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Exhibit Uncovers Tarpon Springs' Bahamian Links
Submitted photo
Steve Phillip Stavrakis builds model sponge boats in honor of his father, Phillip Steve Stavrakis, one of the pioneer sponge fishermen who settled in Tarpon Springs around 1927.
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Published: February 28, 2009
Updated: 02/27/2009 12:36 pm
This city does not have a sister in the Bahamas but it has roots in the economy and culture of the island chain.
Gen Haley, the city's cultural services marketing and communications coordinator, said Tarpon Spring's ties to the Bahamas stretches all the way back to the late1880s, when Greek fisherman began arriving in the islands.
The city acquired a $4,975 Florida Humanities Council grant to create an exhibit at the Tarpon Springs Heritage Center, "The Greek Communities of the Bahamas and Tarpon Springs: An Intertwined History." The heritage center is in Craig Park.
Until the 1840's natural sponges were harvested in the Mediterranean and the synthetic variety did not exist. In 1841, a French sponge merchant discovered plentiful sponge beds off the Bahamas after being shipwrecked there.
He quickly realized the quality of the Bahamian sponges and began exporting them to Europe
The most experienced sponge divers in the world, from Kalymnos, Greece, began arriving in the Bahamas by 1887. By the early 20th Century, Greek fisherman from the Dodecanese Islands settled in communities near lucrative sponge beds. The sponge trade forever linked Tarpon Springs with the Bahamas.
The exhibit at the Heritage Center chronicles these cultural ties.
The Tarpon Springs exhibit, Haley said, will consist of eight panels with photographs and other information displaying the cultural connection of the two areas.
At 2 p.m. Saturday, March 21, Tina Bucuvalas, curator of the Tarpon Springs Historical Society, and Phyllis Kolianos, Historical Society representative, along with long-time Greek Sponge divers from both Nassau, Bahamas, and Tarpon Springs, will discuss the history of the industry.
Mark Schantz can be reached at 727-815-1075 or mschantz@suncoastnews.com.
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