MIKE AND KATINA, GEORGE AND MARIA'S PARENTS

Savvas Paraskevopoulos was the father of Maria and her brother George.  Paraskevopoulos was born in Greece in 1881.  Since Paraskevopoulos could neither read nor write, as a young man, he made a living as a goat herder.  Although poor and uneducated, Paraskevopouloshe was a strapping lad with lots of ambition.  Seeking a better opportunity, Paraskevopoulos decided the only way he could make something of his life was to emigrate from his small mountain village of Nestani in Greece to America.   Paraskevopoulos immigrated to the United States in 1901.  He was 20 when he arrived at Ellis Island.

Due to his strength, Paraskevopoulos got a job as a laborer on a railroad gang.  He gradually moved west wherever his railroad job took him.  One day Paraskevopoulos was working in Arkansas when he went to his Irish foreman to collect his pay. 

"What's your name, mister?" the foreman demanded.

In broken English, he replied, "Savvas Paraskevopoulos."

The foreman stared at him in disgust.  "I can't say your name or even imagine how to spell it," the foreman snapped. "Use my name or I'm going to fire you."

"Okay, what's your name?" Paraskevopoulos asked.

"Mike Mitchell," the foreman said.

"Well then," Paraskevopoulos replied, "that's my name too." 

Now that Paraskevopoulos had traded his Greek name for an Irish name, he was known as 'Mike Mitchell'.  His cousin had recently arrived in America.  How they kept track of each other in the days before telephones is a mystery, but the two men decided to meet in Houston.  There they opened a shoeshine stand near the Rice Hotel in the center of downtown Houston. 

Mike Mitchell would eventually turn out to be a bum.  However, in the beginning he was a hard worker.  He settled in Galveston where he ran a succession of shoeshine shops.  Soon Mike branched out into a dry-cleaning shop that pressed and ironed shirts as well as other clothes.

One day Mike saw the picture of Katina, a beautiful Greek woman in the local Greek newspaper.  He was immediately smitten.  However the beautiful young lady lived in Florida. 

Mike was undeterred; distance was not a problem.  He hopped on a train headed for Florida.  After traveling 1,000 miles for the sole purpose of asking a woman he had never met to marry him, Mike discovered the girl of his dreams.  Only one problem.  The stunning Katina Eleftheriou was already engaged to someone else.  Indeed, she had recently arrived from Argos, Greece, to enter into a marriage arranged by her sister. 

Mike took the news in stride.  He wasn't the sort to quit easily.  As long as she wasn't married, Mike figured he had a chance.  In fact, since Katina was marrying a complete stranger, Mike doubted she had formed a serious attachment yet.  Mike was a born hustler who knew how to turn on the charm.  He told Katina he had come 1,000 miles from Texas just to see her.  As opening lines go, that had to be impressive.  Mike added that he lived a life of ease thanks to his 'many businesses'.   Of course, Mike didn't bother adding that these were 'shoestring operations' so to speak.  With a thousand miles of separation, Mike felt comfortable exaggerating the extent of his fortune.  After painting a lofty picture of his business adventures, Mike professed undying love. 

Katina was quite flattered to be told by a husky and quite handsome stranger that he had come 1,000 miles just to see her.  Dazzled by this extremely confident Greek-American with his beautifully tailored suit, ample supply of clean shirts and fresh carnations in his lapel, Katina liked him a lot better than the guy her sister had found for her.  And so Mike succeeded in sweeping the young lady off her feet.  Breaking off her engagement to her first suitor, Ms. Eleftheriou married Mike and hopped on the long train ride back to Galveston. 

One has to wonder what Katina thought when she realized the luxury home Mike had promised her was actually a tiny apartment above his shoeshine and cleaning shop.  However, she must have seen promise in her new husband because she stuck around.  If nothing else, this fellow was aggressive.  That he was.

Mike and Katina had four children.  The first three were boys, Johnny, Christie, George.  Then came Maria in 1920, the same year Prohibition started.  Following the birth of the future Mrs. Ballantyne, the next eleven years were full of happiness for the family.  The children flourished due to a mother who was warm, nurturing and deeply concerned about their fortunes.

