returned to Lebanon, married and raised five children. She spoke so fondly about the Island that four of the five children eventually came to the Island. My uncle Albert Kays, son of Mary Marji, was married to my father's sister. He had a darker complexion than most of the Lebanese. The story is told that when he went peddling with a pack on his back, he would get free passage on the train because they took it for granted that he was Indian.
Most of the first generation Lebanese started off as peddlers, not only on the Island but all over North America and other parts of the world. Many of the second and third generation Lebanese men and women went on to different professional careers. Some of the more famous personalities include Paul Anka, Danny Thomas, Kalil Gibran, Ralph Nader, Helen Thomas, Senator George Mitchell, Dr. Michael DeBakey a pioneer in open-heart surgery, J.M. Hagger the world’s largest manufacturer of men’s slacks, sport coats, and suits and of course our own Joe Ghiz, the first Premier in Canada of non European ancestry.
Mr. Michael, believed to be the peddler referred , Mary Lubra Marji, to in Anne of Green Gables one of the early peddlers
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