The American Farming School

Believe it or not, there is an institution in Thessalonki, Greece by this name. It was founded by Dr. John Herny House who originally came to Greece in 1904 to convert Greeks to Christianity. You may remember in our study of this region that the Apostle Paul began preaching Chritianity here around 49 C.E. So House, a self-styled “practical idealist” found more success in “educating the whole individual: the head, the hands, the heart.” This involved "practical training in field and garden crops, vineyards and orchards, livestock and silkworm production" as well as "in industrial skills such as carpentry, masonry and blacksmithing." Greco Americans' donations of funds and equipment helped the school to survive two Balkan Wars, World War I and the massive resettlement in Greece of refugees from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War (1921-1922). House and his wife endured arrest during World War II and the Nazi Occupation of Greece. The subsequent Greek Civil War (1944-1945) saw the kidnapping by leftist guerillas of the American Farming School's entire senior class. Source: http://www.afs.edu.gr/page/default.asp?la=2

Today we also were given a lecture and tour at the Macedonian Contemporary Art Museuem. See http://www.afs.edu.gr/age/default.asp?la=2

Greece: land of continuity and change