Twin Destinies

Kathy Pappas Angelos

Description

• Advance reader copies
• Targeted endorsements
• Targeted reviews in book trade publications
• Targeted reviews in publications and websites covering crafts, arts, education, personal growth, creativity and lifestyle
• Targeted reviews in major newspapers
• Targeted radio and podcast interviews
• Promotion on author’s website
• Social media promotion

Key Selling Points

• Nostalgia of the 1950s–1980s, small town life, and the era of locally owned radio and television stations.

• The relationship between identical twins and how they live their lives, personally and professionally, together.

• The struggles of immigrant families in the 1930s–1950s in rural areas of California.

• An inside look at Greek culture through the lives of one family during those decades.

Audience

• Readers interested in a nostalgic look at the 1950s–1980s

• Broadcasters, both past and present, in the radio and television industry

• Twins and their families

• The descendants of immigrants and farm workers

• Greek-Americans and the descendants of Greek immigrants

1: 1946: Brave Little Warriors: 1

2: 1946: The Blue-Eyed Gang: 14

3: 1948: Destiny takes a Field Trip: 26

4: 1914-1927: A Greek Immigrant’s Journey Begins: 33

5: 1929: Love Flourishes while Betrayal Looms: 39

6: 1936-1943: Babes on the Reservation: 46

7: 1952: Twins Rock n’ Roll in the 50’s: 56

8: 1953-1955: Twin Star Power: 66

9: 1955-1956: First Foray into Television: 75

10: 1955-1956: Dreams Drive Achievement: 81

11: 1956-1957: Twin Teens become Men: 86

12 : 1957-1958: Pete and Mike’s Dance Time on Land and Sea : 97

13: 1957-1959: A Nice Greek Girl: 105

14: 1961-1962: Broadcasting Beckons: 120

15: 1961-1964: Twin Tempests take Vegas: 126

16: 1964-1971: A Flagship Radio Station when AM was King: 135

17: 1964-1971: An FM Radio Station is Born: 144

18: 1964-1971: Local broadcasters and the Coffee Shop Scene: 150

19: 1967-1971: Self-Made Men as Mentors: 155

20: 1967-1971: Taking Care of the Folks: 162

21: 1970-1972: The Independent Giant of the 

San Joaquin Valley: 170

22: 1972: Saying Goodbye : 181

23: 1972: A Work Ethic and Self-Made: 186

24: 1972-1973: Love, Support and Fear of Failure: 194

25: 1973-1974: Hollywood Comes to the Valley: 197

26: 1974-1976: Going Home to Where the Dream Was Born: 200

27: 1975-1977: Together but Separate: 210

28: 1978: Another Indie Station Needs Help: 212

29: 1979: The Old Warrior Fades: 223

30: 1979-1983: Unexpected Challenges of Retirement: 229

31: 1984-1985: Back to Work: 234

32: 1986: A Closes: 247

33: 1986: A Twin’s Nightmare Comes True: 249

34: 1986: Saving Mike: 255

35: 1986-1989: A Twin’s Torment: 265

36: 1986-1989: Going Forward: 273

37: 1989-1990: A Broken Heart: 276

38: Author’s Note: 280

Acknowledgments: 292

Sujets

• Musique
• Histoire de la musique
• Cultural
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Kilotón
• Óxido de carbono (II)
• Central California
• State
• Culture of Greece
• General officer
• Modesto, California
• General
• Greek
• United States
• West
• NV
• Local
• HI
• Stockton
• California
• ID
• UT
• Music
• Modesto
• MT
• CA
• CO

Informations

• Publié par: Linden Publishing
• Date de parution: 06 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781610354042
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

