There are approximately 3,500 Albanians in Chicago. Christ Anton Lepon, through whose efforts, largely, as chairman, Albanian Day at A Century of Progress was such an outstanding success, estimates that there are about 5,000 of his countrymen in Cook County. The great majority of them are adults born in Albania, the men predominating in number by a ratio of two to one. Strange as it may seem, in view of their ancient background and traditions, they are among the most completely Americanized foreign group in the city. There is no "Little Albania" in Chicago. The greatest concentration of Albanianpopulation is in an area bounded on the north and south by Division and Madison Streets, and on the east and west by Ashland Avenue and Pulaski Road. The most detailed survey of this section, however, would reveal no signs of a colony.

Proud as they are of their racial heritage, these expatriate "sons of the two-headed eagle" are not a clannish people. They associate freely with other nationalities, do business with them, partake of their common culture and participate, in a typically middle class way, in the general life of the city. They do, of course, occasionally think and talk of their homeland, that mountainous little kingdom, situated between Greece and Jugo-Slavia, on the west coast of the Balkan peninsula. One sure way of getting them to reminisce is to mention the name of Alexander the Great.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is probable that the Albanian who owns a restaurant on West North Avenue, or a furniture upholstering business on West Madison Street, is a direct descendant of the conquering Macedonian.

Once Part of Roman Empire

The history of Albania is more the history of a people than of a country. It is a history that had its beginning with the subjection of the ancient 3inhabitants of Albania, the Illyrians, by the Romans. Illyria, cut up into provinces, formed part of the East Roman Empire. In the fourth and fifth centuries, the "barbarian" Goths overran the Albanian mountain meadows, but the land was reconquered by Justinian in 535 A.D.

In 640 the Serbo-Croatian people conquered northern Albania and kept more or less constant control over the country until 1360, though the Bulgars occupied the northern portion after 861. When the great Serb ruler, Stephen Dushan, died in 1358, his vast empire was broken up and returned to the control of local feudal princes.

Early in the 15th century began the long struggle of Albania against the Turks, who had captured the city of Jannina in 1431. That struggle, marked by frequent massacres of the Albanians, continued until 1912, when with the assistance of the Greeks, Serbians, and Bulgarians in the Balkan war, Albania won her independence. The kingdom today is ruled over by King Zog, a former insignificant local prince, who became the country's dictator after the World War and was 4elected president in 1925 and hereditary king in 1929.

Agriculture and sheep and cattle raising are the chief industries in Albania, and many Albanians in this country are employed in agricultural pursuits. Chicago Albanians engage in such varied occupations as the brokerage, restaurant, and furniture upholstering business, barbering, bartending, cooking, and store clerking.

Hospitality National Trait

A typical meal prepared for a guest in a Chicago Albanian home would include a brandy aperitif, a pie with cheese, meat or egg filling [burek], lamb stew cooked with onions and tomatoes and one other vegetable, roast lamb, rice pudding cooked in milk [sukliach], sour milk [kos], a sweet, and Arabian coffee made Turkish fashion and served without cream. Incidentally, when an Albanian drinks to your health, he exclaims "Gezuar" [good luck].

There are, however, a number of social and semi-benevolent organizations, 5including the Albanian American Club of Chicago, the Pan-Albanian National Society Unity, the Albanian Society of America, Qyteza Brotherhood Progress [social], the Sinica Brotherhood Perparimi [social], and the Albanian Ladies Society Voisava [social and charitable].