Sharing our Lakonian heritage with compatriots worldwide is both important and gratifying. It is a major reason I started this blog on January 25, 2012 with the goal of documenting my Greek research and assisting others who are embarking on this exciting journey.

Our experience in learning about our ancestors’ lives has been greatly enriched by the Faris (Φαρις) newsletters of Xirokampi. We are instantly transported back in time as we read the heartfelt stories of the older generations, captured by the writers and editors. These Faris authors are providing an essential archival service by ensuring that the histories of their villages will be preserved. I am grateful for the privilege of translating these stories into English and sharing them with people worldwide. Whether our roots are in Xirokampi or any other rural Greek village, we are all edified by learning of the everyday lives of our ancestors and seeing how they coped with–and triumphed over–their hard times.

Recently, I was taken by complete surprise when I saw this post on the blog of our our Pan-Laconian friends in South Australia. I thank them sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing the wonderful Faris stories with their readers. You can follow and read the interesting and informative newsletter of the Pan-Laconian Society of South Australia “Leonidas” at https://pallakonikodeltio.blogspot.com/.

By cross-posting and sharing articles about our Lakonian heritage, we can bring many more people expanded opportunities to learn of and understand their rich ancestral past.

In 2023, I brought home the full collection of Faris newsletters and placed them in the Library of Congress, where researchers worldwide now have access to primary source materials created at the local level. As the archivist wrote to me: “while we cannot predict when a researcher will need to look at material, we would be thrilled to have the ability to provide them with hard-to-find regional materials when they come to us.”

If you know of a Laconian online newsletter, website or blog, please send a link to me at spartanroots1@gmail.com and I will add it to the Spartan Roots Resource page. Thank you!