Background on the Founder of Sunset Shores - Peter Kerhulas

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Last month a check for $1 million was sent to the Holy Metropolis of Monemvasia in Sparta, Greece. This was a gift from the late Peter Kerhulas of St. Joseph. Peter was a remarkable man with a remarkable story. He was born in 1891 near Sparta in the small village of Arahova, Greece. There the villagers scraped by raising olives from the ancient trees and tending goats in the rugged country side. The family was very poor and hearing stories of the "golden" country across the sea, he decided to come to America. Somehow he accumulated enough money to sail to America. 

With a limited amount of cash in his pocket, he boarded a ship in Athens.  At 14 years he left his grieving mother with a promise to return someday. During the voyage a small boy started to climb through a porthole. Peter ran and grabbed him, pulled him back and saved his life. The young boy was Andy Karras, another Greek. The family was very grateful and they became friends and took young Peter under their wing. Mr. Karras assisted Peter to find a job in America, washing dishes in a restaurant. 

After a succession of hungry days, low-paying jobs, and attempting to learn the language, he worked his way west to Elkhart, Ind., where he became partner in a small restaurant. One day he visited St. Joseph and standing on the bluff he declared, "This is the sight I've always pictured in my dreams." He found a 13-acre farm for sale on Cleveland Avenue. He bought it, rebuilt some buildings and with hard work and determination, learned to be a farmer. He bought chickens from a farmer in Indiana who raised them. Killing and cleaning them, Peter sold them to local restaurants, shops, etc. Soon he realized he could make more money if he bred them from eggs. He added chicken coops and other cleaning facilities. He named it the "X L Poultry Farm and Fruit Farm." This along with the crops he grew began to give him a more comfortable life. 

To assist him, he hired and eventually married Bertha Remus, who had an 8-year-old daughter from a previous marriage to a local banker. Bertha was extremely valuable to him Ð managing the business, handling the bookwork, and taking care of the orders. Her daughter Jackie also assisted on the family farm as she grew older. She delivered the chickens, eggs and produce to local establishments. She candled the eggs and packaged them. She helped in many of the chores necessary to run a farm successfully. 

 Peter saw a future in land development. He leased his farm to another of his wife's brothers with the understanding that the business could be purchased but Peter would retain a portion of the land to develop. He decided to build a few homes along the frontage on Cleveland Avenue to test the real estate market. Not being a carpenter, he made arrangements with a local contractor and they erected several roomy two-story homes with basements, which many returning GI's desired. He studied and received his real estate license, sold the homes, and purchased some land in Bridgman near the high school. Here, with his partner, he built more quality homes that readily sold. Meanwhile, his stepdaughter Jackie married me and we purchased one of the homes on Cleveland Avenue.  

After developing his land in Bridgman, Peter purchased a large block of land with lake-frontage in New Buffalo. He built many upper-class homes along the lake and in the subdivision which he named Sunset Shores. This started a real estate boom in New Buffalo which continues today. 

Although largely self-taught, he needed legal advice from time to time. He made arrangements with a local Greek attorney who helped him draw up sales agreements, leases and other documents requiring legal knowledge. Peter was not the kind of a person to avoid the menial jobs. He often would drive home (he still lived on Cleveland Avenue) after working in the hot sun, cleaning scrub growth, picking up debris and trimming small trees and bushes, on the lots still available. He worked and sweated up through his mid-80s. He passed away at the age of 91. 

To read the full article - please click here (lots more interesting information about how money he left in his estate helped his homeland of Greece after his death)

https://www.heraldpalladium.com/localnews/a-story-of-luck-pluck-and-determination/article_a513a70f-e426-55ef-ac8b-6ebfc7d28c8f.html