Wicked Local , MA
Jan 7 2010
Filmmaker documents the impact of Hood Rubber on Watertown’s Armenian history
By Jen Thomas, staff writer
Wicked Local Watertown
WATERTOWN ‘ .Inspired by stories of his grandmother’s days as a worker
at the Hood Rubber Company in Watertown, Lexington filmmaker Roger
Hagopian set out to tell the tale of the factory and the people who
worked there.
It took six years, but Hagopian, 60, has turned those stories into a
one-hour documentary part business history and part personal
chronicle.
`It’s a simultaneous history of the Armenian community in Watertown
and the Hood Rubber Company,’ Hagopian said. `It takes people through
the generations, from the 1890s to the 1920s, from the old country to
this country.’
`Destination Watertown: The Armenians of Hood Rubber’ documents the
journey of the Hood Rubber Company, started by brothers Arthur and
Frederic Hood in 1896, from a bustling shoe and boot factory to a
community staple and ends with the factory’s closing in 1969.
The factory was partially responsible for attracting a large number of
Armenians looking to escape genocide and persecution in their home
country. By the end of the 1920s, approximately 3,500 Armenians, or 10
percent of the population, were living in Watertown, and more than 500
were working at Hood Rubber.
The Hood Rubber Company was sold to B.F. Goodrich before the Great
Depression and eventually shuttered its doors as business fizzled.
Today, the only remains of the former factory is one long foundation
located behind the Watertown Mall.
`It’s sad that there’s nothing left there,’ said Hagopian. `It’s a
part of the history of the town, and nothing was preserved.’
Hagopian interviewed more than a dozen former Hood Rubber factory
workers, punctuating their recollection of the glory days of Hood
Rubber with historical photographs, advertisements and maps of the
80-building complex in East Watertown.
It’s these stories that really make the film, Hagopian said.
`I can’t imagine the project without the people,’ the filmmaker said.
>From cheerful childhood memories ‘ residents recalled waiting in line
every Wednesday to get a free pair of sneakers to test for the company
‘ to sad tales of injured workers and deplorable working conditions,
Hapogian’s movie lays out a detailed history.
At its debut screening in December, about 100 people came out to the
Free Public Library to view the film, and most were not Armenians,
Hagopian said.
Though he sold all 40 copies of the movie he’s already printed, he’s
continuing to tweak the final product and hopes to screen his movie
again in town, possibly at the Armenian Library and Museum of America
on Main Street.
Hagopian, a rug and upholstery cleaner and arts and crafts vendor by
day and freelance videographer by night, financed most of the film
himself, but he didn’t make `Destination Watertown’ to turn a profit.
`This is part of my father’s story, part of my story,’ Hagopian said.
`Hood Rubber is the reason for the establishment of the Armenian
community in Watertown. That’s the story I wanted to tell.’
Get a copy
Roger Hagopian is selling copies of his `Destination Watertown: The
Armenians of Hood Rubber’ and is always looking for more information
about the history of the Hood Rubber Company and its employees. For
more information, contact Hagopian at 781-861-7868 or
[email protected].
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