14

Cleo in Canadian Airways outfit
1941
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

15

Cleo was urged by her collegues to go for a ride in one of the Canadian Airways planes, an Avro Anson, used for training navigators.

Transcription of Sound-clip:
Cleo - "These were the first airplanes they brought from England. They were Navro-Anson, they called them. And, they were made out of plywood and inside there were no seats, relatively you had to sit on the floor. Of course an accident had to happen on one of these planes. It was way out in the field; it had landed like a belly-flop out in the field near southern Edmonton. So actually, afterwards we had to go out and test what happened to this plane, with this engineer, to test what damage to the plane had happened because this was just a plywood plane with two motors, you know. And so, I went up in one just to please them. There were wanting to see me go up, so I went up for a flight, I guess, around Edmonton there for a while. I had to wear all their gear. Actually afterwards it was heard to say, because these were American navigators that were coming in, you know, from the states, and they said they taught the Canadians how to dress. They came up with these heavy things, lambs-wool lining outfits, you know, and big boots, heavy boots to keep the cold out because they heard it was Siberia here. These navigators were weighted down with about forty pounds of clothing you know to go up north. And they went around of course. Afterwards they did there exercises and came back to the base. But, actually, it was a fearful day."

16

Cleo in Banff for the AHEPA Convention
1940
Banff, Alberta, Canada

17

Cleo and friends in Banff for the AHEPA Convention
1940
Banff, Alberta, Canada

18

During an AHEPA convention in Banff in 1940 Cleo became acquainted with Bill Girgulis and other members of the Girgulis family of Saskatoon. Later on a visit to Saskatoon she met the Girgulis' youngest son, and her future husband, Sam Girgulis.

Transcription of Sound-clip:
Cleo - "My mother's relatives came out to see us in June 1940. Actually there was an AHEPA convention going to be held in Banff and my cousin decided he wanted to go to the convention. He had a Model T, so five of us got into the Model T and drove to Banff. I met the Girgulis's down at the Banff Café, and they were going up to the hot-springs. So every morning I would go down and drive up to there with them. So I got familiar with them and we took a lot of pictures together. I took pictures down in the Banff Café and wherever we were visiting there. So I dropped them to see Bill Girgulis at the Elite Café. But, Bill wasn't there. Bill had left and Sam, his younger brother was there. I gave the pictures to him and in return he showed me the new Elite Café that had been built in 38. The relatives of Bill had told my future husband all about me so when I went there he knew who I was, etc. And, then I visited there a couple years in the summer and my aunt and her son had the restaurant across the street from the Elite. So we met there in the evenings and just conversed. And I suppose in the conversation my cousin Ted, who at the time owned the Shasta, he pursued this situation. So every time I would come down we would have little get-togethers, I guess. Then in June of 1943, Sam and his nephew came up to Edmonton and we met there again and then he popped the question."

19

Family and friends and members of the AHEPA Order
1940
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

20

Girgulis, Sam and Cleo
1943
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

21

In 1943, Cleo was married to Sam and moved permanently to Saskatoon. Four months after the wedding her father died and Cleo brought her mother to live with her. Her mother then passed the remaining twenty years of her life with Cleo and Sam in Saskatoon.

22

A Group of the Daughters of Penelope
1945
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

23

When Cleo came to Saskatoon the city's population had reached some 45 000 people and included in this number were around 15 Greek families, 11 of which ran cafes in the city. Many of the Greek men in the city belonged to the local Order of AHEPA. When Cleo arrived in Saskatoon she was asked to join the local chapter of the Daughters of Penelope (no.69). This chapter was chartered in 1938, the first such chapter in the country.

Transcription of sound-clip:
Cleo - "I came to Saskatoon some sixty years ago after my marriage to Sam Girgulis. I was asked to join the Daughters of Penelope. It was the first chapter of the Daughters of Penelope chartered in Canada, in 1938, with 19 members. Actually most of the women were Greek. In the Daughters of Penelope we had this certain, say, process or procedures that you had to learn and so we encouraged them to learn English of course. Actually we just had our meetings, we met, we had a little social. Afterward we started to do procedure work. The president had to actually guide them in these things. They had to learn. If they ever wanted to be an officer, for instance, they had to learn certain things. So it was a case of teaching people, but it was to help them adapt to the Canadian way."

24

The family of Cleo and Sam with Cleo's mother.
26 January 1953
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

25

Cleo with her mother and three children.
July, 1954
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

26

In the years 1944, 1947, and 1950 Cleo and Sam were blessed with three daughters, Christina, Anastasia and Vasilia. Within these years the family bought their first home on 9th Avenue, in the City Park area of Saskatoon. From here the girls had easy access to both elementary and high schools.

27

Sam with his three daughters and Cleo's mother.
1955
Elite Café, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada