1999_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 1999

              October 1999
Hye Sharzhoom
5
Students Delve Into History of Fresno Armenians
By Hasmik Khalachyan-
Canas
Staff Writer
There is a large Armenian
community thriving in
Fresno, but who were these
Armenians? How did they end up
guided them through the^history of
the Fresno Armenians until the
present day. He used a variety of
techniques and materials to inspire
and educate his students. There
were field trips, videos, lectures,
literature reading, guest speakers
and much more.
We watched videos of the old
Berge Bulbulian, left, and Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian
discuss Armenians of Fresno inside the Holy Trinity Armenian ApOStoliC Church. photo provided by Barlow Der Mugrdechian
in Fresno and why? These questions and much more were explored
by the students of the class titled,
Armenians Studies 120T- Armenians in Fresno. The two-day long
class (held on Sept. 17, and 18,
1999) gave the students a unique
opportunity to study this unusual
group of people. Professor Barlow
Der Mugrdechian ofthe Armenian
Studies Program took the students
back in time to the first arrival of
the Armenians in Fresno. He then
Armenian community in old Fresno
(which was drastically different
from what we see today). It is
incredible to believe that the Armenians did not only survive all the
discrimination directed toward
them, but also rose and aspired to
be more. We visited the Ararat
Armenian Cemetery in Fresno and
read the names and the stories of
the first Armenians who arrived
here. It was interesting to see the
graves of many of the famous Armenians that we had heard and read
about including Jonathan Sinanian,
who was the first Armenian born in
California in 1884. Many of the
pioneer farmers and merchants of
Fresno were the Armenians buried
at the Ararat Armenian Cemetery.
We read literature from many
people including William Saroyan,
the famous Armenian-American
writer who was born and died in
Fresno. He wrote about his life in
the growing Armenian community.
I particularly enjoyed the walk
we took through what used to be
"Armenian Town," but now is located in the heart of downtown
Fresno. Prof. Der Mugrdechian
provided each student with a map
of the old city revealing where Armenian houses, businesses and
churches once stood. We walked
around the historical area. It was
interesting to see the changes that
had taken place. Many of the structures were gone because they were
torn down to make way for parking
lots, stores, new buildings, etc.
Some old historical houses and
businesses are still left.
One of the highlights was when
we visited the Hye Quality Bakery,
owned by Sammy and Paula
Ganimian, (one of the Armenian
businesses that has remained) and
saw authentic Armenian bread being made. We saw the entire process of bread being produced from
the mixing of the dough to final
product being packaged. Although
the process of making the bread
has changed, it has still kept up
with tradition. All the students,
including myself, gladly sampled
the Cracker Bread (Parag-Hatz) and
the Hye Roller bread as it came out
of the oven. It was warm and
delicious.
After our interesting visit
to the Hye Quality Bakery, we
walked over to the Holy Trinity
burned down. In 301 AD Armenians were the first to accept Christianity as their official state religion
and they have always remained
strong Christians. The church itself
is an architecturally beautiful build-
Students (from left to right) Aaron Carlson, Heidi Dunbar
and Chad Kirkorian watch as Andy Lopez shows them how
Parag-Hatz is made at the Hye Quality Bakery.
Armenian Apostolic Church,
which was rebuilt in 1914 after the
original building built in 1900
ing and includes a traditional dome
See Fresno Armenians, Page 6
By Aaron Carlson
Staff Writer
First Ever Pan-Armenian Games Provide Lifelong Memories
This summer I had the chance
to go to Armenia to play
basketball in the first Pan-
Armenian World Games. Ed
Erganian, Ara Karkazian, Haig
Saghdejian, and I were chosen from
Fresno's Homenetmen Sassoun
Chapter. Players on teams representing the cities of Los Angeles,
Glendale, San Diego, San Francisco and Fresno were assigned by
the Armenian Council General in
Los Angeles. Our teams consisted
of an all-star team from California's
Homenetmen. In our travel group
there were about 150 athletes and
coaches comprised of two men's
and one women's basketball teams,
one men's and two women's volleyball teams and several individual
track and field competitors.
The Pan-Armenian Games were
held in Yerevan, Armenia starting
on August 28, 1999 and ending on
Sept. 5, 1999. The games were organized by the government of Armenia and athletes of Armenian
descent were eligible. There were
athletes from all over the world that
participated in the games. Athletes
received medals in basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, track and
field, along with chess. This event
was a very popular event in Armenia. At the opening ceremony there
were more than 25,000 people on
hand to watch. Throughout the city
there were posters advertising the
games in every store window. Both
the opening and closing ceremonies, along with some ofthe games,
were broadcast on local television.
to play basketball, I realized basketball would not be the only objective. This was my first trip out
ofthe country and it was an experi-
Fresno basketball players at the opening ceremony of the first Pan-Armenian Games. From left to right:   Haig Saghdejian, Aaron Carlson, Ara
Karkazian and Ed Erganian.
Our team placed sixth out of 24
teams. We also received a reward
and trophy for sportsmanship and
team play at the closing ceremony.
The Armenian General Benevolent
Union of team from Los Angeles
won the basketball championship.
The women's basketball team from
Los Angeles placed second.
Even though I went to Armenia
photo provided by Aaron Carlson
ence that I will never forget. From
the time that we arrived in Yerevan
to the time we had to leave, we
were treated like superstars. The
bus from the airport to the Hotel
Armenia was escorted by police.
When we went out to eat, we got
special treatment from the service
staff. We never went hungry and
the ice cream was to die for. Be
cause ofthe strength ofthe American dollar, we ate like kings.
The biggest thrill of the trip
was signing autographs for the local kids. During each game
I would chew
a piece of gum
and then pass
out the rest to
the kids that
would come to
watch us play.
After the game
they would
bring the gum
wrappers back
for me to sign.
The same
group of kids
would come to
watch all of
our games and
their teacher
came to us to
ask if we could
play basketball with them.
The last day of
the trip we
went to their
school to play basketball with
them. Afterward we took them out
for ice cream and Coca-Cola.
It was hard to schedule
sightseeing, because of our games,
but we were able to go on a few
trips. The trip to the Armenian
Genocide Museum and Monument
was the most interesting and moving experience. We went on tours
ofthe battle site at Sardarabad, Garni,
a first century BC sun temple, and
Geghart, a monastery carved out of
a mountain. The churches were
actually built out of a mountain and
there is a lot of detailed art work on
the walls-it was just amazing. No
trip to Armenia would have been
complete without going to
Etchmiadzin. The grave of the
Catholicos, H.H. Karekin
Sarkissian, who recently passed
away, is located just outside the
front entrance of the church. It was
moving to see the fresh dirt instead
of a permanent headstone. I have
read about these places in history
books, and going to see them in
person meant that much more to me.
There was so much history there it
was hard to comprehend it all at
once.
I went to play basketball, but
came back with a whole lot more. I
got to see a new country and make
new friends. Even though we did
not bring home the gold medal, the
consensus was that the trip was a
positive one. As I reflect back on
the trip and the things that I saw, I
will always remember them. You
only get one chance to play in the
First Pan-Armenian Games and I
was part of it. Maybe in two years,
I will be asked to go play in the
second Pan-Armenian Games. It
would be interesting to see how
much the country has changed and
how much it has stayed the same.