The Lady of Aetolia

“The #olive tree is surely the richest gift of heaven.” Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Ronaldson, 1813. My name is George Coundoussias. I grew up in the village of Gavalou in the region of Aetolia, #Greece. I’ve lived in the U.S. since 1978, but my family still lives in the town where I was born. I go back at least twice a year to visit family and take care of the olive groves that we have owned for generations. When I was growing up in Gavalou, there was an old, gnarled olive tree in the center of town. It belonged to a family named Malavetas. The entire neighborhood used this…