All the houses in Agia Triada were low. In those days there was only the power station and a foundry. Next to the tobacco processing plant in operation then, there was a really old building with a tiled roof and broken windows, where I went to school.
In the area there was also the old Stefanidis soap factory, which had a large chimney. It had these huge boiling cauldrons, and the mixture was poured into moulds in a duct measuring about 50 or 60 cm. Then a foreman would put it in a press and cut it. The chips left behind would be thrown down the bank to the shore. My mum would send me with a basket to pick up the chips, so we had soap at home.
Right opposite the electricity factory there was a large orchard with a big draw well. They used a horse to draw water for the fruit, lettuces, onions and parsley they supplied to the main market in the town. In the summer everything dried up, and we kids would turn the orchard into a sports training stadium. We would whitewash the walls all the way round and dig a pit we filled with sand to do jumps and exercises.