TWIN DESTINIES
The True Story of the Pappas Twins, 1950s Teen Radio Stars and Broadcasters in the Classic Hits Era
KATHY PAPPAS ANGELOS
Twin Destinies: The True Story of the Pappas Twins, 1950s Teen Radio Stars and Broadcasters in the Classic Hits Era
Copyright © 2023 by Kathy Pappas Angelos. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos are from the Mike J. and Noula Pappas family archives.
Book design by Carla Green, Clarity Designworks
Published by Craven Street Books, an imprint of Linden Publishing®
2006 South Mary Street, Fresno, California 93721
[phone] / [phone]
CravenStreetBooks.com
Craven Street Books and Colophon are trademarks of Linden Publishing, Inc. Linden Publishing titles may be purchased in quantity at special discounts for educational, business, or promotional use. To inquire about discount pricing, please refer to the contact information above. For permission to use any portion of this book for academic purposes, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright.com .
ISBN 978-1-61035-423-3
135798642
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file
Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ’twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.
W ILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, O THELLO
For my heroes — My father, Mike J. Pappas, and my mother, Noula Mehas Pappas, with love and respect, always
Contents 1. 1946: Brave Little Warriors 2. 1946: The Blue-Eyed Gang 3. 1948: Destiny Takes a Field Trip 4. 1914–1927: A Greek Immigrant’s Journey Begins 5. 1929: Love Flourishes While Betrayal Looms 6. 1936–1943: Babes on the Reservation 7. 1952: Twins Rock ’n’ Roll in the ’50s 8. 1953–1955: Twin Star Power 9. 1955–1956: First Foray into Television 10. 1955–1956: Dreams Drive Achievement 11. 1956–1957: Twin Teens Become Men 12. 1957–1958: Pete and Mike’s Dance Time on Land and Sea 13. 1957–1959: A Nice Greek Girl 14. 1961–1962: Broadcasting Beckons 15. 1961–1964: Twin Tempests Take Vegas 16. 1964–1971: A Flagship Radio Station when AM Was King 17. 1964–1971: An FM Radio Station Is Born 18. 1964–1971: Local Broadcasters and the Coffee Shop Scene 19. 1967–1971: Self-Made Men as Mentors 20. 1967–1971: Taking Care of the Folks 21. 1970–1972: The Independent Giant of the San Joaquin Valley 22. 1972: Saying Goodbye 23. 1972: A Work Ethic and Self-Made 24. 1972–1973: Love, Support, and Fear of Failure 25. 1973–1974: Hollywood Comes to the Valley 26. 1974–1976: Going Home to Where the Dream Was Born 27. 1975–1977: Together but Separate 28. 1978: Another Indie Station Needs Help 29. 1979: The Old Warrior Fades 30. 1979–1983: Unexpected Challenges of Retirement 31. 1984–1985: Back to Work 32. 1986: A Chapter Closes 33. 1986: A Twin’s Nightmare Comes True 34. 1986: Saving Mike 35. 1986–1989: A Twin’s Torment 36. 1986–1989: Going Forward 37. 1989–1990: A Broken Heart Author’s Note Biography of Harry J. Pappas Glossary of Greek Terms Index Acknowledgments About the Author
CHAPTER 1 1946: Brave Little Warriors
“Y OU SEE THE TREE THERE, BOYS? You see the highest branch on that tree? I will hang you from that branch if you ever disgrace the family name!”
As little boys, Pete and Mike stared up into the canopy of the old oak tree where their father pointed, its branches twisting and turning like the arms of a giant octopus waiting to ensnare them should they dishonor the family in any way. Years later as they sat in the school office waiting for their father to arrive, they remembered that tree and those words well, because in a few minutes they would together face the wrath of both the principal and their baba , their father, John Pappas, whose words and promised action were chiseled into their memories like hieroglyphs into stone.
With their bruised faces, torn white T-shirts, scratches up and down their arms, and their grass-stained, torn blue jeans, they knew they were in trouble, although they were sure that today’s school problems probably wouldn’t upset their mother the same way as their father. She would dismiss this problem at school as boyhood mischief, but seeing those tattered blue jeans—the same jeans they begged their mother, Katherine, nicknamed Titika ( Tee-tee-kah ), to buy from the five-and-dime store—would be very upsetting to her. The pants were not the name brand of Levi’s the boys wanted so terribly, the ones that made them feel just like the other kids, the Americani, the American kids who weren’t sons of poor immigrants. But their mama , wanting to make them happy so they felt American and prosperous, cut other corners in the family budget so her twin boys, Pete and Mike, could have their treasured blue jins , as she would call them in her Greek-tinged English. Their mother understood