Young Peabody historian to speak on history of Greeks in city

PEABODY – When one is asked to picture a local historian, the face of Peabody’s youthful Anthony Zannino doesn’t quite come to mind.However, the 20-something-year-old intern at both the George Peabody House Museum and the Peabody Leather Workers Museum is just that and will prove his capabilities with a lecture Monday night.Zannino’s presentation titled, “Toward a History of the Greek Community in Peabody,” will focus on why the Greeks came to Peabody and what their immigration had to do with the leather industry. He will discuss the ways in which they came to Peabody, how they reacted to their new surroundings, and how they shaped their lives culturally, socially, and religiously.”There haven’t been many studies of ethnic groups in Peabody, I don’t think, that take into account the wider trends across American history,” said Zannino.The Wesleyan University history major has spent the entire summer with his nose deep into history books and archived documents. He’s also interviewed numerous members of the Greek community.”There’s a lot of information out there, but it hasn’t all been gathered and compared or written down somewhere,” he said.Though he has a love for history, Zannino’s quest for revealing the unknown about Greeks in Peabody comes from a much more personal level.His mother’s family immigrated from Greece to Peabody many years ago, so he grew up in its rich community.”It wasn’t very interesting to me then (as a child), but now that I’ve studied history in other areas, I realize there’s a lot of interesting things to say about this small community in this one city.”On a recent vacation to the Greek island of Samos, he happened upon a photo of a leather worker. Underneath the photo was “Peabody.””My original hypothesis was the Greeks from leather industry areas already had skill working in tanneries, so when they came to Peabody, they could use those skills to some advantage,” Zannino explained. “However, what I’ve discovered is that when they arrived, they faced a lot of prejudice from society and always got the worst jobs at the factory regardless of their skill.”Zannino hopes to center his lecture on Greek immigration, past and present, but will touch on immigration in general, as he finds it an important discussion to be had, especially today.”A lot of experience that immigrants are faced with today have already been faced by immigrants maybe three generations ago,” he said. “It’s always a hot topic. Some people don’t realize that this is a country based on immigration?I’m hoping to share a little light on immigrants and show that they’re not just one dimensional.”However, his main goal is to revive the interest and value of local Greek history.”It’s a bigger part of bigger histories in Peabody, the North Shore, and American history in general,” he said. “And the history between here and Greece.”The lecture takes place Monday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. It will be held at St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, 5 Paleologos St., Peabody. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact 978-531-0355.