NOVEL VOYAGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 June 1930, Page 12

NOVEL VOYAGE

BRIDEGROOMS’ ARGOSY. A thousand young Greek-Americans have sailed from New York on the liner Saturnia, which has been nicknamed “the bridegrooms* ship,” to obtain picture brides in Greeco, with whom they expect to return to the United States. A thousand Greek maidens complained recently of the lack of propel’ marriageable men in Athens and other Greek cities, and communicated with the American-Greek society known as the Order of Ahepa, which has a membership of 33,000 men of Greek origin. The maidens explained their predicament, and asked whether there was a dearth of Greek maidens in America; and, if so, whether they could make up the deficiency. The idea was received with enthusiasm by the members of the order, and it was arranged that the girls should send their photographs, and a thousand men would return to Greece to claim their brides.

The photographs are in the possession of the purser of the Saturnia, and they were shown to the eager prospective bridegrooms aboard the liner after the vessel passed beyond the American coastal Prohibition limits, so that toasts to the future brides could be drunk as the pictures were exhibited with appropriate ceremonies. How the men arranged their choice of the pictured beauties has not been revealed.. When the Saturnia entered the Piraeus harbour, the girls planned to go out in small boats garlanded with flowers to escort their future husbands to the pier. All would proceed, it was arranged, to Athens, and march to the Acropolis under the watchful eyes of their parents and priests of the Greek Church, where introductions would be made, to be followed by marriage ceremonies if the youths end maidens consented after having seen one another.