A couple days ago my dad sent me an email with this photo attached. The handsome little boy in the center of the photo is my grandpa, Papu. He had asked Papu to write a brief history of the Gavos family for us, I thought it was pretty interesting. Stone and I both love history and we both feel fortunate enough to have heard about our heritage from our grandpas themselves. Anyway, this is what he wrote:
In 1907 Chris Gavos arrived in New York at the ripe old age of 15, with his three brothers and was processed through Ellis Island Emigration Service. He and his brother Johnny were placed with a Greek family through the Greek Church in New York City. His other two brothers were treated the same with another family. Chris remained with this family for several years studying English so he could pass the exam to become a citizen. During the time he lived with this family he worked as a dishwasher at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. In 1915 he enlisted in the Army during the first world war. He served until the Armistice and was discharged. He went to work for the railroad and was sent to Yakima, Washington. In 1923, he left the railroad and moved to Dallas, Texas. There he met Lois Cantrell. They were married and in 1926 they had a son (Thomas). In 1927 Chris and his wife bought the Santa Fe Cafe, near the Santa Fe Railroad Yard House in Dallas. They ran this establishment until 1938. They sold this business and Chris worked for several restaurants in the Dallas area. His wife remained at the Santa Fe Cafe as the cook. Thomas, their son, graduated from Crozier Tech High School in Dallas and enlisted in the Navy and served from 1944 until 1946 during World War II. When Thomas returned home from the Navy the family purchased a cafe, Tom's Cafe on Ross Avenue in downtown Dallas, owned by Lois Gavos' brother Tom Cantrell. In 1948 Thomas married Betty Ross. They had three sons, Robert, Richard and Joseph, and one daughter Shirley.
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