1998_05 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper May 1998

              6
Hye Sharzhoom
May 1998
Armenians in Fresno-100+ Years and Going Strong
By Matthew Maroot
Staff Writer
you ask?   Perhaps the common
perception is that if you live in
Armenia Town. Does the
name ring a bell? For any Armenian who is from Fresno or has
spent any significant amount of time
here it certainly should. Though
very few residents of this area of
downtown Fresno, once highly
populated by Armenians still remain, the memories made here will
live on forever.
On the weekend of March
20 and 21, 1998, many students
chose to investigate the history of
the Armenian community in Fresno
through a course taught by Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian; Armenian Studies 120T: Armenians
in Fresno.   Armenians in Fresno
Fresno then you already know everything there is to know about
Fresno Armenians. Maybe. Maybe
not. Nonetheless, there are still
some who are unfamiliar with the
area and the Armenians in Fresno
course provided them with the perfect opportunity to learn more about
the community they call home. "Because I wasn't born in Fresno, I
wanted to learn more about the city
that I am living in now," said Taqui
Semerjiap. Other students had similar reasons for enrolling in the
course. "I enrolled in the course
because I wanted to learn more
about my community. I was also
interested in learning about who
r
Gifts and Books
The Armenian Studies Program, its Sahatdjian Library and the Avedian Archives,
would like to thank the following individuals for their generous donations.
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Ahronian of Fresno for the illustrated book on Armenia.
Mr. Bernard Hadidian of Ontario Canada for several handmade pillows and   *
pillow cases, doilies, crocheted, lace and embroidered articles from his mother
Arshalooys Hadidian and her father.
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Keosheyan, Amy Griffith and Mary Ann Lee ofFresno
for the Armenian record collection and artifacts. These gifts were given in the
memory of Armos & Lucy Keosheyan and Dorothy Keosheyan.
Knights of Vartan Bakradouny Lodge #38 of Hackensack, New Jersey for the
video tape of the Dedication ofthe Genocide Memorial 7-8-90.
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Director ofthe Armenian Studies Program, would like to
thank the authors and publishers for the following books and periodicals:
Books, Monographs & Pamphlets
Prof. Gual Akbay of Ankara for liter, E., Turk-Ermeni iliskileri Bibliyografyasi.
Ankara, 1997.
Rev. Fr. Arakel Aljalian of New York for the copy of the book he translated and
wrote the introduction of, Aljalian, Fr. Arakel, St. Nerses Snorhali General Epistle
New York: St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, 1996.
Ararat International Academy of Sciences of Paris, a gift of Travaux du
Deuxiene Congres Mondial Scientifique Armenien Conference Proceedings 1998
Ararat     International Academy of Sciences Paris.
Armenian Church Prelacy of New York for: Aram I, The Challenge to be a
Church in a Changing World, New York: Armenian Apostolic Church of America,
1997.
Armenian Society of Los Angeles for: Dasnabedian, T., Tiramayr - 2, Beirut:
Sipan 1997 and two booklets celebrating the 40th Anniversary ofthe Armenian
Society.
Armenian Patriachate of Istanbul, for the Armenian Church Bulletin.
Linda Avakian for a copy of her book: Avakian, L., Armenian Immigrants Boston
1891 -1901 New York 1880-1897, Camden: Picton Press, 19%.
Barkin-Leeds Ltd for a copy of: An essay by Kuspit, D., Homeland ofthe
Imagination: The Southern Presence in Twentieth Century Art, Georgia, 1996.
Dr. Lavrenti Barsegyan, Director, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia,
Museum ofthe Armenian Genocide, for the gift of several books: y
the first Armenian settlers were in
Fresno," said Armen Ghanbarian.
Though Armenians are
said to have first set foot on North
American soil in the 17th cenyutry,
it wasn't until the late 1870's that
Armenians were recorded living in
Fresno. The first Armenian to arrive in Fresno was Frank Normart
(formerly Mardiros Yanukian).
Yanukian took the name Normart,
literally meaning "New Man" upon
his arrival in the United States.
Indeed, the arrival of Armenians in
the United States and the Central
Valley began a new chapter in the
history of Armenians living
throughout the world. Even before
the forced creation of a Diaspora as
a reult of the 1915-1923 Genocide,
Armenians had established themselves here in California as well as
in other areas.
Despite hardships in making it to America, those Armenians
who arrived in Fresno and the Central Valley were determined to get
ahead. Bringing with them a strong
work ethic and an even stronger
will to succeed, they proved that
the Armenian people could survive
even under the harsh persecution
that they received. The San Joaquin
Valley, with its rich agricultural
opportunities was indeed a land of
"milk and honey." But other Armenians who also called Fresno
home achieved great success in the
areas of arts and entertainment.
Fresno is proud to have been the
birthplace of William Saroyan, as
well as home to many other Armenians who made tremendous contributions to the community and
the world. The famed sculptor,
'Varaz Samuelian and the well-
known actor Mike Connors also
called Fresno home. Many students in die course were interested
in learning about these famous
people. "I think this course was
fun, I would even take it again. It
was interesting learning about some
of the people that have lived in
Fresno," said Taqui Semerjian.
