A Work In Progress
The Kamucheys
Family:
In the early 1800s, my grand-father's family lived in a coastal town
called Messolongi,
situated on the Gulf
of Patra
in Greece. In 1820s, during the war of Greek
Independence against
the Turkish Empire, my great-great-grandfather fled
during the Battle
of Messolongi into
the Mount Parnassus region looking for a safer a place to settle.
He came to a village situated on the slopes of Mount Parnassus
called Plessa (Πλέσσα)
on the outskirts of Amygdalia
(ΑΜΥΓΔΑΛΙΑ
or “Almond Tree”). He opened a business and eventually
was able to buy several homes and shops in the village. In the early
1900s, two of his grandsons – my grand-father (John) and his
brother (Peter) emigrated to the USA. We
have photos of the Kamuchey family here,
including a wedding photo of my Grandfather and Grandmother (John and
Erna) and a photo of my Great-uncle
Peter. The Kamuchey name is an American construct. In Greece the name
is spelled KAMOYTEHE (ΚΑΜΟΥΤΣΗΣ)
and it is pronounced Kamoutsis.
Village:
The village is characterized by its beautiful stone houses, the nice
doorways, stone walls, narrow roads, the view to the lowlands, which
is why the community is considered to still be very "traditional".
The village is now part of the Fokida or “Phocis”
Prefecture (State) and is contained within the Lidoriki Municipality
(County). History of the region can be found here.
Sample traditional costumes from Central Greece can be found here;
ones from the Phocis region are here.
Current demographical information about Amygdalia is here. The population is about 500, but tourism brings in more people during the summer.
And if you still want more history on the town, here is the town's website with current events (in Greek and it has been run through Google's automatic translator so the grammar is rough).
A video slide show of the village can be viewed on Youtube here.
