Overview of the Lebanese in Kansas City |
Tales of America's infinite riches spread over Europe and even filtered south as far as the tiny country of Lebanon on the east coast of the Mediterranean. Between 1880 and 1885 a group of 50 families came from Lebanon to Kansas City and a small flow of Lebanese followed them through the early 20th century. They were generally merchants or craftsmen from the towns and cities of Lebanon, and were therefore not destitute in their homeland. But the lure of greater prosperity in America led them to Kansas City, where they set up their businesses and proceeded to insure an even better economic future for their children.
Since Lebanon had a diversified society and its cities were rather cosmopolitan, the Lebanese had little trouble adapting to their new surroundings here. They were educated, and they generally spoke both Lebanese and French, so learning English was relatively easy. Perhaps their only serious problem was that their numbers were too small to support a Lebanese Catholic parish. They have prospered, and their children have intermarried with other ethnic groups, but they have not forgotten their heritage. The Lebanese have added still another dimension to Kansas City's ethnic variety.
Between 1880 and 1885 about 50 Lebanese families settled in Kansas City.
In the early decades of the 20th century an undetermined number of Lebanese came to Kansas City. The Lebanese have since inter-married, but is estimated that as many as 5000 people in Greater Kansas City have some Lebanese ancestors.
The Lebanese settlers were primarily small merchants and craftsmen. They had heard the typical stories of quick prosperity in America and hoped to better their own economic futures. Since Kansas City was growing rapidly in the 1880's, the original group chose to settle here. Their presence as an established Lebanese community attracted the later immigrants to the city. some of them probably expected to return to Lebanon when they had acquired some savings, but few left the U.S. permanently.
The original group of 50 families settled in northeast Kansas City near St. Aloysius Catholic Church. Later immigrants dispersed throughout the city.
Victor Swyden - City Councilman and owner of Swyden's Rug, Drapery and Lamp Co.
Alex Barkett - Kansas City bank director.
American Lebanon Society of Greater Kansas City. The men's society was established in 1918 for charitable and social activities and to preserve the Lebanese heritage. A Ladies' Auxiliary organized in 1933, and an American Youth Club began in 1974.
Eddy's Restaurants and Eddy's Loaf n'Stein, Nabil's Restaurants; Swyden's Rug, Drapery, and Lamp Co.
The Lebanese began with small shops, groceries, restaurants and construction companies. Today many of them are business people and executives. Since education is an important goal for Lebanese children, many have gone into the professions in the last 25 years.
Lebanon combines the influences of its Near Asian Eastern neighbors and Mediterranean Europe. Two thirds of its people are Roman Catholic and one third are Moslem or Eastern Orthodox. The Lebanese people who came to Kansas City, however, were Roman Catholic.
The family unit is the hub of Lebanese Society. Each family follows a particular craft or skilled trade, which is handed down through many generations. Thus, a man who is a leather tanner is called "Joe the Tanner" by his village or his neighbors, and his sons are called "sons of Joe the Tanner" until they take over the family business. In America, however, succeeding generations have often left the family trade for careers of their own.
In Lebanon, couples are betrothed to each other by their parents when they are quite young. Often the bride and groom are barely acquainted when they marry, but their marriages are still long and happy ones because the couple is more concerned for family stability than for romance. After immigration, younger generations have tended to marry non-Lebanese, but the commitment to family stability remains.
Within the family, the father is the command center, while the mother is chiefly responsible for religious training and education. She encourages the children to get as much schooling as possible, and she trains her daughters in their future duties as wives. Girls learn to cook and sew at a very early age, and they are very sheltered and restricted in their social activities before marriage. In America, Lebanese family life has altered somewhat, especially in allowing more latitude to women and girls, but Lebanese parents still exercise a great deal of responsibility in preparing their children for adult life particularly by stressing advanced education. Close family ties and family loyalty also remain strong among distant relatives as well as in the nuclear family. <
Copyright © 1998 . Raymond Maurice K. H. Dib - New York. No reproduction is allowed without the expressed approval of the publisher. |