their need to look nice, to be accepted, to have things kenooryo, new, not anything old or used or unattractive. She had that need, too. These two scrappers were her sons, so of course she understood. Pete and Mike’s little faces glowed, like brightly lit streetlamps in the middle of a moonless night, when she got them those pantalonia, pants. They weren’t Levi’s, but they would do for now. Their mother had faith they would be successful and own a closet full of kenooryo blu jins , all of them Levi’s, and she was sure to tell Pete and Mike, and all her friends at church, this fact at every opportunity. Her cubs were not like the other litters born to the average lioness—runts and weaklings. They, like their ancestors, were fighters, and they would win every battle they were forced to fight.
She would make sure they did so.
Both Pete and Mike knew what their mother and father went through every day to survive, with their father toiling in the hot San Joaquin Valley sun as a farmworker and their mother doing all the physical labor required of mothers in the 1940s, so they were thrilled with their new jeans, even if they weren’t Levi’s.
Now, those jeans were close to ruin and their father was on his way to the principal’s office. The major rule of the Pappas family was to not get into trouble in school or anywhere else, especially if it meant that John Pappadojiannis, shortened to “Pappas” at Ellis Island when he landed in New York City in 1914, would come to the school from the fields to attend to his fighting boys. This visit to the twins’ school in the middle of the day cost him wages and embarrassment in front of his other immigrant coworkers, especially his fellow Greeks. Bruised and bleeding from their schoolyard brawl, the twins were prepared for whatever punishment the principal, Mrs. Crier, would dole out: after-school detention, extra schoolwork, expulsion, perhaps even paddling. Nothing she could do to them, however, would be as scary as facing their baba.
John was a man of strength and old-world virtue. He wouldn’t tolerate misbehavior that could cast shame upon the family and its good name, especially after the sacrifices he made in the past to preserve the family honor.
The two of them were of one mind. Destiny had blessed Pete and Mike by placing them in their mother’s womb together. They had been gifted with one another, each with the security of knowing that they would be loved by someone forever—best friends, twin brothers. Though they weren’t allowed to speak to each other, they knew what needed to be said. It had always been that way for Pete and Mike—knowing what the other felt and thought—and they were hopeful that baba would understand.
They were shaken from the silent dialogue of their thoughts the moment their father walked into the principal’s office. Standing big as an old olive tree, his white hair set starkly against the sunbaked brown of his skin, he commanded their love, respect, devotion, and, yes, there was a bit of fear there, too. He stood before the principal’s desk, not looking at the pictures of past winning athletic teams and spelling bee champs that lined the institutional-green walls of the office. Instead, he glared at Pete and Mike, the unmistakable look of a questioning parent.
“Why you boys here? What you do to get in trouble?”
They both stared up at him, expecting the worst but believing that how they had acted on the playground was right, regardless of the consequences. At the same time, Mrs. Crier sat behind her desk, smug in the knowledge that she was doing her job as school disciplinarian and that she was in the right. Before either of the boys could respond, Mrs. Crier spoke for them.
“Mr. Pappas, your sons started a fight in the schoolyard. We simply cannot have physical altercations…”
John looked at her quizzically.
“…fights between the children. I have no choice but to punish them. They will be expelled for one day.”
John looked at her again, not fully understanding what “expelled” meant.
“Mr. Pappas, I know you are new to our country and how we do things here.” She hesitated, not knowing how much he would understand. “They will be punished by not coming to school for one day.”
John worked long hours, leaving his family before sunrise and not returning until late in the day. He didn’t have the time modern-day fathers had to take his children to parks or throw baseballs in the backyard. First, he didn’t understand American sports. More important, though, he had to work for his family to eat, to keep a roof over their heads, to clothe them, and to pay the bills. As it was, it took the efforts of both John and his wife to do so. Consequently, what few words he shared with them were what a good Greek father fr