Chris Tsoumalis was born in Driofito, a small village of approximately 1200 people in Greece, in the year 1913. At that time the economy in Greece, at least in this small town, was essentially an agricultural economy. There was the beginning winds of a World War that would continue to affect the economy, but not as much as a war would affect other countries in these modern times. The economy in the United States was not an overriding factor in the Greek economy overall, and even less of a factor on a small village in Greece such as Driofito.

             In Driofito the wealthiest individual in town was the person who owned the most land. In this particular case, that person was my great grandfather Chris. Chris did not start out that way, when he was fifteen years of age he worked as a farmer and herder and continued in that vocation until the day he died. To become the wealthiest individual took more than just farming and herding. Chris was also a salesman. He traveled by foot with a donkey carrying his cargo to the neighboring villages offering his goods for sale and barter. Some of the products he offered included agricultural products such as lentils, corn, potatoes, tobacco, beans, vegetables and wheat.

             He also raised livestock and offered them for sale as well. The livestock included; cows, pigs, sheep, chicken and goats. Chris also owned two horses, and the above mentioned donkey that he used as a pack animal. One of the keys to survival during his times was the ability to transport goods quickly, efficiently and cheaply. Because the villages that he traded with were small and relatively close, he was able to accomplish this be using the donkey to help pull the cart as well as transporting goods. .

             Chris was able to harness a component of the supply and demand economy on a small scale by supplying products that were in big demand (such as foodstuffs). He was also able to incorporate a relatively inexpensive labor base.