The Story Ferrahian High School (2/4): The visionary: Gabriel Injejikian

By Boghos Shahmelikian

Translated and abridged by Vahe H. Apelian

Boghos Shahmelikian presented the story of the founding of the Ferrahian High School in four weekly successive segments in Aztag Daily starting from March 25, 2019. He asked me if I would translate the story for him for the benefit of the English language readers. I did. But the translation was not published in the Armenian press although he claimed he submitted it.   Here it is. 

 

Gabriel Injejikian

The person who became the visionary and realized Matheos Ferrahian’s “unrealizable” dream was Gabriel Injejikian.

Gabriel Injejikian was born in Kessab, Syria in 1930. His father Avedis was the only physician in greater Kessab. Opportunities for furthering education beyond secondary school were not available in Kessab then.  At his tender age of 15, his parents sent him to continue his education in the famed Melkonian School in Cyprus where the language of instruction was in English while it was in French in Kessab because Syria was under French colonial rule. 

After graduating from the Melkonian School, he moved to Beirut and enrolled in the American University of Beirut. In 1950 he established an evening school under the auspices of the Beirut Kessab Educational Association for the benefit of the Armenian boys and girls who had left school early on to learn a trade. The school continued on its mission until the early 1970’s when it was closed due to the political instability in the country.

Gabriel moved to the United States in 1953 and enrolled in the University of Wayne in Detroit where he completed his Bachelor and then his Masters in Arts in psychology and pedagogy.

During his graduate work, he taught in a public school in Detroit and twice a week he taught in the evening school run by the Armenian Relief Society. It was in Detroit that Gabriel unbeknownst to Matheos Ferrahian’s likewise concern, felt the need of having an Armenian Day school in the United States to have young Armenian boys and girls growing in the U.S. learn the Armenian language, and history.

In 1955, during the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Eastern Regional meeting, Gabriel Injejikian proposed to have the issue of establishing an Armenian day school in the United States on the meeting's agenda. “Go and study the matter and report to us” became the meeting’s response

Gabriel moved to Los Angeles in 1957 and for the next three years taught in a public school where his future wife Rose Tavitian was also a student. “She was not a student of mine” noted Gabriel when I visited them in their house. “Had she been a student, I would have given her an A” endearingly remarked Gabriel.

In 1960, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western Regional meeting adopted a resolution for establishing an Armenian school in the Los Angeles area for the 1961 academic year. The school was to hold its classes in the Armenian community center having Gabriel Injejikian and Dr. Onnig Keshsishian as teachers.

However, not all the community leaders were convinced of the possibility of realizing that important goal. Forty to fifty community leaders convened an ad hoc meeting to lay down the groundwork towards this important project. There were pro and con arguments back and forth. In the end, the project for starting an Armenian school during the fall fizzled out and was postponed for consideration at a later date.

Gabriel and Rose got married in 1961. Preferring to teach in an Armenian school, Gabriel applied and was accepted to teach in the Haigazian Univerity, a college then. During the summer of the same year, they moved to Beirut but he did not abandon his goal for establishing an Armenian day school in the United States States.

Catholicos Zareh I of blessed memory passed away on February 18, 1963. Catholicos’ funeral became an auspicious date for Gabriel Injejikian, not only because of the death of the much-beloved Catholicos in his young age but also because of what the eminent reciter of Armenian poetry, Hagop Guloyan, challenged him by murmuring to him during the funeral procession saying:

“Make your dream of establishing an Armenian school in the United States your goal. At this very moment, before the open casket of the Catholicos, you will take a vow and you will make the opening an Armenian school in the United States your life’s mission.”

Gabriel embarked what was now his life’s mission. He wrote a letter in English to Arshag Dikranian, the executor of Matheos Ferrahian’s will. To his great surprise, Gabriel received a response to his letter in an impeccable Armenian explaining to him the details of the Ferrahian will.

Gabriel enlisted the support of some Armenian community activists in Beirut who shared his vision and were eager to help him. He had them form a committee. The following became members of the committee: Hagop Guloyan, Kourkan Khanjian, Nshan Tusuzian, Haroutium Der Balian, Garo Bedrossian, Gabriel Injejikian and Yervant Barsoumian (chairman).

The committee, in turn, enlisted the support of young men and women to help them with the fundraising. 4000 promissory notes were printed on which it was written: “Come September 1964, should there not be a functioning Armenian school in Los Angeles, the promissory note will be null and void.”

The committee organized a press conference in the Beirut Prelacy building where Gabriel Injejikian presented an overview of the private schools run by the different communities in the U.S. noting that a quarter million Armenian Americans did not have a single community run day school.

The first person that signed the promissory note (in his customary red ink) was the Catholicos of the Cilician See Khoren I of blessed memory. Pursuant to the Catholicos signing a promissory note, the following also signed: the Prelate Archbishop Dajad Ourfalian, the Lebanese Parliamentarian Movses Der Kaloustian, the Dean of the Seminary Bishop Karekin Sarkissian, the future Catholicos Karekin II of Catholicosate of Cilician and subsequently the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin I of blessed memory.

In 1964, Gabriel and Rose Injejikian and their three children returned to the United States. Meanwhile, Gabriel had taught pedagogy in Haigazian and the American University of Beirut as well as in the Beirut College for women. They also brought with them 3000-signed promissory notes.

Right after having his family settled in a house, Gabriel traveled to the Sacramento, the Capital city of the State of California and inquired about the laws governing for running a community-sponsored private day school. The officials told him there is no restriction as long as the school had six students and a suitable building.

Gabriel also met Arshag Dikranian, the executor of the Ferrahian will, the board of the Mesrobian one-day school and the leaders of the local Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

As an outcome of his meetings, the community leaders called for a meeting. They suggested Gabriel wait for a year until the completion of the building for the Mesrobian Saturday school. However, Gabriel did not have the luxury of waiting for another year. The provision of the 3000 promissory notes was very clear. It mandated that the school started on September 1964, otherwise the promissory notes would be null and void depriving Gabriel of necessary funds for his long term project.

Determined to honor the timeline, Gabriel appealed to the Armenian Cultural Foundation, Armenian Relief Society and to the trustees of Saint Cross Church to sponsor the founding of his intended school. All declined to assume responsibility.

As a last resort, Gabriel decided to appeal to the trustees of the Holy Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church in Encino in the San Fernando Valley, some 20 miles away from the city proper, to have a school building adjacent to the church.  The number of Armenians in Los Angeles then was around 4000 and was mostly centered on and around Hollywood. Starting the school in Encino presented a challenge. Willing parents had to have their children bused to Encino. But Gabriel had no other option but to appeal to the trustees of the Holy Martyrs Church and explain to them his vision.

On July 17, 1964, Gabriel met the trustees of the church and explained to them his goal. He showed them the 3000 promissory notes for financial support from Beirut he had brought with him. He let them know how enthusiastically the Armenian community in Beirut had responded to his goal. Gabriel succeeded in appealing to the good nature of the trustees who unanimously lent support to Gabriel and decided to make room on the church’s campus to open the first Armenian day school in the United States.

The Holy Martyrs Church in Encino was built on a large property donated to the church by Krikor Arakelian from Fresno in memory of his father-in-law father Vartan Kahana Arslanian. His wife’s priestly father was martyred in prison in Armenia.  The property had a large vacant house on its property. The trustees directed repairing the house, ordering desks and chalkboards. 

By early September the building became ready, save students and teaching staff.

The School's First Building