INTHE KNOW
DID YOU KNOW?
Many Local Greeks
Came from Icaria
Did You Know? We are looking for little-known facts,
history or other interesting stories about your community.
Please send your ideas to [email protected].
48 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Plum
M
any Greek families in Oakmont, Plum and Verona
originated from the island of Icaria (sometimes
spelled Ikaria), Greece. A small, picturesque
island in the Aegean, Icaria has received media attention
lately as a “Blue Zone,” a location where the population
regularly lives to an age beyond life expectancy.
The local Icarians, like many other ethnic groups who
came here in the earliest part of the 20th century, came
in search of work. They worked alongside the Croatians,
Slovakians, Hungarians and many other eastern Europeans
who were promised jobs in the steel mills.
At that time, the work was hard and oftentimes
dangerous, with no life insurance or workers’
compensation available when workers were killed or
injured. To support families who suffered loss, the
transplanted Greeks came together to form the Icarian
Brotherhood of America in 1905. The group provided
benefits for medical treatment, income loss and funeral
expenses. This organization, now called the Pan-Icarian
Brotherhood, has grown across the U.S. and Canada and
continues to do charitable work today.
Though there were several Greek families living in the
area in 1905, it would be another 17 years before they
had a church to call home. The families traveled to the
Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in New Kensington
and St. Nicholas in Pittsburgh for worship. But in 1922,
Dormition of the Theotakos Church was officially
chartered by the Archdiocese.
The current church building and social hall were
constructed in 1973, with beautiful iconography
decorating the walls of the sanctuary. The first Greek Food
Festival was held in 1974 and in 1975, the Very Reverend
Polycarp Rameas was assigned to serve the faithful and
remains there today. Under his leadership, membership in
the church has doubled.
The church is the center of Greek heritage for many
families who have descended from the original Icarians
who flocked to Verona and Oakmont in the early 1900s.
In addition to instruction in the Orthodox faith, the
church is the hub of learning for Greek language, dancing
and cuisine. ■