Then in a flash it was all gone.  In 1932, a terrible misfortune befell the family when Katina suffered a devastating stroke and died soon after.  It was a heart-rending tragedy.  The children were heart-broken.  Their mother was only 44 at the time. 

BROTHER AND SISTER AGAINST THE WORLD

George was 13 and Maria was 11 when their mother died.  Johnny and Christie were old enough to take care of themselves, so Mike suggested they leave home and get jobs.  The boys headed off to Houston and were not around much.  Unfortunately, George and Maria were far too young to do the same.  Not only that, they were devastated.  Practically overnight, they had lost everything.  First their mother passed away and now their two older brothers had left.  Then another misfortune befell them. 

Shortly after their mother's untimely death, Mike had a serious car accident and suffered a badly shattered leg.  Grieving for his lost wife, badly crippled and feeling sorry for himself, Mike decided he was in no condition and no mood to take care of his two remaining children.  He talked various friends into watching the kids temporarily.  For a time, George and Maria drifted from home to home with no idea what their father was planning to do with them.  Things stabilized somewhat when their father found them permanent residence.  Mike's brother agreed to take George while Maria went to a different home.  Under heavy pressure from Mike, Katina's sister Virginia agreed to take care of her niece.  The cruelest of fates had befallen the children.  They had clung together in the wake of their mother's death.  Now they didn't even have each other.  Separated, they felt like orphans.  Their world had fallen to pieces.

Things were far from idyllic for Maria, 11.  She was not particularly welcome in her new home.  Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gus had three children of their own plus they supervised a restaurant business downstairs that required constant attention.  They did not own the restaurant, so money was a problem.  Maria missed her brother terribly.  Stuck in a new home where money was tight and attention was scarce, Maria began to feel worthless. 

Making things tougher, Maria found herself ostracized by the Greek community due to her father's connection with the Maceo mob.  The 1932 death of Katina coincided with the peak of the Maceo empire.  Gambling was wide open and prostitution was rampant.  Sam Maceo had the police in his back pocket and operated at will.  Although Maria's father Mike was not a member of the Maceo operation, he frequently ran errands for the Maceo brothers whenever there was a chance to earn a quick buck. 

The Balinese Room did not come on board until 1942.  Long before then, Aunt Virginia's restaurant operated as a front for illicit gambling and prostitution run by the Maceo brothers.  Maria lived upstairs, but it did not take long for her to discover there was gambling and prostitution downstairs in a hidden room next to the restaurant. 

Gus and Virginia's restaurant was a favorite hangout for the Galveston mob, so the customers were a pretty rough crowd.  Maria's father Mike popped in frequently to see if there was a job for him.  If there was no job for Mike, often he would visit the hidden gambling casino at Gus and Virginia's restaurant.  This was generally the only time Maria saw her father.  Her father rarely paid a bit of attention to her.  He would wave, then disappear behind the door to gamble.  Maria was not allowed to follow.  Dangerous-looking men took turns sitting at the table guarding the entrance to the casino.  These men let the right people in and kept the wrong people out. 

Inside the gambling casino was another door which led to scarlet ladies who exchanged pleasure for a fee.  When business was slow, the girls would invade the gambling area and ply the customers with cheap booze.  That was typically the easiest way to stimulate business.  However, if that did not work, the girls went outside on Post Street and whistled at every man within hearing distance till they got some action.  When that didn't work, they tried the restaurant customers.  Maria watched wide-eyed with wonder. 

Following her mother's death and her father's abandonment, Maria was scared out of her mind in this strange new environment.  Her father paid little attention, her three brothers were gone and her aunt and uncle didn't offer much reassurance.  George lived way across town, much too far and much too dangerous for Maria to consider walking there.  A month passed since brother and sister had been separated.  One day Maria gasped when George showed up at Maria's home riding a bicycle.  Maria was glad to see him, but asked suspiciously, "Where'd you get that bike?"

