currency! citizens. But the Germans weren’t
Newspaper Details
Middletown Times Herald
Middletown, New York, US
Sat, Nov 02, 1946
Page 5
Full Page
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VA, USA 26 Apr 2023
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