August 19, 2010

Many Greek immigrants began arriving in Arkansas in the late nineteenth century at a time when parts of northern Greece were still under the domination of Turkish Ottoman rule. In the years just before the outbreak of World War I, many Arkansas Greeks, including Harry Hronas (shown here in this 1940s photo), returned to their homeland to fight for freedom from the Ottoman Turks in the Balkan Wars. Combat veteran Hronas safely returned to his adopted home in Little Rock (Pulaski County), where he operated a successful business for many years.