"I've been fishing in the bay.  I sell everything I catch to the seafood restaurants next to the Galvez Hotel.  That's how I bought this bike."

George had guessed his sister Maria was in great pain.  Due to her loneliness, he rode over every day after school.  Soon he gave Maria a bike of her own.  From that point on, brother and sister were inseparable. 

Truth be told, George needed Maria as much as she needed him.  Age 13, George stepped into the void created by his father's absence to become the best Big Brother he possibly could.  Although they lived apart and went to different schools, every day George made a point to check on his kid sister. 

Sometimes Maria joined George in his fishing boat where he earned his spending money, but most of their afternoons were spent playing tennis together on a city court.  George was an excellent player and loved the sport.  Although Maria was younger, she was athletic enough to keep up.  Maria became George's favorite sparring partner.  The constant day in, day out volleying with Maria created a considerable improvement in George's game.  George became so good that he would one day become captain of his tennis team in college. 

Like many boys of his generation, George believed it was a man's world.  George showed no mercy tormenting his kid sister with his superiority.  Deeply competitive, George once told Maria she would never beat him.  Infuriated, Maria tried as hard as she could, but George was too good.  It took Maria five years to finally beat George for the one and only time.  

Maria seethed with resentment over getting beaten at tennis all the time.  Fortunately, George was magnificent in his concern for her, so she forgave him for being mean about tennis.  For a while there, it was George and Maria against the world.  During three years following their mother's death, George and Maria had each other but practically no one else.  During this time they grew as close together as humanly possible.  Drawing strength and courage from the other's presence, they overcame the terrible blow of losing their parents and brothers.

There were many times when George and Maria were alone.  During these moments, they often talked about their parents.  They agreed Mike and Katina deserved a lot of credit for having the courage to leave their Greek homeland for the 5,000 mile, two month sea voyage to America.  George said he had the same instinct to better himself.  He identified with Mexican immigrants who risked their lives to come to Texas.  George said if he had been born a Mexican, no wall, no river, no cops would ever stop him from coming to America.  Proud to live in this land of opportunity, George insisted to Maria he would take any risk necessary to succeed in life.  George said there was a powerful will in his Greek blood to succeed at any cost.  Maria nodded.  She felt the same way.

The great mystery of their lives was their inability to understand why their once-ambitious father had turned his back on them.  Neither George nor Maria could figure out what happened to change him into a deadbeat.  Before their mother's death, Mike had been a hard-working man with his own business.  But that was yesterday.  Shirking his duties as a parent, Mike decided true happiness lay in playing poker, hustling for the mob and chasing women.  George and Maria vowed never to repeat their father's mistake.  Due to the pain of losing their parents, they made a solemn vow.  George and Maria promised when the day came to be parents themselves, they would become the finest parents imaginable. 

The three year period that George and Maria spent together after their mother's tragic death undoubtedly marked the birth of their incredible legacy as parents.  Family first, hard work, determination, and the resolve to never quit until they made something of themselves.  That was their shared vow.

The first few months following her mother's death was sheer misery for Maria.  However, her life was made bearable when George returned.  Thanks to his constant presence after school, her teenage years were not miserable, just lonely.  However her home life was tough when George was not around.  She was forced to grow up fast, spending many a night washing dishes at the family restaurant and bussing tables.  Afterwards she went to her room and studied hard.  Like her brother, Maria was convinced education held the best route out of this fix she was in.

Maria suffered a double whammy following her sophomore year of high school.  The first blow came in 1935 when George left home to attend Texas A&M.  He was only 16, but graduated early to escape his unpleasant home.  Already upset at losing her best friend, his departure caused another problem for Maria.  Gus and Virginia had wanted to move to San Antonio for some time, but hesitated due to the relationship of George and Maria.  With George gone, there was no reason to postpone the move any longer.  So off to San Antonio they went intent on opening their own restaurant.  Not only was her best friend in the world gone, Maria lost her friends at school as well.  Completely alone in a new city, Maria missed George terribly. 

