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THE FRESNO BEE Monday, Feb. 7, 1983 B5
Eli Setencich
Hye infidelity
TO SHOW you how out of touch I can get with the
real world, for a long time I used to think that Cher
Bono was a nice little Italian girl and Mike Connors'
mother came from Ireland.
It wasn't so much that Cher struck me as the kind of
person who enjoyed her pasta and was a good singer or
that Connors sometimes talked tough and out of the side
of his mouth.
It was their names. Cher Bono just sounded Italian to
me; Mike Connors was pure Irish.
Then the truth came out. Not only are both
celebrities from Fresno, their ancestors came from
Armenia.
Once upon a time Cher was really Cheryl Sarkisian
and Mike Connors was really Krekor Ohanian.
Even though it was for professional reasons, this
change of identity, it seems to me, can be a sore point,
particularly now that the governor of California is a
fellow by the name of George Deukmejian.
Now when the subject of Deukmejian the governor
comes up, you can imagine Cher wishing she still
answered to Sarkisian and Connors kicking himself for
not being known as Ohanian anymore.
I know how I would feel if by some stroke of political
magic a countryperson of mine like Rose Ann Vuich
suddenly became president or something and I had
changed my name to Stevens.
□ □ □
THE ONLY reason I bring this up is George Mason,
who under different circumstances and through no
fault of his own might very well be George Elmassian
today.
George Mason is the publisher of The California
Courier, a well-read weekly newspaper essentially for
and about Californians of Armenian descent.
Not surprisingly, his support of Gov. Deukmejian is
exceeded only by his pride in being of the same stock.
His problem, though, is that with a name like Mason
how is anybody going to know that he and the Duke
speak the same language and have common roots in the
Old Country?
Mr. Mason referred to this in his paper the other
day, in his regular "This & That" column.
"In the wake of the Deukmejian 'landslide,' " he
began proudly, "it is great to be a Hye in this State."
Then he added, rather wistfully, it seemed, "My big
regret is that my grandfather anglicized his name from
Elmassian to Mason."
"Those with i-a-n names are having a ball..." he
"^"^
wrote, reminding me somewhat of the beer commercial
in which the ex-major league baseball player with the
undistinguished record is standing in the cold outside a
locked saloon door, gazing fornlornly through the
window at all of his imagined fans giggling and having
a good time inside.
The column continued, "'Oh, you must be Armenian'
is the immediate comment from the girl taking the
lunch reservation. 'You must be happy now that your
man is governor,' is another common statement..."
□ □. □
NAMEWISE, George Mason isn't the only person of
Armenian heritage who is standing outside looking
in, so to speak.
There are many hereabouts, including famous man-
about-town Karney Hodge, hotshot lawyer Mike
Kershaw, and even Marv Baxter who is the new
governor's man in charge of appointments, all of them
citizens of Armenian extraction whose names were
changed somewhere down the line.
One of the most prominent is civic leader and
businessman Leon Peters, who would be Leon
Bedrosian today if it hadn't been for an uncle who was
trying to get out of Constantinople back in 1895.
Constantinople was the capital of Turkey in those
days, and the man in charge was the sultan, who was in
the habit of ordering massacres, most particularly of
people from Armenia.
To escape during one of them, the uncle sought
^
sanctuary in the American Bible House where he was
introduced to a missionary from San Francisco.
Go to Fresno, the missionary advised Hovagin
Bedrosian. It is a new town, he told him. There is a ,
railroad there, a good place for a man to start a new
life.
The young shoe store owner from Bitlis took the
advice. As he began filling out the necessary papers, his
benefactors suggested that he change his name, that,
something like Hovagin Bedrosian would be too much of
a mouthful for Americans to handle.
They turned to the Bible for help. Hovagin is biblical
for John, Bedros for Peter. Make it John Peterson,
somebody said. Impossible, someone else said. That's
Scandinavian. You can't make him Scandinavian. They
settled on John Peters.
Not too long afterward, John Peters arrived in
America and promptly sent for the rest of the family;
including 16-year-old Samuel Peters who was to become
the father of Leon Peters.
Leon Peters is as proud and avid a supporter of
George Deukmejian as the governor has, even if his
name does not end in i-a-n.
"That doesn't make a bit of difference," he said '"I
know I'm Armenian. Other people know we're
Armenians." No matter what your name is — Peters,
Connors, Garry or what.
Leon Peters paused for a moment. "It doesn'tmake
any difference if the name is Armenian," he said. ^'We
are all Americans."
