Browse Items (5 total)
| Thumbnail | Title | Description | Date | Date Added |
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Richard and Susan Depigian Oral History Interview | This oral history interview with Richard and Susan Depigian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Richard and Susan Depigian discuss life in Lincoln Place and their Armenian heritage. They share information about the customs and traditions, as well as the “clans” that developed out of, their heritage. The ethnic diversity of Lincoln Place is addressed. Both Richard and Susan discuss their parents experienced during the Armenian genocide. |
November 17, 2001 | February 20, 2018 |
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Andrew Hagopian Oral History Interview | This oral history interview with Andrew Hagopian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Andrew Hagopian was born in 1923 to immigrant parents from Armenia. In this interview, he talks about his family history, his experience on the 1940 Granite City basketball state champion team, the diversity of the Lincon Place community, and his activism in lobbying the United States government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. |
November 21, 2001 | March 4, 2018 |
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Michael Torosian Oral History Interview | This oral history interview with Michael Torosian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Mr. Torosian is a first-generation American. His father emigrated from Armenia in 1913. His mother was a refugee; she emigrated sometime after the genocide of the Armenians in 1915. Mr. Torosian was born in Lincoln Place and describes growing up there as the most wonderful childhood anyone could have. He lived there for the first twenty-nine years of his life, excluding the time he was in the service. Mr. Torosian indicated that the community center played a major part in his life as a child. He states that from the age of eight or nine, he was there almost every night. He stated that the Community Center was the envy of the surrounding area. The combination of caring people, citizenship classes, sewing classes and a beautiful basketball gymnasium made the center a wonderful place. Additionally, the fact that it was paid for by Mr. Howard and constructed with local labor provided employment for many families in Lincoln Place during the depression. Mr. Torosian described the mix of different ethnic groups as educational. Lincoln Place provided the structure for education about many different cultures. Everyone learned from each other. The sense of community was very evident in Lincoln Place. Mr. Torosian and I also discussed the Armenian Genocide and issues surrounding its lack of acknowledgment and publicity. He graciously states that genocide was the responsibility of the regime in charge at the time, and not all the Turks. |
November 15, 2001 | March 18, 2018 |
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Hagop Varadian Oral History Interview | This oral history interview with Hagop Varadian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Hagop (Jake) Varadian was born on April 12, 1938 to Armenian immigrants and has been a lifelong resident of the Lincoln Place neighborhood. In this interview, he talks about his parent's life in Armenia during World War One and his mother’s experience in the Armenian Genocide which resulted in her having to live in the desert where her sister was born. He also touches on aspects of his own life that include being in the Army and teaching school for the Granite City School District. |
November 6, 2001 | March 18, 2018 |
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Nevart Hagopian Oral History Interview | This oral history interview with Nevart Hagopian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Nevart Hagopian is a survivor of the Armenian genocide who left Armenia with her mother at the age of 12 in 1920 and migrated to the Lincoln Place neighborhood of Granite City. In the interview, she discusses the Armenian community and culture in Lincoln Place. Hagopian primarily speaks in Armenian in the interview, with Vartan Kassabian serving as a translator. Father Kassabian was a priest for St. Gregory Armenian Church in Granite City. Note: The original archive copies of the interview transcript and biographical summary had grading marks and corrections on them. We converted the transcript and biographical summary to editable text and made the corrections to remove grading marks. |
November 18, 2001 | May 5, 2020 |