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
a_s1640_20_tape16 | Interview with bouzouki player Spiros Skordilis | Sound | Apprentices Greek Americans Arts, Greek Interviews Bouzouki String instruments Sound recordings Life histories Music Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_audio.jpg |
Interview with bouzouki player Spiros Skordilis
- Date
- 1987-04-07
- Description
- One audio casette. 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
a_s1640_20_tape14 | Performance by Spiros Skordilis, Emanuel Gonatos, and Nick Polemis | Sound | Apprentices Greek Americans Arts, Greek Music performance Bouzouki String instruments Performing arts Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Performance by Spiros Skordilis, Emanuel Gonatos, and Nick Polemis
- Date
- 1986-11-04
- Description
- Three audio casettes. 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
Model boats | Model boats | Still Image | Artisans Fieldwork Boats Models Models and modelmaking Ship models Craft Material culture Woodwork Model builders | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Model boats
- Date
- 1987
- Description
- Ten color slides. Model boats made by an unidentified mdel maker. The Florida Folk Arts Survey was conducted in 1987 by folklorists Tina Bucuvalis, Steve Fragos, Merri Belland, and Barbara Seitz as preliminary research for a joint folk art between the Florida Folklife Program and the Florida Museum of History. The field researchers focused on those areas previously overlooked by FFP staff. The research focused on identifying folk artists and locating appropriate exhibit objects.
- Collection
Rough edits for the Every Island Has Its Own Song documentary | Rough edits for the Every Island Has Its Own Song documentary | Moving Image | Artisans Musical instrument maker Video recording Documentary videos Fieldwork Interviewing on television Demonstrations Craft Music performance Interviews Emigration and immigration Personal experience narratives Oral histories Instrument manufacture Tsabouna Bagpipe music Bagpipes Arts, Greek Greek Americans Songs, Greek Calendar rites New Year rites Epiphany Catholics Bagpipers Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_video.jpg |
Rough edits for the Every Island Has Its Own Song documentary
- Date
- 1987-11
- Description
- Six video recordings. (Beta; 20 minutes each) Early edit tapes for the documentary "Every Island Has Its Own Song," a Florida Folklife Program-produced documentary on tsabouna (Greek bagpipe) maker-player Nikitas Tsimouris and the Greek community of Tarpon Springs. Includes interviews with Tsimouris and his family, performance on the tsabouna, local sponge boats, an Epiphany Day celebration, and the Tsimoruis family at home. The tapes have gaps for narration, insert shots, and other post-production elements. For the completed documentary, see FV-112. For the original fieldwork videos, see FV-1 through FV-17 in S 1615.
- 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
Blessing of the Water for the Dead | Blessing of the Water for the Dead | Still Image | Arts, Greek Greek Americans Priests Religion Religious rites Beliefs and cultures Death rites Catholics Folk festivals Special events | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Blessing of the Water for the Dead
- Date
- 1989-06-24
- Description
- Twenty color slides. 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
Images of the Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival | Images of the Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival | Still Image | Arts, Greek Greek Americans Tsabouna Musical instrument maker Sponge divers Occupational groups Sponge fisheries Sponges Folk festivals Special events Food preparation Cooks | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Images of the Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival
- Date
- 1989-06-24
- Description
- One proof sheet with 36 black and white images (plus negatives). Images of sponge diving, sponge processing Greek cooking, Greek craft booths, and Tsimouris making a Tsabouna, a Greek bagpipe. 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_26_c89-026 | Interview with bouzouki player Spiros Skordiles | Sound | Arts, Greek Greek Americans Interviews Bouzouki Life histories Oral histories Emigration and immigration String instruments Oral narratives Sound recordings Guitar Occupational groups Apprentices Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_audio.jpg |
Interview with bouzouki player Spiros Skordiles
- Date
- 1989-06-25
- Description
- Three audio cassettes. Much of the interview at the start is in Greek. Sokrilis discusses the bouzouki, learning to play, emigration to the US from Greece, family life, teaching the instruments to others, and festivals. 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
a_s1576_26_c89-029 | Interview with Greek musician Alex Platonias | Sound | Arts, Greek Greek Americans Interviews Local history Life histories Oral histories Emigration and immigration String instruments Oral narratives Sound recordings Guitar Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_audio.jpg |
Interview with Greek musician Alex Platonias
- Date
- 1989-06
- Description
- One audio cassette. Platonias discusses his life, including emigrating to New York from Greece, his family background, learning Greek music, folk dances, naming songs, sponge diving, payment customs in Greece, and education. Recorded at the Sponge Industry Folk Arts festival, which can be heard in the background. 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