George understood what his sister was going through.  While he was away at A&M and Maria was in high school in San Antonio, George wrote letters constantly as a way to stay in touch.  Maria kept every single one of the letters and read them whenever she got down.

Unfortunately George was in no position to look out for his lonely sister to any great extent.  He was fighting tooth and nail to stay in school at A&M.  Since George had virtually no money, he took every odd job he could find.  He waited on tables at the residence hall for 25 cents an hour.  He built book cases and sold them to A&M cadets.  He sold candy.  He sold stationary to lovesick freshman so they could send love letters back home to their girlfriends.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he scrambled, raising money was a constant headache.  Three times George came within a whisker of being tossed for non-payment of tuition at Texas A&M.  Back in the Thirties, there was little scholarship money to be found.  Not just that, A&M had a strict pay up or drop out policy.  There was a two-week grace period, but that was the limit.  Finally the day came when George hit a brick wall.  There were no jobs to be had and his college friends were tapped out.  Unable to raise the money, George had one option left. 

Against his will, George contacted his father, a man he despised.  To his astonishment, his father came up with the money!  At the time, George had no idea how Mike had pulled this off.  Nor did he have any idea that his father had secretly kept half the $100 for himself.  Then one day the mystery was solved when Sam Maceo contacted him.  Maceo told George to come to him if there were any more financial problems.  George took Maceo up on his offer several times.  In his memoir, Mitchell said he might not have graduated without Maceo's help,

In the beginning George never understood why Sam Maceo insisted on helping him.  What he did not realize is that Maceo kept regular tabs on George's progress at A&M.  Maceo had been skeptical when George's father came to him spouting nonsense about how great George was doing at A&M.  Considering the low opinion Maceo had for Mike, it was difficult to believe this low-life had fathered a high-achieving son.  Assuming that Mike had lied to him to get some easy cash, Maceo checked with A&M.  To his amazement, Maceo learned that Mike had told the truth.  Being the top student in his engineering class was quite an accomplishment for a first generation son of Greek immigrants.

Now came the day when Maria was ready for college as well.  However, money was tight in Maria's home and her chances didn't look good.  Maria was deeply upset.  It broke her heart to know she would not go to college.  Then came the big break.  One day a letter arrived with a check.  Writing to insist that Maria go to college, the enclosed check was more than sufficient to cover enrollment for the first month.  George promised there would be more to come.

Maria was incredulous.  George had worked himself to the bone to raise enough money to pay for his own tuition.  He could barely support himself, so where did this extra money come from?  Maria was deeply touched that George was willing to do the same thing for her he had done for himself.  She could not imagine where he got the strength to work long hours to pay her tuition one month at a time.  However, she was also worried about him.  There was no way on earth George could keep this up.  Besides, he was a senior at A&M and needed to study. 

Everything was done by mail.  This explains why Maria had no idea that George had fibbed to her for some time.  She had no idea that Sam Maceo had learned of Maria's plight and offered to cover the young woman's costs.  When Maria finally learned the truth, she was utterly flabbergasted at the kindness of Maceo's generous offer.  Thanks to the help of Sam Maceo, a man George and Maria barely knew, they both received a college education.  They both agreed this had been the luckiest break of their entire lives.

While Maria was in college, George's support was unwavering.  George sent constant letters of encouragement.  One heartfelt letter at Christmas time would become part of family lore.  In this letter, George promised to take care of his kid sister Maria through thick and thin.  After revealing how incredibly protective he felt towards Maria, George called attention to how lucky they were to have each other.

George told his kid sister Maria that one day he would give her the life she dreamed of.  George never wavered from his promise.  Obviously it was this sentiment that moved George to offer Maria the valuable River Oaks property that became the Ballantyne family home.  George and Maria were close their entire life.  They would go on to create two large families full of remarkable children.  They agreed they had so little in terms of money and home life that it toughened them and softened them at the same time.  In one sense, their hardships made them determined to do whatever was necessary to find success when they became adults.  On the flip side, their suffering made them both determined to give back any way they could once they were in a position to help. 

It seems obvious that their early struggles were the source of George and Maria's deep empathy for the less fortunate.