Franklin has always been Haiastan

In this year of no summer camps, Franklin is still home to “the best place on earth” as generations have long described Camp Haiastan. What started in 1951 as a novel idea by the first generation of Armenians born in America has become an iconic fixture for decades. Lifelong friendships, first dances and even many marriages have emerged from those hallowed grounds on Uncas Pond. A unique blend of socialization and culture in a rustic environment (it has become much more comfortable with incredible facilities over the years) offers our children a special opportunity to build an Armenian identity with hundreds of other Armenians kids in a safe and exciting environment. The facilities are superb, and the programming is excellent. But what makes Camp Haiastan so attractive is the relationships our kids form. It is here at camp that they build the “dual identity” that Armenian American youth enjoy. They have their American life in their hometowns, and they build a lifelong identity with their fellow Armenians at camp. The geographic diversity makes it unprecedented in their lives. How many 11 or 12 year olds can say they have actual friends (not the kinds on social media) from the midwest, New York or New England? The key to the success of our camp comes from its record of “regeneration.” Campers become CITs, who become counselors and some become teachers or directors. When they become parents, they send their children; many end up serving on the board or committees advocating for a better future.

The process has clearly worked out. Attendance records are broken, and new innovative programs, like teenage sessions and day camps, are instituted. When I was young, our parents sent my three sisters and I to the camp. My older sister went many years as a camper and staff. She met her husband through the camp. My wife and I are proud that our children attended for many years. Driving to camp was always a special experience as we rounded Summer Street to the front entrance. I returned as a volunteer teacher in Armenian history and politics during the Baron Pete administration and experienced such joy in seeing that same excitement on the faces of a succeeding generation.

Unlike most affiliated with Camp Haiastan, going to camp was not my first experience with Franklin. Although I am from the Indian Orchard Armenian community, my second “home” was Franklin. There has been a small Armenian community in this little piece of Armenia since the post-genocide era. After settling in this country my maternal grandmother’s (Turfanda Yergatian Piligian) sisters and brother lived in Franklin. They all lived in the Chestnut Street area within a quarter mile of each other. The one exception was Uncle Setrak’s chicken farm on Route 140 (where the 495 exchange is today) just up the street from Mr. Bedirian’s farm. My grandmother raised her boys in Indian Orchard, and my grandfather worked in the Chapman Valve Foundry. With their two oldest boys returning safely from the war and weary from the conditions of foundry life, they decided to move to Franklin in 1947 and run a chicken farm. It was located on several acres in the middle of the family neighborhood on Chestnut Street. So began what was known as the Piligian Poultry Farm. It was purchased from a family member, and my Uncle Paul was enlisted to move to Franklin ahead of time to learn the business from relatives.