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Page 8
Hye Sharzhoom
September, 1981
100 Years, from page 5
who died in 1951, was 11 when he arrived from Armenia with less than
*5 in his pockets. He amassed a *25 million fortune as a vintner-rancher.
Kirk Kerkorian, formerly a major shareholder in M.G.M. and Columbia,
and a chain of hotels in Nevada, sold papers as a kid in Bakersfield. Born
in Fresno, Kerkorian dropped out of school at 16..."Fresno is my hometown," proclaimed William Saroyan, after attaining international acclaim.
"I Discovered the human race there. I discovered art there. And wherever you discover helpless man and his high hope that is your place,
favorite or not."
Favorite or not, Fresno is today the home of the more than thirty thousand Americans of Armenian parentage. No other city in the world presents
such a varied ethnic diversity as this average American town. And for
Armenians the more it is blessed with a mosaic of backgrounds,national
origins and cultural plurality. The Armenian community of Fresno is indeed
a microcosm of the world. Its present day population constitutes immigrants from all around the world. One meets Armenians who came from
China, Manchuria, the Ukraine, Soviet Russia, Central and Eastern
European countries, and from Europe, Liberia the Middle East, Turkey,
Iran, Australia, Alaska...and from Armenia. It is unity in diversity. Nowhere is America a nation of immigrants as in Fresno, and nowhere is there
a cross-section of Armenian types as in this formidable little town of
Fresno...
There are today six Armenian churches in the city of Fresno alone.
Holy Trinity Apostolic, founded in 1890 (the second oldest Armenian
church in America), Saint Paul Apostolic, founded in 1942, Pilgrim Congregational, founded in 1901, First Presbyterian, founded in 1897, Brethren
If one were to ask "What does the future hold for the Armenians in
Fresno? Will there be a second 100?" — the historian will have no easy
answer, other than to wish that there will be another and yet another 100
years for everybody.
In Fresno, generally Armenians live together. This is also true about
Armenians living in other towns in the San Joaquin Valley. If you were to
visit the California Home for the Armenian Aged, you would meet many
in their 80's, 90's, as. well as five residents past 100 years. On April
10, 1978, the Harikian family of Dinuba gathered for a family reunion
to honor the four eldest members of the clan. The ages of the four totalled
359 years...
Visiting the California Armenian Home for the Aged is an experience
so unique in kind that it will never happen again. The patients, or call them
residents, are "The Last Mohicans" in this last frontier of an Armenian
home. Each of the residents has a story, which nobody has dared or cared
to write down. Here one can see the end of an era...These people who are
now here vegetating were once the proud hardy breed of the "real"
Armenians. They were < the descendants of a tenacious race that struggled
against adversity and cherished life for 3000 years .You can see it on their old
but noble faces. There is a hazy smile in their eyes...Is this perhaps a
sign that life will go on? You can see them, the residents of the California
Armenian Home for the Aged, especially on a Sunday afternoon, when all
come to attend the church services. And when you hear them sing, loud
and clear, you know everything is not lost.
The conductor
called out "Fresno"
and the Armenian
travellers#looked out...
at the hot,
dusty village of
livery stables,
saloons,
and dirt streets...
E angelical Church, founded in 1948, Full Gospel Brethren Church,
founded in 1927. By far the largest congregations are grouped around
the two Apostolic churches. Armenian is spoken and heard here, in contrast
to the Armenian Evangelical Churches where only a sermon in the Armenian is given each Sunday; the Apostolic is extremely traditionalist. The
older generation thinks Armenian, while the younger generation feels
Armenian.. .and yet those who do attend church are not usually the young.
An Armenian banquet is a sure thing to bring all the Armenians together. Armenian cooking seems to be the unifying thing, for which Armenians are also identified. Presently there are as many as twenty
Armenian restaurants and delis in Fresno. The Fresno Armenians love
festivities...Half a century ago, Fresno was the hub-bub of Armenian
community life in America. There were a total of 25 cultural organizations,
10 political parties. 9 periodicals were published. Today only one English
weekly, the California Courier (since 1960) is still published. Also today,
the the increasing inflow of new immigrants from Lebanon, Iran and
Turkey, is reviving interest in Armenianism.
This interest is bnwever wrought with some tension and questions.
The native Armenians view the new arrivals disapprovingly. They look
down upon these people who share a common ancestry, but seem so much
"different." The fact is that the newcomers are for the most part more
cosmopolitan, urbanized and better educated. Not only do these new
arrivals bring in a new and more intensive Armenian "feeling" and heritage, but they also come with money.. .And thus in a short while the cultural
shock loses its power as the old and the new merge with the larger American mainstream.
At long last the Americanization of Armenians has been accomplished.
