| Antonio Lerios and apprentice Nick Toth making dive helmets | Antonio Lerios and apprentice Nick Toth making dive helmets | Still Image | Apprentices
Diving Equipment and supplies
Greek Americans
Helmets
Metal craft
Sponge fisheries
Workplace
Workshops
Teaching of folklore
Copper
Metal products
Artisans | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Antonio Lerios and apprentice Nick Toth making dive helmets
- Date
- 1986-02-24
- Description
- Thirty-four color slides. Lerios began making diving helmets for sponge divers in 1913 in Tarpon Springs. When he was in his 80s, he decided to retire. In the meantime, Toth, fresh with a degree from University of Florida, decided to learn the trade, and he worked as an apprentice for Lerios. By 1992 when Lerios died, Toth had assumed control of the business. Diving helmets date back to the early 1900s. Once Greek divers began diving for sponges in Tarpon Springs in 1905, the diving helmet industry in Florida began. The helmets allow divers to walk into deep water to gather sponges. For more history of Lerios and Toth diving helmets, see: http://www.divinghelmets.com/pages/history.html The Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program began in 1983 with a NEA grant of $22,000. The program provided an opportunity for master folk artists to share technical skills and cultural knowledge with apprentices in order to keep the tradition alive. Apprentices must have had some experience in the tradition and agreed to train for at least six months. The first project director was Blanton Owen, later replaced by folklorist Peter Roller. The program was continued each year through 2003.
- Collection
| Fieldwork for Every Island Has Its Own Song (Video 21) | Fieldwork for Every Island Has Its Own Song (Video 21) | Moving Image | Diving helmet maker
Boat driver
Fieldwork
Interviews
Helmets
Greek Americans
Ecotourism
Sponge divers
Personal experience narratives
Sponge fisheries
Metalwork
Tour guides (Persons) | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_video.jpg |
Fieldwork for Every Island Has Its Own Song (Video 21)
- Date
- 1987-11
- Description
- One video cassette. 20 minutes. (Copy can be found on FV-10, S 1615.) Interview with diving helmet makers Toth and Lerios; George Billiris' tour boat goes out on tour. Created for the Every Island Has Its Own Song project. The finished product was a documentary about Nikitas Tsimouris, a Greek bagpipe player, and his family, and the Tarpon Springs Greek community he lived in. A co-production of WEDO-TV and the FFP, it was funded in part by the Florida Endowment for the Humanities. Offenbach narrated. Folklorist Michael researched, wrote and produced, and Yvonne Bryant was assistant producer.
- Collection
| Greek dive helmet maker Nick Toth at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival | Greek dive helmet maker Nick Toth at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival | Still Image | Diving
Folklore revival festivals
Festivals
Folk festivals
Material culture
Maritime life
Maritime folklore
Diving helmet maker | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
| Images from the Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival | Images from the Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival | Still Image | Musicians
Arts, Greek
Greek Americans
Folk festivals
Special events
Demonstrations
Musical instruments
Hides and skins
Bouzouki
Helmets
Craft
Sponge divers | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Images from the Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival
- Date
- 1989-06-24
- Description
- 61 color slides. Images of musicans (many are dark), sponge diving helmet makers Toth and Lerios, crafts, and various speakers. The festival was held June 24-25, 1989 to celebrate Tarpon Springs heritage of sponge diving, a practice that dated back to the 1890s. By 1905, when 500 Greek immigrants answered an ad to be sponge divers, the town acquired a distinctive Greek flavor, as the Greek Americans thrived in the sponge industry. At one point, Florida provided 95% of the nation's sponges. Although today over fishing and synthetic materials have undercut the sponge diving industry, the tradition lives on in Greek families, and through tourism.
- Collection
| a_s1576_23_c87-009 | Interview with Greek diving helmet maker Antonio Lerios and Nick Toth | Sound | Diving helmet maker
Metal-workers
Fieldwork
Interviews
Greek Americans
Helmets
Diving Equipment and supplies
Fishing Equipment and supplies
Metal craft
Occupational groups | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_audio.jpg |
Interview with Greek diving helmet maker Antonio Lerios and Nick Toth
- Date
- 1985-07-24
- Description
- One audio cassette. Interview with Antonios Lerios and his grandson Nicholas Toth on the family business of making diving helmets. They discuss Lerios's background and innovations he made in the diving helmets. For a transcript of the interview, see S 1579, box 1.
