Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Fall/Section017/Mrs. Thomas Kalavaris

Overview
Mrs. Thomas Kalavaris was a Greek immigrant interviewed by Dudley W. Crawford on July 26, 1939. Her response was included in a compilation of thirteen interviews published for the Federal Writers' Project under the title "The Greeks in Charlotte."

Biography
Mrs. Thomas Kalavaris immigrated to the United States from Greece in the year 1928. She moved to Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband, who owned a small business in the area. While in the United States, Mr. and Mrs. Kalavaris began a family and had two daughters. Unfortunately, after the birth of her second daughter, Mrs. Kalavaris contracted tuberculosis. As a result of her infection, she was admitted to the Mecklenburg Sanatorium, where she stayed for two years before she was permitted to return home. However, after just six months, she had to be readmitted, and she remained at the sanatorium for six more years.

Upon her arrival to the United States, Mrs. Kalavaris spoke no English. But during her stay at the sanatorium, she began to learn the language. She came in contact with almost solely Americans at the sanatorium, and as a result, she began to embrace the culture and, by her own admission, learned to love it. In her interview, Mrs. Kalavaris stated that she did not think she would return to Greece and remarked that she was “thoroughly sold on America.”

Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis or TB is a disease that has "plagued humankind throughout known history and human prehistory." It is an infection caused by bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB reached epidemic proportions during the 18th and 19th centuries, peaking in estimated mortality rates around the 1800s. Over the next 100 years, mortality rates began a slow, relatively steady decline as medical advancements allowed for the development of new kinds of treatments.

In the late 19th and 20th centuries, knowledge around tuberculosis increased. New understandings led to the development of sanatoriums which had a major impact on the treatment and wellbeing of ill patients.

Sanatoriums
Sanatoriums were medical facilities designed to improve the care of patients with tuberculosis. The first American sanatorium was established in 1875. From then until the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the expansion of sanatoriums in the United States was rapid. In 1904, there were 115 facilities with around 8,000 beds, and by the year 1953, there were 839 facilities with over 136,000 beds. While the actual effectiveness of sanatoriums later came under debate, "sanatorium care certainly comforted and brought peace of mind to many sufferers."

Mrs. Kalavaris was one of these sufferers. Following the birth of her second daughter, she became infected with TB. Her contraction led to her admission to the Mecklenburg Sanatorium, where she stayed for a total of eight years. Mrs. Kalavaris, while she acknowledges that the disease was a "tragedy," admits that her time in the sanatorium allowed her to develop a deeper connection with America and its inhabitants and for those reasons, would always be a "bright spot in [her] mememory [sic]."

Greek Immigration to the United States
Greek immigration to the United States began as early as 1768 and still occurs today. During the early 1900s (1900-1920), Greek immigration was booming. The 1910 Census Report documented 101,285 Greeks in the United States, and by the year 1920, that number had increased by 126,770 for a total of 228,055 immigrants. But, this steady flow of Greek immigrants did not last long. Due to the quotas placed on the number of Greek immigrants imposed by the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924, Greek immigration to America significantly decreased during the 1920s. By the time Mrs. Kalavaris and her husband immigrated in 1928, Greek immigration to the United States had decreased by 40 percent from the previous decade, with only 75,696 new arrivals.

Great Depression
The Great Depression was the most severe economic downturn in the history of the United States of America. It is perhaps the most notable social issue of the time, beginning in 1929 and effectively ending in 1941. Between the years 1929 and 1933 alone, industrial production in the United States had fallen by more than 50 percent, and the money supply had dropped by more than 30 percent.

While the Great Depression was devastating to the majority of the American economy, some markets thrived. Mrs. Thomas Kalavaris never directly references the Great Depression in her interview, but it seems that Mr. Thomas Kalavaris' business was one of the ones that prospered during the economic collapse. Thomas Kalavaris owned a small business in Charlotte, North Carolina. In fact, his business was the main reason behind the Kalavaris' move to Charlotte. In her interview, Mrs. Kalavaris remarks that her husband's business had been successful enough that they were able to afford a "servant" to help with childcare and housework after her return from the sanatorium.