Few institutions can claim as distinguished a place in recent Armenian history as the Hairenik Association, publishers of the Hairenik and the Armenian Weekly newspapers. The Hairenik, published in the Armenian language since 1899, has reported, analyzed, and commented on the historic events of modern Armenian history, often in their staggering proportions. At its helm as editors were such outstan
ding national figures such as Arshak Vramian (1900-1907), Siamanto (1909-1911), Simon Vratsian (1911-1914), and Rouben Darbinian (1922-1968). The Hairenik is the longest-running Armenian-language newspaper in the world. In June 1932 a column in English appeared in the Hairenik to address the needs of English-speaking Armenians. The response was so positive that by March 1934 the Hairenik Weekly, entirely in English, began publication, mostly through the efforts of young volunteer contributors. In June 1934 the Hairenik Weekly acquired a full-time editor, James Mandalian, and an assistant editor, Queenie Pambookjian. Of special interest from those days were the translations of short stories by such prominent Armenian writers as Avetis Aharonian and Hamasdegh and the poems of Gostan Zarian. Moreover, the very stories that initially brought William Saroyan national recognition by the American public were first published in the Hairenik Weekly(under the pseudonym Sirak Goryan).
