[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING ANTHONY LERIOS AND NICK TOTH

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                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2003

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who 
epitomizes the pride that Greek-Americans take in our heritage and the 
love we have for America.
  Nick Toth, one of my constituents, was one of only sixteen Americans 
recently to receive a National Heritage Fellowship from the National 
Endowment for the Arts. He received this prestigious honor because he 
has carried on a nearly century-old family tradition of handcrafting 
copper sponge-diving helmets.
  Mr. Toth crafts the helmets with pride. He spends approximately 140 
hours on each of the thirty-six pound helmets. Although the helmets 
have sold for as much as $10,000 a piece, there really is no way to put 
a real price on what they mean to his family and to my community of 
Tarpon Springs, Florida.
  Mr. Toth's grandfather, Anthony Lerios, came to the United States 
from Greece in 1913 and founded A. Lerios Machine Shop, which made 
engines and other parts for local sponge boats. He also made helmets 
for sponge divers and later taught his grandson, Nick, the art of 
helmet-making. After his graduation from my alma mater, the University 
of Florida, Nick and his grandfather teamed up to produce the helmets 
full time.
  Nick and his grandfather received a Florida Folklife Master 
Apprentice grant to make the helmets in the 1980s and soon they became 
recognized nationwide. Nick's grandfather died in 1992 at the age of 
100. Nick now is one of the few people worldwide who produce the 
helmets which have earned him this praise. He will be coming to 
Washington in September to attend a dinner honoring the sixteen 
recipients of this year's National Heritage Fellowship.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the attention of this House to the 
outstanding lives and work of Anthony Lerios and Nick Toth. They have 
shown that hard work, perseverance, and determination can lead those 
from modest beginnings to great acclaim. I am proud to call Nick Toth a 
constituent, and more important, a fellow Greek-American.

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