A
resid
Nort^
muncl
creat
Kazan;
Terzia
Clovis,
n„ b uei
ii\ jsapoii
\ 'M0U31 i \
m jo auo„
lv.au si 9H
qM sauid
q; sjuoijuo}
Bq n?nxas \
m suo aqi \
Fresnans W.ce and Leon
break the h""* stood » ™
George *££$£«* recrted the
SotteMonday^ ^
a. few seats aw*|» peters,
wea7^ oroud silence. Down a hn
terzian ot Sanger was
moment. _. ^
T^^S-XV-*state
oovernor ot w
?»the nation ^ce
?i? rSt have been discnn^
?St during nu,n£„s Sunday and
Monday, tne>
proudly- lked of nis
"
uaiiat
Object Description
| Title | Scrapbook |
| Object type | Photo album |
| Physical collection | Leon S. Peters papers |
| Folder structure | Biographical_information |
Description
| Title | Page 40a |
| Date Created | 1983-02-07 |
| Physical description | 35.7 cm. x 35.5 cm. |
| Full text search | THE FRESNO BEE Monday, Feb. 7, 1983 B5 Eli Setencich Hye infidelity TO SHOW you how out of touch I can get with the real world, for a long time I used to think that Cher Bono was a nice little Italian girl and Mike Connors' mother came from Ireland. It wasn't so much that Cher struck me as the kind of person who enjoyed her pasta and was a good singer or that Connors sometimes talked tough and out of the side of his mouth. It was their names. Cher Bono just sounded Italian to me; Mike Connors was pure Irish. Then the truth came out. Not only are both celebrities from Fresno, their ancestors came from Armenia. Once upon a time Cher was really Cheryl Sarkisian and Mike Connors was really Krekor Ohanian. Even though it was for professional reasons, this change of identity, it seems to me, can be a sore point, particularly now that the governor of California is a fellow by the name of George Deukmejian. Now when the subject of Deukmejian the governor comes up, you can imagine Cher wishing she still answered to Sarkisian and Connors kicking himself for not being known as Ohanian anymore. I know how I would feel if by some stroke of political magic a countryperson of mine like Rose Ann Vuich suddenly became president or something and I had changed my name to Stevens. □ □ □ THE ONLY reason I bring this up is George Mason, who under different circumstances and through no fault of his own might very well be George Elmassian today. George Mason is the publisher of The California Courier, a well-read weekly newspaper essentially for and about Californians of Armenian descent. Not surprisingly, his support of Gov. Deukmejian is exceeded only by his pride in being of the same stock. His problem, though, is that with a name like Mason how is anybody going to know that he and the Duke speak the same language and have common roots in the Old Country? Mr. Mason referred to this in his paper the other day, in his regular "This & That" column. "In the wake of the Deukmejian 'landslide,' " he began proudly, "it is great to be a Hye in this State." Then he added, rather wistfully, it seemed, "My big regret is that my grandfather anglicized his name from Elmassian to Mason." "Those with i-a-n names are having a ball..." he "^"^ wrote, reminding me somewhat of the beer commercial in which the ex-major league baseball player with the undistinguished record is standing in the cold outside a locked saloon door, gazing fornlornly through the window at all of his imagined fans giggling and having a good time inside. The column continued, "'Oh, you must be Armenian' is the immediate comment from the girl taking the lunch reservation. 'You must be happy now that your man is governor,' is another common statement..." □ □. □ NAMEWISE, George Mason isn't the only person of Armenian heritage who is standing outside looking in, so to speak. There are many hereabouts, including famous man- about-town Karney Hodge, hotshot lawyer Mike Kershaw, and even Marv Baxter who is the new governor's man in charge of appointments, all of them citizens of Armenian extraction whose names were changed somewhere down the line. One of the most prominent is civic leader and businessman Leon Peters, who would be Leon Bedrosian today if it hadn't been for an uncle who was trying to get out of Constantinople back in 1895. Constantinople was the capital of Turkey in those days, and the man in charge was the sultan, who was in the habit of ordering massacres, most particularly of people from Armenia. To escape during one of them, the uncle sought ^ sanctuary in the American Bible House where he was introduced to a missionary from San Francisco. Go to Fresno, the missionary advised Hovagin Bedrosian. It is a new town, he told him. There is a , railroad there, a good place for a man to start a new life. The young shoe store owner from Bitlis took the advice. As he began filling out the necessary papers, his benefactors suggested that he change his name, that, something like Hovagin Bedrosian would be too much of a mouthful for Americans to handle. They turned to the Bible for help. Hovagin is biblical for John, Bedros for Peter. Make it John Peterson, somebody said. Impossible, someone else said. That's Scandinavian. You can't make him Scandinavian. They settled on John Peters. Not too long afterward, John Peters arrived in America and promptly sent for the rest of the family; including 16-year-old Samuel Peters who was to become the father of Leon Peters. Leon Peters is as proud and avid a supporter of George Deukmejian as the governor has, even if his name does not end in i-a-n. "That doesn't make a bit of difference," he said '"I know I'm Armenian. Other people know we're Armenians." No matter what your name is — Peters, Connors, Garry or what. Leon Peters paused for a moment. "It doesn'tmake any difference if the name is Armenian," he said. ^'We are all Americans." A resid Nort^ muncl creat Kazan; Terzia Clovis, n„ b uei ii\ jsapoii \ 'M0U31 i \ m jo auo„ lv.au si 9H qM sauid q; sjuoijuo} Bq n?nxas \ m suo aqi \ Fresnans W.ce and Leon break the h""* stood » ™ George *££$£«* recrted the SotteMonday^ ^ a. few seats aw*|» peters, wea7^ oroud silence. Down a hn terzian ot Sanger was moment. _. ^ T^^S-XV-*state oovernor ot w ?»the nation ^ce ?i? rSt have been discnn^ ?St during nu,n£„s Sunday and Monday, tne> proudly- lked of nis " uaiiat |