- Collection
| a_s1576_25_c89-023 | Interview with sponge diving helmet maker Anthony Lerios | Sound | Diving helmet maker
Arts, Greek
Greek Americans
Interviews
Sponge divers
Sponges
Life histories
Oral histories
Emigration and immigration
Helmets
Oral narratives
Sound recordings
Metal craft
Occupational groups
Apprentices | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_audio.jpg |
Interview with sponge diving helmet maker Anthony Lerios
- Date
- 1989-06-25
- Description
- Three audio cassettes. Born 3 December 1902, Lerios was a Greek immigrant who made sponge diving helmets. He arrived in Tarpons Springs in 1913 to work in a machine shop. He soon owned his own, and made helmets. Also made and fixed engines and pumps. He also discussing making helmets, changes in the sponge industry, his health, training his grandson Nick Toth as an apprentice in helmet making, and local Greek culture. Nick Toth helped his grandfather throughout the interview. Continued on C89-24 and C89-35. Recorded at the Sponge Industry Folk Arts festival, festival sounds can be heard throughout. The festival was held June 24-25, 1989 to celebrate Tarpon Springs heritage of sponge diving, a practice that dated back to the 1890s. By 1905, when 500 Greek immigrants answered an ad to be sponge divers, the town acquired a distinctive Greek flavor, as the Greek Americans thrived in the sponge industry. At one point, Florida provided 95% of the nation's sponges. Although today over fishing and synthetic materials have undercut the sponge diving industry, the tradition lives on in Greek families, and through tourism.
- Collection
| Maritime area at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival | Maritime area at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival | Still Image | Net maker
Fishers
Folklore revival festivals
Folk festivals
Festivals
Maritime folklore
Netmaking
Fishing nets
Helmets
Boatbuilding
Demonstrations
Boatbuilders
Shrimpers (persons) | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
| a_s1576_t87-077 | Saturday performances at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Stage) (Reel 6) | Sound | Festivals
Folk festivals
Folklore revival festivals
Special events
Workshops (Adult education)
Maritime life
Seafood industry
Occupational folklore
Occupational groups
Fishing Equipment and supplies
Net makers
Netmaking
Helmets
Fishers | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Saturday performances at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Stage) (Reel 6)
- Date
- 1987-05-23
- Description
- One reel to reel recording. Fishing Gear Construction workshop: Folklorist Taylor interviewed the fishers about various fishing equipment, and how they made them. Toth spoke on Greek diving helmets, with Buzier and Smith speaking on net making. The folklife area in 1987 focused on Maritime folklife, which stemmed from Taylor's work on the 1986 Maritime Heritage Project, and cooperative project between the FFP and the Library of Congress.
- Collection
| a_s1576_t87-088 | Sunday performances at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Stage) (Reel 7) | Sound | Festivals
Folk festivals
Folklore revival festivals
Special events
Workshops (Adult education)
Maritime life
Seafood industry
Occupational folklore
Occupational groups
Fishing Equipment and supplies
Net makers
Netmaking
Helmets
Diving helmet maker
Fishers | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Sunday performances at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Stage) (Reel 7)
- Date
- 1987-05-24
- Description
- One reel to reel recording. Fishing Gear Construction workshop: Folklorist Taylor interviewed the fishers about various fishing equipment, and how they made them. Because Lerios did not speak English very well (a Greek immigrant from Tarpon Springs), his grandson Toth often spoke for him. The folklife area in 1987 focused on Maritime folklife, which stemmed from Taylor's work on the 1986 Maritime Heritage Project, and cooperative project between the FFP and the Library of Congress.
- Collection
| Tony Lerios and apprentice Nick Toth making diving helmets | Tony Lerios and apprentice Nick Toth making diving helmets | Still Image | Artisans
Fieldwork
Diving
Sponge divers
Sponge fisheries
Helmets
Metal craft
Apprentices
Workshops | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Tony Lerios and apprentice Nick Toth making diving helmets
- Date
- 1985-07
- Description
- Two proof sheets with 46 images (plus negatives). The Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program began in 1983 with a NEA grant of $22,000. The program provided an opportunity for master folk artists to share technical skills and cultural knowledge with apprentices in order to keep the tradition alive. Apprentices must have had some experience in the tradition and agreed to train for at least six months. The first project director was Blanton Owen, who was later replaced by folklorist Peter Roller. The program was continued each year until 2003.
- Collection
Listen: The Latin Program