It has taken almost a hundred years. Armenians living in *150,000 houses
are made more visible now, and more Armenians are occupying a sizeable
see 100 Years, page 9
Object Description
| Title | 1981_09 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper September 1981 |
| Alternative Title | Armenian Action, Vol. 3 No. 4, September 1981; Ethnic Supplement to the Collegian. |
| Publisher | Armenian Studies Program, California State University, Fresno. |
| Publication Date | 1981 |
| Description | Published two to four times a year. The newspaper of the California State University, Fresno Armenian Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program. |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno – Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Armenian Studies Program; Armenian Students Organization, California State University, Fresno. |
| Coverage | 1979-2014 |
| Format | Newspaper print |
| Language | eng |
| Full-Text-Search | Scanned at 200-360 dpi, 18-bit greyscale - 24-bit color, TIFF or PDF. PDFs were converted to TIF using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. |
Description
| Title | September 1981 Page 8 |
| Full-Text-Search | Page 8 Hye Sharzhoom September, 1981 100 Years, from page 5 who died in 1951, was 11 when he arrived from Armenia with less than *5 in his pockets. He amassed a *25 million fortune as a vintner-rancher. Kirk Kerkorian, formerly a major shareholder in M.G.M. and Columbia, and a chain of hotels in Nevada, sold papers as a kid in Bakersfield. Born in Fresno, Kerkorian dropped out of school at 16..."Fresno is my hometown," proclaimed William Saroyan, after attaining international acclaim. "I Discovered the human race there. I discovered art there. And wherever you discover helpless man and his high hope that is your place, favorite or not." Favorite or not, Fresno is today the home of the more than thirty thousand Americans of Armenian parentage. No other city in the world presents such a varied ethnic diversity as this average American town. And for Armenians the more it is blessed with a mosaic of backgrounds,national origins and cultural plurality. The Armenian community of Fresno is indeed a microcosm of the world. Its present day population constitutes immigrants from all around the world. One meets Armenians who came from China, Manchuria, the Ukraine, Soviet Russia, Central and Eastern European countries, and from Europe, Liberia the Middle East, Turkey, Iran, Australia, Alaska...and from Armenia. It is unity in diversity. Nowhere is America a nation of immigrants as in Fresno, and nowhere is there a cross-section of Armenian types as in this formidable little town of Fresno... There are today six Armenian churches in the city of Fresno alone. Holy Trinity Apostolic, founded in 1890 (the second oldest Armenian church in America), Saint Paul Apostolic, founded in 1942, Pilgrim Congregational, founded in 1901, First Presbyterian, founded in 1897, Brethren If one were to ask "What does the future hold for the Armenians in Fresno? Will there be a second 100?" — the historian will have no easy answer, other than to wish that there will be another and yet another 100 years for everybody. In Fresno, generally Armenians live together. This is also true about Armenians living in other towns in the San Joaquin Valley. If you were to visit the California Home for the Armenian Aged, you would meet many in their 80's, 90's, as. well as five residents past 100 years. On April 10, 1978, the Harikian family of Dinuba gathered for a family reunion to honor the four eldest members of the clan. The ages of the four totalled 359 years... Visiting the California Armenian Home for the Aged is an experience so unique in kind that it will never happen again. The patients, or call them residents, are "The Last Mohicans" in this last frontier of an Armenian home. Each of the residents has a story, which nobody has dared or cared to write down. Here one can see the end of an era...These people who are now here vegetating were once the proud hardy breed of the "real" Armenians. They were < the descendants of a tenacious race that struggled against adversity and cherished life for 3000 years .You can see it on their old but noble faces. There is a hazy smile in their eyes...Is this perhaps a sign that life will go on? You can see them, the residents of the California Armenian Home for the Aged, especially on a Sunday afternoon, when all come to attend the church services. And when you hear them sing, loud and clear, you know everything is not lost. The conductor called out "Fresno" and the Armenian travellers#looked out... at the hot, dusty village of livery stables, saloons, and dirt streets... E angelical Church, founded in 1948, Full Gospel Brethren Church, founded in 1927. By far the largest congregations are grouped around the two Apostolic churches. Armenian is spoken and heard here, in contrast to the Armenian Evangelical Churches where only a sermon in the Armenian is given each Sunday; the Apostolic is extremely traditionalist. The older generation thinks Armenian, while the younger generation feels Armenian.. .and yet those who do attend church are not usually the young. An Armenian banquet is a sure thing to bring all the Armenians together. Armenian cooking seems to be the unifying thing, for which Armenians are also identified. Presently there are as many as twenty Armenian restaurants and delis in Fresno. The Fresno Armenians love festivities...Half a century ago, Fresno was the hub-bub of Armenian community life in America. There were a total of 25 cultural organizations, 10 political parties. 9 periodicals were published. Today only one English weekly, the California Courier (since 1960) is still published. Also today, the the increasing inflow of new immigrants from Lebanon, Iran and Turkey, is reviving interest in Armenianism. This interest is bnwever wrought with some tension and questions. The native Armenians view the new arrivals disapprovingly. They look down upon these people who share a common ancestry, but seem so much "different." The fact is that the newcomers are for the most part more cosmopolitan, urbanized and better educated. Not only do these new arrivals bring in a new and more intensive Armenian "feeling" and heritage, but they also come with money.. .And thus in a short while the cultural shock loses its power as the old and the new merge with the larger American mainstream. At long last the Americanization of Armenians has been accomplished. It has taken almost a hundred years. Armenians living in *150,000 houses are made more visible now, and more Armenians are occupying a sizeable see 100 Years, page 9 |
