From Lamb, to Lion, to Goat, and Back

Peter Boudoures

For over fifty years, beginning in 1925, Peter Boudoures (Epaminondas Voudoures) was one of the most influential members of the Greek community of San Francisco. In 1965 he dictated his memoirs in ten sessions over a period of many months, on an old fashion wire recorder. It was later transcribed into 165 typewritten pages. The text had overlaps and duplications in the transcript that required editing. Some sentences covered ten lines, or more, and included five or more phrases. Some topics were mentioned two or three times in different parts of the manuscript. In order to make the story flow smoothly I have attempted to present the biography, as much as possible, in chronological order, and by topic. The transcript has been edited in such a manner so as to preserve the author’s style of speech and to allow the author’s fascinating character and personality to come alive. His vocabulary was better than average for an immigrant. His grammar was poor, at best. Reading his transcript was like reading an oration. Converting it into enjoyable reading was a challenge.

I knew Peter personally. He often visited my father’s grocery store (it was two blocks from his restaurant) to discuss the issues of the day. I have added information from my personal observations and from oral history indicated by paragraphs enclosed in parenthesis.

In his memoirs Peter Boudoures says it all! From his early days in Greece, to his humble beginnings in the United States, to his financial, political and social successes in this country, his story is one of hard work, shrewd dealings n and determination to get ahead. In the process of succeeding he developed a massive ego. That, combined with his fiery temper, temporarily brought him down. He eventually rebuilt his good name and spent the last two decades of his life as the patriarch of the Greek Community of San Francisco. His is the story of every immigrant who ever came to this country, and then some!.

John B. Vlahos (Email John Vlahos)

Click HERE to begin or use the table of contents below. At the end of each chapter you can scroll backward or forward.

Table of Contents

The Old Country
Arriving in San Francisco
American Can Company
The Grocery Business
Martha, My Future Wife
Combating Anti-Greek Prejudice
Marriage
Selling Life Insurance
Buying the Maison Paul Restaurant
Greek-American Relations and My Involvement in Politics
Politics and Religion
Greek American Organizations
Efforts to Make a Good Name for Greeks
Return to the Homeland
AHEPA
Fr. Pythagoras Caravellas
Dr. Peter Angel Runs for Supervisor
Bishop Kallistos Leaves for Chicago
The AHEPA Grows
The Great Depression
The Great Restaurant Strike
The Sarantites Brothers and The Golden West Bakery
St Sophia Church Has Financial Problems
Bank of America Forecloses
Fr. Lokis Arrives at Holy Trinity Church
Fr. Lokis Seeks to Merge the Two Churches
The Church Members Vote
Litigation at Holy Trinity
Fr. Lokis Moves to St. Sophia
Efforts to Repurchase the Church Building From the Bank
Chris Katon to the Rescue
Attempts to Have Fr. Lokis Elevated to Bishop
An Independent Diocese
Fr. Lokis Recants
AHEPA National Office
Greek War Relief, 1942
Spiros Skouras, Chairman of the Greek War Relief
Meeting With Skouras
Charles Skouras
Modern Greeks Worthy of their Ancestors
Greek War Relief Versus Business as Usual
Growing Castor Beans for the War Effort
United Nations in San Francisco
Scenes of Devastation in Greece, 1945
The Greek War Relief, 1945, Mules for Greece
AHEPA Wing of Evangelismos Hospital
Slow Decline of the Maison Paul Restaurant
Inauguration of AHEPA Wing
George Christopher Consults with Boudoures
George Christopher Becomes a Republican
Boudoures Makes a Mistake
Building St. Sophia Cathedral, Los Angeles
Boudoures Makes a Movie, “The Barefoot Battalion.”
Showing the Movie is Not Easy
Olympic Federal Saving Bank