A few weeks ago I stopped at my grandmother’s for coffee, and sitting at her round wooden table was Aunt Rosemary. Now, for any Armenian in the tri-state area (and beyond honestly), Aunt Rosemary needs no introduction or even a last name to be identified. But if I must, Rosemary Alashaian is infamous. The name is synonymous with Armenian community royalty, from being a recipient of the AYF Olympic Queen title to being known as the resident Dancing Queen of Club 27 (I totally just dubbed her that, but trust me, it’s well deserved). All the members of the Alashaian family are known for their ties to the community, from Aunt Rosemary’s late husband Avo Alashaian, who was a long-time St. Illuminator’s enthusiast and board member, to her three sons Mark, Richard and Avi Alashaian, who are remembered in their own right for their work on the church basketball docket. Even her eight grandkids are all involved in the community, attending Camp Haiastan, participating in the AYF and carrying on the Alashaian legacy. But that shared coffee with her at my grandmother’s had me thinking seriously about her last name. Her maiden name, that is.
She asked me to come over one afternoon the following week. We sat down together in her apartment, and she told me about an article she’d read in the Weekly titled “AYF Bowling in the Weekly” written by Mark Gavoor. The article was well done, and we agreed that Baron Mark is skilled at sifting through archives, chronicling information and writing in a journalistic style. Yet Aunt Rosemary expressed longing of a sort. The article focuses on the AYF bowling teams that sprouted across New England. It names a bunch of chapters and lists a few participants. It even asks readers to reach out if they have any additional information about the leagues and how they were organized. At first, I couldn’t understand what it was that Aunt Rosemary wanted to contribute to the article. But then she told me about her brother.
Rosemary Alashaian was born Rosemary Merjanian, and she had a brother named Charles Aram Merjanian. Seven years her senior, Charles would allow (or maybe more accurately was forced by his mother to allow) his little sister to tag along with him to hanteses and church, socials and the agoump. He was even accidentally involved in Aunt Rosemary meeting her husband, but that’s a story for another time. Charles joined the Brooklyn “Ararat” AYF Chapter’s bowling team along with his buddy Marty Kapoian. Aunt Rosemary still has his bowling shirt with “Brooklyn AYF” embroidered on the back and his nickname “Chuck” on the front. The shirt was on display at the AYF’s 90th Gala event last year.
Okay, cool, I thought, she wants me to help her put together an article about her brother’s participation in the bowling league. I can do that. But there was more to it, or rather, there wasn’t anything else at all. On January 31, 1953 at the age of 21, Charles Aram Merjanian was killed in action in Korea. He was awarded the bronze star and purple heart as well as other medals for his service. An article was published in the Weekly around the time of his death and one the following year in commemoration, but she explained that they got many of the details wrong, listing 22 as his age of death and even referring to her as “RoseAnne” when naming his surviving family members. She doesn’t remember who wrote those articles, but with her permission, here I am attempting to get the details right.
At first, I wasn’t sure what I could do to help. I didn’t really understand what Aunt Rosemary wanted from our meeting. She had a little write up that she put together, not quite enough information for an article, but I noticed almost immediately (and she made sure to point out) that she signed it “Rosemary Merjanian Alashaian.” I hadn’t even known her maiden name before this meeting. She told me that her brother “deserved better” than those two articles all those years ago, and I couldn’t help but think of my own brother, his involvement in the AYF and, more glaringly, in my own life. I couldn’t ever imagine losing him and definitely not at such a young age. It became clear to me that, sparked by a reminder thanks to Baron Mark, Aunt Rosemary simply wanted her brother’s name, and at the very least a little of his story, to show up in the Weekly archives. For him to be remembered as a son and a brother, as one of the Brooklyn “Ararat” AYF bowlers, as a young man who fought in honor of his country and who lost his life in doing so. For him to live forever not just in her memories, but in the archives of this publication. What a valiant and noble motive for wanting to put together an article.
So maybe I don’t have every detail about his life or his participation in the AYF bowling league, and perhaps I never will after his time in it was cut short, but what I do have is this: Charles Aram Merjanian is remembered lovingly by his sister Rosemary, by me even though I never had the pleasure of meeting him, and now, hopefully, by the entire Armenian Weekly readership.
Arev Dinkjian
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Arev: What a beautiful and well-written article. Thank you for your gracious comments about my article that inspired Aunt Rosemary to solicit your assistance in writing this article. I did not know about her brother Charles.
I am so glad you wrote this under in the “Into the Archives” column. I truly hope that you continue explore the archives and write about archives articles that interest you. I love the archival articles that have links to friend and families today. It really reminds us how small and precious our community is.
Once again… Brava!