Students enrolled in, the
course for various reasons, but one
thing remained constant, a genuine
interest in learning more about the
history of Armenians living in
Fresno. "My grandmother encouraged me to enroll in the course
because she grew up in that area
[ Armenia Town ] in the 1930' s and
1940*sand I was interestedin learning about the roots of the Fresno
Armenians." said Gerad
Bagdasarian. And some students
learned that some ofthe deep-rooted
traditions of the Armenian community here in Fresno still live on
today. "I enjoyed watching the
videos from the picnics, some of
them from sixty years ago," said
Michael Kazarian.
Overall, students who participated in this fun-filled course
agreed, it was a weekend well-spent.
From the Asbarez Club to the Arax
Market, students found themselves
back in time, though only for a
short while. Nevertheless, they still
received an important lesson in history. They learned that we as Armenians can never forget where
we've come from, even though
we've moved so far ahead. For the
memories made in that little area
known as Armenia Town will live
on for eternity, in fact, with courses
such as this, they may even grow
stronger with time.
Fresno's "Little Armenia" Comes
Alive Through Walking Tour
By Jennifer Keledjian
Staff Writer
For many of the participants in the
class Armenians in Fresno- AS 120T,
touring the famous "Little Armenia" in
downtown Fresno was remembering
old times and forgotten memories. Although many homes, stores and schools
no longer remain, the nostalgia of the
old Armenian community's unity and
strength sustains.
The tour began by meeting at one
of the most significant historical landmarks among the Armenian community, the Ararat Armenian Cemetery,
founded in 1885. For some, the initial
sight of the hundreds of headstones
immediately brought feelings of the
old and the dead, but for others it meant
elements of culture and heritage, as
well as memories of dearly loved families and friends.
The instructor of theclass, Barlow
Der Mugrdechian noted many well-
known Armenian figures who at one
time, had a great impact in Fresno's
strong community. Some of these
• names belonged to the Peters, Seropian,
Arakelian, Markarian and Normart
families. The tour of Ararat Armenian
Cemetery concluded by participants
spreading out, trying to locate familiar
names and dates of family and friends
on surrounding headstones.
The next destination in the tour
was the old sites of the Armenian community in downtown Fresno, which is
commonly referred to as Fresno's
"Little Armenia". Meeting at the prominent Holy Trinity Apostolic Armenian
Church marked the start of the official
walking tour along Santa Clara street.
Standing on Santa Clara and Van Ness
streets, class participant Laurie
Gooboian talked about the home that
her father grew up in located at 521
Van Ness. The old, finely detailed
construction of the 1928 home is an
example of what many houses looked
like in the area around the early part of
the century. This home is now being
renovated by Gooboian's brother Christopher and future wife.
On Fulton and Santa Clara streets,
a sign marks the site of a once historical building which was the oldest Armenian Church in California. The
First Armenian Presbyterian Church
was part of William Saroyan's childhood. Saroyan'squote. "Rev. Knadjian
Baking Co. Inc., home of Lahvosh.
Started in 1922 by the Saghatelian Family, Valley Lahvosh has remained locally owned and is now run by the 3rd
generation of the same family. After
the detailed tour of the spacious bakery,
each member of the class received
Was the Preacher and I Sometimes
Rather Liked Accepting the Instructions of My Mother to Stay for Church
After Sunday School." is on a sign
posted at the site.
Continuing on the tour and following detailed maps, Arax Market on
Van Ness and L and Suren's Bakery at
Santa Clara and L were noted as places
that were once at the center of the large
population of Armenians in this distinctive area.
Two historical businesses started
many decades ago by families within
the Armenian community are still successfully operating. Hye Quality Bakery, located at 2222 Santa Clara street,
was originally started by Yervant
Ganimian in 1957. Hye Quality Bakery, which is now run by Sammy and
Paula Ganimian. has grown from a
small business to a nation-wide company, distributing baked goods to all
parts of the nation.
Our group was given the opportunity to tour the inside of Valley Lahvosh
samples of the widely known Lahvosh
Hearts cracker bread.
Upon concluding the tour, the
group arrived at Holy Trinity Apostolic
Armenian Church. Our visit included
meeting the new Parish Priest. Fr. Vahan
Gosdanian, who gave brief comments
on the church history. Holy Trinity
Apostolic Armenian Church is the second oldest Armenian Apostolic Church
in America and stands in the heart of
Fresno's once heavily Armenian populated area as a reminder of tradition and
unity, as well as a national historical
landmark.
Touring the familiar sites of downtown Fresno's "Little Armenia", refreshed many memories of culture, family and of the great bond that unified
many Armenians living in this particular vicinity. This area was the center for
survival and future dreams. Buildings
no longer standing and ones still established bom speak of the power and
influence that Armenians have in this
city.