Hood Rubber Proved Refuge for Immigrants

He dedicated the work to his grandmother, Hranoush Hagopian, and Baronian, a prominent Tufts graduate, both of whom worked there. Baronian died before the film was completed. He was a foreman in charge of six conveyer belts and 65 employees.

“As a result of my conversations with John Baronian, I was able to conduct a series of interviews with former Armenian employees of the plant,” said the 60-year-old filmmaker, whose father, Hurire, a Genocide survivor, also worked there. “No doubt, this turned into a most gratifying piece of historical preservation, considering nothing had been done about this subject relative to the establishment of the Armenian community in Watertown.”

Hagopian, who debuted his film at the Watertown Free Library on December 19, found Armenians and non-Armenians who grew up in East Watertown, adjacent to Hood Rubber, and recorded their impressions. One resident, George Mooza, provided 30 photographs of the neighborhood and factory around Bigelow Avenue. They met through a mutual friend, the late Mary Balyosian, aunt of jazz guitarist John Baboian.

A stabilizing image of the plant with its domineering smoke stack serves as an icon in the production. By the turn of the 19th century, Armenians had found gainful employment there, helping to manufacture 3,000 shoes a day.

Chain migration was a stabilizing factor in the plant’s success. By 1920, one-fifth of America’s footwear came from Hood Rubber. The company was absorbed by BF Goodwich in 1929 and added tires to the manufacture of footgear before closing in 1969.

“Armenians represented 5-7 percent of the workforce,” said historian/author Dr. Robert Mirak, who supplied the narration. “If it wasn’t for Hood, Armenians would have migrated to the outlying regions. They were overachievers. Many sacrificed their school and family life for the factory.”

Mirak is the author of Torn Between Two Lands and provided material on the early migration period. Other narrators are Marc Mamigonian, executive director of educational programs at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), and Hagopian’s wife, Lynda.

Work proved debilitating and exhausting at times. Many fell prey to the fumes and became ill. Women were becoming the breadwinners for their families and outnumbered the men on the assembly line, especially during World War II. It was not uncommon to hear Armenian folk music emanating from the loud speaker in an effort to get workers further motivated.

Gorky’s artwork wound up costing him a job, according to documents. He was fired apparently for drawing on the soles of shoes and painting on the roof of the building. At the time, he was living in his dad’s home at 86 Dexter Ave., and had yet to take his place as a major 20^th-century American artist.

Der Kazarian, a 97-year-old, is the aunt of Leon Janikian, a musician and Northeastern assistant professor, who also appears in the film.

Other testimonies are rendered by Bob Sanasarian, Steve Tashjian, John Airasian and Kevin Magharian, another musician, whose mother, Rose, worked there, as did Betty Gulezian, the mother of the Rev. Joanne Hartunian.

Hovannes Shamgochian worked there through the 1920s and gathered with other Armenians to eat at the Town Diner. Another Armenian recalls the smell of rubber in the air whenever the wind blew in a certain direction. Being “Depression” years, there was a need for footwear, drawing Armenians such as these to the production line Wednesday afternoons for a “test day.”

Through the Watertown Library, Hagopian was contacted by Hood employees’ descendents who provided valuable insight. What started out as a curiosity turned into a labor of love for the videographer.

“Like a giant puzzle, the film was edited over the four months prior to completion, taking up every moment of my time at home, including meals being eaten at the computer,” said Hagopian, a rug/upholstery cleaner by day. “For me, video is a way of telling history that is educational, multidimensional and compelling.”

A history lover since his youth, Hagopian is a 1972 graduate of UMass/Boston, where he received a degree in music. He teaches piano and trumpet in his spare time, as a form of therapy.

His first film on an Armenian subject, “The Journey of an Armenian Family,” is about his family’s survival in Van during the 1915 Genocide. Hagopian has had film presentations in high schools, universities, libraries, community centers and private homes.

The Lexington resident was among the recipients of the Watertown Historical Commission’s 2009 Community Service Award for his work.