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.
“To all the graduates of the first Armenian High School in the U.S.A. Much has been given to you by so many; so much is expected of you. I know you can. God bless you. -- Gabriel Injejikian
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| Early Years |
By early September the building became ready, save students and teaching staff.
Having secured a house suitable for a school, Gabriel embarked on his last and crucial stage towards having the school he had worked for so hard, recruiting students. He resorted to visiting parents and appealing them to have their child enroll in the school he was to run. Most of the parents were not responsive to his call for good reason. The public schools were free and secure. Parents did not have concerns for the safety of their children. They also had no concerns for the schools’ academic standard either. They saw no reason to have their children bused to a newly found untested school, be it an Armenian day school. However, some parents saw merit in the young teacher’s vision for their children.
On September 13, 1964, the priest of the Holy Martyrs Church blessed the school’s premises and on the next day, on September 14, 1964 the long waited the first Armenian day school in the United States opened its doors with its founder Gabriel waiting to see if some parents had actually responded to his appeals for the sake of their children and had agreed to have their sons and daughters start their new academic year in the newly opened school
On that very morning, as the founding principal, the church’s priest, the first teaching staff were anxiously looking forward, the school’s orange-colored bus entered the church premises and off came 12 students much like 12 disciples who had staked their future on the vision of the school’s founding principal, Gabriel Injejikian.
The parents of the majority of the students were Armenians from Romania. To assure that there were enough students to comply with the law, Gabriel had his niece Christina brought from Germany. The bell of the school rang and teaching the students the Armenian language, history, and culture along with the official curriculum commenced. The students would talk in Armenian with each other.
Having only a few students for the school he had worked so hard to establish did not discourage Gabriel. On the contrary, he was enthused witnessing the realization of the dream he had pursued for the past many years.
The number of teachers readied to educate these 12 students was in fact, more than the number of students. They were: Father Vahrich Kahana Shirinian, Razmig Madenlian, Anahid Meymarian, Lily Mrigian, Dr. Joseph Andonian, Raff Setian, Gabriel’s brother Hagop Injejikian, Ankine Mouradian and five non-Armenian teachers. I should make a note here and state that most of the Armenian teachers taught for a token salary.
Attendance to the school was free, much like a public school. Every penny received from Lebanon, the central committee of the U.S. Armenian Relief Society, the Romanian Armenian “Raffi” Association, “Garni” patriotic association of Armenian hailing from Erzeroum, and from Mr. and Mrs. Arshag Dikranian was spent with utmost scrutiny. These associations and individuals stood by the school to have it successfully complete its first crucial academic year.
Gabriel Injejikian filled the void in everything the school needed. Along being the school’s principal and a teacher, he also drove the school’s bus when the need arose, cleaned the bathrooms, attended to the school’s upkeep to save another penny. In spite of all these efforts at times Gabriel lacked the funds to pay the teachers’ token salaries. Some of the teachers, in fact, donated the token salary they received to keep the school going. As to Gabriel, his family had come to accept that the family’s bread earner, the one-time lecturer in universities, would come home at the end of the month with an “empty pocket”.
At the end of its first academic year, in June 1965, the school organized its first fundraising event with a dinner dance. Mr. Arshag Dikranian emceed the event. George Mardigian was the key speaker.
The school started its second academic year with 43 students.
Having successfully completed its first academic year and started the second year with almost 3 times of its first year’s enrollment, Gabriel felt that he had met the conditions and the spirit of Matheos Ferrahian’s will. Consequently, he applied to Arshag Dikranian and Albert Hagopian, the executors of the Ferrahian Will, to release the funds towards the school. The executors, having assessed that the school in fact met the provisions of the will, sent a check for $235,000 to the Prelate earmarked for the school. The Prelacy allocated two-thirds of the amount to the school Gabriel started and the remaining to the Mesrobian one-day school that henceforth became the second Armenian day school in the U.S. The will also stipulate that its executors be paid $15,000 for their services in upholding the spirit and the execution of their friend Matheos Ferrahian’s will. They, in turn, graciously donated their share to the school as well. Adjusted to inflation, $250,000 in 1965 presently would be worth approximately 2 million dollars.
In the beginning, the school was called Holy Martyrs after the church on whose premises the school was located. Upon the execution of the will, the school was naturally renamed after its benefactor and was called Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School.
In time the students of the school started to support the school by publishing a periodical named “Victory”, “Haghtanag" in Armenian where they penned in Armenian they had learned in the school.
What was achieved was indeed a well-deserved victory.
During the subsequent 14 years, the house that had become a school continued to experience more enrollments and naturally a larger teaching staff. The house that had become a school had now become a second home for its students.
During the first few years, the school only accepted high school level students, from their freshman to senior years, or from 9th to 12th grade. In 1969 the Trustees of the school purchased the large property adjoining the school in the back for $58,000. In 1970 and in 1973 they also purchased the two houses located on both sides of the school. The funds from the Ferrahian will have made these acquisitions possible. The following year, in 1974, the trustees borrowed a large sum of money to complete the school complex for accommodating the increasing enrollment.
