The village of Nikia on Nisyros is one of the most beautiful in Greece. Perched on top, it overlooks the volcano on one side – the largest crater is affectionately called “Stefanos” by the locals – and the sea on the other. His visiting card is the puppet central square, literally the capital, in front of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, with the old school and the town hall. The square was decorated in 1923 with amazing black and white paving stones and acquired an elliptical stone base. Imagine the joys and celebrations that took place there when, this summer, 30 cousins ​​of the large Skaros family from the USA, who trace their origins from this place, visited the village with only 20 souls. The breath of love and affection was re-inhaled as even third and fourth generation Greek Americans who don’t speak a word of Greek felt that special connection to their roots.

“You can’t imagine the emotions they went through,” real estate agent Michalis Andriotis says in the column. Their countryman, although he lived for many years in New York, returned to the island. In fact, he was the one who restored the Skaros family home. The 30 relatives are descendants of Konstantinos Skaros and Maria Alexiadis, who married in 1902 and had seven children. Thus, soybeans have grown across the Atlantic, spreading across many US states, from New York to New England and from Florida to the Pacific. Most of them had never set foot in Greece, and some still had decades to go. But then there was an opportunity for everyone to gather again in Nikiya and celebrate properly. They put on the same T-shirts, took pictures and decided to extend the date for the future. The anniversary visit was also reported in the National Bulletin.

Most of the inhabitants of Nisyros left en masse for America in the 1960s in search of a better future. Of course, their small community began to flourish even earlier, with migrations within and beyond the borders. The settlements were deserted, desolation set in everywhere. However, those who left never forgot about the terrible attraction that the volcano exerts. Their association in the US is one of the most dynamic, and anyone who has lived in New York knows that you will find more Nisirians there than in the entire Dodecanese. John Katsimatidis is one of the successful ones, and he never forgets to mention his father, who was a laborer on the nearby island of Gyali.