Fourteen years after its foundation, in the fall of 1978, within the existing complex, the Holy Martyrs elementary and middle school was also founded.
Meanwhile, in 1975 a civil war erupted in Lebanon. A few years later, in 1979, a revolution erupted in Iran, followed by the Iran-Iraq war, giving rise to political instability and economic hardship in Iraq. As a consequence of these events, a large number of Armenians started emigrating from the Middle East to the United States. Another wave of Armenian immigrants to the United States started with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war in Syria. The overwhelming majority of the new immigrants settled in the greater Los Angeles.
The existing complex of the Ferrahian School in Encino could not accommodate the increasing number of students applying for admission. In 1988 the trustees of the Ferrahian School purchased a property in North Hills adding another campus to accommodate the increasing applications by parents for their elementary and middle school level children. Later a pre-school facility was established and named after its benefactor, Ashkhen Pilavjian
In 1990, after twenty-six years of service, Gabriel Injejikian, the founding principal of the Ferrahian School, resigned from his position after having marshaled the growth of the school he founded. He continued to attend the year-end graduation ceremonies and other events organized by the school. After Gabriel’s resignation, the following became the principal and the vice principal of the school:
1990 to 1993, Vartkes Ghazarian and Levon Kasparian
1993 to 1997, Levon Kasparian and Paul Mouradia
1997 to 2001, Dr. Marzbed Margossian, Vartkes Nalbandian
2001 to 20015, Jean Kosakian and Vartkes Nalbandian
2016 to present, Sossy Shanlian, Vartkes Nalbandian with Jean Kosakian as the principle of the elementary school in the North Hils.
Over the years numerous individuals donated to the Ferrahian School. It will be impossible to name them all. But I would like to mention at least some of the major benefactors.
The school is named after its first and the largest benefactor Matheos Ferrahian.
The school’s largest hall, which also serves as its enclosed athletic court, is named after its Iranian Armenian benefactor Kevork Avedissian.
The school’s library is named after its benefactor John Garabedian from Fresno.
The school’s smaller hall is named after its benefactor Arshag Dikranian.
The elementary school in the North Hills campus is named after its benefactor Marie Kabayan and its pre-school division is named after Ashkhen Pilavjian who is a nationally acclaimed benefactor.
The house that acted as the school in its formative year was replaced by a building where the offices of the principle, the church trustees, and many other community organizations were moved. The building is called Osko and Yeran Karaghossian building.
The Encino campus has become a veritable beehive. It houses the following: the Holy Martyrs Church, the Ferrahian Secondary School, A.Y.F. Rosdom Gomideh, the Armenian Relief Society (A.R.S.) “Anahid” Chapter, the Hamazkaing “Baruyr Sevag” Chapter, the Hamazkayin “Nayiri” dance group, the Homenetmen “Massis” Chapter, the Armenian Youth Federation (A.Y.F.) “Sardarabad” Chapter.
From early morning hours to late at night the Encino Ferrahian School and the Holy Martyrs Church complex swarms with people. Some attend meetings there, other athletic games or different cultural events. During the Christmas, Palm Sunday, Easter the courtyard would be jammed with people reminding me of the seat of the Catholicosate of Cilicia Antelias complex.
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| Holy Martyrs Church and Ferrahian School Complex in Encino, CA |
For many years the Armenian Americans assisted the Armenian communities in the Middle East to build churches and schools. Many likened the kind-hearted Armenian American community as “milking cow”. During a fund raising campaign in America, Levon Shant and Simon Vratsian, seeing the dwindling use of Armenian by the Armenians residing in America had noted saying: “We came to the United States to solicit financial assistance when it is the Armenian American community that is in need of help otherwise we will lose the next generation. We need to have Armenian schools in the United States of America.”
With the money raised in the United States they built the Djamaran School, presently known as Melankton And Haig Arslanian Djemaran School.But Levon Shant could not materialize his goal of opening another Jemaran like school in the United States as well. After many years, Gabriel Injejikian, who most likely was not aware of Levon Shant’s idea of opening an Armenian School in the United States, founded the Ferrahian School instead.
Levon Shant, Nigol Aghbalian, Simon Vratsian were disciples of sort for the greater cause of preserving the Armenian language and culture. So was Gabriel Injejikian. It was his indomitable will that made the founding the first Armenian day school in the United States possible. He also set an example for others to follow.
Encouraged by Gabriel Injejikian’s success, others followed suit and twenty-five more Armenian day schools were opened in the United States during the next twenty years.
Most of the Armenian day schools in the United States have similar Armenian language and culture teaching program, which also includes visiting Sacramento, Ca; Washington D.C. and to Armenia and Artsakh to familiarize the students with the history both of their adopted country the United States and their homeland Armenia.
For Gabriel Injejikian the Ferrahian School remained an extended family to the last. His health permitting, with his wife Rose, he attended the graduation ceremonies and especially liked to attend the wedding celebrations of his former students. He became ecstatic when he found out that they had formed families that perpetuated the Armenian culture.
He devoted his entire life for the preservation of the Armenian culture as his sacred mission. His name is enshrined in the annals of the Armenian history.
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